AFL Record, Round 4, 2010 by The Slattery Media Group

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE AFL GAME

BERNIE VINCE

Once reluctant, now a star

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GOODBYE: Anthony Rocca, who will

be farewelled by the Collingwood faithful this weekend, reﬂects on a long and successful career.

ROUND 4, APRIL 16-18, 2010

Features 57

Anthony Rocca

Gone but not forgotten by the Magpies.

Bernie Vince

The country boy who has become a star.

Moments of the decade

How Geelong ended its premiership drought.

Regulars 4

Backchat

Your say on 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 THIS WEEK’S COVERS The national cover features Adelaide’s Bernie Vince. There are also tribute covers for Anthony Rocca (Coll v Haw) and Geelong and Tom Harley (Geel v Port) as the Cats unfurl their 2009 ﬂag.

74 76 78

Answer Man Kids’ Corner NAB AFL Rising Star Talking Point

Ted Hopkins on the myth of left-footers.

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Time to bring on the sub?

Youngsters making their mark

As a footy supporter of more than 40 years, I am amazed at the wealth of young, emerging talent that all AFL clubs seem to have: Ben Cunnington (North Melbourne), Tom Scully (Melbourne), Anthony Morabito and Michael Barlow (Fremantle), Kurt Tippett (Adelaide), Dustin Martin (Richmond), Scott Gumbleton (Essendon), Gary Rohan (Sydney Swans), Daniel Rich (Brisbane Lions), Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood), Tom Gillies (Geelong), Carl Peterson (Hawthorn), Cameron Hitchcock (Port Adelaide), Nic Naitanui (West Coast) and Jordan Roughead (Western Bulldogs) may not all be household names now, but I am sure they will be in years to come, as will players from the Gold Coast and Western Sydney. It is an exciting time and fans of all clubs will appreciate watching these young stars develop. It is important for fans to remember that these young men will make mistakes on and off the ﬁeld, as we all do. The AFL and the AFL Players’ Association are doing a great job helping these young men settle into a completely new lifestyle. It is hard enough in life starting a new job, let alone starting a new role interstate and under the microscope

RUNNING HOT: Demon Tom

Scully has made an impressive start to his career.

of members, the media and football club personnel. Let’s cut these kids some slack and just enjoy watching them grow with the game. RON RUZZIER, VIA EMAIL

Dees regain the belief

What a game of contrasts last weekend at the MCG. It threatened to get ugly in the ﬁrst half as Melbourne players – heeding the shouts of the old-timers seated around me – continually bombed the ball long into the forward line then watched it rebound back past them at speed. Having witnessed the Demons’ inability to counteract Adelaide’s style of play in previous seasons, I spent half-time preparing for another

PRODUCTION EDITOR Michael Lovett WRITERS GENERAL MANAGER, MARKETING Nick Bowen, Ben Collins, Jim Main, Peter Ryan, Callum Twomey & COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS Paul Waldren SUB-EDITORS Gary Hancock, Howard Kotton AFL CORPORATE BUSINESS MANAGER STATISTICIAN Richard Simkiss Cameron Sinclair AFL RECORD CREATIVE DIRECTOR MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Hutchison Geoﬀ Slattery DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR AFL RECORD EDITOR Sam Russell Peter Di Sisto

4 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

frustrating 60 minutes of football. Then it happened. The Dees started to run and carry; started to switch the ball and look for targets around the edges and in space. It was like watching a child suddenly unlock the mystery of a Rubik’s cube. At times they looked clumsy and made bad mistakes, as this young side will continue to do for some time yet, but Melbourne players built on the lessons of the Collingwood game the week before and took risks, tackled hard and started to believe. After a series of long, dark winters, it’s so good to go to the footy again with hope. DAVE EASTMAN, SPRINGVALE SOUTH, VIC

Golden opportunity

I attended Gold Coast’s ﬁrst VFL game against Port Melbourne last weekend. The AFL has certainly provided a good basis for this team and I look forward to its ﬁrst game in 2011. TIM BORTEN, MONTEREY KEYS, QLD

HAVE YOUR SAY

Send us your feedback. The he best letter each round will ll receive a copy of the AFL Record Season Guide 2010. 0. Email aﬂrecordeditor@ slatterymedia.com or write to AFL Record, Slattery Media Group, 140 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands, VIC, 3008.

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� Adelaide last week lost to a young Melbourne team growing in confidence. The Crows were compromised for much of the second half because of injuries, and by midway through the last term had no fit players on the bench. Patrick Dangerfield was in hospital after being tackled into the turf, with three others nursing injuries. Adelaide’s predicament again raised the issue of numbers on the bench, and how a team without the ability to rotate players remains competitive. The AFL this week said it would consider a range of options in relation to the bench for next season, including a ‘substitute’ system. These considerations would not be based only on the events of last weekend, but as part of broader monitoring of interchange numbers and injuries, and any relationship between the two. A substitute system has been trialled during the NAB Cup, with teams allowed six players on the bench and two substitutes. A nominated substitute can be used, providing another player is removed from the action for the rest of the game. It’s uncertain whether a substitute system in isolation would help a team with a w ha handful of injuries remain competitive. What’s certain is co that it would fundamentally th alter the game tactically. al That’s why any change needs T to be well considered. PETER DI SISTO PE

ADDRESS CORRESPONDENCE TO TheTHIS Editor,WEEK’S AFL Record,COVER Ground Floor, XXXX XXXXX 140XXXXXXXXXXXXX Harbour Esplanade, X Docklands, Victoria, 3008. Go9627 to aﬂ photos.com.au P: (03) 2600 F: (03) 9627 2650 E: peterd@slatterymedia.com to order prints

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VIEWS NEWS FIRST PERSON FACTS DATA CULTURE

TEAM-LIFTER:

Brent Harvey is embraced by teammate Lindsay Thomas while Sam Wright (left) and Andrew Swallow appreciate their skipper’s eﬀorts last week.

ON THE REBOUND

Team eﬀort helps Roo champ regain his bounce

NICK BOW EN

ometimes we need to remind ourselves football is a team game. Stars such as Geelong’s Gary Ablett can shine so brightly at times, we are blinded to the teammates who block, shepherd and feed them the ball at every opportunity. But just as we can get caught up in such players’ individual brilliance, we can also be too hasty to point the ﬁnger

at them after a quiet game. North Melbourne skipper Brent Harvey was the latest AFL star to experience this, after his rare down game against the Saints in round two. Admittedly, his performance was poor – he had just ﬁve possessions – but when apportioning the blame for the Roos’ 104-point loss, North coach Brad Scott made it clear Harvey did not deserve to wear it solely.

Speaking the day before the Roos’ round three win over West Coast, Scott put some of the responsibility back on to Harvey’s teammates. When asked whether Harvey had received sufﬁcient support to shake a close tag by St Kilda’s Clint Jones, Scott said: “Jones is an exceptional player and he got a lot more help from his teammates than we gave ‘Boomer’. We’ve addressed that and I’ll expect a much more committed effort this weekend.” At the same press conference, Harvey admitted his pride had been stung by the loss to the Saints and his

own performance, his desire to return to his best against the Eagles evident. To say he did so would be an understatement. Clearly best on ground, with 44 possessions and 13 bounces – including a seven-bounce run that ended with a shot for goal that hit the post – Harvey reminded everyone of why he has been the Roos’ most valuable player since Wayne Carey. But as strongly as he rebounded against West Coast, his teammates responded just as emphatically, providing him with the support that had been so CON T IN U ED NE X T PAGE

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 7

the bounce

badly lacking against the Saints. They regularly fed Harvey the ball – he matched his possession tally against St Kilda after just six minutes against the Eagles – and blocked for him, helping him rediscover his run and verve. West Coast’s decision not to tag Harvey as closely as the Saints had helped him as well. While Scott lauded Harvey’s effort – “I can’t think of a better captain’s performance” – he was just as pleased with the support he received. “The players … revere Brent Harvey so to desert him like they did (against St Kilda) was really disappointing and they were keen to atone for that and I thought they did,” Scott said. And while Harvey seemed consumed by his own personal battle with Jones against the Saints, against the Eagles he was regularly running to his teammates to support them. When an error from second-year player Sam Wright led to a Dean Cox goal midway through the ﬁrst quarter, Harvey was straight over to offer an encouraging word. This season still shapes as one in which North’s batch of youngsters will be learning on the job. But if they can reproduce the team-based efforts they did against the Eagles, and Harvey stays ﬁt, they should be competitive against most sides.

CHALLENGE

Lions keen to take on Bulldogs NICK BOW EN

he Brisbane Lions were given a lesson in finals football by the Western Bulldogs last September but co-vice-captain Luke Power is confident his team is better placed to challenge the Dogs on Saturday night at the Gabba. The Lions lost to the Bulldogs by 51 points in last year’s second semi-final – in their first finals campaign since 2004 – with coach Michael Voss conceding his side had been out-muscled in the midfield. Brisbane had also lacked forward options, with skipper Jonathan Brown and Daniel Bradshaw (who joined the Sydney Swans this season) kicking six of the team’s eight goals. But, after the addition of a batch of experienced recruits in the off-season and an impressive 3-0 start to the year, Power believes Saturday night’s game – the Lions’ first against one of 2009’s top-four clubs (the others were Geelong, St Kilda and Collingwood) – will show they have bridged

POWERING AWAY: Luke Power in action against the Western Bulldogs in last year‘s semi-ﬁnal which the Bulldogs won.

the gap between them and the competition’s leading sides. “Michael (Voss) realised we

needed to top up our group a little bit in terms of depth and stronger-bodied players and he

COURAGE OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

The Lewis bump

� For those under the misapprehension that football at AFL level had gone a little soft, look closely at this series of photographs featuring Hawthorn’s Jordan Lewis at Etihad Stadium last Sunday. Lewis put his body on the line – literally – against the Western Bulldogs only to be met fairly and squarely by the Dogs’ Jarrod Harbrow. Neither player flinched in their efforts to make the ball their object, but Lewis came off second best. The Hawks onballer recovered and won high praise for his courage. PHOTOS BY SEAN GARNSWORTHY

NEWS TRACKER

Next weekend’s Melbourne-Brisbane Lions match to be broadcast in Mandarin via Melbourne radio station 3CW.

