The former Lavington cricketer and country footballing legend savored the highs with premierships and medals and hit rock bottom when he almost lost his life 12 years ago.

Coulston caught up with The Border Mail's BRETT KOHLHAGEN earlier this week.

BRETT KOHLHAGEN: You're in Cricket Albury-Wodonga and the Hume Football Netball League's Hall of Fame. Is there one moment that stands above everything else in your cricket and football career?

DAVID COULSTON: Playing on the MCG in the Melbourne Country Week final in 1990. There was no-one there except for a little group right up in the stands. All I could hear when I ran in was 'how old is the bowler?'. You could hear it as clear as anything. They gave me plenty. Everyone wants to play at the MCG and I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity.

BK: And you nearly missed that opportunity didn't you?

DC: I did. I missed out on a game for the ABCA on the opening day so I told them I would be going home on the train the next day if they didn't pick me. I could never previously go to Country Week because of my work and was adamant I didn't go to Melbourne to carry the drinks. Anyway, I told them I'd go home on the train and to this day I'm called 'Choo Choo' by blokes like Steve Wilson, Steve Felstead, Wayne McLennan and Garry Purtell.

BK: I asked Lawrence Hodgkin the same question the other week, do you rate yourself a better cricketer of footballer?

DC: Probably cricketer. I liked both the same though. Every year I played them both from 1974 to 2006. My last senior game was for Rand-Walbundrie against Culcairn and I couldn't get a kick, couldn't chase and couldn't do anything so I thought that was no good.

BK: That's a long time, what would you have done in your life without sport?

DC: I guess I'll find out in the next four weeks or so with this coronavirus. I play golf with my son Daryl so hopefully they don't call that off too.

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BK: You played for 10 footy clubs, umpired and lined up for four cricket clubs. You would have come across some characters?

DC: Without a doubt in the world. I couldn't tell you half the stories, but we had a good one at Country Week one year. We were in a topless bar at the Royal Hotel across the road from the MCG. We all walked out and someone, who shall remain nameless, threw a billiard ball which somehow went across six lanes of Punt Road traffic and through a window of this pub. The next thing you know we are sitting in a bus near the Punt Road changerooms and this mob of bikies came up and were shaking the bus. They demanded we tell them who threw the billiard ball. We were sitting there shaking like shit.

BK: I take it nobody handed the culprit up?

DC: We didn't but some blamed me because I was the last one out of the hotel. I remember Anthony McIvor being there.

BK: You played in five flags in the 1980s for Lavington. You must have played alongside some very good cricketers?

DC: Peter White was the best I've played with. He always excelled in the finals and Graeme Hicks ran the whole cricket club and was the brains behind it all. Craig Hogan was very good, Barry Wise was very good and Adrian Koschel was very good. I think five of us played in all of them. We never lost players back then and still don't.

BK: Lavington named its weekly players' player award after yourself and Peter White didn't it?

DC: It was sensational of the club to do that. I present the winner each year. There is one named after my late mother, Gladys, for the player championship out at Kiewa as well which goes back to 1980. When I present it I always tell the player to thank their mum and dad for carting them around the countryside because you can't do it by yourself.

BK: You are quiet by nature but I'm told you gave Matt Armstrong a fair serve at Tallangatta a few years ago?

DC: He wouldn't walk after hitting it to first slip. When he did get bowled I just told him it hit the stumps so it was probably time to go .

BK: You've bowled to some good players over the years?

DC: Michael Slater when he was a kid in the O'Farrell Cup at the Urana Road Oval. Dom Thornely was another one in an ABCA grand final when he batted right through the innings for East Albury. You could tell he was going to be good. I bowled to Andrew McDonald at the Albury Sportsground when he was 13 or 14. The poor little bugger couldn't hit it off the square because he was so small but you could tell he had every skill. My biggest claim to fame was getting England's Allan Lamb out in the nets at Lavington before the World Cup match against Zimbabwe. I let people know about that one for a while (laughs).

BK: You have been Lavington's bowling coach for the past seven years haven't you?

DC: My best mate Mick Brown was a good cricketer and should be doing it but he reckons his boys, Ryan and Nathan, wouldn't listen to him.

BK: If you didn't play the most games for ABCA, you were close when the association equalled Cootamundra's 28 straight wins in the O'Farrell Cup from 1987 to 1989.

