They formed a guard of honour for their teammate before standing at the back of the chapel packed with his family and friends, many of whom had got to know the 15-year-old through his battle with cancer and the football cup match named after him.
But as his mother Brigitte said, he would not have wanted his battle with the disease to define him or his life.
‘To us he was a boy of integrity, courage and perseverance long before cancer challenged his life,’ she said.
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READ NOW‘His determination to be the best he could be at school, at athletics, at footy was who Kalin was.
‘A massive smile, an unbreakable spirit, he was kind to all that he knew. And he felt he was destined for a career as an engineer/stand-up comedian.
‘But truthfully an understudy to Mr Bean would have been more fitting.’
To his mum, dad Paul and siblings Gemma and Logan he was ‘our precious Kalin and our hero destined for greatness but taken from us too soon’.
Vale Kalin.