By Adam McNicol

 

IN HIS playing days, Rob Walker seemed invincible. During his 17 seasons with Wangaratta Rovers, he was rarely injured, while establishing himself as one of the greatest footballers at any level, in any competition.

 

His career with the Hawks, which was broken only by two stints at North Melbourne, was extraordinary. First a centre-half-forward, then a ruck-rover, he won the club's best and fairest award 12 times. He also won the Ovens and Murray Football League best and fairest (Morris Medal) on five occasions, and played in four premierships.

 

When he won the league and club double yet again in 2003, a season in which he also ran out for his 300th game, it seemed he might keep playing forever.

 

But in a cruel turn of events, the 2003 elimination final against Corowa-Rutherglen was his last match. Since then, Walker has battled a debilitating spinal condition. It has taken such a dramatic toll on his quality of life that he can no longer jog around the block, let alone chase a footy all afternoon.

 

"I always thought when I finished football, I would play tennis and golf and be stupid and run out in the seconds somewhere," said Walker, who needs constant medication to cope with the chronic back pain. "But I haven't run a step since 2003 when I finished playing. I've tried and I tell you what, I try once and I don't try again for another six months.

 

"It's an ongoing issue and I haven't got to the bottom of it. I've had blood tests for arthritis and lupus and all sorts of things. It's the next challenge in my life until I can work it out."

 

On Wednesday night, the spotlight shone once more on Walker's brilliant playing career, when the 39-year-old was inducted into the Ovens and Murray league's hall of fame. And the honours did not end there. Walker was also awarded legend status, confirming his position as the most decorated player in OMFL history.

 

Walker is only the second person to be proclaimed a legend since the OMFL Hall of Fame was founded in 2005. The first was administrator Cleaver Bunton, who served the league for 63 years.

 

"I was honoured and I didn't feel comfortable up there because so many people have given so much service for all of their lives and I just played footy that I love," Walker said. "It's a fantastic accolade and I'm really humbled by it. You never feel deserving of anything like that.

 

"People ask me about games or goals or marks I took and I have this vague recollection of those things. What I really remember are the supporters and the blokes I played with. I remember when I went crayfishing with the boys one Sunday or on a wood drive. They're the things that I really cherish."

 

Wednesday night's function was, first and foremost, a celebration of a true champion.

 

"One of the best things about the night was once the formalities were over, I just talked footy with footy blokes," Walker said. "I love that sort of thing."

 

But it also enabled those present to empathise with Walker's fight against ill-health. His doctors remain divided over whether the spinal condition is related to an old football injury.

 

"Some people say it's a deterioration thing but others say that it didn't matter whether you played footy or not, this was going to happen," Walker said. "No one has given me a definitive answer."

 

Surgery in 2005 has only made matters worse.

 

"That deteriorated my spine. It certainly didn't do what I was hoping for. Sadly, there's a lot of people in my situation, suffering constant pain, and they don't always find out what the cause is."

 

With three young children, Walker is no longer involved with Wangaratta Rovers in an official capacity.

 

"I will be down the track," he said. "But I'm in a period of my life where I probably needed to pull away from it. I think it's healthy to do that for a while. I still always watch how they go and I sometimes sneak down and watch training."

 

However, Walker, a school teacher at Galen Catholic College in Wangaratta, says standing behind the fence makes him "desperately" miss the game.

 

"I didn't go out the way I wanted to. You just get down there and you miss playing and you miss training and all the bull---- that goes with it. It's just one of those things you've got to cope with."

 

As Walker has battled with his health, his former club also has found the going tough. In fact, the Hawks have not made the finals since their favourite son stopped playing. They have even begun regularly losing to their cross-town rivals, the Wangaratta Magpies.

 

Two weeks ago, in a scoreline unheard of when Walker was in his prime, the Magpies beat the Hawks by 90 points and moved a game clear on top of the ladder. Former Carlton onballer Jon McCormick continued his great year with another best-on-ground performance, which confirmed him as favourite to win the Morris Medal.

 

For the Magpies, who are now coached by Jason Lappin (brother of Carlton's Matthew Lappin), success in September would break a premiership drought that extends back to 1976. It also would cap their recent transformation from easybeats to legitimate finals contenders.

 

Still burning in the memories of Magpies' supporters are the six wooden spoons in a row the club won between 1997 and 2002. But the Hawks' rather remarkable season is still alive as well. They started by losing their first six games, which was the club's worst start to an OMFL season since it entered the competition in 1950.

 

Then they won their next seven matches, including upset victories over premiership contenders Yarrawonga and North Albury.

Even the recent mauling at the hands of the Magpies hasn't derailed their campaign. Last Saturday, they rebounded to defeat Wodonga Raiders by 121 points.

 

While it seems unlikely the Hawks have the depth to win their first flag since 1994, even a hardened Rovers man such as Walker can see some romance in the prospect of the Magpies holding the premiership cup.

 

"They're a super side. I can't see anyone getting close to them. I'd be happy for them if they won it. It would be good for the club and good for the town."

Article first appeared: The Age August 5, 2007