He played in 18 final series in two decades... not bad for a bloke known universally as ‘Skinny'...  Much-travelled Ian ‘Skinny' Shiner was one of bush football's lucky ones. He played in 18 final series in 20 years of senior footy. Particularly cherished was his involvement in back-to-back Kyabram & District flags with Avenel in 1978-79, the club's first successes since the Great Depression.

‘In ‘78 we went unbeaten all season,' Shiner said. ‘We were all country lads and got together at the right time. The town had been starved for success for so long. The footy was the biggest thing in town. No-one really got near us all year, though in the Grand Final (against Lancaster) we were four goals down at three-quarter time and ended up winning by six. Our coach was taking to us at that last break and one of the boys winked at me. He wasn't paying a skerrick of notice. The moment I saw that wink I knew we were going to win. We had that mentality that we could win from anywhere.'

A relief officer for Australia Post, Shiner was shuffled from town to town and would wander down to the local footy club and ask if he could have a run. ‘I ended up playing finals in all but two of my 20 seasons,' he said. ‘I just got lucky. No matter where I was posted, we ended up having a pretty good year.'

He played in 11 Grand Finals for four flags including the big double at Avenel, the highlight of his 12 playing years there. Previously he'd played at Woodend, Donald, Kyneton and Seymour.

After his playing days ended at 36, he became secretary and president at Avenel and his sons Justin and Ricky each played 100-plus games there.

Asked to name his favorite player over the years, he said it was a one-horse race. ‘Definitely Ian "Bluey" Shelton,' he said. ‘He was an Avenel boy when he started and he finished up there too, in between having all those terrific years at Essendon. Sometimes when these guys finish up and come back to coach in the bush they're not worth two bob. But Bluey was straight as a gun barrel and had real presence on and off the field. He'd been a tough player in Melbourne but he just played footy in the bush. Blokes would try and snipe him and he'd let it all go. They played for sheep stations down there, but not up here.'

Shelton was also responsible for Shiner's nickname. ‘I was leaning against the door of the change rooms at Seymour one day and Bluey came along, picked me up with one arm and said: "Get out of the way skinny". I was only 12 stone (76 kg) at the time. Skinny I was and Skinny I have remained!'

• Excerpts from Football Legends of the Bush, Ken Piesse's 64th book, just published by Penguin.

Prolific sports writer KEN PIESSE's new book FOOTBALL LEGENDS OF THE BUSH has just been published. It features home town heroes and those who came and conquered. An ‘A to Z' town by town list of every important player to play at VFL/AFL level is also included. For more, visit Ken's website www.cricketbooks.com.au

By Ken Piesse

Article first appeared www.vcfl.com.au August 24, 2011