8 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

To be the best, you’ve got to play the best and beat the best, and the Bulldogs are one of the best sides LUKE POWER

did exactly that in last year’s trade period,” he says. Power says the trade acquisitions and mature-age draftee Matt Maguire have bolstered the Lions and given them greater flexibility. While the forward-line partnership of former Carlton spearhead Brendan Fevola and Brown has been potent and “unselfish”, Power says former Eagle Brent Staker gives Brisbane a third tall option to stretch opposition defences. Power says former Tiger Andrew Raines has brought run and carry to the midfield – “something we’ve defi nitely been lacking in the past few years” – while Maguire’s ability to slot into defence has released Joel Patfull to the midfield and Josh Drummond to play a more attacking rebound role. But as much as these recruits appear to have strengthened the Lions, Power says the

NEWS TRACKER

development of their young and mid-level players has been equally important. He points to quick secondyear player Todd Banfield (who has looked dangerous at the feet of Fevola and Brown in his debut AFL season), Justin Sherman (fast becoming a regular goalkicker) and bulked-up youngsters Jack Redden and James Polkinghorne (who have improved to become additional forward-line options). Similarly, Power says the ability of emerging leaders Michael Rischitelli and Jared Brennan to bulk up during the pre-season has given Brisbane a greater physical presence in the midfield. Still, Power is fully aware the season is only three games old, and the extent of the Lions’ improvement will be more apparent after this round. “To be the best, you’ve got to play the best and beat the best, and the Bulldogs are definitely one of the best sides,” he says. “We’re looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we can show we’re up with the pace. “They’re a great running side and have so many good users of the footy. We’ll definitely have to close down their time and space and be aggressive all across the field.”

MILESTONE

From a hobby to 350 games � In the lead-up to his 350th AFL match this weekend, umpire Scott McLaren joked that he was “nearly there!” Since umpiring his first match in round one of the 1994 season – a two-point Bulldogs victory over Richmond – McLaren has been a key figure in the umpiring landscape, the man in the No. 11 shirt one of the most recognisable umpires in the game. Even so, McLaren never pictured himself as an AFL umpire, having initially tried umpiring as a 15-yearold so he could earn some extra pocket money. You never think He preferred you’re going it to “flipping to umpire one burgers”. “I didn’t game, let really plan that alone 350 it would happen FIELD UMPIRE SCOTT MCLAREN this way. Obviously it was a hobby and career highlight, an interest, but I made McLaren said sure I had my pharmacy degree the increased speed of the game behind me before I really had was impacting on umpires a good crack at trying to make as well, with more emphasis it to the AFL because you never on training, fitness and think you’re going to umpire rehabilitation. one game, let alone 350,” the On the infamous James Hird 42-year-old said. ‘incident’ – when the Essendon “In the end, it’s worked captain publicly criticised out that way and it’s been a McLaren’s umpiring while a great ride.” panelist on The Footy Show – Now working part-time in a McLaren said that “sometimes pharmacy – he ran his own for it takes something like that to 10 years before his wife, Cath, build a relationship”, and that became pregnant with twins it was important players and Jack and Hannah (now aged umpires understood each other. nine) – McLaren said he enjoyed Asked how many seasons the fact both his jobs were he thought he had left, challenging. McLaren said he was taking “There is just about as much it “year by year”. pressure in the pharmacy as * McLaren has umpired 34 there is on the football field finals, including the 1999, 2001, because you don’t want to 2005, 2007 and 2008 Grand harm anyone (by dispensing Finals. He will become just the the incorrect medicine), but it sixth man to umpire 350 certainly is a different pressure AFL/VFL matches, behind and, in some ways, it puts things Hayden Kennedy (460), Rowan in perspective,” he said. Sawers (410), Darren Goldspink Rating umpiring the 2005 (371), Bryan Sheehan (363) and Grand Final between the Sydney Ian Robinson (353). Swans and West Coast as a CALLUM TWOMEY

Team GWS coach Kevin Sheedy believes the United States will be the next source of international players for AFL clubs. AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 9

the bounce

GROUNDED: Nick Riewoldt

INJURED STAR

feels his torn hamstring last Friday night.

Saints take no risks with Riewoldt NICK BOW EN

t Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt should make a full recovery from the partially torn right hamstring tendon he suffered against Collingwood last weekend but, at best, will return just before the ﬁnals, Dr John Orchard says. Dr Orchard, a sports physician and co-author of the annual AFL Injury Report, says Riewoldt’s decision to undergo surgery earlier this week to repair the tendon at the top of his hamstring – which St Kilda said was a “high-grade” injury but not one that required reattachment to the bone – was a safer long-term option than waiting for the tendon to heal naturally, but would entail a longer recovery period. “Surgery is only really contemplated in such cases when the tendon is coming off

the bone or you have an almost complete tendon tear up close to the bone,” Dr Orchard says. “The decision for St Kilda would have been based on working out whether Nick was going to get full strength back in the hamstring without surgery because, if he didn’t, it could limit his pace and ﬂexibility and lead to recurring injury. “By having early surgery, there is generally a good outcome; Nick can expect his hamstring to fully recover, but faces a slow recovery, three months or a bit longer.” Dr Orchard says even though Riewoldt’s injury is not as severe as those of Matthew Lloyd in 2006 and Stephen Silvagni in 2000, who both required surgery to reattach tendons to the bone, it is comparable. “If Nick comes back and is productive late in the season,

it will be a bonus for the Saints,” he says. “You have to look at injuries like his as potentially season-ending.” Former Richmond champion Matthew Richardson, like Riewoldt, underwent surgery to repair a partially torn hamstring tendon after round six last year, then attempted to come back through the VFL three months later. But, after experiencing hamstring tightness in his ﬁrst game back, he did not play again before retiring in November. Although St Kilda is optimistic Riewoldt will return in the “later part of the season”, it still has to replace him on its forward line. While in a sense irreplaceable, the Saints’ options include Rhys Stanley or ruckman Ben McEvoy, who could be rotated through the forward 50 with Michael Gardiner and Steven King.

With full-forward Justin Koschitzke set to serve the last game of a three-match suspension in Sunday’s twilight clash with Fremantle, the match will mark just the ﬁfth time St Kilda has played without both Riewoldt and Koschitzke since they were taken with the respective No. 1 and 2 picks in the 2000 AFL National Draft. Hawthorn defender Josh Gibson also will be sidelined for 12 weeks, after surgery to repair a hamstring tendon injury he suffered last Sunday.

RIVALRY

Flying the ﬂag

PETER RYA N

est Coast midﬁelder Chris Masten was just four in July of 1993 when then-Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy stepped from the MCG coach’s box and waved his black and red jacket above his head in jubilation after his young Bombers had pulled off a memorable two-point win. His action started a tradition, where

WHEN EXPERIENCE COUNTS � It’s been more than 80 years since Geelong has had an older player on debut than James Podsiadly, who played his ﬁrst game for the Cats against Fremantle last Sunday. The former VFL star made his debut aged 28 years and 213 days, making him the oldest player to play his ﬁrst game for Geelong since Alec Tayler in round nine, 1923. Tayler was 31 years and 51 days.

Podsiadly is the 11th oldest player to make his debut for the Cats and the ﬁfth oldest since the competition went national in 1987. The oldest player to debut in AFL/VFL history was Essendon’s Charlie Hardy, who was 34 years and 99 days when he played his ﬁrst game for the Dons in round 10, 1921. MICHAEL LOVETT

Oldest debutants since 1987 DAVID MARSHALL (Adel) PAUL PATTERSON (Adel) BRUCE LINDSAY (Adel) TROY WILSON (WCE) JAMES PODSIADLY (Geel) NEWS TRACKER

30 years, 264 days 29 years, 337 days 29 years, 242 days 29 years, 72 days 28 years, 213 days

R1, 1991 R1, 1991 R1, 1991 R1, 2001 R3, 2010

AT LONG LAST:

James Podsiadly made his debut last week at the age of 28.

Brett Ebert (PA), Scott Gumbleton (Ess) and Jack Riewoldt (Rich) nominated for the Hungry Jack’s AFL Mark of the Year.

10 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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the bounce

We used to go mad (waving a scarf) when we were young. It’s good fun

the supporter group from each club celebrates a victory over the other by waving their scarves over their heads, a unique form of fan expression. The 20-year-old Masten grew up in Western Australia and has fond memories of waving a scarf above his head as he supported the Eagles: “We used to go mad when we were young,” he laughed. “It’s good fun.” It’s part of an ongoing and genuine rivalry that started as soon as Essendon welcomed the Eagles to the then-VFL in a most unwelcoming manner: identifying the new club as a threat immediately. There was a 142-point thrashing in 1989; the windsock being tied down in 1991; the Sheedy-Mitchell White controversy in 2000 when Sheedy made a throat-thrashing gesture in the direction of the Eagles forward; the matchwinning performance by James Hird in 2004 at the end of a week when his comments about umpire Scott McLaren received full media coverage, and in 2007, the last game involving Sheedy and Hird

PHOTO COURTESY: CHANNEL SEVEN

CHRIS MASTEN

GIVE IT A TWIRL:

Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy started the jacket-waving tradition against the Eagles back in 1993.

representing Essendon, against the Eagles at Subiaco. That 1993 game seems a long time ago but there is a strong connection to this weekend’s meeting between the teams: Essendon full-back Dustin Fletcher was playing his ninth game, John Worsfold was West Coast’s captain and Tim Watson, the father of Bombers captain Jobe Watson, all played in the memorable match. In recent years, the scarfwaving has dropped off slightly. It’s not as much a feature as it once was. It could be time to re-energise the twirl. “I would love that to come back,” Masten said.

