Corryong's Evan Nicholas gearing up for his 300th match

His list of achievements is almost as long as one of his prodigious drop punts.

Nicholas is a seven-time club and two-time league best and fairest winner.

He has won three flags including coaching the Demons to their most recent premiership in 2017.

Nicholas had a stint as playing coach of the Demons for nine years as well as coaching the juniors for several years.

You can see why he has already been bestowed the honour of being awarded a life member of the Demons.

He has also been almost a permanent fixture in the Upper Murray Team of the Year and was named coach of the year in 2017.

But as glowing a CV as Nicholas boasts, there is one glaring deficiency that former team-mate Ross Hillary likes to jokingly remind him of every time they cross paths.

Hillary finished his glittering career with the Demons after playing predominantly for Albury, Holbrook and Yackandandah for the majority of his career.

The powerfully built key forward was a prolific goalkicker throughout his playing days and notched the magical 100-goal milestone on numerous occasions.

"Every time I see Ross he tells me 'you've won a few flags, a heap of club and a couple of league best and fairests but have you kicked 100 goals in a season yet?,'" Nicholas said.

"When I answer no, he says 'you might be a good player but only great players kick 100.'"

Nicholas will add another significant feat to his list of accomplishments when he plays his 300th match for Corryong against Cudgewa on Saturday.

He joins Andrew Whitehead as the most recent Demon to reach the milestone.

It is believed that the pair are the only two to achieve the feat although club records before the 1980s are sketchy at best.

It is an achievement made even more remarkable considering the Upper Murray league only comprises a 15 round season plus finals.

Nicholas made his debut as a 15-year-old in 2002 under coach Ray Mack.

He still remembers some advice he received from his father, Gordon, before his first senior match.

"Dad and I went into town before the match in the truck and while we were driving up the driveway home he said to me 'senior footy is a bit faster and has bigger bodies, so be a bit careful today son,'" Nicholas recalled

"I remember my first opponent was Federal's Scott Byatt who had muscles on muscles.

"But he was fairly slow... so his muscles didn't worry me."

Nicholas has spent his entire career in the Upper Murray league except for a season with Wodonga in 2003 where he played thirds and reserves.

"Some people are quick to point out to me that I've only ever played Upper Murray league," he said.

"Which is true except for one season at Wodonga, I played a few games at Myrtleford and did a pre-season at Sandringham.

"But I've been happy and loved playing for Corryong for the whole time."

As a teenager Nicholas quickly established himself as one of the premier players in the Upper Murray league.

The skillful midfielder attracted the attention of talent scouts from Sandringham who invited him to do a pre-season with the VFL club in 2006.

Being a Melbourne supporter, Nicholas jumped at the opportunity and relocated from the family's dairy farm in Corryong to live in Melbourne.

"My plan growing up was to be the saviour and play for Melbourne Demons," Nicholas said.

"So to be invited to train with Sandringham, I hoped was going to be a stepping stone to that.

"But I hated living in Melbourne.

"So I came home one weekend and never went back and some people probably have an opinion of me that I'm a wasted footballer.

"I think mum and dad were disappointed with my decision at the time but never really said anything to me.

"I believe everything happens for a reason and you can't look back with regret and I was never going to be a superstar and get paid $1-million a year to play.

"Yes, I probably could have gone and had a crack at the O&M I suppose but it didn't really fit in, living 30 minutes the other side of Corryong so it was two hours just to get to training.

"I received some big financial offers in excess of $1000 a game to play for a few different Hume league clubs.

"But I loved playing football for Corryong because that's where my mates were.

"I was happy doing that.

"We were also going through a drought in 2006 and it was tough on the farm for my parents which played heavily on my mind while I was living in Melbourne."

Not only did Nicholas knock back big offers to go to other clubs, he also coached the Demons for basically nothing.

"In my first coaching stint I coached from 2009-12 and money at that time was a problem for the club," he said.

"So I pretty much coached for nothing.

