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He's now a member of "the zipper club", but even after a heart attack there's nowhere Tony Wood would rather be than on the sidelines cheering on his beloved Canberra Raiders. Anyone who has attended a Raiders home game would have seen Wood in action as the man inside the Victor the Viking mascot costume. He's had that role since the club's second season in 1983, and will line-up for his 594th game when the Raiders host the Sydney Roosters at Canberra Stadium on Saturday. But he admitted to having serious concerns for his health before last weekend's season opener against the Penrith Panthers, played in searing 36-degree heat. It was Wood's first game since having a heart attack in October last year. "I was really scared going into the game and my specialists and my doctors had to agree that going back into the Victor suit wasn't going to kill me," Wood said. "The Raiders didn't push the point, but they did ask for tests because they wanted to look after me. "I was scared that if I did overheat my body would react in a different way. "Afterwards I had the biggest smile on my face because, one, I made it through the game, and two, that we had won." To combat the heat, Wood didn't go out on to the ground inside the Victor the Viking costume until 10 minutes before kick-off and went into the dressing rooms to cool down at half-time. The 50-year-old father of three wasn't aware he had a heart attack when he took himself into Queanbeyan Hospital in October last year. "I had no chest pain, no nothing, but they did blood tests and said you've had a heart attack," Wood said. "Within seven days I was on the operating table at Canberra Hospital having a quadruple bypass, so now I'm a member of the zipper club. "I was thinking, 'why me, I'm only 50', but then I started thinking I've smoked all my life. "You always say you're going to give up, but for a smoker it's very hard. "The word heart attack changed my life completely." Wood was never a heavy smoker, but said: "Following the Raiders they stress you a bit, you need to have some kind of relief." He hasn't touched a cigarette in almost six months – "I haven't had a smoke for 170-odd days" – and now walks about 15km a week. Wood is on track to bring up his 600th game as Victor the Viking in the round 17 game against the Newcastle Knights on July 3. He wants to keep going as long as he can, but his first priority is being there for his children. "After the operation and getting back and the change of lifestyle, the first thing I looked at was my kids," Wood said. "They've got to have a father, so I have to change. "The second thing is my commitment to the Raiders. "I don't want to give it up, I've enjoyed it too much."

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