TRADITION

Magpies return to their roots ASHLEY BROW NE

ast Saturday afternoon was like a trip back in time for Collingwood diehards as senior footy returned to Victoria Park for the ﬁrst time in 11 years. The Magpies played their last AFL game at the venue in the ﬁnal round of 1999 against

W H E N T H E Y ’ R E N O T P L AY I N G

Player

What is the oldest item in your wardrobe you still wear?

Andrew Embley (West Coast)

Myy uma Puma scs Discs

Alan Toovey (Collingwood)

nder-14s Under-14s basketball shorts

sotto Chicken ris risotto

Justin Sherman (Brisbane Lions)

Soccer jersey

ed d lamb Marinated th cutlets wit with hurt mint yoghurt

Jimmy Bartel (Geelong)

Blue stubby shorts

NEWS TRACKER

What dish would you serve up if you were on MasterChef? Tw Twiceco ked cooked d ck duck

ers Bangers and h mash

Most environmentally conscious teammate?

Speedos or boardshorts?

Ben McKinley

Boardshorts

Sh han Shane O’ Bre O’Bree Ba Bart McCul lloc McCulloch

Su us Sustainability oﬃ ﬃcer Joel Corey

Boardshorts

Both h

BUDG SMUGG IE LER

Boardshorts

the Brisbane Lions. Within five years, they had left the venue altogether, moving their training and administrative base to a flash new facility alongside Olympic Park, in the heart of the Melbourne sports precinct, just a few drop punts from the MCG. But following a decision by the club to play its VFL home games at its spiritual home, Abbotsford came alive last weekend as more than 6000 Collingwood fans came to pay homage. It wasn’t quite the result the Magpies wanted – they lost by 31 points to the Seagulls. But given the Pies’ VFL team played its home games at Carlton’s Visy Park last year (can you imagine English soccer team Liverpool playing its home games at Everton’s Goodison Park?), just being back at the famous old venue was a victory of sorts. “I was really excited when I walked in with the players,” Collingwood’s VFL coach Gavin Brown told reporters afterwards. “There’s a real sense that this is our home ground and our tradition.” A bit has changed over the years. The roof and all the seats in the Sherrin Stand had been removed, and the television commentary booth was at a lower level than it was in AFL days, but when the Pies slotted a few goals at the Rush Stand end of the ground, the noise and the pictures brought back a flood of memories. Of the other former AFL/VFL venues used in recent times, there are three (Carlton’s Visy Park, Geelong’s Skilled Stadium and Essendon’s Windy Hill) that still see some VFL action. The Cats, of course, still play most of their home matches at Geelong. Others such as the Bulldogs’ Whitten Oval, the Junction Oval and the Brunswick Street Oval (now the Peterson Reserve) still host suburban football, while several others still serve as training and administration venues. Only Glenferrie Oval in Hawthorn and the Lake Oval in South Melbourne no longer stage AFL football of any description. ASHLEY BROWNE IS THE EDITOR OF BACKPAGELEAD.COM.AU

Hawthorn’s Lance Franklin suspended for one week following head-high hit on Western Bulldog Jason Akermanis.

12 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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the bounce

PLAYERS WE LOVED ROUND OUND FOUR MATTHEW PAVLICH, FREMANTLE ďż˝ When Pavlich is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;onâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re usually witness to the best elements of Australian Football. Harnessing his athleticism and physicality, his strength and skill, Pavlich was ready to play against Geelong last week, and it showed: he logged 27 disposals (16 contested), took six marks, had ďŹ ve inside 50s and booted ďŹ ve goals. It probably wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t his best game in terms of pure statistics, but it surely was a bottler, considering the quality of the opposition. The best player on the ground in one off Fremantleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important winss since it 95, Pavlich P joined the AFL in 1995, tre, ďŹ&#x201A;ew for ran through the centre, ls and marks, kicked long goal goals oppa able. was generally unstoppable. o When heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ss no other way. JACK TRENGOVE, MELBOURNE ďż˝ Melbourne and Adelaide battled diďŹ&#x192;cult conditions at nd, the MCG last weekend, blusstery but in the middle of blustery n Jack Jacck winds, young Demon Witth Trengove stood tall. With v Melbourne trailing by ďŹ ve dy kicked k points (having already quarter), three goals for the quarter), shott from Trengove had a set-shot

winning defender. In round one, he acquitted himself well against St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt, and last weekend, he racked up 33 possessions against Richmond, a career-high. Grundy, like most of the Swans, isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ďŹ&#x201A;ashy. But he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to be; his form is enough.

UNSTOPPABLE: UNS S TOP PPAB P LE: PA LE

Mat t thew the hew Pavlich Pavl avv ich Matthew wa s in was wa i rare r re ra r form for fo orm for o f or Freman Fre man ma anttle an lee lla a st st w we eek . ee Fremantle last week.

30m, basically directly in front. In normal circumstances, it was nothing spectacular. However, given

ON TARGET:

Jack Trengove celebrates his ďŹ rst goal.

the conditions, the fact Trengove had yet to kick a goal at AFL level, and that Melbourne was pushing for a long-awaited win, it had more signiďŹ cance. Trengove coolly went back, slotted the goal, celebrated and ran to the bench. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t underestimate class. HEATH GRUNDY, SYDNEY SWANS ďż˝ The rise of Heath Grundy continues. From a late selection in the 2005 NAB AFL Rookie Draft to promising forward, Grundy made a name for himself last year as the Swansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; centre half-back. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s taken his game to another level in 2010, growing into an attacking, possession-

DUSTIN FLETCHER, ESSENDON ďż˝ As a 34-year-old key defender well past 300 games, you would be excused for being outpaced by a 23-year-old small forward. But when you are Bomber Dustin Fletcher, anything and everything seems possible. Indeed, in the third quarter of last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s match against the Blues, the evergreen defender chased down Carltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eddie Betts, who was streaming into goal, having received the ball in open space in the forward pocket. In several leaps and bounds, Fletcher tackled Betts a metre from goal, making the crafty forward skew his kick and miss a certain six-pointer. Fletcher, like he has so many times before, picked himself up oďŹ&#x20AC; the ground, collected another footy and proceeded to take the kick-in without any fuss. After 315 games, you wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect anything else from the Essendon champion. CALLUM TWOMEY

7KHUHÂˇV D IUHVK QHZ WHDP LQ WKH $)/ <RX ZRQÂˇW EHOLHYH WKH ELJ QDPHV OLQLQJ XS IRU $: LQ 1HZ UHFUXLWV %ULDQ 7D\ORU 7LP /DQH DQG 5LFKR ZLOO MRLQ FXOW KHUR 'HQQLV &RPHWWL 5REHUW :DOOV DQG /HWKDO /HLJK 0DWWKHZV %XW WKHUH DUH HYHQ PRUH QDPHV RQ RXU WHDP VKHHW /LNH 7RQ\ 6KDZ 0LNH 6KHDKDQ DQG IRRW\ÂˇV Ă&#x20AC; UVW ODG\ &DUROLQH :LOVRQ MXVW WR QDPH D IHZ :LWK D IUHVK QHZ WHDP OLNH WKLV LQ Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own 3AW is football.

& ' 6 ( # &4

Home team v visitors tonight

AFL RECORD visit aďŹ&#x201A;record.com.au 15

the bounce

PONDERINGS PETER RYAN

Mistakes the real learning tools � There were moments last year when I left the coach’s box shaking. It was an incredibly charged environment. Nothing prepared me for it. The decision-making was so quick and the volume of communication so loud it made the ears shudder. There was no room for niceties. It was exhausting and emotional and exciting. At ground-level, chatter happened at 100km an hour. Instructions were given, mistakes were being made and the players and coaches were involved at every level, with demands both physical and mental. Instructions made with thought were often delivered with colourful language that ﬂowed without any thought. Sometimes the fruity adjectives described, as no other words could, the urgency of the moment. One-liners – some good, some less so – relieved the tension.

BUBBLING OVER: A pensive Mick

Malthouse looks on as tempers start to ﬂare at the quarter-time break of last week’s game.

For example, in last year’s NAB Cup, when sitting on the bench, Mick Malthouse asked Dane Swan: “Are you being tagged?” The tired midﬁelder nodded, prompting the Malthouse follow-up. “He’s doing a good job.” A full house and a big game only exacerbated things. Tension was high because the stakes were. Players were expected to run into dangerous spaces few would dare enter. Emotions needed to be aroused to lift some through that threshold, beyond thought and unspoken fears. It was a brutal al environment

removed from daily life. The opposition was the enemy. For a little more than two hours a week, and the centre of it all was the coach. The events of last weekend when Collingwood met St Kilda happened in that hot cauldron at Etihad Stadium. It didn’t make what happened, what was said, excusable the next day when the sun came up, but understandable in the context of the night before when emotions were running high. Even comments made after the game, from both clubs, were

made in a space that had allowed little time for reflection and clear-headedness. Such inflamed situations test everyone and make blanket rules handy allies in life: be polite to the police; respect the boss; if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing; if you are the coach, don’t talk to opposition players. As a professional (coach, player, official), you are expected to rise above all the stress in those testing moments, but as a human, it is unlikely you will, every time, all the time. Last weekend, mistakes were made week

TA K I N G A I M

» Goalkicking was in the spotlight again last weekend, with players logging a strike rate of less than 50 per cent across the board, according to Champion Data. Below are the leading goalkickers and their accuracy levels. PLAYER

CLUB

MIXED FORTUNES: RTUNES: RT TU UN NE NES ES S::

Bro Br ow wn n has ha h ass bee b beeeen en Jonathan Brown been th hiss season se sea seas aso son on n but b bu utt on target this ughead ug gh heead ea ad d (far (f (fa (far arr left) lef le lefft) f ) Jarryd Roughead lit litt l ttle tlee wayward. w way waywar ayw yw wa war arrd. rd d. has been a little

TALLY ACCURACY CURACY

CA CAREER AREER

Jonathan Brown

Brisbane Lions

17.4

80.95% 0.95%

Jarryd Roughead

Hawthorn

11.8

57.89% 7.89%

59.63% 59.63%

Nick Riewoldt

St Kilda

11.2

84.61% 4.61%

61.87% 6 1.87%

Barry Hall

Western Bulldogs

10.7

8.82% 58.82%

62 2.66% 62.66%

Matthew Pavlich

Fremantle

10.6

62.5%

61 1.96% 61.96%

NEWS TRACKER

63.58% 63 3.58%

Richmond suspends Daniel Connors, Ben Cousins, Dean Polo and Luke McGuane for ”player misbehaviour”.

