Amongst them will be Merv Wegener - the current President of the Hume Football League of which Walla Walla is a member club - who’s more than qualified to cast judgment on the big bloke taken with the Blues’ second round selection (44 overall) in the recent national draft.
A life member of Walla Walla, Wegener represented the Hoppers in 304 senior matches (“and I pulled up all right too”) including 13 Grand Finals - seven of them winning ones, through the 1960s and 70s.
“I took over as President of the Hume Football League in 2000 and I have to be seen to be neutral, but when you’ve played so many games for the club you have a feel for the place and its people,” Wegener said.
“When you’re President of the League you follow every player - Justin Koschitske from Brocklesby, Adam Schneider from Osborne, and David Trotter from Lockhart - and seeing Sam Rowe drafted to Carlton is just fantastic news.
“Sam always showed ability. He always looked as though he could be something. I was a ruckman myself and I know some of these bigger guys get missed early on and I’ve always said the draft is 12 months too soon because they’re doing their VCE the year they’re drafted. So it’s great that clubs like Carlton are looking at blokes who are in their early 20s because they’re actually ready.
Wegener was adamant that in landing Rowe, Carlton had also landed “a great person and a terrific guy”.
“I haven’t seen him since he went to Norwood but he was always a humble boy, a good listener and determined. He’d be more mature now of course,” Wegener said.
“My memory of him here at Walla was that he was a good mark, a very good kick and not frightened to put his body on the line. He had all the attributes really.
“Sam’s drafting is a great thrill for everyone. To have someone you know personally make the AFL is great for the town and it’d also be nice if some compensation from the League made its way back to the club for which he originally played.”
Technically a Victorian having been born in Wodonga, Rowe was barely 12 months old when his family relocated from the Kiewa Valley across the border to Walla Walla - about 40 kilometres north of Albury - to manage a beef cattle farm.
Rowe’s formative years were spent at Walla Walla where he attended the local St Paul’s College and chased the leather for the local junior and senior Walla Walla football teams.
Established in 1903, the Walla Walla Football Club has just endured its worst season on record, its players having earned the dubious distinction of being part of the Hoppers’ first wooden spoon. The dual Essendon premiership player Merv Neagle, whose wife is a Walla Walla girl, has just been appointed senior coach, as the farming community club mounts a resurgence.
The AFL acknowledges only one footballer known to have represented Walla Walla immediately prior to his League listing - Gilbert Wardley, a one-game Essendon player in 1922. But Wegener is adamant Walla Walla can lay claim to another three - Neville Forge (a two-game South Melbourne player in 1962), Darren Holmes who famously chased down a marauding pig on the SCG, (42 matches with Sydney in 1991-’94 and 21 matches for Fitzroy 1995-96) and David Trotter, who turned out for North Melbourne in seven matches through 2007.
Now Rowe has a chance to create his own history at Carlton . . . and he knows he has the backing of the 800-strong Walla Walla population (amongst them the football club president Garry Mickan who has conveyed his best wishes to Rowe) as he readies for his senior League career.
When asked to relay a message to Rowe on behalf of the locals, Wegener enthusiastically responded “Congratulations and all the very best”.
“I know the Carlton people up here have said he’s gone to the right club - they’re all geeing for him up here - and we’ll all be watching on with great interest,” he said.
