Doyle departs: Tamworth veteran looks to begin next chapter

The 66-year-old recently announced his retirement from Oztag after nearly 30 years in the sport, due in large part to arthritis in his knees.

But as recently as two years ago, Doyle had no joint complaints whatsoever.

The change, he said, began after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

"We had a couple of six-month breaks and that was just too long," Doyle said.

"Before that, it didn't seem to be an issue. It seemed to catch up with me during those breaks, so I don't know what the go was, but they didn't help."

The Tamworth resident's retirement brings to a close a 40-year chapter in sport.

It began with touch football, for which Doyle signed up in his 20s after being urged to do so by some rugby league-playing mates.

Around 13 years later, another group of friends started an Oztag team in the newly-established local competition. To his surprise, Doyle enjoyed it even more than touch and made the switch permanently.

And, evidently, he was quite good at it too.

In 2015, Doyle was a part of Tamworth's State Cup-winning team, and was subsequently named in the NSW over 50s team to take on Queensland in the State of Origin, which he said "would be the highlight" of his career.

To cap off this representative streak, Doyle was then named in the Australian Barbarians squad to take part in that year's World Cup on the Sunshine Coast.

Given his passion for the sport and what he has achieved, Doyle said it was "pretty hard" to hang up his boots.

"It was pretty difficult," he said.

"It was great stress relief, good fun with a lot of mates. But the pain of it all [was the problem], not being able to recover quickly."

Sport was a large and reliable presence in Doyle's life for a long time, but its absence will not leave a void.

He and his wife, Christine, are currently looking to buy a caravan, in which they intend to explore the country.

But, he said, that will have to wait until their 14-year-old grandson, Cael, finishes school. The youngster now lives with his grandparents after his father, Doyle's son Mark, passed away unexpectedly in 2020.

"We're homeschooling Cael as well, so we're just going to have to wait and see," Doyle said.

"We can only do limited travel at the moment until he leaves school."

Doyle's conversation with the Leader took place during a game of backyard cricket with several of his five grandchildren, with whom he is very close.

Although his body could no longer stand the rigours of regular sport, Doyle seems uninterested in a sedentary life.

Whether he is on the field playing Oztag or traversing Australia with his family, one thing is certain: Milton Doyle will never stop moving.

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