BOBBY’S LAST BASH
BOBBY Wallace has never played in a senior grand final.
And if he had taken the advice of his doctor seven years ago, Wallace would have ended his career without the opportunity to taste the spoils of a premiership.
Instead, the battle-weary Barwon Heads playing coach will defy the odds and challenge for a flag more than a decade in the making.
“It’s been 13 years and I haven’t had the opportunity to play in a grand final,” Wallace said ahead of today’s clash against Modewarre.
“I’m just rapt that the club is seeing some on-field success because it’s been a really strong club for a long time but we haven’t had that on-field success.
“Hopefully we can get the job done.”
It was back in December of 2011 when Wallace was told he would never play football again.
“I had surgery that year and it wasn’t a great outlook for my hip,” Wallace said.
“The surgeon suggested that I stop doing anything physical … running or football, and I was done and dusted for 12 months.
“It’s pretty common these days and a lot of footballers go through it. But when the surgeon got in there he realised that there was a fair bit more damage than just an impingement.
“I had a labral tear and all the cartilage was ripped apart. He didn’t even do the surgery he set out to do.
“He did a microfracture of the hip bone to create some scar tissue to give me some protection of the hip. It was a lengthy recovery.”
What followed was a frank conversation with the surgeon, who suggested Wallace hang up the boots.
But the midfielder was having none of it.
“I got some other opinions from physios and sports doctors and they said that I won’t do myself any good, but I might be able to limit the damage by doing exercises and getting treatment and I haven’t had any issues with it since,” Wallace said.
“We managed to get it right, and I’ll probably suffer down the track, but I’ve got another five or six years of senior footy out of myself, so that’s been really pleasing.”
However, the curtain will close on a glittering career tomorrow, win or lose at Mortimer Oval.
The 30-year-old will rest his tired body and relinquish the coaching role that he has shared with Mitch Herbison.
“With the coaching, I wasn’t going to do that as well, so I let the club know because that’s the time when we start pencilling in players for next year,” Wallace said of his decision to retire prior to the finals.
“I just wanted to be open and honest with them so they knew I wasn’t going to be doing it.”
The Seagulls, bidding to break a 25-year premiership drought, will return for a second-straight finals campaign.
But it will be only Wallace’s second final since 2015, having missed Barwon Heads’ return to September last season with a hamstring injury.
He played in the side that thumped the Warriors by 63 points in the second semi-final, earning a fortnight’s break.
The Seagulls will take in an unchanged side, having opted against recalling star Tim Wight.
“Timmy’s one of about three of four who are unlucky not to be running out,” Wallace said.
“He had a really serious ankle injury about Round 3 and he came back for the last two home and away games, but unfortunately our back six was really settled and that’s the back six we’re going with.
“He did get himself right, he said he was 100 per cent fit, but he had a long period of time out of the game which allowed other guys to cement their spots. At his best, he’s definitely in our best 22. He’s been a great contributor to our club for a long time now and it was difficult for him to miss, but that’s footy.
“It was going to be difficult to leave someone out of the side that won by 10 goals in the semi.”
Kai Copland, Lachlan Slorach and Michael Philp will also join Wight on the emergency list.
“It’s part of the job that no one likes,” Wallace said of the agonising decision to inform the quartet that they wouldn’t play.
“We thought it was the best side that’s going to help us to win a grand final.
“It’s not easy telling someone that they’re not playing in a grand final — we feel for them — but it’s just one of those things in footy.
“There’s always a hard luck story and unfortunately we’ve got a few this year.”