Swan Districts veteran Tony Notte is set to break WAFL legend Bill Walker's games record for the club this Saturday. Notte equalled Walker's 305 games against Claremont before the club's bye last weekend. The 34-year-old would have already surpassed Walker's tally had the four-times Sandover medalist not elected to play on for one final season in 1976.
Nearly 50 years on, Walker admits he should have retired at the end of 1975, a few games shy of the 300-game milestone. 'It was a sad day because I hardly got a kick,' the 83-year-old Walker said of his final game at age 36. He had retired at the start of the season but was asked to return due to club problems. 'I'd done no pre-season…I struggled through about a dozen games or something and then I just said look this is crazy I can't help anymore.'
Walker, who still attends every Swans home game with his wife Glenyce, said he had never put pressure on Notte about breaking the record. 'Records are made to be broken,' he said. Walker's career was celebrated at a West Perth lunch earlier this month, where he recalled how he could have ended up at West Perth in 1960 but left after no one spoke to him. He went on to win three premierships with Swans from 1961 to 1963.
Walker, inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996, praised Notte's dedication, noting he travels from Bunbury or Busselton each week to play. 'It's a great credit to the young fellow for what he's done,' Walker said.
