Since the turn of the century, hundreds of Wimmera league footballers have laced up their boots, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their mates, and worn the colours of their communities with pride.
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Though the determination of each and every player can't be faltered, the best naturally rise to the top.
So, last week, with the competition on hold, we thought it was a better time than ever to pose a massive question.
Who is the greatest Wimmera Football League player of the 21st century?
Initially, hundreds of votes came in, nominating countless icons of the league, with all clubs represented.
Once the list was cut to five, the floodgates opened.
Nearly 1400 votes were submitted, as Mail-Times readers crowned their greatest Wimmera Football League player of the 21st century.
'He's probably the best player I coached'
Few are held in as such high esteem among the Wimmera Football League fraternity as Mal Adams.
The silky-smooth operator approached his football with an attitude that earned him the adoration of his teammates and demanded the respect of his opponents.
Of the nearly 1400 votes in our poll, around 40 per cent went the way of the United icon.
As a former United coach and selector, Brian "Cobber" Cassidy had front-row seats to much of Adams' career.
"He's probably the best player I coached. Skillwise, (he was a) big-game player. When you wanted something he'd do it," Cassidy said.
"I've coached a few sides, but I rate him at the top."
Adams' football career started at Imperials in the Horsham junior league and continued for 16 years at Horsham United before he left for a four-season stint at Laharum.
Though, he wasn't to be away for long, eventually returning to the club in 2011.
Adams made his interleague debut as a 19-year-old in 1992 and went on to represent the Wimmera Football League on 19 occasions.
He won multiple club best-and-fairests at United and played over 250 games at the club - with very few wasted.
"To be honest with you, you could count on one hand how many bad games he played," Cassidy said.
"He was so consistent. And when I say consistent, that's consistently good. Very good, actually.
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"He was tough when you needed someone. He was always a player that when you needed someone to step up, he would step up.
"He'd take the bull by the horns and kick a goal, or take a mark, or set up a goal or something. "
'He never ever went to the ground'
A trip into the Mail-Times archives offers countless interviews with both former teammates and opponents who list Adams as of one the most skilled operators in the league
Guy Smith lined up against Adams multiple times, while coach of the Horsham Demons in the early 2000s.
"He was really strong through his hips and his legs, and he never ever went to ground. He had that strength and stability to be able to hit a target from anywhere off one or two steps. That was his forte," Smith said.
Cobber Cassidy said Adams seemed to float across the field.
"He was very silky; he was just a smooth mover. He just floated on top of the ground. He never lost his balance," he said.
"I never saw him go to the ground once, to be honest. He always used to keep his feet, and he was a beautiful kick."
"He'd kick the ball a mile. He'd get out of the centre sometimes and go bang, and put it through post-high."
Smith, a highly decorated and respected player in his own right, said Adams was a leading light in a United outfit that persistently challenged its opponents.
"At the time he had some great players around him, like Steve Edgerton, he was a really good old school ruckman. He was brilliant. Danny Taylor was another midfielder for them, and he was an exceptional runner, he worked hand in hand with Mal as well. And also at the time, they had an exceptional full-forward in Brad Miller," he said.
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"So I think that that era that Mal was excelling in, between 2002 through to 2008, they had a really good nucleus of players in their team and he definitely was the icing on the cake. He gave them every opportunity going forward."
'You wouldn't get a better bloke to coach'
Both, Cassidy and Smith spoke of an incredibly humble player, who quietly went about his football, without fuss or furore.
"You wouldn't get a nicer bloke too, or a better bloke to coach," Cassidy said.
"He'd train his absolute arse off. Some nights I used to say to him 'go and have a spell mate'. But nah, he would never.
"It wouldn't matter where you play him he'd never whinge about it. He was just a ripper. He was that easy to coach.
"You could play him on anyone; it wouldn't matter. You could play him on the smallest man in the forward pocket, and he'd do well on him. Then, you could play him on the biggest bloke in their forward line, and he'd still do well."
'I've seen him do things a lot of other players couldn't do'
Horsham Saints' goalkicking machine Gavin Kelm finished second in the poll, collecting around 30 per cent of the votes.
Kelm's former Saints teammate, and 2012 Toohey Medallist, Phil Butsch rounded out the top three, with 13 per cent of votes.
Horsham Demons duo Stuart Farr and David Johns finished fourth and fifth respectively.
"They're all great players, don't get me wrong. But, (Mal) was a bit more special than them blokes," Cassidy said.
"I've seen him do things that a lot of other players couldn't do."
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