THE Poyner bloodline is a famous one at Nullawil Football Netball Club.
You can trace it back to Lindsay Poyner and Keith “Doey” Poyner, who played 412 games for the club between 1967-2004.
On the weekend, Keith’s son Matt joined him in the 400 club at Nullawil, becoming the seventh man to do so in the reserves draw at Moulamein.
The milestone was an unexpected one for Matt, but he’s proud of it, especially with father Keith in attendance.
“He was pretty happy to see me get it, which makes it a bit more enjoyable, too,” Poyner said.
“But I’m pretty proud myself – it’s been a good journey along the way and something I didn’t set out to do, but I just love playing footy and the social side to it.
“I’ve been at the one club my whole life, and it’s a great place to be at, with good people.”
He was brought down to the club as a junior under the watchful eye of his father and grandfather, Lindsay, and he was a part of the club’s only under 13s flag in 1995.
Poyner would go on to play his first reserves game the following year and made his senior debut in 1998 – The first of 181.
“Back in the day, it was just good fun with my age group – there was a group of seven or eight of us, and we all wanted to play footy together and ended up having a bit of fun along the way,” Poyner said.
Poyner played in another seven premierships for the club, including two senior flags in 2001 and 2019 and captaining the 2012 reserves premiership side.
“All of them are pretty special – I was only 18 when I won my first and was pretty young and naïve,” Poyner said
“I didn’t appreciate it enough, but I definitely did the last one.
“When I did play in the reserves, we won a few with good teams, and they were just a bunch of ripper blokes.”
The celebrations following these successes are something Poyner will remember.
“There’s been plenty of great off-field moments, and I’ve definitely had a lot of fun, especially the Sunday and Mondays after winning a flag,” he said
Poyner plans to continue playing, which will see him go past his father’s 412 game mark.
“It’s getting harder every week, but I’ll plan on having a run around again next season and see where I end up,” he said.
“I still enjoy it, and I’ve been around a fair while now, so I’ve got to know a few blokes from the opposition sides and made some good friendships.”
The loss of Quambatook, where some of these friendships have been made, is something that dispirits Poyner and leaves him worried for the future of local country footy.
“It’s really saddening, and I think it’s a sign of the future for other clubs too, unfortunately,” he said.
“Even with our juniors, it just gets more challenging every week. Our under 14s are running out with 13 or 14.”