16 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

Malthouse, Licuria and Milne fined in the heat of the moment. Normally disciplined individuals said things they would not normally think of, much less say. It’s why the actions of people within the game are so interesting for observers. They should make us wonder whether we could be capable of doing the same thing, under the same pressure. People in this game are continually asked to react under pressure and are then judged for it. That’s their life. It isn’t always fair, and the judgments are becoming more and more microscopic. But few have sat in such a hot seat, either as player or coach. The participants have good moments and moments of regret, as Leigh Matthews noted last week, reflecting on a similar incident at half-time in the 1990 Grand Final. Those involved are rapid targets, as the world all around them yells heated opinions about them and at them, far more so now than 20 years ago. It’s no wonder when a topic becomes a subject of debate, those affected sometimes want space to contemplate their response. But they have little time to do so, because the questions keep coming; even on the Saturday last week, Malthouse’s space was public, as he was photographed watching Collingwood’s VFL team playing at Victoria Park.

Both clubs eventually backed away from their aggressively put Friday night post-match position. Some will argue they only did so because, faced with video and audio evidence, they had no choice. Perhaps they thought it had all moved too far away from what happens in the cauldron, and didn’t look so attractive in the cold of the next morning, when common sense was restored. Perhaps the people involved might have had others apart from themselves they were trying to protect from the whirl of scrutiny that surrounds them when the initial response was made: their families, for instance, or other people within the game, or the game itself. Fortunately, the laws of the game have ways of bringing all this into some perspective so we can all move on, reﬂecting without further conﬂict. Whichever way, the past week provided just another example of a game of fun becoming a) a barometer of public mood and b) a vision of all of us. Contemplating that may lead to empathy. None of us are immune from making mistakes. And they, as we well know, are the greatest teachers of all. Peter Ryan is the author of Side by Side: A Season with Collingwood, published by The Slattery Media Group.

� The AFL fined Collingwood coach Michael Malthouse $7500 and Magpie assistant coach Paul Licuria and St Kilda player Stephen Milne $3000 following an incident at quarter-time of last weekend’s match at Etihad Stadium. The AFL’s general manager of football operations Adrian Anderson said the AFL had conducted an investigation into the incident, interviewing players and officials from both clubs, and said Malthouse, Licuria and Milne had each been found guilty of engaging in aggressive or threatening conduct under AFL Player Rule 29.1. Anderson said Malthouse used language towards Milne that was highly offensive. He said it was unacceptable for a senior coach to insult opposition players during game breaks. “This conduct creates a volatile situation on the ground that could easily get out of hand. This is not the right

MALTHOUSE

example to set for coaches at community level,” he said. “Michael recognises his conduct was wrong and his public apology to Milne was taken into account in his favour in determining his sanction. “Licuria used threatening language towards Milne in the incident. His conduct had the potential to seriously escalate the situation. He recognises that this was totally inappropriate for someone in his role. “Milne was aggressive and insulting to both Malthouse and Licuria. Milne used language towards Licuria that was homophobic and unacceptable. “Milne’s public apology was also taken into account in his favour in determining a sanction,” Anderson said. “I apologise to Stephen Milne for comments I made in the heat of the moment, which were wrong and I retract them. I accept that after 27 years as a coach I should know better than to respond to incidents like this,” Malthouse said.

LICURIA

MILNE

,7¶6 )227< :,7+287 7+( 58/(6 For a no holds barred view on everything footy, join Gerard Healy and Dwayne Russell, 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday. Sports Today - only on 3AW 693.

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 17

the bounce

MEDICAL ADVANCES

The Witto tragedy J IM M A IN

lthough Essendon midfielder Mark McVeigh spent five days in hospital with blood poisoning after the round two Etihad Stadium match against Fremantle, he can consider himself fortunate. In an era of penicillin and other antibiotics, doctors controlled the infection after McVeigh cut an arm against the Dockers. Carlton’s Les Witto was not so fortunate and remains, thankfully, the only player to die from injury in an AFL/VFL match. Witto fractured an arm flying for a mark and landing awkwardly against Geelong at Corio Oval on August 13, 1926. He was taken to a Geelong hospital and, although he initially appeared to be making good progress, he died of tetanus from the compound

fracture on August 23. From Broken Hill, the 23-year-old was playing just his sixth game for the Blues, who immediately launched an appeal to raise funds for his widow mother. d It was believed for decades that South Melbourne’s Dinny McKay had died of internal injuries after being hurt in the ﬁnal round against Fitzroy at the Lake Oval in the inaugural season of 1897. However, football historians recently discovered that McKay, who topped South’s goalkicking with 18 in 1897, had died of a burst appendix in the Melbourne Hospital (now the Royal Melbourne) just a week after the Fitzroy match. Carlton rover Lyle Downs died following a h eart attack at training at Princes Park on July 7, 1921. Downs had played 47 games with the

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18 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

MILESTONES ROUND 4

350 games Scott McLaren umpire

AFL 200 Club Dean Cox West Coast

100 games Steven Dodd Fremantle TRAGIC: Carlton’s Les Witto died after sustaining an injury in a game in 1926.

50 games

Blues from 1917.And, newly appointed Hawthorn captaincoach Fred Phillips died of blood poisoning on the eve of the 1933 season after a cut on an elbow became infected from dye in a football guernsey. Phillips had played 134 games with St Kilda from 1924-32 but did not get to play for Hawthorn.

Matt Campbell North Melbourne Scott Harding Port Adelaide Jack Riewoldt Richmond Heath Grundy Sydney Swans The list includes those not necessarily selected but on the verge of milestones.

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the bounce

PARTICIPATION:

DEVELOPMENT

Programs such as NAB AFL Auskick have seen the number of people playing the game increase.

Future is bright for NSW expansion NICK BOW EN

FL market development general manager David Matthews will step into his new Sydney-based role conﬁdent Australian Football and new AFL franchise Team GWS have a bright future in New South Wales. Matthews (left), who will continue to head the AFL’s national and international development programs as he has since 2004, is not concerned by suggestions two AFL sides can’t survive in Sydney. “It’s a big task but in the end we plan on evidence,” he says. “When you look at Greater Western Sydney, the investments that kicked off the Blacktown project started 10 years ago. We have been investing in those markets for a long time. “The media can take a view but, in the end, there’s no greater scrutiny provided than that of the existing 16 clubs and the AFL Commission. They need to

be shown our strategies are well thought out and the investment is sustainable, and I think we’ve been able to demonstrate that.” Matthews is looking forward to working closely with GWS as it prepares to enter the competition in 2012, saying he will assist the franchise to decide where it plays next year, in the VFL (as next season’s new AFL club Gold Coast is doing this year), AFL Canberra or in a new competition – a league involving the north-eastern states has been mooted. One of the most signiﬁcant initiatives in the AFL’s expansion in New South Wales, Matthews says, are the new AFL clubbased academies – similar academies will be introduced in

Talent spotters seek edge � AFL game development personnel and several club recruiting and player welfare staﬀ attended the recent National Football League Combine in Indianapolis. The Combine is the equivalent of the AFL’s NAB AFL Draft Camp, with potential draftees put through a series of physical, medical and psychological tests, as well as interviews with club personnel. The AFL contingent, invited by the NFL and sponsor Under Armour, included AIS-AFL Academy head coach Jason McCartney, AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan, Graham NEWS TRACKER

Queensland – which will enable GWS and the Sydney Swans to attract more local talent. As part of the academies program, each club will partner with the AFL to identify and attract players as young as 12, developing them through to drafting age, when they can pre-list them subject to the same father-son bidding system that applies in the NAB AFL Draft. “Previously, it’s been a more difﬁcult task to ﬁnd talent through the national draft in those markets when there are such opportunities in rugby league and union,” Matthews says. “But now these clubs are able to offer local talent an opportunity to develop a career

Wright and Chris Pelchen (Hawthorn), Brad Lloyd (Fremantle), Steve Woodhouse (West Coast) and Lachlan Buszard (Greater Western Sydney). With new clubs to join the AFL in 2011-12, the emphasis on professional and thorough recruiting systems and philosophies will only increase, with the Combine visit providing the AFL group with a snapshot of what future local draft camps might look like. “We learned plenty, given the professionalism of the NFL and its clubs,” Sheehan said. All those at the Combine were given an insight into the hopes for the 75th NFL Draft to be held in New York from next Thursday to Saturday. MICHAEL LOVETT

path directly.” Matthews’ role will also involve working with the Sydney Swans to build their membership and game attendances. The AFL’s relationship with the Swans has sometimes been strained in recent years, but Matthews says he will work to improve it. As for Swans coach Paul Roos’ comment last week that the AFL should have introduced the academies program 10 years ago, Matthews says the program had “to make sense for the entire competition, not just as a strategy in isolation”. At grassroots level, Matthews is heartened by the healthy state of Australian Football in New South Wales. “Participation has essentially doubled over the past ﬁve years,” he says. To continue the game’s development, Matthews says AFL NSW/ACT will appoint a general manager who will report directly to him, and will particularly target multicultural and indigenous communities and schools, and try to build Auskick’s community presence. Investment in coaching will also be a priority. Matthews thinks it is opportune the AFL’s national and international development program will be based in Sydney, saying international markets such as South Africa, the Paciﬁc and Europe have more in common with Sydney’s football landscape and its development plans.

LATEST METHODS: AIS-AFL Academy head coach

Jason McCartney and AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan at the NFL Combine.

West Coast ﬁned $5000 after two players used a mobile phone during a break against the Kangaroos to speak with a coach.

