AFL Record, Round 7 2009 by The Slattery Media Group

ROUND 7, 2009 MAY 8-11 $4 (INC. GST)

Essendon and Hawthorn started one of the great modern rivalries nearly 30 years ago. They meet again this round, with the Bombers launching celebrations for the 25th anniversary of their 1984 premiership win against a respected foe. We look back at how the rivalry started.

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The Pursuit of Perfection – Premier Partner of the Collingwood Football Club

22 Brady Rawlings likes to keep a low proﬁle, but he is one of the AFL’s best players in his position.

ROUND 7, MAY 8-11, 2009 F E AT U R E S

Brady Rawlings

Tough, uncompromising and unassuming.

Rebuilding the Bombers

Re-live Essendon’s ‘glory days’ of 1984-85.

Nathan Foley

A small Tiger with a big tank. REGULARS

Backchat

Have your say about the football world.

The Bounce

Views, news, ﬁrst person, facts, data, culture.

Matchday

Stats, history and line-ups.

Dream Team

Advice from Mr Fantasy, our Dream Team expert.

70 74 76 78

Answer Man Testing your knowledge NAB AFL Rising Star Talking Point

Making the most of a second chance. THIS WEEK’S COVER We celebrate one of the great rivalries ... Essendon-Hawthorn battles of the 1980s. Go to aﬂphotos.com.au to order prints of this image.

DON’T MISS THE BIG AWAY GAME ACTION THIS SEASON! Check out the ﬁxture in the match day section to see when your team is playing their next interstate game! To follow your team around the country visit jetstar.com now.

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backchat HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE FOOTBALL FOO OTBALL WOR WORLD

Let’s hear it for Ben How refreshing to read an interview with a player (Ben McKinley, round six edition) who doesn’t just give us the same clichéd lines we hear from most. More players (and coaches) should take his lead. SAMANTHA, WA, VIA EMAIL

Share Anzac Day Why can’t the West Australian derby and the South Australian showdown be played on Anzac Day? As a supporter of the Eagles, I would like to see us meet Fremantle on that special day. Knowing that each year the home club would be changed, the game itself would always be played in front of a full house. Essendon and Collingwood play on Anzac Day. Victoria has its tradition, let us have ours. JUDY SHREEVE, WA, VIA EMAIL

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ARTICULATE: Young Eagle Ben

McKinley was refreshingly honest in a recent Record interview.

Play the kids As a Bulldogs supporter, it’s becoming obvious we’re not going to win big games without a signiﬁcant change to our game-plan. A fast, attacking style is great but we need a big forward, plain and simple. Bite the bullet Dogs and play the youngsters (Jarrad Grant, Ayce Cordy, Jordan Roughead and Liam Jones) now, as green as they are. ERN, VIC, VIA EMAIL

Hats oﬀ to Mike Congratulations to Mike Pyke, the Canadian-born former rugby player who made his AFL debut for the Sydney

PRODUCTION EDITOR Michael Lovett WRITERS Nick Bowen, Ben Collins, Jim Main, Peter Ryan, Callum Twomey, Andrew Wallace SUB-EDITORS Gary Hancock, Howard Kotton STATISTICIAN Cameron Sinclair CREATIVE DIRECTOR Andrew Hutchison DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR Sam Russell

Swans last weekend. His is a great story deserving of more recognition. Kudos also to the Swans for taking a chance on him. BILL, NSW, VIA EMAIL

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your feedback on n the Record and matters relating to the game, thee clubs and the players. The best letter each week will receive a copy of the AFL Record Season n Guide 2009. Email aﬂrecordeditor@ slatterymedia.com or write to AFL Record, Slattery Media Group, 140 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands, VIC, 3008.

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EDITOR’S LET TER

Passion alive and kicking Often today we hear people point to the game having become too commercial or too clinical, suggesting some of those involved lack the passion displayed by others from past eras. Several episodes from last weekend did plenty to suggest those who argue that way are off the mark. Brendan Fevola missed a shot at goal that would likely have given Carlton a memorable win over Hawthorn at the MCG in what was one of the matches of the year. After the siren confirming the Hawks’ four-point win, Fevola slumped to the ground, lying there on his back with his hands covering his face, contemplating his and the Blues’ lost chance. Theatrics aside, we knew he was hurting, and so were his teammates. Later that afternoon in Perth, Fremantle fought back from an early deficit to beat West Coast in captain Matthew Pavlich’s 200th match. Paul Hasleby – back in the game after a long injury absence – was the catalyst, and as he was interviewed for television moments after the win, the veteran was close to tears, describing with obvious emotion how the respect he and his teammates had for their skipper had helped drive them to victory. PETER DI SISTO

PRINTED BY PMP Print ADDRESS CORRESPONDENCE TO The Editor, AFL Record, Ground Floor, 140 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands, Victoria, 3008. P: (03) 9627 2600 F: (03) 9627 2650 E: peterd@slatterymedia.com AFL RECORD, VOL. 98, ROUND 7, 2009 Copyright. ACN No. 004 155 211. ISSN 1444-2973, Print Post approved PP320258/00109

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the bounce VIEWS NEWS FIRST PERSON FACTS DATA CULTURE

Craig Bolton (here, tackling Fremantle’s Luke McPharlin) also has learned to cope with the unique challenges diﬀerent forwards present

GAME TRENDS

Changing demands on defenders NICK BOW EN

ife for a modern defender is not easy. Take Collingwood’s Simon Prestigiacomo for example. Last Friday night against North Melbourne, Prestigiacomo started on the 201cm David Hale, conceding eight centimetres and eight kilograms to the Roos forward. In a miserly ﬁrst-half display, thePies full-back held Hale scoreless and restricted him to just one kick, two handballs and one uncontested mark. But with another Roos forward, Aaron Edwards, getting the better of Harry O’Brien with four goals to

half-time, Prestigiacomo was moved on to the smaller forward in the second half. As a 184cm lead-up forward, Edwards presented Prestigiacomo with a vastly different challenge. But when the ﬁnal siren sounded, Prestigiacomo, in combination with O’Brien, had kept him scoreless in the second half. Prestigiacomo and fellow defender Sydney Swans co-captain Craig Bolton say coping with tall, medium and even small forwards is part of life for defenders in 2009. “The whole back six has got to be able to rotate on to different players, tall and short,

depending on what the best match-ups are for your side,” Prestigiacomo says. “As a defender, you can’t just focus on playing on one sort of player; you’ve got to be able to play on a couple. “I think most of the people in our backline can do that – ‘Browny’ (Nathan Brown) can play on smaller guys and Harry (O’Brien) can play on talls, mediums and short guys.” Prestigiacomo says with key forwards such as Hale, he focuses on positioning himself so that his opponent cannot have a free run at the ball. “You’ve just got to try to take his line a bit so he can’t use

his height, because it’s pretty difﬁcult to get a spoil on if they’re standing there in front and they’ve got their arms up.” He says it has become even more important to block tall forwards with your body in this way, given umpires are now stricter on defenders who chop forwards’ arms or push them in the back. With quicker, leading players such as Edwards, Prestigiacomo tries to maintain body contact to prevent them from getting a break on him, while sometimes he will play in front in an attempt to cut off their leads. Bolton also has learned to CON T IN U ED NE X T PAGE

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cope with the unique challenges different forwards present. At 190cm, he has played on small forwards such as ex-Melbourne and Fremantle speedster Jeff Farmer (175cm) and mid-sized forwards including Brad Johnson (182cm), but for the past few seasons he has predominantly played on the competition’s key forwards – such as Jonathan Brown, Nick Riewoldt, Lance Franklin and Matthew Pavlich, all of whom are 192cm or taller. Bolton says no matter what type of forward he plays on, his focus is always on identifying their strengths, weaknesses and how they usually score their goals.

Hopefully I can keep getting better because I think the next few years are going to be pretty exciting times for the group BEN WARREN (LEFT)

BY THE NUMBER S

Cats keep racking up disposals BEN COL LINS

It’s a big challenge. You’ve got to change your mindset and work out your new opponent’s weapons but it’s just another challenge CRAIG BOLTON

“Sometimes the bigger guys can be a little bit slower or less agile, so your positioning can vary a little bit before the ball actually comes into your area,” he says. “With these guys, you have to be aware of the big pack situations and them taking contested marks, but if you can bring the ball to ground, you can hopefully run off them. “Obviously, if you’re playing on a smaller player, you may be conceding some speed but you’ve automatically got a height advantage, so they’re more likely to get the ball on the lead or crumb their goals.” Bolton says it is not uncommon for defenders to be switched on to a different type of forward during a match. “It’s a big challenge. You’ve got to change your mindset and work out your new opponent’s weapons, but it’s just another challenge,” he says. “As a defender, you’ve just got to ﬁnd ways – especially when you’re undersized – to scrap and bring the ball to ground, then run off and provide something the other way.” NEWS TRACKER

but I’ve always felt as though I’ve been improving with all the work the club has put into me,” Warren says. “Hopefully I can keep getting better because I think the next few years are going to be pretty exciting times for the group.”

YO U T H

Some light for Roos NICK BOW EN

espite a difficult start to the season, North Melbourne supporters can take comfort in some of the exciting youngsters who have emerged at the club. Injuries to senior players Brent Harvey, Daniel Wells and Daniel Pratt threaten to derail the Roos’ campaign to make their third finals series in a row. However, the good form of younger players, including midfielders Andrew Swallow and Gavin Urquhart and centre half-back Lachie Hansen (before his round five injury), along with the promising debuts of Jack Ziebell, Ben Warren and Levi Greenwood, have given the Roos hope their future is in good hands. North Melbourne’s chief of football Donald McDonald says after the disappointing 2007 finals campaign the club focused

on developing a squad that could be successful in September. That meant investing heavily in youth at draft time and then working overtime to develop those players. McDonald says North has been “rapt” with the way its youngsters have cquitted themselves at enior level this year. “It’s been the real positive of the year to date and a great sign for the future.” Warren’s development has been particularly pleasing, McDonald says. The Queenslander came to the club as a 17-year-old after being selected with pick 69 in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft. He spent the past two seasons in the VFL with Werribee (at senior and reserves levels) before making his debut in round four this year against Essendon. Having played in the Roos’ past three games, Warren says a signiﬁcant factor in his improvement has been his work with the club’s development coaches John Lamont and Dave Newett and psychologist Greg Buck. “It’s been a long time coming

hoever coined the phrase “less is more” mustn’t have seen Geelong play. For the second successive week, the remarkably prolific Cats broke the record for the most disposals in a match. In a frenetic fortnight, they amassed 490 touches (248 kicks and 242 handballs) against the Brisbane Lions in the wind and wet at Skilled Stadium in round five, and last week eclipsed their own record by clocking a remarkable 498 disposals (239 kicks, 259 handballs) in perfect conditions against Melbourne at the MCG. It was also just the third instance this decade of a team boasting two players who gathered 40-plus possessions in a match. Jimmy Bartel and Paul Chapman stockpiled career-best tallies of 41 apiece. The two previous instances involved the effort of Carlton pair Scott Camporeale (45) and Craig Bradley (41) against Adelaide in 2000, and Eagles duo Matt Priddis (45) and Daniel Kerr (40) against Hawthorn last year. Astonishingly, six Cats won more than 30 disposals. Despite what the raw figures might suggest, they haven’t over-used the ball – in fact they have been constructive and purposeful, averaging just 13.7 touches per scoring shot. In the same time, St Kilda – the only other undefeated team – fared only slightly better with 13.4 disposals a score.

Hamstring tendon surgery expected to keep Richmond’s Matthew Richardson out 10-12 weeks.

