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Brian Millett had his first kick with the Brigades Football Club in Geraldton in 1946.
In the years since, he's played, fundraised and helped build the club rooms, served on the committee and run the bar.
His time there was only disrupted by his army enlistment during the Korean War and his work as a lobster fisher at the Abrolhos islands.
At 91, Mr Millett is still serving the club as a game time keeper, marking eight decades of involvement.
"I'll never leave there. It's like a second home," he said.
"It's just such a great club. There's always been great people running the club and I've always enjoyed sports and I've just stuck with them and enjoyed every moment."
Brian, second from top left, with the U15s team. (Supplied)
Mr Millett still remembers his first training session well. The club president who welcomed him to senior training had one leg, while his first training opponent had one arm.
"The war, you know," he said.
Off-field role helps club
Mr Millett only played a handful of seasons, but where he's had the biggest impact has been off-field.
He negotiated with a local publican to sell beer from kegs in an outside bar and the funds raised helped build their first club rooms.
"I looked after the bar and the weddings we had at the club," he said.
Mr Millett and his wife, June, are celebrating 65 years of marriage.
It is not quite as long as his commitment to the football club. However, Ms Millett and their three daughters have all contributed to its success over the years.
This has included waiting on tables at functions and serving on committees.
Loading...It was Ms Millett's idea to find a vehicle for parties and photos as an attraction to use their bar as a wedding venue, generating money to churn back into the club.
Mr Millett travelled hundreds of kilometres to the south west to bring up the 1965 Bel Air Chev which he decked out with an ice box and champagne glass holders for weddings.
"It brought in a lot of weddings because they could get the car for free," he said.
"They rung up, they wanted to hire it but I wouldn't let them, I said, 'You use our premises', so it worked."
Years of service
Mr Millett held the position of vice president for 12 years and was always on call for maintenance.
"We used to do, well, practically everything," he said.
He recalls trying to fit a wind-sock without a ladder. The task was done with the club president Barry Dalton climbing on Mr Millett's shoulders on top of a two-storey scoreboard.
"He got up on my shoulders and I stood up and we put the bolts in and down we got," he laughs.
"How we never fell off that — you would have got more than sore ribs."
Brian Millett and his wife June have been constants at the club. (Supplied)
Mr Millett saw a lot of change in his time but said one thing that remained was camaraderie.
"It's very similar to the army," he said.
"You get into a crew and you have six years, like I did. Football's the same. You can win a grand final and 50 years later you meet up and it's great, you can't get any better than that."
Fellow Brigades stalwart Gary Clark said Mr Millett's career as a cray fisherman played a big part in the club's success.
Not only did rock lobsters replace chooks as valuable raffle prizes, they would also be used to lure potential talent.
"If a new player come into town there was often half a dozen crays on his doorstep with a note from Brigades footy club," he said.
"On one occasion in 1971, we were looking for a coach and Barry Dalton had coached us and Berend Timmerman was keen to coach.
"The problem was if one of them got the job the other one wasn't going to play, so Brian used his initiative.
"There was a new guy [who] came into town, named Errol Hammond. He was a south-west footballer of note so Brian went around and saw him with half a dozen cray fish, that got him across the line and he became coach.
"Berend and Barry both played that season and we won the premiership, so we can probably thank Brian for that."
Long tenure an 'inspiration'
Club president Dean Pascoe described Mr Millett's time at the club as an "astonishing" achievement
"It's extremely hard to see anyone stick around as a club volunteer for 10 years, let alone 80," he said
"Brian still comes down every week, every home game, to help out, help open gates up or time keep, so he's still very active and it's an inspiration to see what he can do and it'll be great to have more like him around the club."
The club recently acknowledged Mr Millett's service with a presentation.
Brian Millett celebrating the Brigades Football Club 2018 premiership. (Supplied)
Mr Pascoe said the younger players were particularly engaged with Mr Millett's description of what they had done over the years to establish the club.
"To see them interact and listen to every word Brian had to say was quite fascinating, and I'm really sure Brian was humbled by it, too," he said.