No one gets past Keith
Keith Fort has been taking entry fees in the Poowong gatekeeper's box since 1984.
He is a club legend, arriving at 6am every Saturday before home games to unlock gates and change rooms, before taking up his post at the entrance to the ground.
Nobody makes it past Keith without paying, even AFL stars.
In one notable incident, a famous footballer -- who will remain nameless -- tried to get in for free. "Don't you know who I am?" he told Keith. But Keith was having none of it. "You're not getting in until you've paid," Keith shot back. The footballer's wife threw a $20 note out of the car window, and so Keith let them through.
Some try elaborate schemes to get past the gate without paying. At one point a young man pulled up to the gate and handed over $20, telling Keith it was just him in the car.
But a hawk-eyed Keith noticed three bags on the backseat. Lo and behold, two men got out of the boot when the car parked, and Keith strolled over to collect the fees he was owed and to let boys know he could not be fooled.
Keith has been to almost every home game of the past 35 years. He is on the gate at interleague and finals matches too.
He is there at every training and has a hand in almost every pie at the club, organising bar items, trainers' gear, and washing clothes left behind in the rooms.
No matter what has to be done, he never complains. "No worries" is his motto and there is a custom-made sign in the gatekeeper’s box baring those words.
Several years ago Keith had a serious health scare while on duty and was taken to hospital. But he returned to the ground before the day was finished. Nothing keeps him away from Poowong.
Sometimes people from other clubs are surprised when they came back to Poowong and see that Keith is still in his shed at the gate.
"Oh you're still here?' is the response I get," Keith says.
But Keith is not going anywhere. There is only one way he will leave Poowong.
"When I pass on I suppose..."