The Border and North East football fraternity is in shock after the sudden passing of highly decorated player and district league coaching legend Peter Copley on Monday night.
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Copley passed away suddenly in Portugal after departing Albury on Saturday for an overseas holiday.
He was 62.
Copley's death has prompted widespread mourning and disbelief within the local football community, where he was heavily involved with six clubs spanning more than three decades.
He initially joined Lavington in the early 1980s when he arrived at Lavington Sports Ground with a young Ray Mack and quickly established himself as a star wingman in the Ovens and Murray.
The pair had met while playing under-19s for South Melbourne, where Copley won the club's best and fairest in 1979.
Copley and Mack had lived together in Melbourne in a boarding house where Terry Daniher and Peter Murray had previously lived.
It was the beginning of a friendship forged between the pair which has spanned more than four decades.
Mack said he felt like he had lost a brother when he learnt of Copley's passing on Monday.
He revealed Copley was planning to retire at the end of the year from his position of regional general manager at Watters Electrical.
"I'm shocked, Copes was like a brother to me," Mack said.
"Pete was planning his retirement and was looking forward to the next phase of his life.
"I first met him when we were teenagers and playing for South Melbourne as 17-year-olds.
"So I do consider him a brother but we all get busy as we get older and find it harder to catch up as often as we like.
"Copes and I took our wives Brenda and Joanne up to Tumut a couple of weeks ago and spent some quality time at the caravan park up there.
"As usual we were stirring each other up and Pete has been off alcohol recently after a bit of a health scare.
"He said to me 'I will probably be a bit boring without a few beers in me' and I said 'I like you better when you are not drinking because you are not as annoying and as big a pest as usual.'
"But seriously wherever Pete went, he was entertaining and always liked to be the centre of attention and running the show.
"If he got handed the microphone during a premiership reunion, good luck trying to get it back off him because he can talk for hours.
"Pete was so much looking forward to his retirement and now he is not with us ... it's heartbreaking."
Brian Chalmers who was president of Lavington during its golden era in the 1980s fondly recalls when Copley and Mack arrived at the club.
"Ray rang me up on Monday night to tell me what happened to Pete and I still can't believe it," Chalmers said.
"Peter was a talented player, highly skilled and you could tell from an early age that he was going to be a leader.
"You hear Eddie McGuire talk about the Collingwood 'Rat Pack', well that's what I had to deal with as president as well ... but we won't go there.
"Pete was heavily involved in organising the trip away and the boys loved a good time during that era and played hard and partied harder.
"Pete had an infectious personality and was the sort of bloke who when he walked into a room would instantly brighten up the mood.
"He was highly popular within the playing group and his passing is a huge shock to not only Lavington but the whole football community no doubt.
"Recently I haven't been in the best of health and was a bit crook to organise the 1983 reunion.
"Peter knew I was crook and rang up and said 'Don't worry about the reunion Brian, I'll take care of it.'
"That's the sort of bloke Pete was ... I can only imagine how big his funeral is going to be."
Copley played in two flags during his 150-plus matches at Lavington in 1983 and 1985 before heading bush in 1991 where he forged one of the most enviable coaching records in country football.
He initially joined Holbrook as assistant coach under Mack but replaced his good mate at the helm early in the season.
Mack was forced to step down after he was unable to attend training on Tuesday nights due to his work commitments at the Wodonga Leisure Centre.
Copley led the Brookers to their first flag since 1985.
Holbrook games record holder, Robbie Mackinlay, who played in both flags described Copley as a "coaching genius".
"Not only could he read the play better than most as a footballer but was also a step ahead as a coach," Mackinlay said.
"The best example I can think of to highlight that is the 1991 grand final when we played Bethanga.
"We played them three times during the year and lost every time.
"Copes came up with a plan that he would play centre half-forward on grand final day and told us other forwards to create as much space as we could for him and he wanted 50m of space around him.
"By half-time Copley had booted five goals and finished with six and delivered us a flag.
"I wouldn't be a dual premiership player at Holbrook if it wasn't for Copley."
Copley also loved a prank but was on the receiving end of one of the most legendary stitch ups in country football during his time at the Brookers.
Returning home from Adelaide, Copley missed the club's best and fairest count but received a few phone calls from teammates to inform him he had won the award.
Although dubious, Copley arrived at the best and fairest count late where he was congratulated and cheered by the crowd as the winner.
Copley started making his acceptance speech before Mack informed him that he had been set up.
"It was a priceless stitch-up," Mack recalled.
"It takes a lot to outsmart a bloke like Copley but I finally got a bit of sweet revenge on him which was gold at the time."
After leading Holbrook for two seasons Copley informed Brooker officials that he was "coaching the town of a 1000" and joined Culcairn in 1993.