"I was probably saving the club $10,000 to $12,000 a season which soon adds up over four years.

"But the club is quite financially stable at the moment though and we have got enough in the bank to run the club for the next couple of years at least.

"Knowing that is worth more to me than most things and I would like to think I played a small part in that."

Nicholas has ridden all the highs and the lows with the Demons over the past two decades.

While the three flags were the ultimate high, Nicholas also remained loyal during arguably the darkest period of the club's proud history.

After losing the 2008 grand final to Bullioh the Demons hit rock bottom for a four-year stretch where they only had two wins from 58 matches which included a 30 match winless streak.

Despite hardly winning a match for four years, Nicholas said he cherished every moment of his time at the club including training.

"I think sometimes too much emphasis is put on the scoreboard and winning and losing," he said.

"Which I suppose is what we are trying to do but there is a lot more to football than just turning up and winning.

"I remember in 2009 we had a mass exodus of players and I was coaching.

"Against Bullioh one day I had to get our runner Ray Harrap, Peter (Bert Einstein) Shaw, and dad to play who were all in their late 50s at the time.

"No surprise we got thrashed by more than 200 points but I got to play with dad which is a moment I cherish.

"A lot of people say they enjoy the antics after the match most.

"But I love training and before the game most.

"Getting into the clubrooms before the game, getting your ankles strapped and having a rubdown.

"Having those conversations in the warm up has always been my favourite part of footy.

"Whether that be talking to our strapper about his cows or what the other boys in the side what they have been up to during the past week.

"Over 21-years you play with a lot of people.

"I would like to think that everyone I played with are good blokes.

"Some of the blokes I played with two decades ago, I still keep in contact with.

"This year we have got a new crop of blokes who are just as good."

Being involved in one of the longest losing streaks in league history was a bitter pill for Nicholas to swallow.

But it paled in comparison when the loyal Demon learnt the old clubrooms were set to be demolished several years ago.

A devastated Nicholas even toyed with the idea of relocating the clubrooms to the family farm and preserving their rich history.

"The hardest thing for me to get over during my footy career was the day when our old clubrooms got knocked down," Nicholas said.

"I've never had mental health problems and it was only trivial but I struggled coming to terms with that.

"Just all the history and tradition of the old clubrooms and some of the best times that I ever had were in those clubrooms.

"If I look back at all my fondest memories and favourite days, they happened in those clubrooms.

"Not even my wedding day was as good as the times I had in those changerooms.

"I always say to my wife, Samara, our wedding day was good but I knew what was happening that day.

"But footy finals and the after game shenanigans in those changerooms is something that I will cherish forever.

"I wanted to shift the old changerooms out to our farm and build a log hut out of them.

"But things changed because things had to be done quickly.

"They actually pulled the old changerooms down and burnt it all while we were playing footy one day.

"That was a sad day and a bit like a funeral for me."

While being one of the best players of your era may be good for the ego, it also ensures you have a target on your back.

Nicholas said he has been on the receiving end of several 'dog acts' from opposition players who would do almost anything to try and curb his ball winning ability.

"I've broken more than 30 ribs over the years and I estimate I have been concussed a similar amount of times," Nicholas said.

"People will read that and think whatever but I'm not exaggerating.

"A lot of them have been dog acts while a few of them have just been big hits which are a part of football.

"There was probably a five or six year period there where I may as well have been in the boxing ring. I got punched that many times.

"I actually told my wife in 2021 that if I get knocked out again that I would retire.

"By coincidence, I broke four ribs in the second match four years in a row when I was coaching and that makes for a long year.

"In 2017 I also broke several ribs as well as my sternum in the second last match of the year.

"I was on top of the footy and a heap of Bullioh players jumped on top of me and the football actually popped from all the weight and I thought I was going to die but just ended up with some busted ribs and sternum instead.

"That was painful.

"I missed the following week but played the first final.

"We won the grand final that year but I didn't really celebrate because I was in too much pain.

