Sport
30 May, 2024
Legend honoured
TERANG Mortlake Football Netball Club legend Wayne Reicha was in for a surprise last week when his beloved club announced a grandstand had been named after him.
The honour was unveiled last week ahead of the Bloods’ showdown with Koroit, with the grandstand adjoining ‘The Hill’ bar area renamed the ‘Wayne Reicha Stand’ denoted by a large sign.
The stand had only been renovated in recent years, with much of the work having quietly been done by Reicha himself, alongside former team mate and close friend Rob Cornelissen, in their spare time.
Cornelissen had approached the club with the idea of the renaming in Reicha’s honour, and the club quickly rallied behind the idea.
The soft spoken Reicha is not one for the spotlight, acknowledging after the unveiling he found all the attention “a bit embarrassing”.
“I’m very surprised and they definitely caught me out,” he said.
“It has been nice to have so many people congratulating me, but of course they love to take the Mickey out of me too.
“They were all laughing that they named the bar area in my name but I don’t really drink.”
Reicha insists the story of his career “gets bigger and longer as the years go by” but the numbers highlight one of the most prominent athletic talents in south west Victoria’s history.
His career spanned 342 games across three decades between 1977 and 1996.
During that time his beloved Bloods went to 10 grand finals from 50 finals appearances, winning three (1979, 1981 and 1995).
His lengthy career not only earned him a life membership with the Bloods, but in 2013 he was named to the Hampden Football Netball League Hall of Fame.
The following year became the first Hall of Famer to be elevated to Legend status.
Reicha’s prominence on the field was so infectious that in the early 1980s it was not unusual to see kids at St Thomas’ Primary School running around on the oval wearing Bloods gurneys with his iconic #29 emblazed on the back.
“I guess my brand of football was a little different to others,” he said.
“I was more focussed on speed and a play-on brand of football.
“Sometimes it resulted in some freakish things, which seemed to get people excited when I did something unusual.”
Despite the reign of success which the Bloods built over Reicha’s playing days, he said he looked back more fondly on those he had around him.
“The big memory for me is all the guys I played with,” he said.
“What we built over the years was about team playing and I think that’s still lasting now.
“That’s what it was about but I have a lot of memories of a fun time.
“The successes we had were quite good for a club of this size to be so successful during my time, that reflects on the 10 grand finals and 50 finals I played, and it speaks to the strength of the club during that time. “
Terang Mortlake Football Netball Club president Joel Crawley said Reicha and fellow players from the era of success had made the club what it was today.
“My mum and dad had a lot to do with him as a player, and as you get older you hear more and more about what a champion of the league and the club he is,” he said.
“It was always spoken about how much he looked after himself, playing to an age a good 10 years beyond when others had retired.
“It’s pretty remarkable.”
Crawley said players such as Reicha were among those to build the foundations of what the club has become today.
“We are who we are now because of blokes like Wayne,” he said.
“He’s still heavily involved in the club as a committee member and younger players have seen him around and heard about him having been the club and league games record holder.
“When players hear that, they have a lot more respect for who he is.
“It’s a great effort for him to play his whole career for the club, and it shows the bloke he is to still in 2024 be on the committee, running past player days.
“Everyone loves having him around, enjoying a chat with him, so we all wish him a big congratulations to him and his family.”
Knowing he is part of what made the club what it is today means more to Reicha than any individual accolade.
“I found the chance to play the game and be more focused on the respect of the game,” he said.
“A lot of people respect the players they play against, and vice versa.
“You’re playing for the love of the game, we’re here to play for premierships but to do so in the right way and the right manner.”
Reicha’s dedication to the Terang community, with widespread involvement in clubs and events, may be the only thing which rivals his success on the field.
Despite his lengthy community commitments, Reicha still finds the time to attend most home games and cheer on his beloved Bloods.
From now on, he’ll be doing so from a grandstand which bears his name.