8 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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As expected, Geelong has earned the vast majority of its disposals in the midﬁeld – 69.53 per cent in fact, compared to 18.12 per cent in its forward 50 and 12.35 per cent in its defensive 50. One man who is predictably enamoured with the caring-and-sharing style of play and, in particular the prevalence of handball, is dual Brownlow medallist Greg Williams. The former Geelong, Sydney and Carlton star is eminently qualiﬁed to discuss such things, having accumulated the highest recorded tally of disposals in a match (53, and six goals, for the Swans against St Kilda in round 19, 1989), but even he is unsure just how high possession tallies will soar. “It’s very surprising – amazing really,” he says. “The average possessions in the ’80s was only 280 or 300. I don’t know where it’s going to end up – maybe double that.” Williams is regarded by many as the greatest exponent of handball in the history of Australian Football, and has long said that it is the most dangerous weapon in the game because it creates run and, MILES TONES – ROUND 7

100 games Brent Reilly Adelaide Matt Maguire St Kilda Nick Maxwell Collingwood

100 games coached Alastair Clarkson Hawthorn Rodney Eade Western Bulldogs (251 total)

50 games Paul Johnson Melbourne Bryce Gibbs Carlton Josh Gibson North Melbourne NEWS TRACKER

The average possessions in the ‘80s was only 280 or 300. I don’t know where it’s going to end up – maybe double that GREG WILLIAMS

more importantly, the loose man. “I really like the way they use handball now,” he says. “Especially forward handball when they run in numbers. Geelong can cut through you like butter. “The difference now is that where it might take one or two handballs to get clear in my day, now it can take eight or 10. There has always been pressure (on the ball-carrier), but there are a lot more numbers around the ball and the defensive side of the game has gone through the roof, so you need to keep dishing it off until you put someone in space. “But the really good handballers, the ones with great vision like (Simon) Black, don’t need as many handballs to get it to someone in a great spot in space anyway. That’s not to say Geelong aren’t good handballers, because as a team they are.”

RACKING THEM UP:

Paul Chapman ﬁres out another handball.

Record disposals in a game Disp

Club

Rd/Season

Score

Result

498

Geel

Melb

Rd 6, 2009

15.21 (111)

W 43

490

Geel

Rd 5, 2009

18.18 (126)

W 93

469

Geel

Melb

Rd 19, 2008

24.13 (157)

W 116

469

WCE

Carl

Rd 4, 2007

14.16 (100)

W 61

463

Melb

Rd 3, 2009

22.15 (147)

W 57

Two paths, same destination Two players with similar surnames but vastly different backgrounds are set to play their 50th AFL games this week. Ace Carlton midfielder Bryce Gibbs and North Melbourne defender Josh Gibson have little in common, mmon, other than their impending milestones. Although they are similar milar in height (Gibson is listed as being g 1cm taller) Gibbs has more of a runner’s ner’s frame, while Gibson is significantly antly heavier and more muscular, a trait rait of most key position players. They are at the opposite osite end of the spectrum in many ny other ways too. South Australian alian Gibbs was the No. 1 pick in thee 2006 draft and has always appeared red destined for greatness as an on-baller, -baller, while Gibson, like his club, has as had to om his early fight for everything, from days on the Kangaroos’ s’ rookie list after a stint with VFL club lub Port Melbourne, to his role now as an undersized key defender. er. BEN COL LINS

BRYCE GIBBS

Name

JOSH GIBSON

Carlton

Club

Nth Melbourne

Born

March 13, 1984

March 15, 1989 Glenelg 2006 NAB AFL Draft

4 2007 Midﬁelder

Recruited from Draft history Number Debut Position

Port Melb 2005 rookie elevation

38 2006 Full-back

188cm

Height

189cm

84kg

Weight

92kg

Games

Goals

22 Right

Dominant side

Left

10.3

Ave. kicks

6.3

5.3

Ave. marks

3.5

7.6

Ave. handballs

7.1

7 Brownlow votes 0

Ex-Hawthorn player and ﬁlmmaker Robert Dickson and sons Gabriel and Byron remembered at memorial service in Melbourne. AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 9

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C O M E B AC K

Robbo’s joy NICK BOW EN

ussell Robertson was so caught up in the excitement of his successful AFL return last week he did not realise he’d brought up his 400th career goal during the match.1 Robertson, who had been sidelined since rupturing the achilles tendon in his right leg in round 10 last year, reached the milestone with his ﬁrst goal in Melbourne’s loss to Geelong. But his subsequent celebration was to mark the fact he was back on the MCG wearing the Demons jumper again.

I probably should have known it was my 400th goal but I didn’t realise until that night when mum or dad said I’d got a standing ovation and asked whether it was because I’d kicked my 400th RUSSELL ROBERTSON

o have played AFL for a long “To time and to have it taken away from you, and then to come back and do it again is pretty special,” ertson says. Robertson “It was the culmination of all that when I kicked the goal and I just took off. I ran a little bit too ctually, it t ok the boys to far actually, took ile to a while h up to catch me. “I probably ld have known should it wass my 400th goal but I didn’t realise until that night n mum or dad said I’d when got a standing ovation and d whether it was because asked cked my 400th.” I’d kicked aving turned 30 in Having ember, Robertson November, its he had doubts during admits ehabilitation whether he’d his rehabilitation ble to make it back, which be able madee his three-goal haul on the Cats’ four-time All-Australian

NEWS TRACKER

defender Matthew Scarlett all the more satisfying. “While I was out, I had a lot of people let me know: ‘You’re a bit old now, you won’t get back from it, you’ll probably lose a yard or two and you won’t be able to jump any more’,” he says. “So to have a game against Geelong and to play on Matty Scarlett was probably the best tonic really. Obviously, we lost the game, which was a sore point, but for me to get back on the MCG and to get a kick on Matty was a big moment for me.” With his conﬁdence restored, Robertson is looking forward to the rest of the season. His goals are simple. First, he wants to continue to play his role on the Dees’ forward line and, second, he wants to assist in the development of the youngsters the club has stockpiled in recent drafts. “Things are looking good for us in the next ﬁve or seven years, but I just want to get out there now and assist the young fellas so they get used to being out there on the big stage against the best sides,” he said.

LEADERSHIP

Maxwell in rare class BEN COL LINS

ollingwood has rarely given captaincy duties to players with less than 100 games’ experience. Just ﬁve of the Magpies’ 26 captains over the past 75 seasons (dating back to the reign of club legend Harry Collier) have been appointed before reaching three ﬁgures – and Nick Maxwell is one of them. Maxwell, set to play his 100th game this weekend,

is the ﬁrst Magpie skipper to achieve this rare distinction in the past 26 years. Maxwell wasn’t even born when the Pies previously chose a sub-100-gamer to lead them. And that example really shouldn’t be counted anyway. Mark Williams, the Port Adelaide coach, was just 24 and had played a mere 47 games when the Pies named him captain in 1983, but the tough midﬁelder was no greenhorn – he’d already notched more than 100 games for Port Adelaide in the SANFL. The others are Pat Fricker (1944, 59 games), Des Tuddenham (1966, 81 games) and Ray Shaw (1979, 85 games). It is also a relative rarity in the modern era, as this table shows. READY TO RUMBLE: Nick Maxwell

leads the Pies into battle.

1 It was a round of goalkicking milestones in the AFL last week, with Matthew Lloyd and Matthew Richardson kicking their 900th and 800th goals respectively.

HE’S BACK: Russell Robertson made a successful return for the Demons last week, kicking three goals.

Appointed captain with less than 100 games’ experience Player

Club

Year

Games

Garry Lyon

Melbourne

1991

John Worsfold

West Coast

1991

Wayne Carey

North Melb

1993

Paul Kelly

Sydney

1993

Scott Wynd

W Bulldogs

1994

Michael Voss*

Brisbane Lions

1997

James Hird

Essendon

1998

95 83

Matthew Primus

Port Adelaide

2001

Lenny Hayes*

St Kilda

2004

Richie Vandenberg

Hawthorn

2005

Nick Riewoldt*

St Kilda

2005

Luke Ball*

St Kilda

2006

Chris Judd

West Coast

2006

Nick Maxwell

Collingwood

2009

* Voss was co-captain. Hayes, Riewoldt and Ball were each appointed as part of St Kilda’s rotating captains policy.

Long-serving Adelaide football manager John Reid is to retire at the end of the year, with Phil Harper to replace him.

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We’ve kicked a few goals over the years JELD-WEN is the name behind the St Kilda Football Club. And we’re also the name behind iconic brands like Stegbar and Corinthian – leaders in door, window and showerscreen manufacture, supply and installation. Great club, great brands. jeld-wen.com.au

M A J O R PA R T N E R

DISEGNO STE2928

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A N A LY S I S L I S T M A N AG E M E N T

THE GODFATHER OF STATS Ted Hopkins

Destinies shaped

Founder of Champion Data and Carlton premiership player

Hitting the spot ‘Fev’, you’re forgiven. Just relax. You’re not the first dead-eye forward who has fluffed an easy match-winning goal on or near the final siren. After all, you did boot eight goals to help keep the Blues in sight of a fabulous come-from-behind win against Hawthorn last week. The Godfather is old enough to recall Collingwood’s legendary full-forward Peter McKenna, often said to be the sharpest and most reliable goal shooter ever, boot 1.10 at Victoria Park, his home ground, against Hawthorn in round 12, 1969. Fev, it just happens and it bewilders all, including the Godfather. Bewilderment aside, what attracts the Godfather’s attention is a kick as difficult and crucial as a shot at goal – the inside-50 kick. It happens on average 84 times a game, and it matters that players give their comrades the chance of winning possession.1 For example, Fev and the Blues forwards are benefitting nicely from Chris Judd’s generosity and quality. Judd, with 27 inside-50 kicks, ranks fifth in the competition. Thirty per cent of those Judd kicks result in a Carlton mark, 56 per cent see the Blues retain possession and 33 per cent end with a goal. While St Kilda’s Jason Gram leads the competition with 37 inside-50 kicks, he doesn’t match Judd’s radar precision. The Saint’s kicks result in a St Kilda mark only 16 per cent of times, retention 36 per cent and a goal 16 per cent. Of his four long-bomb scoring shots from outside 50, not once has he scored a goal. The cream of the inside-50 kicks include Geelong’s Paul

NEWS TRACKER

MICH A EL LOV ET T

Chapman with 31. He is ranked second, with 31 per cent of his inside-50 kicks resulting in marks, 36 per cent in retention and 36 per cent goals. And for precision, Chapman’s teammate Steve Johnson is the benchmark. Of his 26 inside-50 kicks, 35 per cent have resulted in Geelong marks, 46 per cent in retention and an exceptional 42 per cent in goals. 1 Competition averages for inside-50 kicks: 24 per cent are marks, 34 per cent see the ball retained and 21 per cent result in a goal.

THE NEW BIG STAR Leon of Collingwood, you are the new big star. Brighter than ‘Gazza’ Ablett. Davis has become the competition’s supreme dynamo working the ground end-to-end and having an impact on scoring like no other. He ranks ﬁfth for score involvements with an average of 10 a game, contributing to 34 per cent of his team’s total scoring. But what makes Davis unique is that no player matches his combination of 12 score involvements stemming from the defensive 50 and 23 from inside the forward 50. Ablett ranks highly, but has only four and 21 respectively. Davis’ eﬃciency is unmatched, even from the deep ends of the ground.

LEADING SCORE INVOLVEMENTS Round six Player

Club No.

J. Roughead Haw B. Fevola Carl B. Reilly Adel A. Buchanan Syd A. Swallow NM

14 13 9 11 9

% club’s scoring 54 48 47 46 45

Score involvements: The number of scoring chains a player has been involved in. If a player has ﬁve disposals in one scoring chain, only one score involvement is recorded. Percentage of club’s scoring is the percentage of a club’s total scoring chains that a player has been involved in.

he epic finish to the 2005 semi-final between the Sydney Swans and Geelong was a defining moment in the history of both clubs. The heroics of the Swans, and in particular Nick Davis, spurred the club to its finest hour two weeks later, when it ended a 72-year premiership drought in a Grand Final classic against West Coast. Geelong’s loss cut a deep hole. The Cats had lost close finals before, but this was something else – they had forged what appeared to be a matchwinning 17-point lead in difficult conditions at three-quarter time and led by three points with seconds remaining. But Davis, who had inspired Sydney’s revival with three final-quarter goals to that stage, sharked a hit-out and kicked his fourth to put the Swans in front in what was virtually the final passage of play. While much water and a few Geelong tears have flowed under

the bridge since, the events of that night have had a significant impact on both clubs. Both have played in two Grand Finals for a premiership each, both have maintained stability at playing, coaching and administrative levels and both look set to play a significant role come September. But as the table below shows, the major difference since that night has been Geelong’s win-loss record. The Cats have won 59 of their 77 games and will probably start favourites to make it 60 from 78 when they take on the Swans at Skilled Stadium in this round. Geelong has 17 of its 22 players from that semi-final still on its list (Matthew Egan and Josh Hunt remain on the long-term injury list though) while the Swans have 14 of their 22. The notable absentee is Davis, who was delisted at the end of 2008 and is trying his luck as a punter in the NFL. Henry Playfair has swapped the blue and white hoops and is now a Swan, while five Sydney players – Jason Ball, Nic Fosdike, Tadhg Kennelly, Ben Mathews and Paul Williams – have since retired. For Geelong, Brenton Sanderson, now an assistant coach, played his last AFL game that night.

