VAFA: Peninsula Old Boys champion Shaun Payze poised to make history
The all-time games record was set to be eclipsed this season, but these uncertain times may have changed things.
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With the football season under a cloud of uncertainty, spare a thought for Peninsula Old Boys champion Shaun Payze.
He needs one more game to reach 400 — and nine more to break the all-time VAFA record.
But, at 40, Payze knows his time in the game is limited and says he’s no certainty to play on next year.
If the coronavirus crisis wipes out the 2020 season, one of the competition’s all-time greats could sail off into the sunset, slightly unfulfilled.
“I don’t know if a year off at this stage in my life is a good thing or a bad thing,” Payze said.
“Who knows, mate. I’ll cross the bridge when I come to it.”
Payze has been keeping fit just in case — “I’m generally pretty good with the self motivation part of it” — but while going for a run this week he had to stop because of Achilles tendinitis.
Maybe his battle-weary body is trying to tell him something.
Payze, like everyone, is holding on to some hope the season — or part of it, at least — can be salvaged.
“I think the only way would be if you started in the first or second week of July, you could play everybody once and play a finals series,” he said.
“But once it gets past July I just don’t know.
“And you’ve probably got to give the teams at least two weeks to try and get going again.”
Payze said the VAFA may have more flexibility to get in some play than suburban leagues.
“The local leagues are run by the AFL basically and it sounds like the AFL are being a bit more conservative,” he said.
“The ammos aren’t as strongly tied to the AFL so they have that ability to perhaps go off script to some degree.”
Payze also worries about the financial hit clubs will take because of the coronavirus crisis.
“I’m on the committee (at Peninsula) and you look at the money we’ve spent already this year, as you do every year...buying shorts and socks that you’ve already paid for...there’s a lot of money going out and not much that’s come back in,” he said.
“There are going to be some clubs that are going to feel it.”
Should the season be condensed into a few months, Payze joked he could tick off a couple of goals and then stroll off into the sunset.
“Half a season — nine games — would get me just to the record and then I could retire,” he said.
“It would work out well, mate.”
Shaun Payze
Club: Peninsula Old Boys
Debut: 1998
Goals: 1006
*His dad, the late Travis Payze, played in St Kilda’s 1966 premiership.
VAFA games record
407 Peter Brabender (Old Paradians)
399 Shaun Payze (Peninsula Old Boys)
379 Andre Pitts (Prahran)