teammate broke the wicket and the umpire upheld the appeal, but Woodfull called Fingleton back. He led his team in an understated way, preferring to give broad objectives to his players and trusting them to choose their own methods to fulfil the task at hand. However, he was known to organise his team tightly on tour to ensure that things proceeded smoothly. Although Woodfull was a devout Methodist, he would show a deep concern in the personal welfare of all players, which extended to finding the location of the nearest Catholic Church for those teammates who followed the religion. At the time, Australian society at large was divided along Catholic-Protestant lines, and while O'Reilly and McCabe were full of praise for Woodfull, they were later accused of leading a Catholic revolt against the leadership of the Protestant Bradman during a divisive period in the late-1930s. While Woodfull himself never touched alcohol due to his strict adherence to his religious principles, he did not impose his beliefs on his team. He would buy drinks for his players, and ask administrators to provide more alcohol for his teammates when they were exhausted. At the time, cricketers widely regarded beer as a highly effective means of rehydration, and on one occasion Woodfull threatened to halt play when administrators refused his players more ale on the grounds that they had already consumed their quota. Early years Born in the central Victorian town of Maldon, Woodfull was the third of four sons of Gertrude Lilian (Abey) Woodfull (1872–1941) and Reverend Thomas Staines Brittingham Woodfull (1863–1941), a Methodist preacher. The Woodfulls moved to Melbourne when Thomas was given a transfer to Collingwood Methodist Mission, in an inner city suburb. The religious traditionalism stayed with the younger Woodfull throughout his life. He once refused to play an interstate match that was scheduled for Christmas Day. Woodfull's father installed a net in the backyard and taught him the emphasis on defensive technique and patience that were to become his hallmark. Woodfull attended Melbourne High School and his early career was unremarkable. He made his district cricket debut in 1916 for Essendon, at the age of 19, but did not distinguish himself. He played no further cricket at the level before he gained his qualification as a schoolteacher in 1919. Because of a bout of rheumatic fever in childhood, Woodfull had stiff muscles and as a result was rejected