Geelong Cats

Sydney Swans

Still on senior list: Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Corey, Matthew Egan, Corey Enright, Tom Harley, Josh Hunt, David Johnson, Steve Johnson, James Kelly, Cameron Ling, Andrew Mackie, Darren Milburn, Cameron Mooney, Max Rooke, Matthew Scarlett, Kane Tenace Retired: Brenton Sanderson Delisted: Kent Kingsley New club: Charlie Gardiner (St K*), Steven King (St K), Henry Playfair (Syd)

Still on senior list: Luke Ablett, Leo Barry, Paul Bevan, Craig Bolton, Jude Bolton, Amon Buchanan, Jared Crouch, Adam Goodes, Barry Hall, Darren Jolly, Brett Kirk, Ryan O’Keefe, Michael O’Loughlin, Lewis Roberts-Thomson Retired: Jason Ball, Nic Fosdike, Tadhg Kennelly, Ben Mathews, Paul Williams Delisted: Nick Davis New club: Sean Dempster (St K), Adam Schneider (St K)

Cats

Since 2005 Semi-Final

78 60 17 1 2007 2008

Played Won Lost Drawn Premiership Runner-Up Winning Percentage

Swans 80 46 32 2 2005 2006 57.5

*Charlie Gardiner was traded to St Kilda at the end of 2007 and was delisted by the Saints at the end of 2008.

Melbourne’s No. 1 draft pick Jack Watts will play for Brighton Grammar School this weekend. His VFL club Casey has a bye.

12 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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A D M I N I S T R AT I O N

Jackson to leave Bombers C A L LU M T WOMEY

ong-serving Essendon CEO Peter Jackson (below) will leave the club at the end of the year. Jackson, 56, is credited with developing the Bombers as an off-field power. One of his first tasks when he started in 1996 was to completely overhaul the club’s management structure, identifying key growth areas and investing in these. Jackson has overseen the building of state-of-theart facilities at Windy Hill, negotiated for the club to become an anchor tenant at Docklands and signed the biggest club sponsorship on record. At the end of his first year, the club had net assets of $2.6 million and a membership base of 24,324; at the end of 2008, the Bombers boasted net assets of $18.6 million and had 41,947 members. Jackson assumed the dual role of CEO and managing director in late 2006, making

him one of the most powerful AFL club executives. He also has driven a major overhaul of the football department, starting with the appointment of Matthew Knights at the end of 2007 and continuing with other key appointments since. But he remains most proud of the fact the club won a premiership (2000) under his watch. “I think the club is in a very good position on and off the field,” he says. “The playing list and football department now is where it needs to be to build on for the next two to three years and, off the field, we’re financially strong and stable. So it feels about the right time to give someone else a go, to be honest.” Jackson denies he felt any sense of ‘sameness’ creeping into his role. “I don’t think so. It’s just a decision I’ve made. If anything, I’d rather go a year too early than a year too late.” He says the biggest change to the game in his time has been the increased professionalism across the industry. Jackson, a grandfather of six, says he had been thinking about leaving for a while, but only made the final decision three weeks ago. He is unsure what his future holds, having also recently sold a business. “I’ll certainly follow Essendon very closely, but

it will be interesting to see whether working as an administrator this long in footy has changed the way you look at football,” Jackson says. “I don’t know how long it will take to get back in the outer and enjoy watching a game of footy with a pie and beer.”

FINANCES

Deals show wide gulf NICK BOW EN

he Victorian clubs earned a net average of $2.7 million less from stadium deals than the six non-Victorian clubs last year, according to the AFL’s 2008 club ﬁnancial review released this week. The differential is the largest on record. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou said the Victorian clubs earned an average net stadium return of $8.3 million, while the six non-Victorian clubs averaged $11 million. Demetriou said all clubs continued to work hard to increase revenue and maintain cost levels, and that each had done an outstanding job in 2008 to produce record membership across the competition of 574,091. Attendance levels were also at an all-time high in 2008, reaching 6.51 million for the

thebounce

home and away season. “The clubs across the AFL competition all work extremely hard on their financial bottomline, and do a tremendous job in both converting fans into members and drawing people to watch our games,” Demetriou said. “Clubs have been extremely diligent with their costs, particularly with the changes to the economy since the end of the last season, but our analysis shows that non-Victorian clubs are clearly ahead of the pack in terms of stadium returns.” The average AFL club employs 102 football staff (including players) while club profitability has averaged $15.3 million over the past five years.

FIXTURING

Monday trial a look to the future MICH A EL LOV ET T

n the United States, many football fans organise their working and social week around Monday night football. Monday night action CON T IN U ED NE X T PAGE

KNOW EVERY GAME PLAN.

HEAR IT LIKE YOU’RE IN IT. 3AW is football. Get the complete run-down on Sports Today with Gerard Healy and Dwayne Russell from 6pm Monday to Thursday on 3AW 693.

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 15

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VIEWS > NEWS > FIRST PERSON > FACTS > DATA > CULTURE T R AC K I N G A P O T E N T I A L D R A F T E E

THRILLER: Port

Adelaide won the last Monday night game, in 2006.

Rising to the challenge The AFL Record is following Jonno Nash this year as he works towards being drafted by an AFL club.

has been an institution in the National Football League since it debuted in 1970 – fans love it, television networks can’t get enough of it and clubs have no problem with it given, at best, they might have two Monday night games a season. The NFL knows its market and Monday night football is seen as a reward for teams that are playing well, are good drawcards and drive high television ratings. This week, Monday night football returns to the AFL for the ﬁrst time since 2006, when Collingwood and St Kilda meet at Docklands Stadium. The moon and the planets have aligned perfectly, given the Magpies are coming off a big win last week and the Saints are unbeaten in 2009 and head the ladder. “I think we will go close to the ‘house full’ sign,” the AFL’s chief operating ofﬁcer Gillon McLachlan says. Is Monday night football here to stay? “With the arrival of

the 17th and 18th teams (Gold Coast and the proposed western Sydney club), we will be looking for alternate slots and Monday night offers something different for our fans and our broadcasters,” McLachlan says. “This year, we had a Thursday night game to kick the season off, as well as a twilight Saturday game in Launceston, and both were successful. This year, we are looking at those three timeslots (Thursday night, Saturday twilight and Monday night) and we will trial them again next year.” There have been 13 Monday night games, with the ﬁrst played in 1952 when the VFL took games interstate and to the country to promote the code. Essendon, led by a 13-goal performance from John Coleman, defeated Geelong at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground but it was another 43 years before the next Monday night game was played.

Monday night action Season 1952 1995 1996 1997 1997 1997

Result

Venue

Ess 23.17 (155) d Geel 12.14 (86) Bris Exhib Ground Rich 21.8 (134) d NM 13.7 (85) MCG Geel 21.13 (139) d Coll 11.10 (76) MCG NM 12.14 (86) d Carl 8.12 (60) MCG Rich 18.11 (119) d WC 9.13 (67) MCG Adel 16.9 (105) d Frem 10.12 (72) Subiaco

Crowd 28,000 62,606 56,609 38,170 26,721 22,464

1997

Adel 6.12 (48) d Coll 5.9 (39)

AAMI Stadium

37,661

1998

Melb 17.12 (114) d Syd 12.11 (83)

MCG

52,614

2000

Frem 15.17 (107) d Coll 12.13 (85)

Docklands

33,947

2000

Ess 19.13 (127) d Bris 9.9. (63)

Gabba

31,887

2000

Melb 15.12 (102) d Bris 11.18 (84)

Docklands

24,908

2006

Adel 17.9 (111) d Coll 12.5 (77)

Docklands

35,434

2006

PA 19.8 (122) d StK 18.10 (118)

AAMI Stadium

32,188

NEWS TRACKER

When the AFL Record last caught up with Sandringham Dragon Jonno Nash, the TAC Cup season had yet to start and Nash was looking forward to a season of hard work. Five rounds into the year, it’s fair to say Nash has stuck to his task, although it’s been tough for his team. Although the Dragons are winless (four games and a bye) and languishing at the bottom of the ladder, Nash has been happy with his form, which he describes as “satisfactory”. “It’s been challenging. The team hasn’t had success yet, but a lot of clubs pay more attention to development than wins and losses, and they tend to measure success on the number of draftees they have at the end of the year,” he said. “Apart from last week against Geelong (an 82-point loss), the other three games we’ve played have been very winnable. “I’ve been playing half-back a lot of the time, and occasionally the coaches have thrown me in the midﬁeld. “It’s been satisfactory. I’ve never made much of an impact at TAC Cup level and I think what I’m doing now is something to build on.” In the Dragons’ 56-point loss to the Oakleigh Chargers, Nash was named his team’s best player, providing great run for his team from the backline. Against the Eastern Ranges, he improved on his round one eﬀort with 19 touches and a goal, and against the Northern Knights in round three, he gathered 25 possessions. Last week against the Falcons, Nash was again named Sandringham’s best player. “It’s good to get that recognition, but I think the best sort of feedback is sometimes from yourself,” he said. “There are some parts of my game that I didn’t do as well as I wanted, and

there’s always something I can improve on. That’s the exciting part – that there’s always room for improvement.” Despite being in the backline to provide run and drive, Nash has also been used to stop key forwards. Against the Ranges, a red-hot Luke McDonald had kicked seven goals by early in the second term. Nash was moved on to him, and McDonald kicked only one more for the match. Nash took plenty from his effort, knowing he is capable of matching it with some of the bigger-bodied players in the competition. As a member of the Dragons’ leadership group, Nash has worked on building the confidence levels of his younger teammates. “The first game I played (at this level), I turned the ball over with my first two touches and was benched for a half. As a bottom-aged kid, that doesn’t give you a lot of confidence,” Nash says. “I try to give the younger guys a bit of encouragement so they can come into the side and play theirr best footy, which is obviously sly beneficial as the majority rity of our team is bottom-aged.” -aged.” In between ween studying for an arts ts degree at Monash h Universityy and and working at a local hotel, el, Nash is finding more timee than everr to concentrate ate on his recovery covery and preparation. aration. Although gh happy with his start, tart, he knows he still has a lot left to give. “There hasn’t really ame in which I’ve been a game sustained d a full four-quarter effort yet,” ,” he said. C A LLU M T WOMEY

Cat Gary Ablett is to miss games with an adductor strain. Curiously, Channel Ten said “Ablett’s groin has been put in cotton wool”.

