Almanac Footy: A Day at Country Footy
I once had three years of experience as a playing coach in the WA bush in the late ’90s.
My job at the time took me to Perth after living in the east coast for fifteen years. As a native of WA it was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and family I hadn’t seen much of over the years.
All I wanted to do whilst I still had some football currency, was to play with my younger brother Glen who lived two hours south of Perth. It would mean a lot of driving three days a week but the promise of some serious nostalgia was too much.
The two clubs I coached, Waroona in the Peel League and Boddington in the Upper Great Southern League both made me feel welcome. I was probably lucky to have Glen there as a former champion at both clubs, as I felt a bit like a sore thumb at times coming from the city almost like an alien dropping in.
Because I took coaching way too seriously and travelled ridiculous distances, I never really took the time to smell the roses.
Despite making some great friends my biggest regret was not spending more time in those communities instead of constantly rushing.
Today was the first visit to a country game in God knows how long. My old Werribee teammate Glenn was coaching Dunstown versus Carngham-Linton in a Central Highlands League Elimination Final.
We got there early and saw a half of the under 18s and the reserves in the beautiful setting of Waurbra Football and Netball Club.
The first thing that strikes you is the smells. BBQ’d meat, onions, chopped up mud, linament, Deep Heat, chips cooking, beer and second-hand smoke.
Cars line the perimeter and the netball finals are played literally next door to the clubhouse. The canteen and bar were pumping and are sure to raise enough money in one day to fund any bills that come their way in 2025.
The hotdogs were incredible. Long extra soft buns that have come from a bakery, not Woolies, and can easily accommodate a jumbo sausage. I had to have two just to ensure I wasn’t dreaming.
The under 18s were OK but there isn’t the passion with the kids that there was in yesteryear. I don’t blame them as this notable apathy been happening for the past couple of decades and has led to poor participation rates. The youth of today have plenty of distractions these days as opposed to my generation where footy and cricket were our primary focus.
The reserves game had it’s funny moments. There were blokes running around with the dimensions of Tony Lockett and they weren’t bad at all, just lacking second efforts.
And why is it in reserves footy that one side has a forty five year old lunatic who thinks he’s twenty one and is always looking for a fight? Some things never change.
The senior game was a ripper with Glenn’s team holding on to win by 17 points. In a topsy turvy game I was super impressed with the skill level and hardness of the players.
Physical clashes were abundant and that comes from the speed and skills obviously being significantly below AFL level. Shepherding in AFL is something that is pretty much obsolete but thankfully is still alive in the bush. It was nice to hear the occasional ‘splat’ of bodies crashing into each other. The endeavour both sides showed is to be commended.
As someone who has spent a lot of time at Marvel Stadium, I’m disappointed that I’ve allowed my affection and subsequent frustration for The Saints to divert me from what I love about the game.
It’s not the sterile, robotic AFL with the lecherous media, goal celebrations, structures and appalling commentary on Channel Seven, that’s for sure.
What I’ve missed is the sense of community that country footy provides. It’s the elderly bloke I chatted to who moved over so I could sit down, it’s the reserves blokes taking the piss out of a mate being interchanged and get a vengeful smile in return, it’s the hard working volunteers providing superb home cooked meals to the punters, it’s the dozens of gorgeous kids having a kick during the breaks with their parents and most of all its the players from these tiny regional towns. What they may lack in population, they more than make up for it in spirit and authenticity.
As Glenn noted, the weather played a big part in the aesthetics of the day. It’s not always sunny and devoid of wind. I understand that but it won’t deter me from visiting local footy again, if only for the hotdogs.
More from Ian Wilson can be read Here.
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About Ian Wilson
Former army aircraft mechanic, sales manager, VFA footballer and coach. Now mental health worker and blogger. Lifelong St Kilda FC tragic and father to 2 x girls.
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Good stuff Ian. Country footy, suburban footy, are the ‘Real McCoy’.
Compared to the entertainment industry inherent in the AFL with their standardisation ; inane commentary, flashing lights/contrived songs, sounds for goals, the antithesis of what footy was about.
I’ve not been to a country footy match since 2022. Will I get to another one? If what you say about the under 18’s is reflective of the state of footy, beyond the entertainment industry megabucks the AFL sits on top of, there’s despair where it’s going in the future. So many country teams, also leagues, have folded, or merged. It seems like the ones who keep going are partially kept alive by the gambling dollar, something that beggars many obvious questions.
I’ll close with an obvious question. Who does Dunnstown play next?
Glen!
Thanks Ian.
Your comments on the AFL have pretty much summed up why I chose just to follow the SANFL these days.
I grew up in country footy in SA in the 80’s and it sounds like some things haven’t changed (other than the numerous/unfortunate club and league mergers). It was a good experience for young players to rub shoulders with the usual collection of farmers, bankers, and teachers, along with a former VFL player, a SANFL premiership captain, and a future stand-up comedian added to the mix at various times.
Positional play with minimal interchange was still a thing in the ‘big leagues’ back then, so the style of footy we played on a Saturday morning/afternoon was not that dissimilar to what we watched on tv on the Friday night (and even then the few televised games were shown on delay). As kids we were just as likely to idolise one of our local A grade stars as we were the superstars in the VFL or SANFL.
Disappointing to hear about the lack of passion in the under-18’s though. We approached our senior colts (u16) games each week with the same level of intensity that we witnessed in the big Port-Norwood or Carlton-Collingwood rivalry games. The closer the rival town, the greater was the desire to beat them. We went to school with some of our opponents, but come Saturday we went just as hard at them (and through them) as we did any of our ‘hated’ rivals. That said, I can only recall one on-field ‘blue’ and no real off-field trouble over the years.
Long live country/local footy!
Many thanks Gents.
Glen Dunstown are playing Bungaree at Learmonth seniors starting at 2.30pm this Saturday. Yes the AFL has dropped the ball with country footy which is why you see the mergers but the teams are also stressed with lack of employment in the towns which unfortunately leads to silly money being paid to city players to travel.
Greg I was pleased to see the high rotations of the AFL not being used but there was certainly more than we had been used to in the past which was virtually zero. Another aspect I enjoyed was no zoning and all one on one. So much more enjoyable. Cheers
Can’t argue with any of the foregoing Ian.
Loved the reference to the smells of country footy. My only suggestion is there would surely have been a pie warmer with an abundance of tomato sauce somewhere nearby to your other features. And I assume the car horns on that ring around the boundary would have erupted in support of every goal scored.
Funny thing about columns like this is that with the endless sterility of AFL coverage, notwithstanding how exquisitely gifted the players are at that level, we tend to lose the reference touch point which many of us have to scenes like those you describe so well above. More’s the pity.
RDL