A YEAR is a long time in football.
It's a common saying, but for Louis Pinnuck, it couldn't be truer.
Last April the Werribee defender had to make a tough call for the greater good. A significant cork was restricting his movement, and despite having been selected for the Smithy’s VFL State Team’s clash with the SANFL, he had to withdraw from the side.
The Big V went on to lose that game to the Croweaters by 14 points, while Pinnuck watched on from the bench.
But on Saturday, redemption couldn't have been sweeter, with the VFL claiming an historic 11-point win at Tanunda Recreation Park, and Pinnuck winning the Frank Johnson Medal as best on ground for those in navy.
“I'd love to say it was an ultra team kind of decision, but I actually was nowhere near getting up,” Pinnuck told AFL.com.au of his choice to withdraw from the 2024 team.
“I actually missed the week after as well, so it just kind of shows how far away I was. But I was still pretty flat that I didn't get to play. But to play this year, yeah, so much fun.”
In true Louis Pinnuck fashion, there is a self-effacing nature to him when speaking about himself. The reality of his performance, however, speaks for itself.
Early in the game Pinnuck was a crucial presence behind the ball, with his neat kick setting up repeated attacking charges from the back half. To start the final quarter, however, South Australia was threatening to snatch yet another win and the Big V needed someone to have a moment.
Pinnuck? He had two.
The first being a mark at the top of the 50m arc where he took on the player standing the mark to dob a long-range goal, putting the VFL up by five points.
Three minutes later, he slammed home another to steady the side's lead.
“At the start of that I didn't really know what I was doing,” Pinnuck admitted.
“I was trying to kick it to the fat side and then the guy on the mark kind of overdid it, then once he stepped the wrong way, I knew I was in range so just gave it a roost and got it home… kicked another, yeah, that one (was) a bit more easy.”
They were two of the side's six fourth-quarter goals to seal the win, making it a successful weekend for the Big V, after the women's side snatched victory at Alberton Oval the night prior.
For chair of selectors Nigel Carmody, the fairytale performance from Pinnuck was the icing on the cake.
“Quite poignant that he was the one to kick those two goals in the last quarter,” Carmody said.
“We were just sitting in the rooms together chatting, and I said, ‘have you ever celebrated one in the manner that you did (today)?’ because he's quite a measured character. But there was a release of emotion from him and, I think, the team in many respects fed off that to build the lead from there. So, so happy for him.”
It is people like Pinnuck that, to Carmody, make the VFL the special league that it is.
“We were having a conversation at the team hotel this morning and again, you think the players are just players sometimes, but he's someone who even I didn't have quite the depth of understanding as to how much he is invested in the league, not just his club at Werribee, but the league and its future and its health,” Carmody said.
“We're lucky to have people like that, let alone as players, but as people.”
Now, as Pinnuck returns to reigning premier Werribee with the goal of going back-to-back, there's no reason to think he couldn't reach even greater heights.
“I'd like to not put a ceiling on it,” Pinnuck said.