"But I haven't been injured for a couple of years now which is good.

"I don't think in any of those 299 games I've played so far that I haven't tried.

"I've managed to bust my body up pretty well playing footy.

"A lot of people at the club probably think I'm stupid for putting my body on the line each week."

Despite being targeted heavily by the opposition most weeks, Nicholas said he had never retaliated and thrown a punch at an opponent and had remained disciplined.

"I've never punched a bloke on the field throughout my career," he said.

"If somebody threw a punch at me, I would try to square them up when I got the next chance to tackle them.

"Yes, I have been tempted to punch quite a few blokes but I found most of them are just looking for a reaction and when you don't give them one, it annoys them more."

Nicholas revealed he had several discussions about his dozens of concussions with Brad Scott when he was in the AFL's football operations department.

"I had discussions with Brad Scott when he worked for the AFL about how many concussions I've had," he said.

"They (AFL) wanted to do a bit of a trial on my brain but then Covid hit and it didn't happen."

There have been hundreds of stories over the years about the rivalry between Corryong and Federal who up until this season had the rare occurrence of sharing the same oval.

Nicholas said it was a sad day when he learnt that the Swans were going to fold this year due to a chronic player shortage.

"I know times change," he said.

"But the town of Corryong was always thriving most when both Corryong and Federal football clubs were up and about and the rivalry was at its fiercest.

"There was a stage there where the players from the two sides didn't even speak to each other but it has mellowed a bit since I started playing.

"Society has changed and you can't get away with treating people like that any more.

"There probably has been some chicken salt added to a few of the rivalry stories over the years.

"But my sister, Nadia, married Mick Edwards from Federal who is now obviously my brother-in-law.

"I played against him and he planted a big kiss on me on the field one day which he thought was funny at the time but I certainly didn't.

"With the two different clubrooms being only 10m apart, each club used to play a few pranks on the other.

"I remember we beat Federal in a final one year and they were holding their best and fairest count that night.

"A few of us gatecrashed the presentation night and started singing the song that we made up about Federal that I can't repeat because of the foul language involved.

"My sister was still trying to fit in with the Federal crowd and she just looked at me and said 'why would you do that to me?'

Nicholas pinpointed the flag triumphs and the friendships forged along the journey as his career highlights.

"I've played in three flags and lost five," he said.

"But I would like to say my career highlight is the mates that I've made along the way.

"In 2002 was my first flag and I played with a lot of my idols in Ray Mack and Andrew Whitehead.

"In 2005 we won under Johnny Waldron who had never won a flag.

"It was with a lot of good mates and schoolmates which was a priceless feeling.

"In 2017 it was also special because I got to play alongside my brother Tom and some of the other boys his age that I had previously coached in juniors."

Nicholas, who is in his 21st year of senior football, felt his career had passed quickly and it was a sobering experience to realise that he is now the oldest player.

"I remember one night at training a couple of years ago we were jogging and it suddenly dawned on me that I was the only bloke at training over 30," he said.

"I just remember thinking 'wow, how has this happened.'

"How have I gone from a 15-year-old kid to a 34-year-old and the oldest on the side?

"The first 100 I had a fair bit of team success, the second 100 was fairly lean and the third 100 has been dealing with Covid and the debate whether the league would continue.

"I said to my wife after the first game this year, how good is it to be playing football?

"And she just looked at me like I was some sort of idiot.

"But there is nothing like playing footy once you get out on the field.

"My knees swell up after each match now and I can barely bend over for a few days. I realise now that it does get a lot harder as you get older.

"Even a night at the pub is harder to recover from.

"But I still get to do what I love most."

So how long can Nicholas see himself playing for?

"I want to at least play one senior match with my eldest boy, Harry, who is turning 12 this year," he said.

"So hopefully he should be playing seniors in three or four years time.

"My youngest bloke is Lachie and is only six, so he is probably at least ten years away from playing seniors... but I want to be retired by then.

"Hopefully anyway."

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