In 1945 Max Rees was picked to play for Launceston at 16, starred, then was picked to play for the North v South and kicked 6! Still didn't scrape into the best players.
In 1947 he walked away from Launceston FC at 18 to be captain coach at Mowbray in the amateur NAFL; they won the flag, he was B&F and captained the Tasmanian amateur team at a carnival in Perth.