20 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

I sang, ‘We’re from Tigerland’, and you could see them bouncing a little bit

CLUB ICON

The man who put a song in Tiger hearts

JACK MALCOMSON, WHO WROTE RICHMOND’S THEME SONG

R HET T BA RT LET T

ichmond fans are itching for the chance to sing their famous club song. Their team is winless since round 18 last year, when the Tigers beat Melbourne by four points. The two teams meet again this weekend. Granted, the match is a critical one for both. But the meeting is also an intriguing one for those with an interest in the game’s unique culture. Earlier this year, Richmond players wore black armbands in memory of Jack Malcomson, the cabaret entertainer who wrote the club’s catchy theme song, Oh We’re From Tigerland. Malcomson died last year, aged 87. His tune, named in a newspaper poll as the most popular of the club songs, was ﬁrst sung before a RichmondMelbourne match in 1962. It was while performing his weekly pleasant Sunday morning routine to Richmond players at Punt Road in 1962, that Malcomson was asked by committeeman Alf Barnett to pen the lyrics to a club song. Barnett had, just a few weeks earlier, witnessed his beloved Tigers stumble their way through a mixture of made-up ditties and songs during an interstate trip, when players from all clubs were asked to sing their teams’ theme songs. Malcomson was given free rein, the only condition being that his song had to be uplifting and punchy. He drafted many versions in the following weeks. The opening line was originally ‘Oh We’re From Richmond-land’, and the famous ‘Yellow and Black’ reprise was missing. It was while staying in a motel on King Island, before a cabaret NEWS TRACKER

performance, that he finally settled on the version he was going to use, basing it on Row, Row, Row, composed by Italian-born American James V. Monaco for the Broadway show Ziegfield Follies of 1912. It was the chorus in particular – a jazzy upbeat of trumpets, saxophones and violins – that struck Malcomson. His lyrics were influenced by the players he had watched growing up. ‘Like the Tigers of Old’ referred to Alan Geddes, Roy Wright and Jack Dyer. The line ‘Risking head and shin’, referencing the tenacity of a player, would somehow, through the years, change to ‘Risking head and skin’ – a mondegreen still sung today. He unveiled the lyrics to the club before the round 12 match against Melbourne. The players sat in large armchairs, dressed in their football uniforms, awaiting coach Des Rowe’s pre-match speech, when Malcomson was introduced to sing the song. “So I unwrapped (the lyrics) and he (Rowe) took one side and I took the other side so the boys could see it and I sang, ‘We’re from Tigerland’, and you could

m see them g bouncing t,” a little bit,” son said. s Malcomson n I got ot to “When the end, ‘We’re from Tiger, d Black/We’re l k ’ from f Yellow and Tigerland’, they all stood up and went, ‘Yeah!’. “All these footballers just stood up out of the chairs and sofas and yelled out.” The song was universally praised. Flyers were distributed at Richmond’s match the following week so supporters could sing the lyrics as the tune played through loud speakers. It has become known as one of the great club songs, with Herald Sun readers voting it the best. But Malcomson was disappointed in the lack of recognition he received. He was angered in 1988, when researchers for a book told him they would need to verify his claim that he wrote the song, “just to be on the safe side”. In 2001, when interviewed for the book Richmond F.C., Malcomson expressed disappointment the club had never noted on any printed version of the song that he had written the words.

Just 12 months later, the club awarded him life membership for “services to Richmond Football Club”. “I felt good that here was something I did accomplish that not only made the club happy but probably made thousands happy,” Malcomson said. “There is no other theme song that reverber reverberates across an oval like that does. doe It gives me a hell t know something I of a thrill to n my life had an effect did in on tthousands of people. d like to be noticed. I’d II’ I’d like someone to come up and say, ‘Jack Malcomson, yyou’re the guy who w wrote the theme ssong’.” His last public app pe appearance was at the ‘100 ye years of Richmond Treasures’ ffunction on June 27, 2008 2008. It was a celebration of past players and great moments. Malcomson’s writing of the Richmond song was nominated in the ‘Defining Moments of the Century’ category. It was voted runner-up, behind the club campaign ‘Save our Skins’. When approached after the announcement, Malcomson seemed visibly disappointed his effort didn’t win. However, before the night was over, he was introduced to the crowd of nearly 1000. The applause was sustained, and deeply moved him. Then, on stage, variations of the song were performed, firstly by a rock band, then a harpsichordist and, finally, in Italian, by a renowned opera singer. As she reached the finale of the song, the Richmond crowd rose to its feet and yelled out, “Yellow and Black!”, and Malcomson began to cry. RHETT BARTLETT IS THE AUTHOR OF RICHMOND F.C.: A CENTURY OF LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

Cyril Rioli (Haw), Matthew Pavlich (Fre) and Eddie Betts (Carl) round two nominations for the Panasonic AFL Goal of the Year. AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 21

the bounce

STADIUM GROWS

Cats building on a culture of success MICH A EL LOV ET T

verywhere you look at Geelong, the landscape is changing. On the field, there are bigger bodies flexing their considerable muscle; off it, there is growing evidence that success and good governance go hand in hand. When the Cats unfurl their 2009 premiership flag at Skilled Stadium on Sunday, the ever-changing landscape at the club’s home base will be more noticeable than ever. As coach Mark Thompson and retired skipper Tom Harley pull the chord to release the ultimate symbol of football success – a premiership flag – thousands of fans will be looking on from the latest addition at Skilled Stadium. The $30 million Premiership Stand has been finished in time for the Cats to house their Stadium will be on the administration and world stage in 2018 allow 4000 fans and or 2022, with 1600 corporate Australia bidding supporters to In all areas of to host either enjoy the new of those World our operations, we facility for the Cups. An value character club’s first home announcement just as highly game of 2010. of the winning “It’s quite an bids will as talent amazing set-up,” BRIAN COOK be made in Geelong CEO December Brian Cook said. this year. “The bottom level The Victorian will be home to the football Government recently backed administration and includes a a further redevelopment at large gymnasium, a pool and Skilled Stadium as the second other forms of aquatic recreation Victorian venue to the MCG and recovery, as well as facilities for the World Cup, allowing for the club’s medical and sports AFL games to continue to be science staff.” played at Etihad Stadium in The new stand takes the either of those years. capacity at Skilled Stadium to “Then we would be 30,000 and, with a planned talking about a venue with extension to the Reg Hickey a 40,000-plus capacity, Stand (completed in 2005 at which would allow us to play a cost of $26 million), the home games against more capacity would grow to 35,000. Melbourne-based teams and But there is a chance Skilled even host finals,” Cook said. NEWS TRACKER

Certainly, the Cats and their home base at Kardinia Park have come a long way since Cook first arrived in 1999 after nine years as CEO of the West Coast Eagles. At the time, Cook felt Geelong was “average at everything” which was not so much a reflection of the people at the club but that it had hit a road-block at the end of the 1990s, on and off the field. In fact, many felt the club Cook had helped successfully mould – the Eagles – had indirectly contributed to Geelong’s demise, knocking the stuffing out of the Cats in the 1992 and 1994 Grand Finals. But with Cook overseeing the demolition of debts of more than $6 million, Geelong worked its way back, earning respect in the football world for its blueprint. The leadership team of Cook, Thompson and president Frank Costa was in place in 2000 and, through the first decade

of the new century, they have delivered Geelong what had taken 44 agonising years – a premiership in 2007 and another two years later. “I refer to it as high performance culture,” Cook said. “In all areas of our operations, we value character just as highly as talent. I think it shows in our recruiting and the fact we have been able to attract players of great character.” The level of interest in Geelong is not restricted just to the club’s impressive playing list. Administrative and support staff have attracted the attention of rival clubs

Essendon youngster Michael Hurley set to return to the Bombers’ senior side following club-imposed three-match suspension.

22 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

the bounce

Harley’s inﬂuence to live on

Even in retirement, Geelong’s premiership captain couldn’t quietly fade away.

GRAND STAND: The Reg Hickey Stand (top) will be complemented by the

Premiership Stand (above) which will be oﬃcially opened this Sunday at Skilled Stadium. The Premiership Stand features dining facilities (far left) and seating for 1600 corporate supporters. It will also seat 4000 fans.

and even the business sector has snapped up key personnel from the club’s commercial operations department. “In one sense, it makes you proud but you don’t like losing good people,” Cook said. “It’s the same with players … we have something like 16 former players on the lists of other clubs.” By season’s end, another major player will be missing NEWS TRACKER

when Costa stands down as president, ending a 12-year reign. Subject to member approval, former AFL commissioner and current board member Colin Carter will take over and most expect the change to be seamless, given his high standing in the Geelong and AFL communities. It’s another change to the landscape but the view still looks good.

� In two short months, Tom Harley celebrated the 2009 premiership with his teammates, married his girlfriend Felicity Percival, took on a commentary role with Channel Seven, joined Greater Western Sydney as a project consultant and was appointed assistant coach and mentor with the AIS-AFL Academy. But the former captain also found time to pen his thoughts on the naming of the new grandstand at Skilled Stadium, recommending the title ‘Premiership Stand’. “We received a written submission from Tom and he wanted to use the word ‘premiership’, not because we won ﬂags in 2007 and last year, but as a motivation to win premierships,” Geelong CEO Brian Cook said. “Tom is a remarkable person and achiever. Not only was he a great leader on the ﬁeld, he was

an outstanding representative of the club with the coaches, the board and sponsors.” On Sunday, Harley will unfurl Geelong’s 2009 premiership flag with coach Mark Thompson before the club’s first game at Skilled Stadium in 2010. Harley, 31, will also do a lap of honour as Cats fans say farewell to a man who took leadership to another level. “Tom will be judged as one of the best captains of the past few decades,” former teammate Aaron Lord said. “He epitomised everything you want in a footballer. He showed great leadership and courage, he’s intelligent and articulate and, while he was never blessed with star qualities, he got the best out of himself.” Harley played 197 games from 1999-2009 after being traded by Port Adelaide, for which he played one game in 1998. He was appointed captain in 2007 and led the Cats into three successive Grand Finals, winning the 2007 and 2009 flags.

