Captain Mainwaring often a sympathetic subtext to his own personal neuroses; it is apparent several times that he devotes his energies to his Home Guard unit for a sense of comradeship and purpose lacking in other parts of his life, such as his career and marriage. On one occasion when his men spurned a parade to play darts against the ARP he expressed bewilderment, saying coming to the platoon is "the highlight of my day". It is frequently implied that he is trapped in a loveless and unhappy marriage to Elizabeth, his unseen wife, who is domineering, neurotic and withholding of affection.
Chris Mainwaring reconstruction and this put him out of action for the rest of that season. In 1998, while he was attempting to regain form, Mainwaring spent most of the season playing for the Sharks, before making his return to the West Coast side late that year. After another season in which he was in and out of the Eagles' side (and playing for East Fremantle), Mainwaring retired from AFL football. He wore the Eagles' number 3 guernsey, a number which had only been worn by him and Chris Judd during the Eagles' history. The club retired the number for the following