JUDD Porter can still hear Jon Henry’s voice.
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“Get up!” then Wangaratta coach Henry yelled as Porter lay on the ground.
No more than 30 seconds into his senior career, the skinny teenager had already been crunched by Lavington legend Tim Sanson while sitting under a high ball.
It was the first time Porter put himself in the firing line for the Magpies.
It wasn’t the last.
As usual, Porter got back up and went on with it, something he’s done countless times since.
Tough, courageous, honest and committed, few players have earned the level of respect Porter commands in the Ovens and Murray.
Whether it’s going back with the flight, or helping out a teammate in trouble, it seems Porter’s habits started right from that very first contest back in round 1, 2003.
“I can still hear Henry’s ruthless voice telling me to get up,” Porter recalled with a grin ahead of his 200th game.
“I remember getting a call from him the night before the match to tell me I was playing and being fairly pumped.
“He told me to just try and get an early tackle or smother to get myself going.
“In my first 30 seconds I had to sit under a ball in a marking contest and Sanson’s big rig ran through my frail little frame, half-concussing me in the process.
“I spent a good slice of that game warming the pine.”
But it didn’t dampen Porter’s appetite for the contest.
If anything, it enhanced it.
He has been a linchpin in Wangaratta’s defence since.
Not that he hasn’t tried his best to get out of there.
“Once you get earmarked as a defender I think it’s a life sentence,” Porter said.
“I still like to tell myself that one day they will shift me up forward for a bit of glory.”
Not that glory is something that’s eluded him.
It’s one of the most overused lines in footy, but there is next to nothing Porter hasn’t done in his career.
Appointed Wangaratta’s captain at 21, Porter went on to win the club’s best and fairest award in 2006 before leading the Pies to their first premiership in more than 30 years the following season.
He also coached the club from 2010-12.
But there’s no doubt the 2007-08 premierships sit at the top of his highlight tree.
“I’ve got very fond memories of both years,” Porter said.
“2007, in particular, because the competition was very even.
“Yarrawonga was the team to beat that year, in my opinion.
“They got us by almost 100 points in the last home and away game but we held onto top spot by 0.1 per cent, which gave us the first week off.
“They went out in straight sets and we never had to play them again, much to our delight.”
While the drama of grand final day is often hard to overlook, it’s the 2007 preliminary final against an in-form Wodonga at Albury Sportsground that remains Porter’s most memorable contest.
“The build up in the rooms was something I’d never been involved in,” Porter said.
“We hadn’t won a flag in 31 years and it was fair to say we were keen to do whatever it took to get another crack at North Albury, who had beaten us the week before.”
As history would tell you, the Pies got that chance.
Wangaratta ran out 51-point winners in a grand final largely remembered for the Hoppers’ treatment of star Magpie Jon McCormick.
“I remember being right under the pump early,” Porter said.
“North should have put us away in the first quarter but missed a heap of shots.
“Hoppa (McCormick) was carrying a busted shoulder and he must have had some lovely cologne on because he started getting more attention than the football itself.
“My memory of the game is a bit hazy but the rest is just a memory I’m happy to be a part of.”
Almost fittingly, Porter will reach his milestone against North Albury today.
Now 30, Porter has reached the point in his career where the question about his future starts to get asked.
The Oxley Primary School teacher has no plans of calling it quits any time soon.
“I’m still enjoying it and while that feeling is around, I’ll keep playing,” he said.
“Lukey Mullins and I often share a laugh about enjoying our twilight while we warm our bodies up in the warm up.
“Playing alongside Daine is also still a big thing for me.
“He clocks up 200 himself shortly. Playing so much footy with my brother is something I’ll look back on and always be thankful for.”