Former Warracknabeal champion Max Woodward loved his footy from an early age. So he didn't think twice about going AWOL from National Service to make a final.
Finding the pull of finals too strong, the talented youngster slipped away from Puckapunyal army barracks into a waiting taxi on the starting leg of his journey to join Bangerang Football Club line-up.
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Yep, I went out the back door at Puckapunyal. I reckon they knew I'd gone but I never got into trouble
- Max Woodward
Mentioning Woody's name in Wimmera league footy circles gets the same response. Respect. From players and administrators. Even the men in white respect him. Not once in a career of more than 200 games did his behavior catch the tribunal eye of umpires. But they certainly noticed him for best-player votes.
Woody has graced four different guernseys in his 17 years of playing: Bangerang in North Wimmera league for three years; Warracknabeal in Wimmera league for 12 years; Beulah in Southern Mallee league, two years; and the Wimmera representative guernsey about seven times.
The 61-year-old Brim East farmer says: "I started at Bangerang when I was about 14.5. I was running the boundary but they were short of players so I got a game. I don't think mum realised I was playing for half a season."
Woody has many personal highlights in his bag of sporting memories. There's reaching his 200-game milestone for the mighty Lions; missing out on the coveted Toohey Medal by one vote, playing for the Wimmera in a country football championship grand final ..... OK, so it's not a bag of memories, it's a thumping big packing case! And we haven't even touched on his tennis record yet.
But Woody is a team player. And it's appropriate that the big man's greatest sporting moment came in a team situation - Warracknabeal's 1966 grand final triumph over Stawell at Horsham City Oval.
You can share a premiership with other people - with supporters and players
- Max Woodward
A grand final is special in anyone's books. But Warracknabeal's 1966 flag, which came 13 long years after the club's last sip from the winners' cup, is even more special because it marked Woody's last game with the Lions.
He says: "It also meant more to me because I'd been out for six weeks with a busted elbow. It was dislocated."
Club selectors welcomed Woody, injured in a clash with Stawell in July, into the grand final side after he put in the hard work to reach fitness. They were forced to move consistent Warracknabeal identity Barrie 'Fishbones' Fry out to a half back flank.
A crowd of about 8000 yelled themselves hoarse as the lead changed five times in the first 15 minutes of the last quarter until the Lions ran away victors by 27 points. And Woody won a BTV6 best player award and was happy.
He says: "We had a pretty good side with players such as Russell Crow as playing coach, Ken Smale, Barrie Fry, Graeme Clyne and Max Wright.
"I think up to 10 Warracknabeal players represented the league about then. We were pretty big and strong."
And after losing last year's grand final by a point, there was no way we were going to lose this one
- Max Woodward
Most people tipped the Lions to win on the strength of them belting the Redlegs a fortnight before. But Stawell coach John Kennedy was expected to put a spanner in the works somehow. Kennedy, who went on to become a legendary Hawthorn coach, is now chairman of Australian Football League commissioners.
Woody: "John Kennedy and his lads tried to out-muscle us that day. We were big and strong but he still tried to out-muscles us.
"And you just don't try to out-muscle players like Russell Crow!"
Woody won a premiership with Bangerang and played in three losing grand finals with the Lions before uncorking the bubbly in '66. Every one of his 215 games with the Lions was in senior ranks.
He started playing footy at centre half forward but was switched to full back about 1960. With the ability to mark strongly, kick accurately and back his judgment, he was a key player in thwarting many an opposition's attempt to goal.
Woody put his footy boots out to pasture at the end of 1968 after two years as playing coach of Beulah. And then he started his off-the-oval football career.
He joined the Warracknabeal committee and was club president in 1977, '78 and '79. He revelled in victory again as Lions leader when the club won the 1977 flag.
Woody, a former Wimmera League delegate, chairman of selectors and life member, was on the selection panel for the 1981 Wimmera interleague squad. He replaced the late Brian Molony of Ararat as league president in '82. President for three years, he was the second Wimmera league leader to come from Warracknabeal. The first, P.J. Toohey, was president early in the century.
He says one regret is that he never took advantage of an opportunity to play for North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League.
The Roos signed him in 1956 and offered him four games for the season. But commitments to the family farm made it impossible to accept.
Geelong also invited him to train that year. After incorrectly addressing an invitation to his father, club secretary David Pescott wrote to Woody saying he was welcome to join the Cats at training. His father could come too!
Despite Woody's football achievements, he reckons he was a better tennis player. Many will agree. Ranked as the Wimmera's top men's player at his peak, he chalked up many victories on the tennis court.
He started at Brim East club in Bangerang and District Association before switching to Warracknabeal in Wimmera Pennant Tennis Association. He enjoyed 12 pennant flags in 20 years before retiring in his early 40s. Not once did he slip below the pennant level.
Woody collected six regional singles championships, played A Grade country week doubles for about 15 years, relished the buzz of playing on Kooyong's centre court and teamed with partners including Bill McGrath and Peter Jenke to win prestigious open tournaments at St Arnaud, Mildura, Swan Hill, Warracknabeal and Donald.
One year at Swan Hill, he and partner Jenke downed a player who was undefeated in Melbourne pennant competition that season.
Woody was also triumphant in B Grade country week doubles titles in Melbourne and made singles and doubles semi finals in Victorian regional championships. He teamed with McGrath to reach Victorian veterans' finals twice.
He was made Warracknabeal club life member in 1991 in recognition of his service to tennis.
Woody has also notched up par rounds at Brim and Warracknabeal golf courses and, as a member of Warracknabeal Golf Bowls Club, played in finals ever since he took up the sport five years ago. And he's helped win a fair share of them. Woody also played in regional group finals and took part in state finals.
And what was the impetus behind Woody developing a healthy appetite for weekend sport?
He says with a chuckle: "I think I learnt long ago that playing sport on a Saturday was much better than working."
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