DC: My wife, Jo, came and watched most of the time and helped Joe (Wooding) with the afternoon tea. Beryl Edwards was there as well. We played virtually every Sunday for two years over the summer. We had a group of us who played a lot of cricket.

BK: You have enjoyed your home club Kiewa's district grand final win over Yackandadah last weekend?

DC: As soon as Lavington finished, I got in the car and went out to Baranduda. I sat next to Craig Davis and watched them win. There was no bigger thrill than watching Jason and Josh Bartel bat together. Jason Bartel was that height when he started at about 14. Graeme Edwards invited me into the rooms after for a yarn which was good. I don't drink anymore and am the most boring man in Australia but that was really good.

BK: There is a story behind you giving up the drink isn't there. Would you like to talk about that?

DC: I went to the ABCA presentation night on a Friday night about 12 years ago. Back then you paid $100 for as much as you could drink and I, stupidly like everyone else back then, drank far too much and fell from the top tier to the bottom at the SS and A Club. I was unconscious for two or three days and had brain damage (points to head). It was six months before I could do anything.

BK: It must have been a long way back?

DC: I couldn't drive a car or anything and had to relearn pretty much everything. They told me I couldn't drink for a year and I had a night when I was coaching Border-Walwa in the footy and shouldn't have. When I came home that night my wife said if you ever do that again that's it. I don't drink anymore.

BK: I imagine the accident could have been much worse?

DC: I should be dead, definitely, or paralyzed. My son got to the hospital and he said dad won't want to live if he can't walk or run. He was thinking they were going to turn the thing off. Ash Sutherland was the first there to pick me up. It was my stupid fault.

BK: You played 562 senior matches of football. Which club did you play your best footy for?

DC: Probably the year I had at East Lavington in 1982. I think I kicked 17 goals against Reggie Star one day and 98 for the year from centre-half forward.

BK: Did you like coaching as much as playing?

DC: Yeah, I did. I think I coached at eight or 10 clubs. I enjoyed helping the young fellas. At Rand you had no-one and I'd have to get players out of the cars to play seconds. We struggled but it was a great little club. The most I ever got for coaching was $4500 at Rand. I think coaches get $30,000 or $40,000 these days. I had a bar tab at every club I played for and I'd put virtually all the money I'd earned back over the bar.

BK: You rated Andrew Harvey highly as a player at Rand didn't you?

DC: He's probably the best I've seen in the country leagues. Fantastic he was. Des Feuerherdt was the other one.

BK: You played under some big names like Ray Smedley, Bran Gilchrist, Ken Roberts, Tony Heather, Des Richardson, Jack Clancy and Doug Norton-Smith. That's an impressive list

DC: They were all good, I was lucky. Doug Norton-Smith and Ray Smedley were probably the two most influential coaches I played under. I tried to use what I'd learnt from their coaching when I started.

BK: So Doug taught you more than just how to drink at Walla?

DC: Doug trained us until 8.15pm one night and we didn't leave the pub until 2.30am. Every time we were about to leave Russell Milne would shout us a round. There were six or seven in the shout like Doug, David McNeil, John McPherson, myself, Rodney Holmes, Ritchie Voss and Trevor Merkel. Russell Milne was an unbelievable publican.

BK: How many years did you umpire?

DC: I did about 200 games.

BK: Is it fact or a myth that you looked after the Lavington cricketers when it came to handing out the votes?

DC: There is a bit of truth in that. I gave Ryan Brown a vote at Bullioh once when they smashed someone by 30 goals and he played across half-back and had five or 10 kicks. Andrew Mackinlay and Sam Harris from Holbrook got looked after as well I think (laughs). I couldn't get Brad Dalbosco from Barnawartha in the votes once against Wodonga Saints though. He told me he didn't waste a possession but I said you probably only had five or six. I didn't like giving votes to players with pony tails or man buns though.

BK: You have always loved watching local sport?

DC: I've played with a lot of clubs and always know someone who is playing. It's been a sensational way of meeting people. My wife, Jo, and kids, Nikole, Daryl, Emma, got involved in everything I did along the way.

BK: OK, let's finish with one last story because you've had a few of them.

DC: A bloke at Rand called 'Hooter' (Ben) McLellan had a pet sheep. He brought it into the pub one night and it fit right in with the boys. Then we decided to go back to 'Hooter's' place so we piled into the back of a ute and went through all these gates and paddocks to get to his house. When he got to his place the sheep just sat on the couch with us and watched television. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen.