Swan Districts defender of the sixties, Peter Downey, was a multi-talented sportsman, who was a State  football squad member  as well as a State water polo player, and also represented Western Australia at rugby union after not taking the game up seriously until after retiring from league football.  Despite the rigours of combining an academic career and football, which was increasingly requiring an undivided approach from it's players, Downey became a regular in a strong Swan Districts outfit.  But it was the yellow and black of Claremont that the young Downey had originally hoped to wear. After playing all his junior football at Guildford, in the Swans zone, during which time he, along with team mate Eric Gorman, was identified as a prospective Swan Districts representative, and was duly signed up for the club's thirds side, effectively tying him to the  Swan Districts Football Club.   Moving to Claremont the following year, Downey attended Claremont Teachers Training College, where, playing in the College football team that won a premiership, he came under the notice of lecturer in geography and Claremont Football Club vice president, Ben Cook, father of Lorne, who talked him into training with the Tigers.  Swans had a policy at the time of refusing all clearances until they had been able to make their own appraisal of the applicant, so the clearance application received short shrift at Bassendean. After looking at the young Downey, the club placed him on their league training list, so any ideas of a move to Claremont Oval disappeared.  As it turned out, there would be no regrets from Peter Downey, who went on to play ninety games during a career that virtually became two careers, after a two year sojourn teaching in Canada midway through his time at Swans.  As a sixteen year old, Downey had taken up water polo. “We had some pretty hot days at Guildford, so I did a lot of swimming, which led to water polo,” he explained. In a four year career, which prematurely ended on the insistence of Swan Districts coach, Haydn Bunton, he was chosen to represent Western Australia. Ironically, when the young Downey debuted for the black and whites against South Fremantle, he was named on a half back flank to play on Frank Johnson, also a State water polo representative. However, it was Ron Bowe who lined up on him. Bowe, a State cricketer,  attended the same college as Peter, although they hadn't met at the time. Peter was later to confront star Subiaco full forward, Austin Robertson, who was another team mate from the State water polo side.     Downey soon carved a regular place on a half back flank for Swans. “I couldn't believe my luck at getting a game in a side that had won two premierships in a row, and had high hopes of holding my place in the finals,” he said. “But I was brought back to earth by those in the know at the club, who reminded me of Bunton's penchant for choosing experience in finals football.” “And they were proved correct. On grand final day, the selectors went for the experience of Graeme Devitt, and I was on the bench.  I was a bit stiff not to get out onto the ground and be a part of a premiership, when, just as I was being called into the action, the siren went earlier than anticipated.” “It was just one of those things, I was still part of a flag.” Downey continued in fine form the following season, and was named in the State squad, along with eight other Swans players, only to be cut when the selectors culled the numbers.  At fourteen and a half stone, and five foot eleven, Downey was equipped to match the bigger players, while the pace he had retained from his sprinting days at school enabled him to handle smaller opponents. His ball handling skills could be attributed to his water polo years.   In the 1965 grand final, Downey lined up at centre half back, on East Fremantle's Fred Lewis, when Swan Districts suffered a resounding loss. Peter Downey left for Canada, where he had been appointed to a teaching position, after the end of the 1965 season, spending two years there, and returned for the 1968 season. While there, he took up rugby union to keep fit, and enjoyed playing the different code. Downey came back to a Swans side not enjoying as much fortune on the field as before, and had only been in training for a week and a half when the season started. Selected for the second game of the year, he lined up at full back against South Fremantle's Keith Smith. In the following three years, Downey found  that coping with the demands of family, football, and studying for a maths degree, was becoming  increasingly more strenuous, so, at the end of the 1970 season retired. On the advice of former Swan Districts and WA  ruckman, Cyril Litterick, Downey bought a house at Wembley Downs and joined the Western Suburbs rugby union club. Taking up the game he enjoyed in Canada as a fitness and enjoyment interest, he became more dedicated to the sport as his time allowed, resulting in selection for the Western Australian team in 1972. He gave up vets rugby at the age of fifty, after playing at the famous Lansdowne Road Stadium, against the Lansdowne club, at Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland.   Reflecting on those he played on, Downey commented: “They were all good players, all different. Austin Robertson was a nightmare, with Steven Smeath I needed a lassoo, and Peter Amaranti was also a good player. Ken Bagley, Billy Walker, Haydn Bunton, and Keith Slater were the best  I played with.” Peter had a yarn about Slater. “I saw some funny things on the footy field, but the one with Spud took the cake. While Spud was at Swans he formed a terrific ruck/rover partnership with Tony Nesbit.  After he left Swans to captain coach Subiaco, Keith fronted Swans for the first time. When the ball was bounced, Keith duly took the ball out of the air, Nessy called out “here”, instinctively it was fired out to the fast moving Tony, and down Gorman's throat it went, where Eric happily sunk it through the sticks.” Peter Downey downplays his football career. “I was lucky enough to play in a great side of great players.” He prefers to dwell on the people side of the game, with the aspects of character building and formation of life friendships between individuals with a common cause. An example of this was an anecdote from the 1963 premiership celebrations.  A Rottnest trip was organised for the premiership players, and, during the festivities, club stalwart and successful businessman and racehorse owner Bonny Sweetapple asked star player Nesbit what he would like as a reward. “I've got everything I need right here,” was the reply. “I've got friends for life.”        Peter's advice to aspiring players: “If you see an opportunity, grab it and run with it.”  A former Head of Mathematics at Churchlands, Peter is retired these days, still swims competitively, and is a keen tennis player. His two sons, Michael and Bradley, both played State junior rugby, while he and wife Sandra enjoy getting away to far away places.       Peter Downey was a State water polo player as a teenager, member of the State Australian Rules squad at  twenty one, and played rugby union for Western Australia when he was twenty nine. In the estimation of this writer it's fair to say that he was a star sportsman.