Milestones loom large for WASPs club legend

When Wesley South Perth (WASPs) legend Murray ‘Muz’ McIntyre takes the field this Saturday against Curtin University HC, it would be easy to just look at the numbers.

They are beyond comparison – 550 first grade games, 400 goals, eight grand final appearances, three premierships.

Even the more obscure – at least 150 players have shared their first-grade game with McIntyre, he has played with father-son combo Nigel and Daniel Rayney (a quarter century apart), he has three Australian Hockey League titles – still don’t quite capture the mythos of the man.

Perhaps it is the words from his teammates at WASPs that best describe McIntyre – the record holder for most games and most goals in Western Australian hockey.

“It is like he is a mythical figure with achievements that one could only ever aspire to but realistically never reach,” said WASPs captain Cale Walsh.

“Most importantly, he has done it in a manner which has made him one of the most beloved and respected members of the WASPs HC and Hockey WA communities.”

Debuting in the same year the West Coast Eagles won their first premiership in 1992, Murray McIntyre was a late convert to hockey.

“I didn’t play hockey until I was a teenager, I played footy” said McIntyre.

“I was actually terrible at footy and because I ended up with a few concussions, I had to find a different sport.”

The teamlists of those early years reads like an honour board for hockey in WA – David Parker, Grant Mitton, Nigel Rayney, Peter Kermode and others.

In later years, McIntyre’s longevity has taken on a reverential quality – admired by his teammates or remarked upon, with a tinge of frustration, by opposition keepers on the end of another McIntyre goal.

“I think I have only missed one game in 10 years,” remarked McIntyre in 2017, as he celebrated his 500^th game, a 4-3 semi-final win over UWA on their way to another grand final appearance.

“That was because Terry Walsh (WASPs head coach) refused to play me due to injury – I could’ve played.”

While McIntyre will be found at his bar ‘Bad Apples’ in Ardross more often than the training ground these days, he has no intention of slowing down.

Renowned for his spectacular goals, including his signature ‘upright backy’, McIntyre will be looking to slot his 401^st against Curtin University Hockey Club, 3.30pm this Saturday at Perth Hockey Stadium @ Curtin University.