the trustees soon after. With his mother's reluctant approval, they dismissed him from Cullin-la-ringo, thus fulfilling the premonition in Horatio's will. Return to Victoria Wills moved to the family home in Geelong. Always a black sheep of sorts, he became increasingly estranged from his mother and sister Emily from this point on. Family letters from mid-1864 reveal that Wills had a "wife"—a "bad woman", according to Emily. It is likely a reference to the already-married Sarah Barbor (née Duff). Born in Dublin, she is a mysterious figure, but is known to have remained Wills' lifelong partner. The de facto nature of their relationship, and even Barbor's existence, were probably kept secret from Wills' mother for a number of years. Throughout the 1865 football season, Wills played for and served on the committees of Melbourne and Geelong, then the game's most powerful clubs. At the end of a winter beset with public brawls over which team "owned" him, Wills moved to Geelong for the remainder of his career, prompting Bell's Life in Victoria to report that Melbourne had lost "the finest leader of men on the football field". The following year, when the running bounce and other rules were formalised at a meeting of club delegates under Harrison's chairmanship, Wills was not present; his move to Geelong had cut him off from the rule-making process in Melbourne. Intercolonials between Victoria and New South Wales resumed at the MCG on Boxing Day 1865, nearly three years since the Sydney riot. Sam Cosstick, William Caffyn and other Victorian professionals defected to the rival colony due to pay disputes with the MCC. Wills, leading the weakened Victorian side to an against-the-odds win, took 6 wickets and contributed 58—the first half century in Australian first-class cricket—to 285, a record intercolonial total. Allegations that Wills cheated his way to victory failed to endanger his status as a folk hero and "a source of eternal hope" for Victoria. Aboriginal cricket team In May 1866, plans were made by the MCC to host and play against an Aboriginal team from Victoria's Western District. The motive behind the match, set for Boxing Day of that year, was a financial one, and in August, Wills agreed to coach the Aboriginal players. Wills' reasons for accepting the role remain a mystery, but a growing need for money likely influenced his decision. The enterprise was to mark the beginning of his transition