■ Last Saturday, Jake Mutton joined a very select group of footballers. Being the games record holder – 361 – for Hoppers Crossing in the WRFL is usually the sort of record you wouldn’t expect to hold for a long time. There are exceptions, such as Michael Tuck and Kevin Bartlett whose 400-plus VFL-AFL games record will probably never be bettered. Mutton took the ‘most games’ mantle at the Warriors from Shane Buckingham, the club’s president.
■ Also last Saturday, the WYN FM caravan set up for the Tarneit Titans’ first match-of-the-day broadcast. The people at the club, from president Sue Thornton down, were thrilled to be the star attraction on the local radio station. The supporters were sitting in their cars listening to the broadcast and loving every minute of it. I hope that kind of commitment, passion and dedication is never lost from local footy. It would be a sad day if that happened.
■ The WRFL now has a division 3 competition, meaning that four teams that would otherwise not have made finals in other divisions will get the chance to play for a flag. The league will be presenting a best-on-ground medal in the division 3 grand final and on presentation night a medal to the best and fairest player in that division. These are new awards and so far unnamed. I would ask readers to let me know who they think the medals should be named after. Many individuals have given long and distinguished service to football in the FDFL and the WRFL and would be deserving of this honour. I think it’s important to get these ‘forever honours’ 100 per cent correct.
■ The Atkins twins were at their hilarious best at the Werribee Football Club Hall of Fame dinner. I was doing the backstage interviews with the inductees and when it came time for Simon to be interviewed he sent his identical twin Paul over. I have known these boys since they crossed Bass Strait more than 20 years ago so there was no fooling me. They pulled some similar pranks in their early days at the Bulldogs. I remember walking into the Bulldogs’ rooms before a 1992 final. Paul was in a suit, standing outside the players’ area. There was an audible gasp from people who walked into the rooms thinking Simon, who was our gun on-baller, was a late withdrawal. Paul thought it was hysterical and played it for all it was worth.