This year’s Community Cup match to be played in Melbourne on June 27. AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 23

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A Magpie who always played on

HEART C E L E B R AT I N G A C O L L I N G W O O D C H A M P I O N

Collingwood fans will have the chance to farewell a favourite son this weekend – Anthony Rocca, a Magpie colossus who was revered by his former teammates and coaches for always giving his all. PETER RYA N

nthony Rocca was a huge presence in the front row of the pre-game meeting. The No.23 adorning the jumper Magpies doorman Brian Grace had worn all morning so it was stretched enough to fit the deep forward’s hulking frame was all those sitting behind him could see. Rocca stared at the floor, elbows on knees and took exaggerated, deep breaths as the room quietened. The ‘big fella’ was back in the senior team for the 2009 qualifying final against St Kilda, the veteran’s first game since round seven.

The dream of a premiership, one that had kept him going when injuries threatened to end his career at any moment, was still alive. Asked to outline what this game meant to him, Rocca took a breath then spoke with controlled emotion: “I haven’t got many games left mate,” he said. “This means everything.” He had already made the decision to retire at season’s end, but had only told a few confidants. At that moment, the finish seemed so close, yet so far away. It proved to be Rocca’s last AFL match. His career ended on 242 games (220 with Collingwood and 22 with the Sydney Swans) AFL RECORD visit aflrecord.com.au 57

CELEBRATING A COLLINGWOOD CHAMPION and his two goals moved his final tally to 415 (404 for the Magpies and 11 for the Swans). He had played that final game on heart, making a strong contribution. But then it all ended, as soon as his ankle buckled deep in the last quarter. Few have been revered internally as much as Rocca. He never received that level of recognition externally, but thoughts of those outside became immaterial to him. His efforts for the club in 13 seasons won him the respect of all his coaches and teammates. “I work hard. I’m a trier. I’m always trying,” he said in 2009. “A lot of people outside the football club who think I’m lazy, have a different perception when they arrive here.” His motivation to join Collingwood after two years with the Swans was to play with his big brother Saverio. They were together at the Magpies for four years before Saverio joined North Melbourne in 2001. “Playing with my brother was very special. We have a special bond. When he got booted from Collingwood, it was a bit of a reality check for both of us and it worked out, not that we liked it, but it worked out to be the best thing for both of us,” Rocca said. The team’s second most important player (behind Nathan Buckley) when he was at his very best from 1999-2007, Anthony Rocca was an inspirational centre half-forward, his safe hands and booming right-foot helped him lead the club’s goalkicking four times. It was not just his goalkicking, though, that became his measuring stick; he became a one-man battering ram working effectively in tandem with Chris Tarrant (now at Fremantle), bringing crumbers into the game and taking opponents out of it. He played freely and played in pain. When he gathered the ball anywhere within 80m of goal, the Magpie faithful would roar for him to have a shot. “Sometimes it was ridiculous,” he said with a laugh. “They are a good bunch of supporters and they get pretty upset and emotional when we lose but, when things are going well, 58 AFL RECORD visit aflrecord.com.au

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: Anthony Rocca’s last major milestone was his 200th game in 2006 – he is being chaired from the ground by Chris Tarrant (left) and James Clement.

they get right behind you and can really motivate you to be successful, particularly in games. “If you are a little behind and get a run on, you can feel that energy coming from the Collingwood supporters.” In 2002, he led from the front in the Grand Final, kicking four goals and will forever consider he booted a ﬁfth, but for his shot being ruled a behind. “The 2002 Grand Final was the biggest highlight and the

biggest lowlight,” he said. He still bleeds that he did not pick up an opponent at one stage, when he thinks he should have. In 2003, he was suspended after being reported in the preliminary ﬁnal and missed the Grand Final. It was the only game he missed for the year and, although Collingwood was comprehensively beaten on the day, his absence upset the Magpies’ forward structure. “Obviously it was a major disappointment not playing in a

Grand Final (he received a two-week suspension for striking Port Adelaide’s Brendon Lade), but you learn that time moves on and you get over things pretty quickly. You do reﬂect and think ‘What if?’ at various stages, but that is part of life. You have setbacks and you move on.” It is that perspective that endeared Rocca to those he was around. He put family ﬁrst and had a sensitive soul. His speech to the players in the humble environs of the

Rocca’s young teammate Travis Cloke summed him up best last year when he said Rocca was the most genuine bloke going around. Nick Maxwell said the only way to assess Rocca’s career was to remember how good he was when he was at his peak, when his body was fresh and he could shift opposition defenders around like rag dolls. During 2009, his body continued to struggle, as it had in 2008, and at times he considered pulling the pin before the year was over. But with his trusted physiotherapist Dave Francis as both confidant I’m happy to onal and professional adviser, be able to say he pushed goodbye to the he through the Collingwood fans doubts (and the and (say) thanks for doubters) supporting me and earned on senior selection ent through consistent performance in the VFL and what he could offer, not sentiment. That ant distinction was very important to Rocca. es, Before most of his matches, ame he would listen to the pre-game speech Al Pacino’s characterr ased delivered in the 1999 NFL-based hen movie Any Given Sunday. Then he would go out and play thee game of inches using every ounce of talent in his body. d Finally, both his body and here mind told him it was over. There would be no more. d At season’s end, he headed to America to explore the FL possibilities of starting an NFL steps career, following in the footsteps ants of Saverio. The New York Giants wanted him to take part in a full ut, pre-season training camp but, Rosebud clubrooms after er, when he weighed up the offer, ak. he and four teammates had he decided he needed a break. visited bushfire-ravaged areas “I don’t have the passion in the aftermath of Black to be competitive at this Saturday in February, 2009, stage,” he said, but he has brought tears to the eyes of not ruled out the possibility. everyone who heard it. His body needed time to When appropriate, his sense recuperate and the Roccas of mischief was famous, the had a baby on the way. willingness to act the fool to By the time he lighten the mood inside the club made that decision, all one of the reasons he seemed AFL assistant coaching to have a natural affinity with positions had been filled. supporters, young and old, His offer to assist the n outside the inner sanctum. Collingwood forward line on

match-day and at training once a week was accepted. It gives him a foot in the door, a chance to develop his coaching skills while retaining a connection to the club. He’s still ﬁnding his place post-football, but earlier this week, he experienced another of life’s highlights. His wife Enza gave birth to a baby boy, Max, a brother to their daughter Mia. His arrival begins another exciting chapter for the Rocca family. This weekend, his efforts wearing the black and white jumper will be acknowledged when he does a lap of honour g before the CollingwoodHawthorn match at the MCG. “I’m happy to be able to say goodbye to the Collingwood fans and (say) thanks for supporting me and thanks for the memories.”

FACT FILE

Anthony Rocca

Born: August 15, 1977 Recruited from: Reservoir Lakeside/ Northern U18/Sydney 1995-96 (22 games, 11 goals) Debut: Round 8, 1995 v Carl Height: 195cm Weight: 106kg Career games: 242 Career goals: 415 Player honours: 2nd best and fairest 1999; leading goalkicker 2000, 2002 (equal), 2006, 2007. Brownlow Medal: career votes 32

GOOD T TIMES: Anthony Rocca ccelebrates a goal Na with Nathan Buckley during a game in 1997.

RELUCTANT RELU UCTANT STAR R TOOK K A LOT LO OT OF CONVINCING CONVINC CING

He’s still your typical laid-back country kid at heart, but football is now serious business for Adelaide’s Bernie Vince, and the results are showing. CALLUM TWOMEY

ernie Vince ambled up to the dimly lit stage and shook a few hands. A medal was draped around his neck and, before he knew it, his dark suit jacket was removed and replaced with a gold equivalent, awarded to the best and fairest winner at the Adelaide Crows. With a ﬂash of cameras and an embarrassed smile, Vince was so quiet and reserved about winning the prestigious award that, at one point, he had to assure the crowd he was, in fact, “really excited on the inside”. He could be forgiven for having a moment of reﬂection, though. Vince’s progression from knockabout country lad to the top Crow of 2009 was as rapid as it was stunning. A new-

age footballer entering the system in an old-fashioned way, a professional player who retains a simple outlook on life, Vince is the classic example of a boy plucked from relative anonymity who turns out to be good. In Vince’s case, really good. Nevertheless, Vince openly, and jokingly, admits he never saw a future for himself as a top-level footballer. The boys who played in state under-16 and under-18 competitions, the ones who only ever dreamed of playing in the AFL, were the ones with a future in the sport. Vince never had that at the forefront of his mind. If the chance came up, he wouldn’t knock it back, but as much as he loved playing the game, “never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d

ever make e it to the top level”.. Put simply, he didn’t think t it was realistic, so s there was no need to worry worry about it. be ecomes clear during What becomes the interv view is that Vince interview isn’t some eone to worry too someone much. Per rhaps the easyPerhaps going environment env vironment he was part of as a junior made the big league e feel so far away. “I was just just playing footy with my m mates really, and I would’ve b been laughed at if I ever talked talk ked about trying to make it ass a footballer.” w playing in country Vince was South Australia Australia – Stansbury on the Yor rke Peninsula to be Yorke speciﬁc – and a his pathway to

BERNIE VINCE being drafted by the Crows was anything but conventional. He missed a draft he was eligible for as an 18-year-old, but not through lack of talent. In his own words: “When you say I missed the draft – I never would have even thought about it back then,” he said. Vince continued to play for the impressively named Curramulka-MinlatonStansbury Crows, until receiving a call asking him to trial for the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles in the SANFL. In line with his belief that he’d never reach the elite level, Vince initially knocked back the chance, instead preferring to stay at home where he had a job and was enjoying local footy. By chance, though, the Stansbury season ﬁnished two weeks before the Eagles’ season, so Vince headed to Adelaide to play two under-19s games at the end of 2004. Having never completed a proper pre-season until he was drafted by Adelaide – Vince was a promising cricketer, with the game taking up most of his summer – he came back to the Eagles at the start of 2005 with “nowhere near the ﬁtness level required”. He played a couple of reserves games, got dropped and didn’t think too much about it.

