Man of many talents
Volume 11, No. 56, November 16, 2006
By Barry Rollings

WHEN it comes to the Wagoners’ Way Cup multi-sports challenge there’s nothing better than having a sportsman for all seasons like LCpl Adam Wallace on your side.

26 Tpt Sqn Puckapunyal found this out to their delight and the detriment of their 9FSB comrades from 176 AD Sqn (RAAF Richmond) when the two played their traditional challenge in five sports – rugby union, mixed netball, mixed volleyball, Australian football and mixed soccer.

LCpl Wallace,pictured right, says he “will play anything”, after figuring in all five sports played a pivotal role in at least two as 26 Tpt romped home to Pucka with the trophy for the second successive year. Not long back from Op Catalyst in Iraq, LCpl Wallace was hungry for some sports action.

“I was there for a little over two months, returned on a Thursday, had the Friday off and turned up on the Tuesday hoping for a game,” LCpl Wallace said.

At the outset he knew he was playing in the Australian football and union.

Playing full forward he was man of the match and scored 15 goals in 26 Tpt’s comfortable win.
As fly-half in the rugby union, he scored two tries and kicked four goals from five attempts in 26 Tpt’s 24-5 win.

In the soccer he played a sweeper’s role, but pencilled himself in on the 3-1 winning scoresheet again when he headed in off a corner. “It’s been a good few days up there and I was pretty sore but stoked by the end,” LCpl Wallace said of the overall 4-1 win in the cup games.

Now posted to 9FSB/LSC HQ at Randwick, LCpl Wallace has little in the sports pipeline now except playing A-grade cricket with Hamilton club in his native Newcastle. He is also a former North Qld Army representative cricketer, is a South Newcastle A-grade rugby league player and was a member of the ADF representative league team which toured Britain.