Geoff Wilson, who lost a brave battle with prostate cancer early last week, was regarded as one of the smallest, but toughest players to pull on a jumper in the Goulburn Valley League.
Small in stature, but big in heart, Geoff, who died aged 82, had no fear.
‘‘He had white line fever and despite his size no-one intimidated him on the football field. Off the field he was an absolute gentleman,’’ former teammate and close friend Bob Bertoli said.
It was Geoff’s steely determination that led to him being recruited by Hawthorn from Melbourne suburban club Canterbury Football Club in the mid 1950s.
He defied a lot of critics who claimed he was not big enough — he was 168cm (5ft 6in) and weighed just 70kg — to reach the VFL stage to play 31 senior games and kick 30 goals in a five-year stint at the club up to 1959.
While at Hawthorn he played in its reserves premiership side in 1958 — the only flag ever won by the Hawks’ reserves.
In 1960 he was recruited by Western Australian Football League club Claremont and played in its 1964 premiership before being lured back east to coach Shepparton Swans in 1965 by their legendary president Bill Hunter.
Geoff coached the Swans for five years, handing the reins to GVL Hall of Famer Roland Crosby, who took the Swans to the flag in 1970 against Kyabram in his first season as coach.
Geoff spent 1971 at Mooroopna playing under ex-St Kilda premiership player Jimmy Reid.
He had only one season with the Cats before taking on a two-year coaching stint at Invergordon, then playing in the former Tungamah and District League.
Geoff, Bertoli and several other players were given their marching orders by Invergordon at the end of the 1973 season after a controversial game against Dookie College that resulted in civil charges being laid, but beaten in court.
After being replaced by joint coaches Barry Connolly and Lenny Timms at Invergordon Geoff joined Ardmona, then being coached by legendary GVL player Stuart Florence, in 1974.
Halfway through the season at the age of 37 Geoff called time on his playing career when he felt his small body had taken enough batterings.
‘‘Geoff always loved the Shepparton Swans and he returned there to coach the thirds in the mid 1980s. Three of his sons, Steele, Kyle and Blair, all played senior football with the club,’’ Bertoli said.
After his playing days, Geoff spent 10 years as a central umpire with the Goulburn Valley Football Umpires Association, where he became acknowledged as one of the region’s best umpires.
Geoff was very community minded and became a stalwart of the Shepparton Kiwanis Club.
He also loved competition shooting and had an impressive collection of firearms of all vintages.
A father-of-seven, Geoff was interred at the Jamieson Cemetery last Saturday, reuniting with his late wife, Fran, and leaving a lot of memories for northern Victorian footy fans.