16 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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T H E M E N TA L G A M E

The many facets of a footbal brain James Hird Anticipation Ja ESSENDON N

Nathan Buckley COLLINGWOOD

Concentration (arousal levels)

Brett Kirk SYDNEY SWANS

Discipline

Decision-making Luke Hodge HAWTHORN

Team orientation Gary Ablett jnr GEELONG

Conﬁdence Wayne Carey NORTH MELBOURNE

Instinct Gary Ablett snr GEELONG

Awareness Greg Williams CARLTON

Michael Voss BRISBANE LIONS

Killer instinct/competitiveness

e’s got a great football brain.” We often hear this comment, but rarely do we explore its meaning. Presumably, it is not a reference to players with oversized, Sherrin-shaped craniums; more likely to those blessed with football smarts, one of the characteristics coaches most covet. Former Carlton captain Lance Whitnall was one who, despite physical limitations, could win contests and set up play using nous. Former Geelong, Sydney and Blues star Greg Williams and recently retired Essendon champion James Hird were recognised for both their superior skill and capacity to think through situations, nearly always making the correct decisions. As a player and a respected analyst, ex-Hawthorn champion Dermott Brereton has put vast amounts of time and thought into what makes up a good football brain. In a career spanning 211 matches (including short stints at the Swans and Collingwood) from 1982-95, Brereton was forced to adapt to life as an undersized centre half-forward. “I had to work out where the ball was going before it actually

started to head there,” Brereton says. “That meant having the peripheral vision to predict where the first possession was going, where the recipient was going to move forward to, and where I had to go to receive it (the ball).” Brereton nominates Hird as one of the all-time elite when it comes to anticipation. “He was quickest at picking up the flight and the pace the ball came off the boot, and working out where it was going to drop. The number of times he grabbed marks in the forward line because he read the ball quicker than everybody else was phenomenal – that just can’t be fluked.” Surprisingly, the five-time premiership player does not believe Geelong legend Gary Ablett senior excelled in this key area. However, this is where Brereton introduces the second key element of his theory on the make-up of the football brain. “I don’t think Ablett was that good at knowing where the ball was going,” Brereton says. “But his instinctive knowledge of what to do with the ball in his hands, how to use his power and strength and inventiveness was out of this world.” A NDR EW WA L L ACE

KICK EVERY GOAL.

HEAR IT LIKE YOU’RE IN IT. 3AW is football. Listen to four quarters of Australia’s best commentary with Rex Hunt, Dennis Cometti, Tony Leonard and Shane Healy at 3AW 693.

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 17

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thebounce

VIEWS > NEWS > FIRST PERSON > FACTS > DATA > CULTURE

NIGHTMARE:

Stephen Parsons was a promising 17-year-old in just his third game of League football when the 1974 Windy Hill Brawl changed his life forever.

RECOLLEC TIONS

Tiger still haunted by the Windy Hill Brawl R HET T BA RT LET T

NEWS TRACKER

PHOTO COURTESY RICHMOND FOOTBALL CLUB MUSEUM

n quiet times, Stephen Parsons thinks of that Saturday afternoon at Essendon in 1974 when his life changed forever. Not because he was fulfilling a dream of playing League football as a 17-year-old, but because of what he calls “the nightmare”. Parsons, along with almost every Richmond player and official, had engaged in a wild brawl with their Essendon counterparts just before halftime in the round seven match. ‘The Windy Hill Brawl’, as it was dubbed, was huge (covering the wing area in front of the members stand) and lasted several minutes. Some 24,376 spectators were there; most had a point of view. Many can recall players flying through the air with their fists clenched. Officials in neatly pressed suits and ties throwing haymakers. Policemen struggling to control children who had wandered on to the ground. Six players were later suspended, as were officials. Parsons was suspended for four weeks for striking Essendon’s fitness advisor Jim Bradley, and also was charged with assault. Parsons is now 52. Nearly every day, it seems, the brawl is mentioned. Every day feels longer than the previous one. For more than three decades, he has refused to describe on record and in detail what happened that day. The anniversary (May 18) does not creep up on him. He can see it coming. He anticipates journalists dialling his number, or someone knocking on his door. So he leaves. You won’t find him in Melbourne, and he won’t answer the phone. He avoids the ghosts.

Only twice in 18 years have I told them my innermost thoughts about how it feels to miss an opportunity and to waste it STEPHEN PARSONS

But he agrees to meet me and talk about his career, not just round seven of 1974. When we sit down, he seems resigned to the fact the brawl will come up. He turns off his mobile phone, places it at arm’s length and rests his arms on his thighs. Parsons was a product of Richmond’s junior development system. Ray ‘Slug’ Jordon was his coach. There were no questions asked. “I couldn’t see the young guys of today playing under Jordon now, because of the different mentalities of people now to back then,” Parsons says. “With Slug, it was his way or the highway and he really toughened you up and made you ready to go on with whatever you wanted to do. I had a few run-ins with him but he was fantastic.’’ The pair once argued so loudly and passionately while driving to an under-19s match that they

almost failed to recognise they were about to plough directly into a concrete dividing wall. Parsons knows people want to speak to him just about “that Essendon game” – he does not refer to it as the Windy Hill Brawl – but there is more to him than just 1974. He points out that before the incident, he played in Richmond’s under-19 premiership team in 1973, alongside future senior players Emmett Dunne, Cameron Clayton and Noel Jenkinson. And in recent years, he coached North Ringwood and Ringwood to premierships in Melbourne’s Eastern Football League, having been involved in football in the region for nearly 20 years. There is a lesson to come out of the chaos of 1974. I don’t point it out to Parsons, but rather he does to me. He dramatically raises his ﬁnger and points several times into his own chest.

“I am a coach now and it is something I have had a lot of success at. I get a thrill guiding young guys through the minefield of life, because I have actually hit a lot of those mines,” Parsons says. “Only twice in 18 years have I told them my innermost thoughts about how it feels to miss an opportunity and to waste it.” He looks remarkably comfortable talking about the brawl, considering he has said little about it publicly in 35 years. He does not seem to mind that most of the first hour of our conversation is spent talking about it. The day is still fresh in his mind. He knows he saw “an incident” with John Cassin and Mal Brown just before half-time. Then, in his words, “it flared up”. He remembers seeing Tigers secretary Graeme Richmond slip to his knees, and a man standing over him laying in punches. Jim Bradley was wearing a dark tracksuit, but to Parsons he looked like a civilian. So, he swung his right arm and dropped him. I can sense Parsons asking himself questions he has probably asked thousands of times. What if I didn’t hit him? What if I had dealt with it better? The fence lining the players’ race only went up to Parsons’ hip – players were sitting ducks, with abuse, pies and bottles thrown their way as they headed to the rooms. He clearly remembers supporters jumping the race to join the fight. As he sat on the bench in the rooms, out of breath, his heart racing, the previous 10 minutes swirling in his mind, he looked to the window dividing the Essendon and Richmond dressing rooms. He swears the anger outside made the glass pulsate. After the game, he was kept back in the rooms for 90 minutes. A million thoughts raced through his mind. He felt scared. He could still hear supporters but couldn’t make out what they were saying. But he knew exactly what they wanted to do. So he was ordered to get a police escort to the car park. CON T IN U ED NE X T PAGE

Essendon coach Matthew Knights is conﬁdent out-of-form forward Scott Lucas will be back after being dropped this week.

18 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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VIEWS > NEWS > FIRST PERSON > FACTS > DATA > CULTURE

Although charged with striking, it took so long for all the evidence to be collected that the League allowed him to play against North Melbourne and Collingwood in subsequent weeks. The latter was the last of his ﬁve senior games and ended a League career that spanned just 43 days. To highlight how surreal the events of that year were, Parsons recalls a snippet from a newspaper. “Some spectator had mentioned they were at the game and that it had an adverse affect on their life. I thought, ‘Oh, my god! You’re kidding aren’t you?’” Parsons is right to challenge that fan’s statement, when you consider what happened to the 17-year-old in the following months. His family changed its home phone number, because most nights were interrupted by death threats. His mother found the stress too much and fell ill for six months. When he went to school, photographers followed him. The same happened when he went to work. On the train, he saw his picture on the front page of the biggest selling newspaper in the state. Men would pick ﬁghts with him as he lined up with his family for counter meals at the local pub. When the Tribunal eventually sat, it rubbed him out for four weeks. The great Jack Titus, who was never reported in his 202 games, was his advocate on the night.

With the publicity I got from that Essendon game, no kid my age could have gotten through that without getting big-headed He then had to contest the assault charge. Richmond provided him with the best legal team available – and he was cleared (along with Graeme Richmond) on September 11, nearly four months after the incident. He still had not turned 18. On Grand Final day that year, Parsons sat with his parents in the stands, watching the Tigers playing North Melbourne. For the ﬁrst time in more than an hour, Parsons stops reminiscing and stares directly at me. The only noise I can hear is a violent wind blowing outside his ofﬁce window. “Ask me the next question, Rhett. Go on, you might as well ask it – how did I feel?” he says. “I was rapt for the club, but at the back of my mind I always had the thought: ‘What if I hadn’t mucked up?’ I could have been out there. And it haunts me.” In 1975, he was told if he played well against Fitzroy in the reserves, he would be back in the seniors. He knew it was his last chance. He rose for a mark at the MCG and landed on the point of his shoulder, shattering the bone. He needed 120 stitches, and was out for the rest of the season. At the end of the year, he was traded to Woodville, the

Tigers refusing to move him to another League club. It surprises me when Parsons admits that if he could change anything from that Windy Hill day, it would not be the punch that landed on Bradley, but the way he reacted afterwards. He says he struggled with his fiery temperament. (He says he was suspended a further two times in 1974 while playing in the reserves). “I wasted my opportunities. In hindsight, with the publicity I got from that Essendon game, no kid my age could have gotten through that without getting bigheaded and so far in front of themselves. I believed all my publicity and thought I was 10-feet tall and bullet-proof. It was unbelievable.” Parson was contacted years later by an Essendon official inviting him back to the ground for a “re-enactment” in the social club. “You will be re-enacting it without me,” he said, and hung up. While trying to rekindle his career via the St Kilda reserves, Parsons played a match at Windy Hill. It is the only time he has been back there. Parsons is aware of where he fits in football history. He understands why people bring up “that Essendon game”. “I am probably better known than some 200-game players, which is ridiculous.” Before the interview ends, I show him a Football Record I brought along. It isn’t from the Essendon match, but from four rounds earlier, when he debuted against Carlton.

“That’s unreal,” he yells, and gently takes the Record, as though it is the only copy in existence. And I realise that for him, it is. That day, he was driven to the game at Princes Park, and his Mum bought a Record. He has not seen a copy since. He does not care his name is spelt incorrectly – the second S was left off his surname. “Wasn’t a bad side; I am lucky to have my name listed in there,” he says, thumbing through the pages like it is a priceless manuscript. It seems to strike a part of his memory that has no scars. He tells me he kicked a goal with his ﬁrst kick, something the League has not listed. “How far out?” I ask. “Eighty metres,” he says, before bursting into laughter. “Nah, it was only 40.” It is the only time he laughed during the interview. He then reads out aloud the entire Carlton team, running down the page and ending with, “You’ve got to get me a copy of this,” all in one long breath. ‘It’s yours,” I tell him. He stops. And suddenly looks up. “Are you sure? Are you sure? My daughter would love that. Are you sure? Thank you. That’s great.” I had to. I realised what he was holding represented the life of Stephen Parsons before the Windy Hill Brawl. When he was merely an awestruck teenager embarking on a League career. Before the death threats. Before the courtrooms. Before the nightmare. Rhett Bartlett is the author of Richmond F.C. A Century of League Football.

20 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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It can be mentally draining. It’s pretty rewarding after a game, though, if you’ve had a win and you’ve shut down one of the other side’s best players

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the interview

Relishing the He plays one of the hardest roles in the game and does it very well. NICK BOW EN speaks with North Melbourne’s Brady Rawlings, an intense man on the ﬁeld but a relaxed one away from it.

PHOTO: MICHAEL WILLSON/AFL PHOTOS

rady Rawlings is used to tough assignments. As North Melbourne’s No. 1 run-with player for the past eight seasons, his regular sparring partners have included superstars Chris Judd and Gary Ablett. But while Rawlings readily nominates the Carlton skipper and Geelong’s No. 29 as the most complete players he has come up against, in effect, he has been preparing for such challenges since his earliest playing days in his hometown of Devonport. There, he took on elder brother Jade (a 148-game player with Hawthorn, the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne) in “some of the fiercest backyard games ever played”. And he regularly played in the local park with Jade and his mates, who were four years older than him. “That’s something that definitely helped me at an early age, wanting to beat those older guys,” Rawlings says. “It’s probably where my determination comes from.” Determination is synonymous with Rawlings. Watch him play and you’ll see a fierce competitor who shadows his opponent from the opening bounce to the final siren. In-your-face and intense, any opponent with issues about personal space will soon feel claustrophobic with Rawlings at his side. As hard as Rawlings likes to make it for his opponents, he concedes his is not an easy job, nor necessarily an enjoyable one. Accepting responsibility for shutting down the opposition’s best midfielder – knowing if he gets away from you, even for five or 10 minutes, he could win the match off his own boot – can be daunting. Nonetheless, Rawlings relishes the challenge.

