In another life away from football, Brett Peake was content enjoying the solitude of mustering cattle in the Pilbara.
But a move 2000 kilometres south to Albany has the 39-year-old accustomed again to the hordes of adoring backslappers.
The son of legendary West Australian Brian, Peake played 75 games for Fremantle and 43 more at St Kilda until 2012.
This year Peake re-ignited his passion for footy as a player-coach at the success-starved Albany Sharks.
"I said, yeah, let's give it a crack ... and see if I can help out a club that has struggled," he told ABC Great Southern radio.
The Great Southern Football League franchise had recorded two wins across 13 seasons since its 2008 debut.
It took 60 attempts into a fourth season to crack that inaugural victory and a further three for a second, but after suffering for seven more winless years, the larger-than-life AFL hero had them popping champagne corks like they won a premiership.
Six wins in 15 matches and another in their groundbreaking finals campaign gave the team something to sing about.
When Peake tied up the boots for the Sharks this year, they won six times in the first eight games and had the faithful believing the impossible was possible.
"It didn't take me by surprise that when I first came down, I just knew the club was going somewhere - just the young kids' eagerness to learn," Peake said.
The sharpshooter kicked 70 goals for the season - including 13 in one appearance.
But it was the crucial six goals in an eight-point victory against Royals in a semi-final that sent the Sharks into a frenzy, before adding four over Mt Barker to win by 54 points in the preliminary final.
But in Sunday's season decider, Peake's five goals were not enough in a 29-point loss to defending premiers Railways.
"Once you make the grand final, there's no next week," Peake said.
But there is a next year, for not only Albany Sharks, but for Peake finding that elusive premiership flag.
Peake and his family have fallen in love with Albany, ditching their caravan to call the south coast town home.
"We've just fallen in love with the place and the footy club, and the people around it," Peake said.
"We call it home now and to be honest, I can't really see us leaving anytime soon."
Story by Andrew Mathieson.
