PROLIFIC Melbourne sportswriter Ken Piesse will return to the region he remembers from his youth, when he launches two books at the Wangaratta Rovers clubrooms on August 13.
Mr Piesse said he had often visited his grandparents in Corowa as a youngster, and had the chance to watch local stars like Neville Hogan, who is among the players featured in his new tome, 'Football Legends of the Bush'.
The book, which will be launched in August along with 'Great Australian Football Stories', delves into the backgrounds of champions who left country areas to make it in the big league, as well as those who built their football careers at home.
Mr Piesse said it was clear that sport, and particularly football, played an important role in regional areas.
"The football club is the fulcrum of the town; if the footy club goes well, everyone walks along the street on a Monday with smiles on their faces," he said.
"There have been some leagues struggling, and clubs have amalgamated, because there are not as many boys staying in the towns as there once were, but the clubs do their best.
"What is nice is that country kids invariably go back and try to give something back to the town where they started, and the book is a bit of a tribute to those guys.
As a footy-mad youngster living in the city, he said country towns were "far mysterious places that produced amazingly good footballers".
"Just about every town has a star league footballer they can hang their hat on," he said.
BY - Simone Kerwin.
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CELEBRATING BUSH LEGENDS: Ken Piesse will launch two books, including 'Football Legends of the Bush', in Wangaratta on August 13.
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Last Modified on 10/08/2011 16:29