“It can be mentally draining,” he says. “It’s pretty rewarding after a game, though, if you’ve had a win and you’ve shut down one of the other side’s best players.” It is a role Rawlings has excelled in. Two North Melbourne best and fairests (2004 and 2006) and representing Australia in the 2004 International Rules Series against Ireland are testament to that. But as intense as his role demands he be on the field, Rawlings is relaxed off it. Speaking with the AFL Record at the Roos’ Arden St headquarters, he is just as happy to talk about his life away from the club as he is footy. Central to that life are his wife, Lea, and six-month-old daughter, Georgia – his first child. Not surprisingly, Rawlings is just as hands-on as a new dad as he is on the field. “I try and get in there and give my wife a bit of a chop out with the bottles and nappies as much as I can,” he says. Between football and family, Rawlings says there is little time for anything else, though he has recently taken an interest in house renovations, doing some work with his father-in-law Tony, who is a builder. Late last year, he also bought a house in Devonport, which, with his mother Di’s help, he converted into a bed and breakfast, Three George Street. Rawlings admits his involvement in the day-today running of the business is limited and unlikely to increase even after he retires. “Mum runs it all, I don’t do much. It gives her something to do as well, to meet some people and get her hands dirty – she wasn’t doing much for a while there,” he says, jokingly.

It’s one of the things you notice talking to Rawlings – even battle-hardened taggers can have a sense of humour. And, with Rawlings, most often he is the butt of his own jokes. When I brought up his post-match ‘celebration’ with Brent Harvey after last year’s round six draw with the Sydney Swans, both having mistakenly thought the Roos had won, he says: “Nathan Brown did it the week before (after Richmond’s draw with the Western Bulldogs) and I was with Corey Jones at the time and I gave (Brown) one of the biggest ribbings of all time, saying ‘How could you not know the score?’

A couple of times last year it looked as though we threw in the towel. We want to focus on not letting that happen again “And then I do it the next week. Clearly, I’ve got a bit of work to do there.” Then, when asked whether he ever selects himself in Dream Team competitions, he deadpans: “Mate, I’m in it to win. I’ve thought about it in the past but there are deﬁnitely blokes there who are better value than me.” But something Rawlings does not joke about – not that there is any shortage of material – is his Tasmanian heritage. His roots to the Apple Isle are so strong he says he may one day make it his home again. Not only do his parents and sister Cascey still live there, but he also longs for the slower pace of life that Tassie offers. “It’s just so casual. Copping the Melbourne trafﬁc is enough to send anyone to live down there,” he says. But even after he retires, Rawlings says he will most

likely be in Melbourne for the foreseeable future, ideally working in recruitment – he has been doing some work with North’s recruiting staff – but he has not ruled out following Jade (a Richmond assistant) into coaching. For now, he is focused on scripting a happy ending to his playing career. A veteran of 187 games but not 28 until next month, Rawlings is a man with unfinished business. An emergency in the Roos’ 1999 premiership team, he just missed the club’s golden era. Worse still, since 2000, he has played in five finals for just one win, against Hawthorn in the 2007 first semi-final. This record and the club’s meek capitulations in some of those finals irk Rawlings. Installed as a deputy vice-captain this season, he is buoyed by North’s emerging young talent, despite the tough start to the season. With youngsters such as Lindsay Thomas, Matt Campbell, Gavin Urquhart and Lachie Hansen continuing to develop, Rawlings hopes he can be part of another golden era at the club. But, this year, the club’s focus is simple. “A couple of times last year, and in the finals in particular, it looked as though we threw in the towel. We want to focus on not letting that happen again, even if we lose,” he says. Despite the disappointing start to 2009, North fans can take comfort in the fact Rawlings is still out on the field leading by example. “As one of the club’s leaders, it’s now up to me to set the tone, to do the right things, so the younger guys pick up good habits and can take the club forward,” he says. In terms of work-rate and commitment, they could have no better role model.

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 23

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book excerpt

Rebuilding a superpower As Essendon celebrates the 25th anniversary of the 1984 premiership this year, a new book, Glory & Fame, the Rise and Rise of the Essendon Football Club, retraces the club’s transformation into a football superpower. Here, in an edited extract, ROH A N CONNOL LY relives the Bombers’ famous rivalry with Hawthorn from the 1980s.

he football world started to talk about Essendon’s “eliminitis” after its 1982 elimination final defeat to North Melbourne. It was the Bombers’ fifth elimination final defeat since the final five had been introduced in 1972, and it prompted coach Kevin Sheedy to mould the side he believed would be resilient enough to go those necessary further steps in September. The 1983 season would see the debut of a beanpole young ruckman and forward called Paul Salmon. A young back pocket, Mark Thompson, would take his first steps in senior football, while highly rated full-back Paul Weston arrived from South Australia. There were three left-field recruits who would prove stunning successes after being injected into the senior mix in the latter part of the season, continuing to strengthen Sheedy’s reputation as a coach from whom one should expect the unexpected. From the VFA came a smart running defender in Peter Bradbury and a little red-headed whippet called Alan Ezard. More remarkable still was the return to Windy Hill of another gritty and courageous little man in Darren Williams. ‘Daisy’ had played just one senior game for the Bombers in 1979 before heading to East Fremantle in the WAFL, then Vermont in the local suburban leagues. His resurgence would become a recurring theme as Sheedy drew rapid and stunning improvement from a host of seemingly unlikely sources – his “project players”. Like ungainly looking key defender Kevin Walsh, pilloried even by his own fans early on but, by 1983, a dependable and mobile centre

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BACK-TO-BACK: Essendon completed its mission to avenge Hawthorn’s 1983 Grand Final success by taking the 1984-85 premierships. Here Kevin Sheedy and Terry Daniher hold the ‘85 cup aloft.

half-back, and by 1985, another state representative. Up to the start of 1983, Roger Merrett had played 41 pretty uneventful games over ﬁve seasons for Essendon. But Sheedy stuck with the rugged centre half-forward, a decision which would reap huge rewards. Merrett seemed to epitomise the sort of football Sheedy wanted his Essendon team to play. Tough. Uncompromising. And with plenty of attitude. Qualities which came to the fore especially when, on the eve of the ﬁnals, former Hawthorn captain and The Sun columnist, Don Scott, wrote about a

“hitman” operating in one of the finals teams, a player quickly identified as Merrett. It prompted a major controversy. But far from being unsettled by the tumult surrounding him, Merrett instead rose to new heights, as Essendon, once again condemned to fourth and an elimination final after missing the double chance on percentage, this time responded in very different fashion. Thanks to four goals from skipper Terry Daniher, the Bombers dispensed with Carlton by 33 points to notch up their first finals victory for 15 years.

The following week in the first semi-final, they staged a rousing fightback to beat Fitzroy by 23 points. And in the preliminary final, a hapless North Melbourne was put to the sword in a thumping 86-point win. In his third season as coach, Sheedy had lifted Essendon into a Grand Final against Hawthorn. Now would come perhaps the defining moment of Essendon’s resurgence as a League power. Just not in the manner it had expected. Rather than a triumphant march to glory, Grand Final day 1983 proved one of the club’s greatest humiliations, the Dons AFL RECORD visit aflrecord.com.au 57

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thrashed by a record 83 points, at one stage in the final term trailing by more than 100. The tone was set in the first quarter when Tim Watson was knocked senseless behind play by Hawthorn’s Colin Robertson, barely a Bomber bothering to remonstrate. The Hawks piled on the pressure and Essendon wilted under the heat, the game already shot to ribbons by half-time. One of Watson’s few memories of the debacle came pre-game. It was tellingly symbolic. “I recall laying on the dressing room floor doing stretching exercises,” he would write in The Age. “As I tried to concentrate on what we had to do to win, someone walked across the rooms with two big buckets of champagne on ice. If that wasn’t a needless distraction, I don’t know what is.” His teammate Simon Madden said: “We were done because it was a relief for Essendon, as a body and as individuals, just to be there ... because we had taken so long to get there, we were too pleased to be there.” That still seemed the case early in the evening at the club’s post-match dinner, the Essendon reserves at least celebrating their Grand Final win with gusto. Until Sheedy took the microphone to speak, after only a few words stunning the entire room into silence. “I don’t want you to enjoy tonight ... at all,” he thundered. “Look, if it never hurts tonight, then Essendon will never win another premiership. The way we have been today, to put it mildly, was one of, if not the most disappointing days of my life.”

He (Sheedy) would bellow out their (Hawthorn’s) name, and our collective hate shifted from him to them TIM WATSON

Importantly, however, even in the public savaging lay the typical Sheedy ‘carrot’, that within this massive kick in the teeth were the crumbs of opportunity. “We’ve got a great chance to win in the future. I honestly believe that, because if you treat today as a sounding board, we’ve got a chance.” The spray had a lasting effect, The mood around the club over the following pre-season was one of grim determination.

They should have won more In Glory & Fame, former Hawthorn coach Allan Jeans reveals what made the Bombers so good.

BATTLE LINES: Hawthorn star Dermott Brereton and Essendon’s much-loved Bill Duckworth staged one of the great personal duels during the 1980s.

“That loss burnt deeply into our collective souls,” Watson wrote in The Age. “Sheeds punished us throughout pre-season training, and we began to despise the Hawks more. In running drills, at every marker, he would bellow out their name, and our collective hate shifted from him to them.” There would be another critical addition, in seasoned midﬁelder Leon Baker, fresh off back-to-back premierships with WAFL club Swan Districts. His cool head and precise disposal in the midﬁeld quickly showed their worth, and six months later, paid their most potent dividend on Grand Final day. For more than half the season, Salmon was the VFL’s newest superstar. At 205cm and well over 100kg, he was simply too big a handful for opposing defences. After 13 games, he had kicked 63 goals, but his season ended when Collingwood’s Geoff Raines fell across his knee at Victoria Park. Essendon had lost its main avenue to goal. But, importantly, far from its only one. Terry Daniher would kick 48 goals for the season and eight players 25 or more as what might have been a crippling injury blow became merely a blip on the radar to a side on a mission. The Dons would lose only four of 22 home and away games

on their way to topping the ladder. Two of them were to nemesis Hawthorn. That would become three after an epic second semi-final, one of the highest standard September play-offs in football history, in which the lead changed this way and that until the Hawks emerged eight-point victors. The gap between the two teams had continued to narrow, and Sheedy and his men had one more shot at it after wiping the floor with Collingwood in a record 133-point preliminary final win. The naivety of the 1983 Grand Finalist had been replaced with a quiet confidence that this was to be Essendon’s time, even after the Hawks got off to a flyer in the premiership decider and still led by 23 points at three-quarter time. Strangely, it was almost as if the roles were reversed at the final huddle of the season. Hawthorn, sensing the Bombers were closing, seemed panicked, players arguing among each other and with their coach, Allan Jeans. Sheedy, on the other hand, was also about to enjoy his finest moment as a tactician. At his very first interview with chairman Colin Stubbs in 1980, he had stressed the importance of having

Allan Jeans says there were many Hawk and Bomber parallels when both he and Kevin Sheedy started coaching their respective teams in 1981. The two clubs virtually were on a par, but both needed rebuilding, and Jeans and Sheedy set about their tasks not realising that a ferocious rivalry would develop between the teams in the ’80s. The Bombers and the Hawks were not sworn enemies until Hawthorn bloodied Essendon’s nose in the 1983 Grand Final. As Jeans put it: “We gave them a bit of a touch-up.” According to Jeans, Essendon had two decisive weapons – top ruckmen and extreme flexibility. He explained: “I was coach of Victoria against Western Australia that season (1984) and I saw from a different perspective just how good Simon Madden, Roger Merrett and Terry Daniher were. “Then, in 1985, I also had to worry about Paul Salmon. Few teams have had three big men as good as Madden, Merrett and Salmon.” Jeans remains surprised that the Bombers did not win more premierships after 1985. “I thought they would win two or three more,” he confessed. “But I guess winning two consecutive flags is difficult enough, and Essendon definitely deserved its success in the mid-’80s.” JIM MAIN