His appointment met with one of the most successful of Copley's career after he led the Lions to the flag, won the Azzi medal and club's best and fairest.
Culcairn triple best and fairest winner Andrew Robertson recalls Copley coaxed him into making the weekly trip from Goulburn where he was attending the NSW Police Academy.
"I wasn't going to play that season but Copes can be persuasive as most people would know," Robertson said.
"He rang me every week over the off-season and built up a bit of trust and then started conversations about me making the trip from Goulburn each week.
"He organised for me to train with a club in Goulburn and then when I got home on a Saturday someone would come around home and kick the footy before the match.
"He was the kind of coach who also took a personal interest in what you were doing outside footy as well.
"If it wasn't for Copley and the effort he went to and that sense of caring, I don't think I would have bothered travelling that year.
"I thought to myself, I really want to play footy for this guy.
"Copley was not only a fantastic player but a fantastic coach who taught me a lot about football as a 20-year-old.
"We only had the 30-year premiership reunion last year and now sadly Copes is gone."
After one year at the Lions den, Copley retired from playing on the ultimate high and joined Wodonga Raiders in 1994 as non-playing coach.
He led the Raiders to their first ever finals series in the O&M after losing the preliminary final to Albury.
After two seasons at the helm of the Raiders, Copley took a well deserved break from coaching before being lured to Mitta United in 2004.
He enhanced his already impressive coaching record by leading the Mountain Men to back to back flags in 2004-05.
Mitta United legend Hugh Giltrap was president of the Blues when Copley was appointed coach and revealed he had to make a tough decision on the coaching gig at the time.
"We got belted by Dederang-Mt Beauty in the grand final in 2003 when Leon Carter was coach," Giltrap said.
"Leon was undecided about coaching again.
"In the meantime, Jamie Swinnerton brought Copley up to our annual general meeting and we had a chat and I offered him the coaching position which he agreed to.
"Then Leon decided he would coach again and I had to give him the bad news that it was too late.
"Anyway, Leon stayed as a player, so it worked out well in the end.
"But I knew blokes the calibre of Peter Copley don't come along that often."
Giltrap recalled Copley as being a 'lippy' player when he played against him in the early 1990s.
"I played against him when he was at Holbrook and he was a lippy player who was full of yap when his big mate Ray Mack was around," he said.
"It was a bit of fun at the time.
"I couldn't fault him as a coach at Mitta.
"Pete was a great person who was able to bring a club together.
"He knew every partner's first name and their kids' names as well.
"Pete could talk to anyone and made time for everyone.
"He also got to know his players inside out and knew what buttons to push to get the best out of each player individually.
"Pete's appointment met with instant success and we won two flags and then he stepped down.
"I don't think Phil Packer will mind me saying that Copes also set up the third flag the following year because everything was in place and anybody could have coached that side to a flag.
"When Pete left the whole club was rocking and we ended up winning four in a row."
Giltrap said he was close to Copley and his wife, Jo, during their time up in the valley.
"We became quite close during his time at the club and Pete and Jo would often stay at our place and I would take him fishing," he said.
"We had a lot in common and Jo is such a beautiful person, so it was easy to get along with both of them.
"They were just great fun to be around and we had some great times together.
"Peter had a fantastic football brain and could read the play better than anyone else that I ever knew.
"Most blokes who watch footy, follow the football wherever it goes.
"Copes would watch it differently and could tell you fairly quickly why one team was winning and the other losing.
"It's just so sad what's happened."
After departing Mitta United, Copley was again lured back into coaching by Thurgoona in 2015 as co-coach alongside Jamarl O'Sullivan.
He became the club's first premiership coach alongside O'Sullivan the following year after the Bulldogs won their inaugural flag in the TDFL in 2016.
It was his last coaching venture.
Copley retired with the impressive record of seven flags as a player and coach combined.
He forged a reputation as the man with the Midas touch in adding the premiership polish to sides necessary to achieve the ultimate success.
"Pete has got an enviable coaching record and was a great leader of men who could bring a team together," Mack said.
"I think Pete's biggest gift was he was a people person and could relate to anybody.
"Whether that was the president right down to your worst seconds player who spends more time at the can bar than on the ground.
"He was like a dog with a bone and would put his heart and soul into everything and was passionate about chasing success.
"No matter if that was work, footy or anything else he put his mind to.
"He gave everything 100 per cent.
"I think it is fair to say he was ahead of his time when he was coaching all those flags out in the bush and one of the smartest footy brains out there.
"One of his coaching philosophies was that the game is won or lost before you run out on the ground on a Saturday.
"Preparation is the key to success."
Copley is survived by his wife Joanne and three children Matthew, Kira and Gabbie.
He is also the proud grandfather of Elio.
Funeral details are yet to be confirmed.
