It was AFL Grand Final day, and Wanganeen, a favourite son of the Port Adelaide Football Club playing in its first 'Last Saturday in September', kicked four goals in a starring performance for the Power.
The club won the day and with it confirmed its place among the great sides of the modern elite game.
Wanganeen had won premierships at both AFL level - in 1993 with Essendon - and Port Adelaide - in his debut SANFL season in 1990.
This was a different grand final, though.
By 2004, he was a club best and fairest and had been its inaugural AFL captain.
He shared the day with players he had both grown up alongside and played with in the club's black and white jumper.
His daughter, Mia, and son, Tex, were watching in the stands.
But amid the euphoria of the celebrations - holding the silver trophy, receiving his premiership medallion, singing the song with his teammates - Wanganeen would be deprived of one of the most cherished souvenirs of any premiership player.
His guernsey.
It was the one thing he left the home of football without.
On Thursday, nearly 10 years after the fact, it was returned to him.
Gavin Waganeen in his 2004 premiership guernsey celebrating one of his four goals. Picture: GSP Images
Wanganeen, believed his grand final jumper was taken from his bag in the Power's change rooms after the match.
He shared the day with players he had both grown up alongside and played with in the club's black and white jumper.
His daughter, Mia, and son, Tex, were watching in the stands.
But amid the euphoria of the celebrations - holding the silver trophy, receiving his premiership medallion, singing the song with his teammates - Wanganeen would be deprived of one of the most cherished souvenirs of any premiership player.
His guernsey.
It was the one thing he left the home of football without.
On Thursday, nearly 10 years after the fact, it was returned to him.
Gavin Waganeen in his 2004 premiership guernsey celebrating one of his four goals. Picture: GSP Images
Wanganeen, believed his grand final jumper was taken from his bag in the Power's change rooms after the match.
He had hoped it would return throughout the course of the past decade.
A key part of Port Adelaide’s emerging force of the late nineties and early 2000s, Wanganeen retired in 2006 and has been a frequent and popular figure around the club as both a mentor and Aboriginal program ambassador since.
It was only natural that the club would launch a concerted campaign to, hopefully, recover the guernsey of one of its favourite sons in time for this year's premiership reunion.
Several failed leads had originally led the club to dead ends, but one call - an anonymous tip-off received midway through the season - was more promising.
The club arranged for current Port Adelaide assistant coach Josh Carr to receive the guernsey after the Power’s Round 17 match at Etihad Stadium - it was the real deal.
Then, as part of an elaborate ploy to surprise the club legend with the return of his jumper, senior coach Ken Hinkley asked Wanganeen to speak to the club's current playing group on the pressure of expectation shared by both the current squad and his 2004 team.
It was following that presentation that an astonished Wanganeen was presented his old strip by current Power veteran and 2004 premiership player, Kane Cornes.
(L-R) Dom Cassisi, Warren Tredrea, Kane Cornes, Gavin Wanganeen, Toby Thurstans and Michael Wilson with Gav's guernsey in front of the 2004 premiership pennant. Picture: Lewis Stevenson
“It’s an amazing feeling to be able to get this jumper back,” Wanganeen said.
“I haven’t seen it in 10 years since I last took it off after the grand final and jumped into the shower.
“I remember putting into my bag – that was the last time I saw it until 10 minutes ago when I was lucky enough to lay my eyes on it again.
“It’s an amazing feeling, I’d pretty much given up and was resigned to the fact that I’d never see it again."
Sometimes the football gods smile on a club, or a player.
This is one of the feel-good stories of Port Adelaide's year, and for a champion of the club and the game, Wanganeen now has the chance to fulfill his dream of handing the guernsey onto his children who watched from the stands on the day.
“It means that it will be able to stay in my family, that I’ll be able to hand it down to my son, Tex," Wanganeen said.
“I can get it framed now, put it on the wall somewhere and regularly look at it and be reminded of that great day in 2004 when our great Port Adelaide footy club won our first premiership in the AFL.”
Wanganeen was joined at Alberton by former premiership teammates Carr, Warren Tredrea, Kane Cornes, Michael Wilson, Toby Thustans and the recently retired Dom Cassisi for the reunion of player with jumper.
A key part of Port Adelaide’s emerging force of the late nineties and early 2000s, Wanganeen retired in 2006 and has been a frequent and popular figure around the club as both a mentor and Aboriginal program ambassador since.
It was only natural that the club would launch a concerted campaign to, hopefully, recover the guernsey of one of its favourite sons in time for this year's premiership reunion.
Several failed leads had originally led the club to dead ends, but one call - an anonymous tip-off received midway through the season - was more promising.
The club arranged for current Port Adelaide assistant coach Josh Carr to receive the guernsey after the Power’s Round 17 match at Etihad Stadium - it was the real deal.
Then, as part of an elaborate ploy to surprise the club legend with the return of his jumper, senior coach Ken Hinkley asked Wanganeen to speak to the club's current playing group on the pressure of expectation shared by both the current squad and his 2004 team.
It was following that presentation that an astonished Wanganeen was presented his old strip by current Power veteran and 2004 premiership player, Kane Cornes.
(L-R) Dom Cassisi, Warren Tredrea, Kane Cornes, Gavin Wanganeen, Toby Thurstans and Michael Wilson with Gav's guernsey in front of the 2004 premiership pennant. Picture: Lewis Stevenson
“It’s an amazing feeling to be able to get this jumper back,” Wanganeen said.
“I haven’t seen it in 10 years since I last took it off after the grand final and jumped into the shower.
“I remember putting into my bag – that was the last time I saw it until 10 minutes ago when I was lucky enough to lay my eyes on it again.
“It’s an amazing feeling, I’d pretty much given up and was resigned to the fact that I’d never see it again."
Sometimes the football gods smile on a club, or a player.
This is one of the feel-good stories of Port Adelaide's year, and for a champion of the club and the game, Wanganeen now has the chance to fulfill his dream of handing the guernsey onto his children who watched from the stands on the day.
“It means that it will be able to stay in my family, that I’ll be able to hand it down to my son, Tex," Wanganeen said.
“I can get it framed now, put it on the wall somewhere and regularly look at it and be reminded of that great day in 2004 when our great Port Adelaide footy club won our first premiership in the AFL.”
Wanganeen was joined at Alberton by former premiership teammates Carr, Warren Tredrea, Kane Cornes, Michael Wilson, Toby Thustans and the recently retired Dom Cassisi for the reunion of player with jumper.
The club's 10-year premiership reunion will take place at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Friday 24 October. Book your tickets here.
The Port Adelaide Football Club thanks its community for their support for the campaign to get back Gavin’s guernsey as well as the anonymous person who returned the guernsey for having the courage to come forward to the club.
Gavin Wanganeen thanks both the person who returned the guernsey and the support from many of the football community following the diseapperance of his 2004 premiership guernsey.
The Port Adelaide Football Club thanks its community for their support for the campaign to get back Gavin’s guernsey as well as the anonymous person who returned the guernsey for having the courage to come forward to the club.
Gavin Wanganeen thanks both the person who returned the guernsey and the support from many of the football community following the diseapperance of his 2004 premiership guernsey.