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 59

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I remember watching training down at Cross Keys Reserve one night, and the ball went around 93 times and never once touched the ground FORMER ESSENDON CHAIRMAN OF SELECTORS, BRIAN DONOHOE

CHANGING OF THE GUARD: A fresh-faced Mark Thompson, in just his third season, lines up on Hawthorn champion Leigh Matthews, in his ﬁnal year, in 1985.

players capable of playing a variety of positions. Four years on came the indelible proof. With Essendon 30 minutes away from potentially its first premiership in 19 years, Sheedy would pull a whole clutch of moves. Defenders Weston and Bradbury went forward, Williams into the centre, Baker to half-forward. The results were swift indeed, four goals in the first eight minutes after the Dons had kicked just five to the final change, with Baker’s unforgettable blind turn around despairing Hawk defender David O’Halloran and subsequent snap putting Essendon in front for the first time. The final quarter score of 9.6 was a Grand Final record, a sublime term in which all the slog, toil and occasional pain of the rebuilding of an entire club reaped its reward. Hawthorn had been thwarted in its bid for back-to-back premierships. But as Essendon celebrated and the largely pro-Bombers crowd roared at the exorcism of the ghosts of nearly two barren decades, so festered a quiet resolve to

continue the momentum far beyond one September. And few teams have backed up as effectively as the Bombers did in 1985, a season as close to a one-horse race as League football had seen for many years. Sheedy now had the weaponry he wanted. The attitude. The strength. And the skill. Recalls former chairman of selectors Brian Donohoe: “I remember watching training down at Cross Keys Reserve one night, and the ball went around 93 times and never once touched the ground.” Essendon had raised the bar to a level opponents couldn’t get near. The Bombers won 19 of 22 games, scored more points than any other team, and conceded the least points, too. They would ﬁnish three games clear on top of the ladder, then comfortably account for Hawthorn by 40 points in the second semi-ﬁnal. The next week, the Hawks scraped into the premiership decider by virtue of a 10-point win over Footscray at Waverley Park. Grand Final day this time was less a contest than a statement of complete superiority. The Dons,

Essendon v Hawthorn since 1981 PLAYED 51 WINS Essendon 26 Hawthorn 25 GRAND FINALS 1983 Hawthorn 20.20 (140) d Essendon 8.9 (57) 1984 Essendon 14.21 (105) d Hawthorn 12.9 (81) 1985 Essendon 26.14 (170) d Hawthorn 14.8 (92) LONGEST WINNING SEQUENCE 10 (Essendon), round 10, 1998 to round three, 2005 HIGHEST ATTENDANCE 110,332, MCG, 1983 Grand Final PREMIERSHIPS Essendon 4 (1984, 1985, 1993, 2000) Hawthorn 6 (1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008) BROWNLOW MEDALLISTS Essendon 2 (Gavin Wanganeen – 1993, James Hird – 1996) Hawthorn 3 (Robert DiPierdomenico – 1986, John Platten – 1987, Shane Crawford – 1999)

once unnerved by Hawthorn, would now do a demolition job on their hated rival by 78 points, outdoing even the previous season’s final-term goalfest with a stunning record of 11.3. The pundits began to speculate as to whether this mighty outfit could not only win a premiership hat-trick, but perhaps even equal Collingwood’s record of four straight flags between 1927-30.

GLORY & FAME Glory & Fame is available from all major bookstores from May 15. Also available from Essendon Football Club or visit slatterymedia. com/books

60 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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PM 5:09 8/4/09, 1 Page SPS2036_AFL_FPC.pdf

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NATHAN FOLEY

He likes to keep a low profile away from football, but there is nothing low key about Richmond’s Nathan Foley once he steps foot on the field. The turbo-charged Tiger is one of the most explosive midfielders in the game. BEN COLLINS

PHOTO: MICHAEL WILLSON/AFL PHOTOS

he vibrant, testosterone-pumping atmosphere of football clubs provides fertile ground for nicknames, and they are often quite humorous creations. Sometimes they’re funny because they fit the bearer’s personality or appearance (for example, Swans legend Bob Skilton was known as ‘Chimp’ because he was a hirsute little man); other times they represent the absolute antithesis of the bearer (ie. Collingwood champion Gavin Brown was a quiet customer but was known as ‘Rowdy’) and that’s what makes them even funnier. The latter applies to Nathan Foley. With his various nicknames linked to prominent namesakes, an outsider could be forgiven for thinking the Tigers midfield star is as comfortable being the centre of attention off the field as he is on it.

AR07 p62-65 Nathan Foley.indd 62

Aussie children’s group Hi-5 were to blame ﬁrst. One of the performers – the thick-set bloke who wore colourful tank-tops – shares the same name, and Foley inevitably copped grief about it in high school. Then when Foley made a name for himself in the AFL, Channel Seven commentator Dennis Cometti gave him another one. An unabashed wrestling fan, Cometti refers to him as ‘Mick’ – after American wrestler Mick Foley, a man-mountain who, with his unkempt long hair, beard, missing teeth and general hillbilly image, is such a polar opposite from the Tiger terrier that it’s not funny. Well, OK, it is. And, of course, footy teammates love bestowing nicknames on one another. The Richmond boys call him ‘Axel’ – after Eddie Murphy’s fast-talking,

6/5/09 3:47:15 PM

TIGER TOUGH:

After being drafted as a rookie, Nathan Foley has taken his game to a new level.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I generally use days off more-front-than-Myer lead as days off â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do much. character Axel Foley in the Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d probably just relax, catch Beverly Hills Cop trilogy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What can you do?â&#x20AC;? Foley says a movie or something. Pretty quiet, nothing too outlandish. As with a giggle, resigning himself I said, mate, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m pretty boring.â&#x20AC;? to the fact he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any Whatever the truth of his control over such things. unďŹ&#x201A;attering self-assessment, â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are a few Foleys â&#x20AC;&#x153;boringâ&#x20AC;? is not an adjective that ďŹ&#x201A;oating around and at comes to mind when assessing times it can be quite funny Foley the footballer. Quite the and entertaining.â&#x20AC;? contrary in fact. But â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;funny and When in full ďŹ&#x201A;ight, Foley entertainingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t is one of the most exciting, necessarily the explosive midďŹ elders in way Foley would the competition. He describe himself. can be a devastating â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m quite boring, stoppage player, actually,â&#x20AC;? he says. capable of â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of my winning the teammates play golf hard ball and then and enjoy doing accelerating away from those kinds of the congestion with a turbo things away charge that enables him from the club, to rapidly go from zero to but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have top speed. any particular It seems Foleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s AFL career hobby I can hang has also taken off in the blink my hat on.â&#x20AC;? of an eye. Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;mon, Although he was a star there must be at under-18 level in 2003 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; something. averaging 30 touches a game, Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your idea of a RUNNING MAN: One of Nathan perfect Foleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strengths is his ability &2 3PORTSENTRAL PDF 0to break the lines. day-off?

winning the best and fairest for the Geelong Falcons and making the TAC Cup Team of the Year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; fears about his size (or lack thereof) meant he was overlooked in the 2003 draft. The Tigers threw Foley a lifeline by selecting him with their ďŹ rst pick, No. 4 overall, in the rookie draft. After impressing with Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s VFL afďŹ liate Coburg, he was elevated to the Tigers senior list as a 19-year-old in mid-2005 and has hardly missed a game since. In his fourth AFL season, he has played 76 games and is one of the Tigersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; most important players. Perhaps their most important midďŹ elder (although Brett Deledio might shade him for that title). His consistency for a young player upon which much depends has been admirable. In his past 52 games since late in his breakthrough 2006 season, he has averaged 23.4 disposals a game (including 26 in his six appearances this season). Impressive numbers for a player who often carries the ball more than 20 metres before releasing it.

Tiger stars set to roar

Nathan Foley canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait for the Tigers to assemble their A-grade midďŹ eld, with Ben Cousins (pictured), Mark Coughlan and Trent Cotchin ďŹ t and ďŹ ring and releasing the pressure from the likes of Brett Deledio and himself. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All the good sides have great midďŹ eld depth,â&#x20AC;? Foley says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;so hopefully we can get all our best midďŹ elders on the park together for most of the year because it will go a long way towards us winning games.â&#x20AC;? He is inspired by Coughlanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s return. â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Cogsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a bloke we all look up to. When I ďŹ rst got to Richmond, he really stood out for how hard he worked, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great to have him out there with us again.â&#x20AC;? Cousins has also set a great example. â&#x20AC;&#x153;His work ethic at training and in games is amazing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a real eye-opener â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and that drives you to be better in that area.â&#x20AC;?

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In 2007 – just his second full season at AFL level – Foley was runner-up to Matthew Richardson in the Tigers’ best and fairest, and was rewarded by being appointed vice-captain (a role he shared last year with current skipper Chris Newman, but holds outright now). It’s a responsibility he is comfortable with, and enjoys, despite the Tigers’ 1-5 start to the season. “It was obviously a tough ﬁrst month of the season – it didn’t go how we wanted it to,” he says. “But being part of the leadership group, it’s important to stay on top of things and make sure that, internally, the spirit’s really high, which, with the help of the coaches, I think we’ve done really well.” The help of coach Terry Wallace, in particular, has been pivotal to Foley’s development. “He’s the most professional person I’ve met in footy,” Foley says. “Incredibly professional. “I’ve been here since Terry started at Richmond and he’s been great for me and a lot of players. Firstly, he’s given me the opportunity to play AFL football, which not all rookie-listed players get, and I’ll always be grateful to him for that. “He’s given me the conﬁdence to run and take the game on more. He’s been great for my development as a player.” With Foley’s meteoric rise has come increasing attention from

AT LAST: Nathan Foley (right) celebrates the Tigers’ round ﬁve win with Angus Graham (left) and Matthew Richardson.

FAC T F I L E

Nathan Foley Born: September 8, 1985 Recruited from: Colac/Geelong U18 Debut: 2005 Height: 178cm Weight: 80kg Games: 76 Goals: 20 Honours: 2nd best and fairest 2007; International Rules Series 2008; NAB AFL Rising Star nominee 2006.

It was great to see how guys like Judd and Sam Mitchell prepare for games. They are so precise in their preparation and recovery NATHAN FOLEY

opponents desperate to nullify his inﬂuence. Taggers succeeded at times last year but, after working extensively with his coaches, improving his ﬁtness and watching a lot of footage of hunted players such as Chris Judd, Daniel Kerr and Simon Black, Foley is far better equipped to dictate terms. He explains: “Experience is the key – the more you get tagged, the more you get used to it, and the better you’ll be at handling it because you can apply some of the little tricks

you learn along the way.” Foley’s football education went to another level when he played for the Big V in last year’s Hall of Fame tribute match and then represented Australia in the International Rules Series. “It was great to see how guys like Judd and Sam Mitchell prepare for games,” he says. “They are so precise in their preparation and recovery.” Like the rest of us, Foley loves watching Gary Ablett. He can also recall making the hour-long drive from his hometown of Colac (in Victoria’s

western district) to Kardinia Park to watch Geelong and, in particular, Gary Ablett snr. “Gary (junior) has been on ﬁre and he’s great to watch,” he says. “I watch anyone who plays a similar type of role to me to see what I can pick up from them.” Foley says he is trying to be more damaging, whether it be supplying greater quality and quantity inside 50s, goal assists or kicking goals himself. He has kicked only 20 in his career and realises it is a weakness. “We all know the value of goalkicking midﬁelders because the best teams have them and it adds another dimension to the side,” he says. “(I’m) just trying to add little things to that each week to become a better contributor to the team.”