In my ﬁrst couple of years, I just ﬂoated through. Now I’m in and playing though, there are no limits BERNIE VINCE

He laughs at the memory, but is a little sheepish about his attitude to football back then. “It didn’t really worry me too much. It probably should have but, when I got dropped, I thought, ‘Oh well, I can go back home and play with my mates in the positions I want’,” the 24-year-old said. A series of “blink-of-the-eye” moments saw Vince drafted by the end of that year, and yet, even as he got closer to the pinnacle, he felt nothing much would come of it. That the story would stop there and he would go back to Stansbury and have a few good tales to tell his mates and, later in life, his grandchildren. How wrong he was. Soon enough, he was talked back into playing for the Eagles and worked his way into the seniors, who reached the 2005 SANFL Grand Final. North Melbourne had called with a few questions, and then he found himself sitting between Swans

Adam Goodes and Barry Hall at the SCG after completing ﬁtness testing before the draft. At that point, Vince was thinking about how “cool” this was. A month later, he was selected by Adelaide with pick 30 in the NAB AFL Draft and the next season, he made his debut in round one. If he was thinking about how cool it all was then, Vince has spent the past few years contemplating how it all happened. Indeed, it’s probably what was on his mind at the Crows’ best and fairest function last season, when he struggled for words, gold jacket buttoned up and hands in pockets. “I think about how quickly it happened all the time. Still to this day, I think back and still pinch myself. I’m playing with and against the best players in the country. My mates are pretty similar to me; everyone just thinks, ‘How did this all happen?” Vince said with a laugh. The simple answer is that Vince is an elite player, blessed with skill, pace, and strength and a healthy dose of footy smarts. His run-and-carry style, precise skills and courageous approach helped push Adelaide into premiership calculations last year, but his improvement was no accident.

FACT FILE

Bernie Vince

Born: October 2, 1985 Recruited from: Woodville-West Torrens Debut: Round one, 2006, v Collingwood Height: 188cm Weight: 86kg Games: 58 Goals: 31 Player honours: Best and fairest 2009; pre-season premiership team 2008 Brownlow Medal: career votes 21

His emergence has surprised those who knew him as a “go with the ﬂow” type. Maybe it can be explained by a meeting called by Crows greats Mark Ricciuto and Simon Goodwin. At the end of the 2007 season, with 10 matches to his name in two seasons at the club, Vince was called into Adelaide’s media room to meet with the pair. He didn’t know what to expect. “I thought I was in trouble, but they said they really believed I could make it at (AFL) level but I wasn’t sure if they’d been watching the right bloke or not,” Vince said. “I thought they were pretty optimistic about what they were

FULLY FOCUSED: Vince tries to spoil Sydney Swans co-captain Brett Kirk during their meeting at AAMI Stadium in round two won by the Swans. Vince was once a fringe player but has become one of the game’s most dangerous midﬁelders.

62 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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BERNIE VINCE

EMERGING STAR:

Bernie Vince added consistency to his obvious skill, pace and courage in 2009 to become an elite midﬁelder.

64 6 4 A AF AFL FL RECORD FL RECORD visit aﬂ record.com.au RE

fit and has the skills to go along with it, which not everyone else has,” Riccuito said. “It’s not easy to get fit, but everyone can do it. Not everyone, though, has the skills and footy brains of Bernie to match.” When he was younger, some mistook his laid-back approach for laziness. But that was Vince being Vince. A typical country boy, Vince said not much bothers him. That’s obvious when speaking to him. In a 20-minute conversation, he was open, upfront, personable and likable. He mocked his laid-back nature, said he loved sport, his mates and socialising, and that his easy-going nature made him approachable. That he happily chats about football when people approach him on the street does not surprise. Likewise, that he “gets on with everyone pretty well”. Vince had a solid 2008 but his 2009 efforts established establis him as one of the premi premier midfielders of the competition. comp He played every game, including two fina nals, collected col 659 disposals, kick ked 14 goals kicked and averaged 27.5 5 touches touch a game. On nine occasions, occcasion he had 30 or more disposals. disposa outstan nding season, It was an outstanding marked by a nomination nomin nation in the All-Australian squad of 40, and the fa act tha fact that the opposition n’s best bes tagger opposition’s would of ften be used to often attemptt to stop sto him, ratherr than one of the Crows’ Crow more se enior – and senior celebr celebrated – team teammates. “A “After 2008 2008, and eevery week th hrough throughout 20 009, certainly ce 2009, thee confidence I had d that I was g to play pla well going hig gher and a got higher higher,”” Vince said. 200 08, it was w “In 2008, a consistencyy thing – I me we was doing it som some weeks, but then others I wasn’ wasn’t and, m in 2009, I becamee a lot more perform consistent in my p performance. u better bett “I could serve up often n, rather rath than games more often, very now n and just popping up ev every 2 again as I did in 2008.”

“The expectation I have of myself now internally – I don’t share it with anyone – to perform is a lot higher and I feel the team relies on a good performance from me now.” The Crows will need Vince at his best against Carlton this weekend, having started the season in poor form and still looking for their first win. As is the custom for the best players, Vince has had to deal with a tough tag each week, especially Brett Kirk against the Sydney Swans in round two. Kirk out-bodied Vince and kept him to 16 touches, the fewest he has had since 2008. Growing up in the country and playing with and against men from an early age has allowed Vince to match it with older and more mature bodies better than most youngsters. With every pre-season, he has added more muscle to his frame while shedding fat. At 188cm and 86kg, he is marginally lighter and shorter than Carlton skipper Chris Judd, considered by many to have the ideal physique for a modern midfielder. As much as he is a model contemporary player, the driven professional with the spiky blond hair, good looks and casual demeanor, presents as a young kid, making his status as one of the game’s elite midfielders after just 58 games a little hard to fathom. Perhaps that disbelief comes from the fact it’s rare to hear players talk as honestly as Vince does, like when he concedes in his first couple of years he thought it was “kind of fun” walking down the street and having people knowing who he was, or that he genuinely thought Riccuito and Goodwin were delusional when they said he could be a star. Perhaps the sense of normality Vince exudes is a result of his straight-forward upbringing. His parents, Tim and Serena, own a cereal-cropping farm in Stansbury, focusing on wheat, barley and cranola, with a couple of thousand sheep also roaming the paddocks. Indeed, with four younger sisters, Vince is as grounded as they come, but that’s not to say he’s putting limits on himself.

“In my ﬁrst couple of years, I just ﬂoated through,” Vince said. “Now I’m in and playing though, there are no limits.” Vince might try to keep his emotions to himself, as seen at the best and fairest night last year, but you get the feeling the kid from the country is, in truth, “really driven on the inside”.

PHOTO: KENN ROGERS

saying. They said all it took was a lot of hard work and dedication and that you could only get so far with talent. Pretty much from that point on, I changed my way of thinking about footy and have become a lot more professional. “The ﬁrst two years, when I managed only 10 games, I really felt like a fringe player. I was in when someone got injured and I’d be the ﬁrst one out, and I’d know it was coming. “That was probably a reason why I kept cruising through because I thought my time was probably limited in the side anyway, which is probably not the right mindset to have. ‘Goody’ (Goodwin) has taught me the mindset to take into playing and the hunger to be good at this level.” Riccuito said it was the nudge Vince needed to “snap him into gear”. “He probably didn’t realise how good he could be; he was cruising a little bit. He was taken under Simon’s wing during pre-season and now he’s very

A man for all seasons � Bernie Vince’s association with footy and cricket has more to it than merely playing one sport in winter and another in summer. On the day he was drafted, Vince was playing A-grade cricket for Woodville and, even now, despite the rigours of an Adelaide preseason, he still pulls on the whites occasionally for his local side back home. “I like to think I’m a batsman but I do a bit of bowling as well – when I don’t make any runs, I say I’m a bowler,” Vince said. With a top score of 151, made as a junior, Vince clearly has ability and has brought a few of his Crows teammates to Stansbury to have a hit. “Simon Goodwin, Chris Knights, Brent Reilly, Ivan Maric and James Moss (former Crows rookie) have all been down at stages and it’s good fun. Ivan came and played and he was useless. He got run out for a diamond duck, so he’s pretty average.”

Everything you need to know about footy! Jam-packed with loads of footy facts, player proďŹ les and team-related stats to help you with your Dream Team this season. Available now from newsagents, all good bookstores and AFL stores. Visit footybookclub.com to order your copy today.

Moments of the

2000-09

The Cats’ sweetest win of all Geelong’s 2007 premiership win ended 44 years of heartbreak.

ASHLEY BROW NE

s Geelong marched imperiously towards a record 119-point defeat of Port Adelaide in the 2007 Grand Final, there was a sense of disappointment around the MCG. The biggest event on the Australian sports calendar deserved better than a ﬁzzer of a match that was as good as over well before quarter-time. But the neutrals at the MCG were also quite forgiving. Nobody could begrudge the Cats their moment in the sun after 40-plus years of close calls and near misses, including their fair share of heartbreak on Grand Final days. Memories of the losses in 1967, 1989, 1992, 1994 and 1995 faded into the ether as Geelong put on a display that lived up to the words of its song as “the greatest team of all”. Geelong had been building up to this ﬂag for a considerable

AT LAST: Star midﬁelders Cameron

Ling and Jimmy Bartel celebrate the end of Geelong’s premiership drought in 2007.

period of time. An off-field team led by president Frank Costa, CEO Brian Cook and coach Mark Thompson put the right structures in place. Clever drafting brought in the likes of Jimmy Bartel, Cameron Ling and Joel Selwood; smart trading netted Cameron Mooney and Brad Ottens and, best of all, the father-son rule provided Gary and Nathan Ablett and Matthew Scarlett. The Cats were supercompetitive for most of the decade, losing a preliminary final to the Brisbane Lions in 2004 and also falling in a semi-final the following year, thanks to the freakish left-foot of the Sydney Swans’ Nick Davis in a memorable match at the SCG. The 2006 season was an aberration, with the Cats plunging to 10th on the ladder and Thompson keeping his job only after a prolonged and public review of his position. And even the start to 2007 was typically Geelong, with the Cats starting 2-3 and the sharks circling again after a poor 16-point loss to North Melbourne at Skilled Stadium in round five. But after a team meeting at which Scarlett later reported that “a few home truths” were spelled out, Geelong turned it around. In round six, the Cats kicked 35 goals in a 157-point hammering of Richmond at Docklands and, from there, lost

Timeline of Geelong’s season ROUND 1 � Geelong had no answer to Bulldogs captain Brad Johnson, who kicked eight goals to lead his side to a 20-point win. ROUND 5 � Geelong’s ﬁrst home game for the season turned ugly as North Melbourne upset the Cats by 16 points, leaving them 2-3. It was the wake-up call that turned the club’s fortunes around.

