As he sits down to tell his story, he pulls tens of notebooks from his bag.
Inside those pages are scores from every quarter of football played across the region, stretching back to the 19th century.
Well, almost, that is.
With a few gaps in his records, he is asking the community to help complete them.
And in footy-mad regional Victoria, he hopes others out there have also collected stats over the years.
There is one game in particular, played in Benalla during the 1992 season, which has left him scratching his head.
In Round 18 the Benalla Demons (now the Saints) were playing Wangaratta in the Ovens and Murray league and no newspapers in the district listed the three-quarter-time result.
“There was also no goal kickers listed,” Neil said.
“And I can’t find out why.
“I have tracked down who the Wangaratta goal kickers were. But still can’t find any more information.”
The first- and second-quarter scores and final result were recorded.
If anyone out there has this information, it’s a riddle he would love to solve.
On top of that, he has some records of now defunct leagues across the district, which are also incomplete.
If you have any records of leagues across the north-east, Neil would love to hear from you.
You can contact him via barterfneil@gmail.com
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