Hume League legend Merv Wegener has died at the age of 86

Wegener, 86, died on Wednesday night surrounded by his family in hospital in Albury.

His health, which had gradually gone downhill over the past 12 months, became worse in recent weeks and then deteriorated suddenly, leading to heart failure.

Wegener, whose wife Judith passed away in 2021, is survived by his three children, Sandra, Mark and Ruth.

He had 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

"We were trying to talk footy and cricket yesterday but all he wanted to talk about was family," Sandra said.

"Family was everything to him so having us all there at the end meant a lot to him.

"He loved getting phone calls from his grand-kids.

"Dad didn't want to leave Walla because he loved going down the street to have a chat."

Wegener will be remembered as one of country football's greatest servants after a life dedicated to the game and in particular the Hume League.

He spent 40 years on the league executive, with 18 of those as president after 22 as vice-president.

The first player to claim the league's Azzi Medal twice, in 1961 and 1964, he played 302 senior games for Walla Walla and won six premierships with the Hoppers.

Wegener, who coached Osborne in 1966, also played 30 games for Culcairn and 12 for North Albury.

He then embarked on an extraordinary career in football administration.

President of Walla for six years, he was awarded life membership of the club in 1965 and received the Victorian Country Football Medallion a decade later.

Wegener, the Hume League's chairman of selectors for 24 years, was made a life member of the competition in 1986 and was presented with the Australian Certificate and Medal for sport by the Federal Government in 2000.

Two years later, Wegener received a 50-year volunteers award from the AFL and he was awarded life membership of AFL NSW/ACT in 2008.

"Dad loved the Bombers and he was presented with that award by Kevin Sheedy," Sandra said.

"That was one of his massive highlights.

"There's a photo of Dad and one of his old mates, Des Kennedy, having a chat with Kevin Sheedy in a car one night.

"He was very happy about that."

Brendan I'Anson, who succeeded Wegener as Hume League president in 2018, spoke fondly of his predecessor's enormous impact.

"Merv was the sort of bloke you could approach about anything at any time," I'Anson said.

"The one thing he taught me was how to listen to people more than giving them direction.

"That was part of the president's job when he was looking after me as vice-president and one thing he did well was listen to people.

"No matter who or what they were, it didn't matter if they were in the kitchen or they were the coach of the premiership side, he'd listen to them and act if he had to.

"He loved people, loved football and he just had the ability to talk to anybody at any level.

"He was the ultimate gentleman and one of the old gentlemen of footy.

"He really enjoyed meeting people, Merv, and that's why he loved the job he did.

"He was there at finals time this year and some of the kids running around in the under-14s were grandsons or even great-grandsons of people he played with.

"His involvement with footy went on for two or three generations and he really enjoyed watching the kids more than the seniors sometimes. He loved seeing some of them come through and saying 'he runs like his father' and things like that; he could see the traits in the families right throughout the league.

"Merv is a huge loss to the league, not only as a mate but for his knowledge of country footy and his great understanding of the way it works.

"That's one of the things we'll miss most about him.

"We went down to Howlong once, we had a few problems there but he just fronted up and took the abuse.

"I think, by the end of the night, people were just pleased we actually went down there and listened to what was going on.

"That's what Merv did all the time. He knew he was walking into a blue sometimes but he just went in there and listened to people and moved on."

Wegener was inducted into the Hume League Hall of Fame upon its inception in 2015 alongside Garry O'Connell, Des Kennedy, Peter Carroll and Lindsay Norman.

"Merv had a huge impact on the Hume League and his legacy is probably the points system," incumbent league president Philip Bouffler said.

"The Hume League were aguably the first ones to adopt that, trying to equalise the competition, and Merv was at the forefront of organising it, along with Barry Malone.

"The AFL have got hold of that now and claimed it as their own but I think that was pretty much invented by Merv.

"At the time, he showed a lot of foresight; it was a little bit 'out there' but it's turned out to be a very insightful decision.

"Merv can be summed up by going into the Hall of Fame as an inaugural member.

"That's how the rest of the league felt about him; he was one of the first cabs off the rank.

"To go in there as an inaugural member of the Hall of Fame, that's a huge honour.

"He was a long-serving player, interleague player, coach and then moved onto administration.

"A lot of players, after finishing their footy, put their cue in the rack but Merv put his head down, knuckled down and got on with administration.

"It was a credit to him.

"As soon as you say 'Merv Wegener', his name is associated instantly with the Hume League.

"Merv certainly helped to put us on the map."

Wegener's last day at the footy was the 2023 Hume League grand final on September 23.

His nephew, Dalton Wegener, sat alongside him in the timekeeper's box at Walbundrie in his role as the league's general manager.

"Merv absolutely loved it," Dalton said.

"He always wanted to find out if he was on the roster to do the timekeeping for us in the box.

"He would go out of his way to make sure he was available.

"That's a mark of his respect for the game and his want to still be involved.

"He'd probably still be president today if he was able.

"Merv has been a stalwart of Walla Walla for many years and he will be greatly missed because people respected him so much for not only his knowledge but also his attitude.

"You'd meet him down the street and you'd always walk away with a positive attitude in regards to Merv."

The family will confirm funeral details in the coming days.

"Everyone we've spoken to is so upset that he's gone," Sandra said.

"Even though he was unwell, he'd still try to get down to the tennis and he got to all the footy finals.

"That was very important to him; he didn't want to miss any of them - and he didn't."

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