Powerhouse Lions forward Jonathan Brown returned to his country Victorian roots of Warrnambool on Sunday to personally present a cheque on behalf of Toyota.

Brown visited the Emmanuel Hawks junior football club (where he went to school) who were the winners of the Toyota Cash up your Club competition. The Hawks were awarded a $10,000 cheque to spend on upgrading their club and its facilities.

The Under 12’s Hawks team were thrilled that local hero Brown could spare some time to visit them the morning after his Lions had humbled Collingwood at the MCG.

The Emmanuel Hawks junior football club currently has no lights down one end of the ground and are often forced to train in darkness. They use a hired caravan as a makeshift kiosk and their showers are cold all year round. The $10,000 will certainly be put to good use.

The Toyota Cash up your Club competition was part of Toyota’s broader commitment towards grassroots footy which includes its Good for Footy program. In 2006, Toyota dealers raised more than $200,000 for local grassroots football and now hope to increase its contribution this year to $300,000.