Gus was a player of international calibre, who missed out on test and SOO honours through a succession of injuries that eventually ended his career. During his Newtown days, he was selected in the second row in a hypothetical "World Thirteen", something like the all-Australian team in the AFL, in which a representative "team" gets selected but doesn't actually play anybody. My understanding, such as it is, is that places on these teams are highly sought after in the AFL, but I am not clear on whether these non-players get paid for not playing.