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6/5/09 10:32:57 AM

goalkicking

SKILLS

Kicking goals – it’s still hit or miss

Goalkicking remains the one area of the game that has not improved in the modern era – with some notable exceptions. A NDR EW WA L L ACE

DEAD-EYE HAWK:

Jarryd Roughead has improved his goalkicking after working with assistant coach David Rath.

ast weekend’s thriller between Hawthorn and Carlton at the MCG brought renewed focus on set-shot goalkicking standards in the modern game. Big Hawk Jarryd Roughead, a less-than-reliable kick at goal early in his career, seemed to have mastered the art, using his short run-up and powerful left leg swing to boot a deadly accurate 8.2. At the other end, Carlton’s Brendan Fevola, the man many declare the best set-shot kick in the game, also enjoyed a day out, and tellingly, had the chance to win the match for the Blues with a shot from about 25 metres out late in the last quarter. Fevola’s attempt from a 45-degree angle clipped the inside of the right-hand goal post, leaving Blues fans to ponder what might have been, and commentators wondering

why goalkicking remains one area of the game that hasn’t improved over the past two decades. Roughead, however, is proof that the skill can be honed with endless hours of practice and sound coaching. During the 2007 home and away season, the former junior basketball star from Gippsland booted 27.22 from set shots to finish with a 55.1 per cent success rate. He improved this slightly to 58 per cent last season (47.34), but this year has become something of a marksman, with 17.3 after six rounds, a staggering accuracy rating of 85 per cent. The 22-year-old credits his progression to “18 months of hard work with the routine” and technical refinement supervised by Hawthorn assistant coach David Rath, an expert in biomechanics. “I wasn’t a great kick when I first came here,” Roughead

He’s pretty compact, keeps it simple and, technically, he’s really sound at the position he drops the ball in HAWTHORN ASSISTANT COACH DAVID RATH ON JARRYD ROUGHEAD

admits. “But just getting out there every Tuesday and Thursday morning with our goalkicking sessions and going through it all the time, means when it comes to a game it’s ﬁnally starting to pay off.” Roughead is not the only one making life easy for goal umpires this season. Adelaide’s Jason Porplyzia is striking at 100 per cent, having booted 11 straight from set shots and 16 straight overall from six games. According to Crows goalkicking coach David Noble, Porplyzia’s outstanding accuracy boils down to diligence with his technique. “Jason is very clear on the key elements of his routine,”

Noble says. “He’s pretty compact, keeps it simple and, technically, he’s really sound at the position he drops the ball in. His alignment to goals is pretty good and generates good momentum when he comes in to kick the ball.” But while Roughead and Porplyzia are clearly in the ‘zone’, goalkicking accuracy across the board remains at around the same level. In 2007, the average accuracy for set shots across the AFL was 61.2 per cent after 22 home and away rounds. The following year it crept to 62.9 per cent, and in 2009 it stands at 61.6. Specialist kicking coach Kevin Ball, who has worked with Hawthorn, Fremantle, Melbourne, the elite AIS-AFL Academy program and NRL side Melbourne Storm, believes the ﬁgure should be closer to 80 per cent. He contends that the apparent lack of progress can

68 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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be attributed to a number of factors. Defensive strategy is one. “Previously, full-forwards would sit in the goalsquare, lead out and kick mostly from 30 metres straight in front, whereas now there are a lot of tactics to make sure there are fewer easy shots on goal,” Ball says. “There’s also the fact that a lot of the forwards play more like midfielders these days – constantly running up and down the ground – so there’s certainly a big fatigue factor that wasn’t as prevalent previously.” With clubs also aiming to create a spread of goalkickers, more and more non-specialists find themselves lining up for goal each week. “You’ve got your obvious goalkickers trained up, then there’s the mid-range guys who will finish up with between five and 15 shots for the year,” Ball says. “There’s a lot of room for improvement in this area.” Ball lists the three key elements of goalkicking as ball drop, momentum through the kick and a straight follow-through. He believes clubs need to put more resources and time into

specialised coaching in order to identify and monitor subtle technical deﬁciencies. At club level, medical staff are wary of soft tissue injuries and insist players do minimal work on their goalkicking. Ball feels this approach is, at times, overcautious. “Kicking has received bad press when it probably shouldn’t have,” he says. “We talk about osteitis pubis, but hockey players get it and basketballers get it – sports that don’t even kick. “My experience has been that it very much depends on the individual and that kicking is like any other training load in that it can be built up. “But it seems everybody gets stuck with a reduced kicking volume, which is not optimal from a football training point of view.” KICKING BLUES:

Brendan Fevola takes the ﬁnal shot in last week’s game.

Some late goalkicking misses over the years Carlton’s Brendan Fevola isn’t on his own when it comes to missing a potential match-winning goal near or after the ﬁnal siren. Here is a list of some others who have missed, provided by the AFL’s statistician and history consultant Col Hutchinson. Gerald Brosnan – Fitzroy v Collingwood (GF, 1903, MCG) Ralph Rogerson – Fitzroy v Carlton (Rd 7, 1964, Princes Park) Malcolm Blight – North Melbourne v Hawthorn (Rd 12, 1977, Arden St) Kelvin Matthews – Hawthorn v Fitzroy (Rd 5, 1978, Princes Park) Robert Scott – Geelong v Sydney Swans (Rd 6, 1988, Kardinia Park) Simon Beasley – Footscray v Brisbane Bears (Rd 7, 1988, Carrara) Mark Bairstow – Geelong v Carlton (Rd 20, 1991, Princes Park) Stephen Kernahan – Carlton v Essendon (Rd 2, 1993, MCG) Matthew Lloyd – Essendon v W Bulldogs (Rd 14, 2002, Docklands) Matthew Egan – Geelong v Melbourne (Rd 20, 2005, Kardinia Park) Matthew Pavlich – Fremantle v Geelong (Rd 6, 2008, Subiaco) Brad Johnson (above) – W Bulldogs v North Melbourne (Rd 9, 2008, Docklands)

COURAGE, INITIATIVE AND TEAMWORK ON AND OFF THE FIELD. Voting is now open in the 2009 AFL Army Award. Get online at afl.com.au or SMS ‘Courage’ to 13 19 01 and pick the play of the round and you could have the chance to win an awesome Army experience for you and a mate.

Authorised under VIC Permit number 09/1090, NSW LTPS/09/2684, ACT TP09/1133, SA T09/690. Entries close 7/9/09. See afl.com.au for full terms and conditions. AFL Authorisation Code: GFAFL09/29

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AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 69 5/5/09 12:13:07 PM

6/5/09 3:25:48 PM

timeon

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

time on Answer man

AFL history guru Col Hutchinson answers your queries

FARREN RAY

p78

NAME GAME

Mum’s the word September specialists Which current player has taken part in the most ﬁnals games? Who has the all-time record for the most ﬁnals? Barney Quick, Bendigo CH: The Bulldogs’ Jason

Akermanis has played in 25 fi nals, 22 of which were for the Brisbane Lions. He is followed by Dustin Fletcher (Essendon), Simon Goodwin (Adelaide) and Adam Simpson (North Melbourne), all with 21. Adelaide pair Tyson Edwards and Andrew McLeod have seen September action 20 times. Former Hawk champion Michael Tuck played 39 times in fi nals, including 11 Grand Finals, which produced a record seven premierships. He took part in eight more fi nals than legendary Magpie full-forward Gordon Coventry.

FINALS FREAKS:

Jason Akermanis and Michael Tuck (inset) have played in 64 ﬁnals and 10 premierships between them.

WRITE TO ANSWER MAN The Slattery Media Group 140 Harbour Esplanade Docklands, 3008 or email michaell@slatterymedia.com

P L AY E R I N F O R M AT I O N S E A R C H

Are you, or do you know, a descendant of former player Joseph Patrick Fox? Recruited from Marylebone Football Club (East Geelong), Fox made a sole appearance for South Melbourne against Essendon at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground in round 17, 1903, as a ruckman. The following season he

played two matches for Geelong as a follower/back-pocket, also against the Dons at the EMCG and Fitzroy at Corio Oval. He died in Geelong on November 13, 1948, aged about two months short of his 70th birthday.

Should you have any information regarding Fox, including his date of birth and height and weight, telephone Col Hutchinson on (03) 9643 1929 or email col.hutchinson@aﬂ. com.au.

The surname of young Geelong ruckman Shane Mumford (pictured) might seem to be appropriate for Mother’s Day this Sunday. Unfortunately, his surname has nothing to do with “mum”. The name is a variation of Mountford, which itself is the English form of the Norman French name Montfort, made up of two French words, mont (hill) and fort (strong). However, if we dip into the past, there are a couple of players whose names do have motherly connections. One is former West Coast player Daniel Metropolis, who kicked goals with his ﬁrst four kicks in AFL football. Metropolis is made up of two Greek words, meter (mother) and polis (city), a metropolis being the “mother city”. The other is a former North Melbourne and Hawthorn player named Andrew Demetriou. Also based on meter, Demetriou means “follower of Demeter”, Demeter being the goddess of the crops – the Earth Mother. KEVAN CARROLL

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MARKING SKILLS

EVASIVE SKILLS

HAND SKILLS

ONE ON ONE

PERCENTERS PE P ERCEN RCENT TER TE ERS ER RS S

KICKING SKILLS

COACHING SKILLS

TACTICAL SKILLS

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29/4/09 12:11:02 PM

timeon

COLLECTABLES WITH RICK MILNE

All tied up A weekly look at collectables, memorabilia and all footy ooty thi things g stored in boxes and garages. I have an original Fitzroy tie from about the 1950s (when the club was known as the Gorillas). It shows an old-time player (in long shorts) taking a mark. My father wore it with pride for many years. What is the value? ADRIAN, VIA EMAIL

RICK’S RARITY

Hawthorn joined the VFL in 1925, along with Footscray and North Melbourne. The club previously played in the VFA against teams such as Brighton, Northcote and Brunswick. This 1920 membership card is a true rarity as few would have been issued and hardly any would have survived. It is worth at least $1000.

RM: Adrian, if you are an old

Roy Boy, you too would wear this tie with pride. It’s worth at least $150. I have been looking for someone who will sell me one of the Geelong heritage football guernseys released over the past few years. Can you help me? PETER, VIA EMAIL RM: There is only one way to

get one, Peter. Go to aﬂ.com. au and then go to the auctions link. You will see heritage and other guernseys for sale on this site, but you might have to wait until a Geelong one comes up for sale. My son has been collecting football cards for the past 10 years and has been particularly keen in his pursuit of rarer cards like the gold and autograph ones. He has amassed thousands of the other cards and I was wondering whether these have any value. LESLEY, VIA TELEPHONE

RM: People collect cards

for a variety of reasons and some fans love their souvenir value. Generally, there isn’t much of a secondary market for most footy cards. My father kept a scrapbook relating to Geelong’s 1951-52 premiership years. Is this worth anything? RACHAEL, VIA EMAIL RM: Scrapbooks generally are not high on the value chart, but your father’s appears to be better than most and has good age. Also, there often are original photographs in these older scrapbooks and these can be worth up to $20. I am guessing that your father’s scrapbook would be worth $250.

CONTACT RICK MILNE mrpp@iprimus.com.au or drop him a line: 5 Cooraminta St, Brunswick, Vic, 3056 or call (03) 9387 4131. One query per reader.

FASHIONABLE: This Fitzroy club tie from the 1950s, when the club was known as the Gorillas, is worth at least $150.

