A Werribee Tigers promotion West Wing This week someone who is not only a very good friend of mine, but has been a mentor since I was about 18. He played 261 games with the Bulldogs. He has been very influential on my career and my life and he has a son playing AFL SW: Welcome Steve Wallis Tell us your story, you are a Leongatha boy. Wally: Yes at 16 I came down and played with the Bulldogs in the under 19 competition, so the club put me through school. I did accounting part time as well as school. I actually started work in Werribee, at Werribee Mazda, when I was 18. SW: You retired in 1996, how do you see the game these days in comparison to your days. Wally: We were only part time footballers, we only trained three times a week and usually late in the afternoon because most of us worked. I think the big change in recovery and the fitness of the players is the fulltime aspect. Being able to manage your body daily is a lot easier than when you had people working fulltime. I think they expect a lot more out of their bodies these days. The only thing that worries me watching Mitch, is wondering how long his body will hold up to the rigors of AFL . SW: You played for a long time and you played with some great players-EJ Whitten, Charlie Sutton- Only joking. Who were some of the best you played with? Wally: I was on the end of Kelvin Templeton’s career at the Bulldogs, he was a standout player. Simon Beasley was a very good full forward. Other players like Brian Royal, Doug Hawkins were some I had the privilege of playing with. Not to embarrass you, but I think you were one of the standouts as well. SW: I appreciate that. As a father seeing Mitch live out his dream, how proud of that are you? Wally: It was actually a relief. Mitch has been keen on pursuing AFL for a long time so it was good to see him go to the Bulldogs. Sue (my wife) and I watch the game differently than when I played. When you talk about your children you are protective and you want the best for them. SW: Have you got any advice for me because my 12 year old is very keen and I have three coming after that. Wally: All I can say is enjoy the journey and make sure you keep their heads square on their shoulders, keep them family orientated and allow them to play their footy but entertain other aspects of their life as well. With Mitch he loves his fishing, he loves going up the bush, he is doing accounting now and he is interested in my car yards so he has many other things happening in his life apart from football. SW: You have become a very successful businessman. How did that come about? Wally: In football I had to work hard to get the best out of what I did because I wasn’t as naturally gifted as some of the other players the same with work. I always wanted to be respected as a good businessman but I wanted to have that team environment that I had through football. We have 300 staff members and I sort of feel like their coach. SW: Away from work and football, what do you like doing? Wally: I love holidays. Whenever I get the chance to do some travelling around Australia I love that sort of stuff. We are a close family, a big family, so we do a lot of that as a family. SW: Thanks for your time. A proud sponsor of the Werribee Football Club G5786194AE-a24Apr©FCNVIC.