It's second nature for the CDHBU stalwart to lend a helping hand, having held numerous roles with the club.

The 52-year-old caught up with The Border Mail in Coreen this week.

Georgia Smith: Where did the nickname 'Buzz' come from?

Dean Fitzgerald: When I was coaching a few years back the movie had just come out. On presentation night the boys usually give a gift thanking the coach. They handed me a bag and it had all of this Buzz stuff in it because they thought I looked like Buzz Lightyear. It sort of stuck after that.

GS: How'd you feel about that?

DF: You can't do much about it, they're going to call you what they're going to call you. It's just how it is.

GS: You've played a fair few senior and seconds games?

DF: A bit over 400. More in the twos and 130 in the seniors. I played 50 in the twos in Corowa.

GS: Where did it all start?

DF: I actually started here when I was about 10. My father (Pat) coached a side called the Rejects. In those days we had an abundance of boys playing footy and boys that couldn't get a game, because there was no thirds at the time. Dad and a few others organised to have the kids who weren't getting a game to come out here. Coreen were red and white and we wore red and black, the old Corowa jumpers, because they didn't have any jumpers for them. It wasn't played for points at the start and over the years they started playing for points. Dad used to get them off the streets and get them playing footy. A few mates I went to school with started in the Rejects. It was good to start here and finish here with them.

GS: What was next?

DF: Then I went to Corowa-Rutherglen in the Coreen League and played in the under-16s. The progression was in the old days that if you were good enough and wanted to test yourself you'd go and play under-18s for Corowa. You'd get a mixture of kids from Wahgunyah, Corowa, Rennie, Buraja and Coreen merging. If you couldn't make it you'd come back out to the clubs in the surrounding area. It'd be like a revolving door, kids go in and the older blokes who had finished or can't make it come back out to the clubs. We're finding it hard to get kids to play these days, it's a lot different.

GS: Did watching your dad make you want to coach?

DF: Yeah it did. I just thought I wouldn't mind trying it. Just putting something back into the kids and seeing them grow up and play senior footy. I felt a bit proud of those kids.

GS: Any players stand out?

DF: Mick Collins played 200 games in Corowa. There's a few others, like Xavier Mardling, Nathan Rhodes and Corey Smith. At one stage we had four of five kids playing seniors at Corowa. It's good to watch them grow up into men. You hope that what you've put into them they've taken out. You just get a feeling of satisfaction that they did listen.

GS: You've had other roles?

DF: I've been on the committee for a while, coached juniors and just helped out with the running over the last couple of years. I do the boundary just to help out.

GS: Enjoy helping the club?

DF: You get a concept of how a club runs and what happens behind the scenes. A lot of blokes do a lot more than me.The combination of Daysdale, Coreen and Buraja has been very well accepted over the years I think and it's just worked. It's various farming communities and it's just fantastic how they've got together. It's a very family oriented club and that's why a lot of young blokes like playing out here, because they enjoy it and they're looked after.

GS: Was the merger always smooth sailing?

DF: It had to be done I think. A few weren't happy with it but came around after a couple of years. I think it's worked. You couldn't have had a better bunch of people merging together. It's been really good for the community and it keeps the three communities going.

GS: Do you worry about clubs in the Corowa cluster?

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DF: You just try and do the best you can, and if we can help each other, then that's even better. A lot of clubs are doing it hard, but you just have to keep going. A lot of people around here do a lot of work.

GS: Hard with no footy this year?

DF: It was hard. You can look at it a couple of ways. I think it's benefited blokes with long-term injuries, but on the other side of the coin, you've got a few younger blokes getting used to not playing, training and getting used to more freedom on a Saturday. I know a lot of people that don't play sport are missing getting here to gather and just talk. That's the other side of it. Hopefully next year we'll be back together.

GS: Any funny football moments?

DF: You just had to be wary in the old days when the Coreen pub was going. After training you had to make sure you locked your car. A lot of farmers used to leave their doors open with the radio on and would walk out and all of a sudden be thinking 'where's my car,' and someone's taken it down the road or something.

GS: Play in any flags?

DF: A couple in the seconds. I played in one in Adelaide when I had a year in the Adelaide Amateurs. I coached the thirds in a grand final, I'm pretty proud of that.

GS: You missed out on one in 1994?

DF: I missed out on the Daysdale one. I did my knee during the year. I came back, but you can't change a side that's got momentum coming into the finals.They were a very good side. I was proud to be a part of that group. It was good for the community at the time because they hadn't seen success for a while. You saw smiles on their faces. It was good to see that people behind the club doing the hard work on the track were being rewarded. It was one of the best times, not playing in it, but for the community.

GS: You played junior footy with Robbie Walker?

DF: Yeah I played O and M school boys with Robbie. He was our number one rover, but he was a bit smaller at the time. He shot up a bit and became the good footballer he is at Rovers. He's probably one of the better footballers I've seen get around O and M.

GS: You've never been reported?

DF: I've never been one to go out and snipe or hit someone, that's not for me.

GS: Heard some sledging?

DF: There's a lot of sledging and you hear some good ones. That's why I do the boundary because you're on the ground with them and you can see and hear a few things.

GS: Still get a few games?

DF: I played a few games the year before when they were short and still train to keep fit while I can. I always bring a bag just in case.