WATCH BEFORE THE GAME SATURDAY NIGHTS ON TEN

beforethegame.com.au LADDER ANDY DAVE MICK LEHMO SAM STRAUCHANIE

33 32 30 32 29 17

TIPSTERS

MICK Hawthorn Geelong Cats Richmond North Melbourne Carlton Western Bulldogs West Coast Eagles St Kilda

72 b4thgame_RD07.indd AFL RECORD visit aﬂ1record.com.au

AR07 p72 RickMilne.indd 72

LEHMO Hawthorn Geelong Cats Brisbane Lions Port Adelaide Carlton Adelaide West Coast Eagles St Kilda

DAVE Hawthorn Geelong Cats Richmond Port Adelaide Carlton Adelaide West Coast Eagles St Kilda

STRAUCHANIE Essendon Sydney Swans Brisbane Lions Port Adelaide Fremantle Adelaide Melbourne St Kilda

SAM Hawthorn Geelong Cats Brisbane Lions Port Adelaide Carlton Western Bulldogs West Coast Eagles St Kilda

ANDY Hawthorn Geelong Cats Richmond Port Adelaide Carlton Western Bulldogs West Coast Eagles St Kilda

is week special guest appearance by MATTHEW RICHARDSON

5/5/09 3:51:34 PM

6/5/09 3:26:32 PM

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IN THE OUTER AC R O S S 1 A ratty Cat turned Bear (4) 3 Former Demon whose surname is German 6 10 11 12 13 15 17 18 20 22 24 26 29 30 31 32 33

for fruit (4) Centre in North’s 1975 premiership; nickname ‘Crab’ (5) Led Port Adelaide to 2004 Grand Final win (7) Looks after; also, a gentler form of ‘tags’ (5) Paul ..... hoisted himself to a Bomber premiership medallion (5) Carlton’s Team of the Century captain (8) Rumbalara’s favourite former Magpie (5, 4) Given name of young Bulldog drafted in 2005; famous rock surname (5) Brothers, of Italian heritage; both renowned for kicking long goals (5) Bruce ......... , a Roo and Magpie who also played in the Crows’ inaugural season (9) A bootmaker’s tool; also describes fourth quarter (4) Gary Ablett is Gary Ablett’s ... (3) Clubs do this when they need an extra player on their list; e.g. Melbourne did it with Shannon Motlop in 2005 (3, 2) Magpies No. 42 will never be forgotten (7) Murray played seven games with Cats in 1975; same surname as former Test fast-medium bowler ‘Gus’ (7) Atmosphere when scores are level late in a game (5) Speaking ﬁguratively in destroying the opposition (4) Tiger snake fancier, .... Simmonds (4)

DOWN 1 ‘.....’ Gale, former Fitzroy ruckman and broadcaster (5)

2 Former Bulldog defender, familiar with Tribunal process, as a witness (7)

4 Something Collingwood, Port, Richmond, St Kilda and Essendon have in common (5)

5 Ex-Fremantle player Scott Chisholm, known as ... ......, claimed a connection with the British royal family (3, 6)

6 Former Carlton and St Kilda player nicknamed ‘Jungle Boy’ (5)

7 ‘Mopsy’ played with South Melbourne, North Melbourne and Fitzroy (7)

8 Right across Essendon’s jumper (4) 9 Magpie 1990 premiership player from Queensland (8)

14 Diminutive 1991 Hawk premiership back pocket’s given name (4)

15 Given name of former Blue, brother of Lions’ Ashley (4)

16 One who ‘steals’ goals. Describes St Kilda’s Stephen Milne (9)

17 Kicked most career goals in Hawthorn’s history (8)

19 Port player who could be nicknamed Charlie (7)

21 Most important positions in ﬁnal eight (3, 4) 23 A swap of players (5) 25 Given name of Brisbane premiership player who wore number 44 (5)

27 Former Carlton ruckman’s real name is Peter Jones (5)

28 When selectors make an unforced change, they .... a player (4)

Scrambled footballer Handier

Cryptic footballers

MYSTERY DEMON – S

Staker Hall Bateman Thomas Shaw Wood Ross Ray Akermanis Baker Bell Ablett Eade Stack Pears Rodan Gibbs

Bird Roos Ratten Dunn Moss Webster Watt Birss Mundy Allen Burns West Rioli Carr Waters Wenn

Inexperienced club at Arden St.

Demon went on injured.

Tiger somehow ﬁtter after PT.

Ban on meat at Collingwood.

Adam Gilchrist No. 1 at Carlton?

Always it takes time to be a Bulldog.

Platten in exercise at Arden St.

Lion chairman loses ego.

Saint from Sunshine?

10.

Confused Ladson at ..... at St Kilda.

THIS WEEK’S ANSWERS

SCRAMBLED FOOTBALLER: Daniher CRYPTIC FOOTBALLERS: 1. Greenwood 2. Newton 3. Pettifer 4. Barham 5. Walker 6. Everitt 7. Pratt 8. Charman 9. Ray 10. Dal Santo. WORD FIND: Carroll

Captain Jay has put together a list of AFL players and coaches in this square. Names run in a straight line in any direction and overlap. Arrange the unused letters to form the surname of a premiership coach.

74 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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NAB AFL RISING STAR

Exciting youngster Stephen Hill is showing why the Dockers were so keen to draft him. A NDR EW WA L L ACE

hen Fremantle selected West Australian teenager Stephen Hill with its prized No. 3 selection at the 2008 NAB AFL Draft, eyebrows were raised as to why the club overlooked the ready-made Daniel Rich, another local boy. And when Rich blitzed for the Brisbane Lions in the opening rounds of the season, with a paper-thin Hill gathering only 14 touches in his ﬁrst two games, some said the Dockers had blown it. But such voices are becoming less judgmental (and increasingly quiet) by the minute. Hill, 19, became the latest NAB AFL Rising Star nominee with a standout performance on the biggest stage possible in the west – the derby against West Coast. In a free-ranging role on a wing, Hill gathered 21 disposals and booted two telling goals to help the Dockers record a famous come-from-behind victory. But the laidback, quietly spoken youngster is as unfazed about receiving plaudits as he was about any doubts that surrounded him. “I guess it feels all right,” he said when asked his response to the Rising Star nomination. “I haven’t really thought about it too much.” Hill lapped up the intensity and physicality of the game against his club’s biggest rival and, as a former Eagles supporter, at times almost had to

DASHING DOCKER:

Stephen Hill has excited fans with his supreme athleticism.

NAB AFL Rising Star nominees Round 1 – Daniel Rich (BL) Round 2 – David Zaharakis (Ess) Round 3 – Patrick Dangerﬁeld (Adel) Round 4 – Jaxson Barham (Coll) Round 5 – Garry Moss (Haw) Round 6 – Stephen Hill (Frem) HIGH FIVE

An easygoing nature could only point to one thing as Hill’s hobby outside football – surﬁng. Hill has a dread of 2 snakes, stemming from his mother’s lifelong fear and an invasion that once occurred at school. 3 As a child, Hill wore the No. 9 of Ben Cousins on his West Coast guernsey.

Hill attributes his improving form to increased conﬁdence after notching a half-dozen games at the top level. Hill has been told by 5 coach Mark Harvey to back himself and not worry about making mistakes.

Hill gathered 21 disposals and booted two telling goals to help the Dockers record a famous victory stomp on his own toes to grasp the reality of crossing paths with stars such as Daniel Kerr. “I used to love Peter Matera and Kerr,” Hill said. “It was a little weird at times standing next to him (Kerr), after growing up barracking for him.” Although he has received good

support from teammates such as Antoni Grover since arriving at Fremantle, Hill was taken aback by the difﬁculty of an AFL pre-season campaign. However, he was undoubtedly aided by his supreme athletic traits, which were highlighted at last year’s NAB AFL Draft Camp. Hill set a record for agility, ﬁnished third overall in the 20-metre sprint (2.83sec) and equal third in the standing vertical jump (72cm). He has proved far more than just an offensive weapon since

hitting the AFL scene, laying 19 tackles in the ﬁrst six rounds and nominating this area of his game as a deﬁnite focus. It could be quite some time before any further judgments are passed on the highly skilled youngster – at least, negative ones.

Each week throughout the home and away season, a panel of judges will select the nominee for the 2009 NAB AFL Rising Star. At the completion of the season, one outstanding player will be chosen as the 2009 NAB AFL Rising Star winner. He will receive an investment folio, a dedicated personal banker, a financial planner and the Ron Evans Medal, all courtesy of the NAB. The NAB Rising Star award is the final stage of the NAB AFL Rising Stars Program, which supports grassroots players and football communities and helps young Australians fulfil their dream of playing in the AFL.

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TALKING POINT

A fresh start

The grass has proved greener for three players given a second chance at new clubs in 2009. NICK BOW EN

ast year’s trade period seemed a non-event at the time. Despite the usual week of frenzied club negotiations and big names such as Ryan O’Keefe, Brad Green and Hamish McIntosh being floated, most clubs clung to their draft picks, mindful that concessions to new teams from the Gold Coast and western Sydney would dilute the talent pool at subsequent drafts. In all, just six trades were completed, down from 20 in 2007. But, while the 2008 trade period won’t be remembered for its quantity of trades, last week’s games suggest it might be for the quality of the players who found new homes. Certainly, St Kilda, the Sydney Swans and Collingwood would be delighted with the form of the players they traded for last year – Farren Ray, Rhyce Shaw and Anthony Corrie respectively. Facing his previous club the Western Bulldogs for the first time, Ray starred, racking up 31 possessions and 11 marks in the Saints’ 28-point win. Former Pie Shaw was just as impressive at half-back in the Swans’ hard-fought victory against Richmond, finishing with 25 disposals and a goal. Meanwhile, Collingwood would have been delighted with Corrie’s club debut. The former Lion played 53 games and kicked 48 goals in six seasons in Brisbane, before being delisted when Michael Voss took over as coach at the end of last season. The 24-year-old showed he still has much to offer at AFL level, collecting 20 disposals on the wing against North Melbourne, including two running goals and a cat-like, last-quarter intercept that resulted in a Magpie shot at goal. The form of Ray and Shaw has

TRADING PLACES:

Farren Ray has been a revelation after he was traded by the Bulldogs.

The 2008 trades CARLTON – Robert Warnock Traded by Fremantle for draft selections 24 (Nick Suban), 56 (Ben Bucovaz) and 68 (Tim Ruﬄes).

COLLINGWOOD – Anthony Corrie Traded by the Brisbane Lions for draft selection 82 (not utilised).

ESSENDON – Brent Prismall Traded by Geelong for draft selection 39 (Steven Motlop).

RICHMOND – Adam Thomson Traded by Port Adelaide for draft selection 42 (Mitchell Banner).

ST KILDA – Farren Ray Traded by Western Bulldogs for draft selection 31 (Jordan Roughead).

SYDNEY SWANS – Rhyce Shaw Traded by Collingwood for draft selection 46 (Luke Rounds).

Ray is third at the Saints for contested marks – headed only by key forwards Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke been good all season. Both have played every match, and both are in career-best form. Ray, selected by the Bulldogs with pick No. 4 in the 2003 NAB AFL Draft, was a relative disappointment in his five seasons at Whitten Oval. After 75 games, and just 13 in 2008, the Bulldogs decided let the hardrunning midfielder go in exchange for the Saints’ second-round draft pick (No. 31). Unfortunately for the Dogs, Ray, 23, finally seems ready to live up to his high draft billing. While he showed glimpses of his running ability in previous seasons, his contested overhead

marking this year has been a revelation. Against the Bulldogs, he took two gutsy grabs in front of packs Remarkably, the 187cm Ray is third at the Saints for contested marks with eight – headed only by key forwards Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke. His running game has also been better than ever – averaging 24 possessions a game (up from a career average of 15.8). “A change of environment is always nice, and I’ve got a bit more licence (at the Saints), but at AFL level things take time and being in my sixth year has also helped me,” Ray said. “I’m deﬁnitely happy with the way my football is going, but you never get complacent in this industry.” Like Ray, Shaw had been a relative disappointment at his ﬁrst club. The son of former

Collingwood captain Ray, Shaw played 94 games with the Pies from 2000-08, but just twice managed more than 16 in a season. He was often criticised for his erratic kicking. But with the Swans (who traded draft pick 46 for him), the 27-year-old has quickly become a vital runner off half-back, ﬁlling the large void left by the off-season retirements of Nic Fosdike and Tadhg Kennelly. His 2009 numbers are impressive. He has averaged 22 disposals and three tackles (up from career averages of 16 and 1.8), leads the Swans in rebound 50s (24) and is third in inside 50s (20). But, while Shaw’s pace and run were evident at the Pies, he appears to have added polish to his game, so much so he is sometimes entrusted with the Swans’ kicking-in duties. Yes, it’s still early in the season, let alone in these players’ careers at their new clubs. But the initial signs, at least, suggest Ray, Shaw and even Corrie will be valuable players at their second homes.

78 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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