This article by Mark Nunan of the Seymour Telegraph appeared on 22 May 1996. Uncle Jack (my grand-uncle Roderick John Maher, son of Rody Maher and Annie Buckley) was a Carlton supporter all his life.

At ninety-two years of age, Jack Maher can still vividly remember the day when his VFL career ended before it began.
A Carlton recruit of considerable talent, Maher broke his right leg in two places during the final practice match before the regular season of 1925.
“I can remember kicking four goals before I broke my leg,” said Maher. “But I was being pretty well looked after by (then captain) Pat Kennedy. He was giving me a lot of the ball.”
Reflecting of taking six months to recover from his severe leg break, Maher said pensively: “I never went down there again after that.”
The other matter which contributed to Jack never playing VFL football, was his job on the railways, which he held for 46 years.
“Working on the railways my employment came before my football,” said Jack.
“At times I would be all over the state, up at Benalla or Yarrawonga, all over the place.”
At the time, less than a decade after the cessation of the First World War, Maher had already forged a reputation as a champion left foot goal kicker with the Seymour Football Club.
In 1926, after sitting on the sidelines for the entire 1925 season, Maher resumed with Seymour and kicked 12 goals in his first match back against Yea. In his next two games he kicked bags of eight and seven goals, taking the three-game total to 27.
Jack is quite confident that he is the oldest living member of the Seymour Football Club, having taken over the mantle when Percy Ballantine passed away three or four years ago.
He spent 15 years of his life playing for Seymour, between 1920-1935.
Despite never having played a game with Carlton, his loyalty for the club has stretched over three-quarters of a century.
“It would be an understatement to say I was wrapped to see them win the flag last year,” said Jack.