66 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

ROUND 6 � The Cats mauled Richmond by 157 points in one of the most lopsided contests in recent seasons. It was the start of a 15-game winning streak. ROUND 21 � Port Adelaide’s Domenic Cassisi kicked a brilliant goal with seconds to go to end the Cats’ run.

FINALS WEEK 1 � The Cats ﬁnished three games clear in top spot and destroyed North by 106 points in the qualifying ﬁnal. It sparked a big September for the Cats, who had a record nine p pl players named in tthe th h All-Australian sside while young g gun Joel Selwood w won the NAB A AFL Rising S Star award.

FINALS WEEK 3 � The Cats were pushed all the way by Collingwood in the preliminary ﬁnal but Brad Ottens steered them into the Grand Final with a virtuoso performance in the ruck. Jimmy Bartel capped oﬀ a memorable week by winning the Brownlow Medal.

MIGHTY MOONEY: Star forward Cameron Mooney sends fans into raptures after the Cats secured their ﬁrst premiership cup since 1963.

It was just our time. Everything fell our way and we played to our capabilities PREMIERSHIP CAPTAIN TOM HARLEY

just one game for the rest of the season, in round 21 to Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium by ﬁve points after a late goal to Domenic Cassisi. With the exception of a seven-point win over Adelaide and that loss to Port, the Cats were never threatened in the second half of the year and, as the wins mounted, the sense of excitement grew around Geelong that the premiership drought was about to be broken. September threw up a few more anxious moments. After

belting North Melbourne in the qualifying final, Geelong and Collingwood played a gripping preliminary final, with the Cats getting home by only five points. That result, combined with Port’s narrow win in round 21, offered hopes of a tight Grand Final. But the result was a foregone conclusion by quarter-time. Geelong led by 23 points and, from there, it was a procession, and then a celebration. “It was just our time this year,” Cats skipper Tom Harley said afterwards. “Everything fell our way and we played footy to our capabilities.” ASHLEY BROWNE IS THE EDITOR OF BACKPAGELEAD.COM.AU.

T H E A F T E R M AT H

� Geelong celebrated loud and long. Former playerturned-broadcaster Billy Brownless seemed to be everywhere, while fellow media personalities Daryl Somers, Anthony Hudson and Ian Cover were involved at every opportunity. Local newspaper the Geelong Advertiser broke with tradition by publishing a commemorative Sunday edition and a huge parade was held in the main streets of Geelong on the Monday. Like all premiership teams, talk of a dynasty was in the air and, when the Cats ran on to the MCG for the Grand Final in 2008, they were raging

favourites to win their second fl ag on the trot. But after first-half inaccuracy, they were thoroughly outplayed by Hawthorn after half-time and went down by 26 points. The ship was righted in an epic Grand Final last season, when Geelong outlasted St Kilda by 12 points in a dour, low-scoring struggle in the wet. The greatest team of all? Perhaps not when you consider the Brisbane Lions won three flags in a row in the same decade. But, if the two teams were to play a hypothetical match, there would be many tipping a win to the Cats.

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 67

YOUR TICKET TO GLORY IN 2010! BECOME A MEMBER IN 2010 We have a membership package to suit you. From 3 home game general admission to a reserved seat for all home and away games in Melbourne. Carlton for Life part payment program also available to all members.

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SIGN UP AS MEMBER AND MAKE YOUR PACT WITH THE ESSENDON FOOTBALL CLUB. Choose from a variety of memberships available for 2010 and receive your own membership card, exclusive member’s scarf and other great member beneﬁts.

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GO TO

geelongcats.com.au or call 1300 GO CATS TO BECOME A MEMBER AND SHARE OUR JOURNEY IN 2010

In 2010 we’re UNITED With a young and exciting list in 2010, don’t miss any of the action. “We are all in this together… that is the Hawthorn way” JEFF KENNETT HAWTHORN FOOTBALL CLUB PRESIDENT

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Col Hutchinson

timeon Our AFL history guru answers your queries.

Beginnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s luck

FLYING STARTS: Magpie champion

Peter Daicos (left) and Richmond great Jack Dyer played in big wins in their debut matches.

Elevated rookie Brodie Moles celebrated his AFL debut as the Bulldogs thumped Richmond by 72 points at the MCG on Easter Sunday. How many debutants have played in bigger wins ďŹ rst-up? MARCUS MILNE, BRUNSWICK, VIC

CH: Quite a few players have

made their debut in teams that have won by larger margins. The record is held by Collingwood star Peter Daicos, who was a member of the Magpiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; team that thrashed St Kilda by 178 points in round four, 1979, at Victoria Park. The great Jack Dyer played his ďŹ rst match for Richmond in round two, 1931, when the Tigers beat North Melbourne by 168 points. Rover Richard Taylor made his debut at the MCG for Hawthorn, which defeated Essendon by 160 points in round 20, 1992.

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

AFL mystery men Ormond William Pleasants (Pleasents?) ďż˝ Pleasants made his only appearance in a back pocket for Collingwood in round three, 1907, as a strongly-built 24-year-old from Hawthorn, which was then a member of a metropolitan association. He later served in World War I as a bugler and was awarded the

Military Cross for gallantry. His name appears on the Euroa Primary School honour roll. Jack Patterson ďż˝ Recruited from South Districts as a 165cm, 66kg forward pocket/ rover, Patterson played 14 games for South Melbourne in 1931 before switching to North Melbourne a year later. He missed

the 1933 season due to a broken ankle and ďŹ nished his career aged 24 in 1935 after 31 appearances with the Shinboners. If you have any information regarding either of these players, including date of death, contact Col Hutchinson on (03) 9643 1929 or col.hutchinson@aďŹ&#x201A; .com.au

NAME GAME

Hicksville

ďż˝ Hitchcock is a name well known to ďŹ lm lovers and well represented in Australian telephone directories. However, until this season, it has been absent from AFL/VFL lists. Port Adelaide recruit Cameron Hitchcock is the ďŹ rst of that surname to play League football. The termination â&#x20AC;&#x201C;cock indicates a diminutive (= â&#x20AC;&#x153;littleâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;juniorâ&#x20AC;?) and occurs in a couple of other AFL names (Johncock, Adcock). The early English found the initial R of the conquering Normans hard to pronounce and substituted it with the initial H. Hitch is from Hick, a medieval pet form of Richard â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a good name for footballers, being based on the Germanic elements ric (power) and hard (brave). (In the same way Hodge is from Roger.) Hick appears on AFL lists in Tiger rookie Robert Hicks, in the form Icke, a famous Kangaroo name, and in Adrian Hickmott (â&#x20AC;&#x153;relative of Richardâ&#x20AC;?). Richard, a rare given name on AFL lists, usually appeared in other generations as the pet form Dick (Reynolds, Lee, Clay). KEVAN CARROLL

Âş)Ă&#x20AC;!-Ă&#x20AC;9/52Ă&#x20AC;#!04!).Ă&#x20AC;

Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x20AC;!.$Ă&#x20AC;)Ă&#x20AC;7),,Ă&#x20AC;!,7!93Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x20AC; Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x20AC;,%!$Ă&#x20AC;&2/-Ă&#x20AC;4(%Ă&#x20AC;&2/.4 Âť Âż"2%.4Âż(!26%9

"59Âż9/52Âż-%-"%23()0Âż4/$!9 Âż Âż+!.'!3Âż Âż Âż +!.'!2//3 #/- !5 70 AFL RECORD visit aďŹ&#x201A;record.com.au

As seen on Channel Nine’s The Footy Show

Jackson is a young boy who es loves footy so much he carries an. his football everywhere he can. When he’s eating breakfast or washing his dog, Jackson’ss footy is by his side. Written by Dwayne Russell, former AFL star and radio and TV personality. Available now in all good bookstores. Visit footybookclub.com

timeon

COLLECTABLES

A magazine fan

Rick Milne

A weekly look at collectables, memorabilia and all footy things stored in boxes and garages.

SNAPPED:

I have a number of copies of Football Life magazine from the 1960s. Some feature stars of the day on the cover, including Collingwood’s Des Tuddenham, Footscray’s John Schultz and Melbourne’s Ron Barassi. Other editions have action photos on the cover. Any value?

Collingwood star Des Tuddenham on the cover of Football Life in March, 1969.

KERRY McCABE, VIA EMAIL

RM: I love these! Although they

are not especially difﬁcult to ﬁnd, they still sell well. Those with player pics on the cover sell for up to $25 and others for about $15.

I have a 1966 Grand Final Football Record. The Saints pipped the Magpies by one point in the big one and my copy is in “used” condition, with some small tears on the cover. It also has been folded down the middle. Value?

RICK’S RARITY

� Fitzroy had many changes of guernsey design and colours over the years and the ﬁrst was a lace-up maroon guernsey with a yellow stripe down the front. The much later one featured here was worn by a fan who never missed a match. Some player name tags have been sewn on the sleeves and those featured include Garry Wilson, Kevin Murray, Harvey Merrigan and John Murphy (father of Carlton’s Marc). Bernie Quinlan’s famous number ﬁve is on the back. It’s a bit small for me, but it could be yours ffor $120. $ 2 $120

MALCOLM ATTARD, VIA EMAIL

RM: It was a red letter day for

the Saints and, in the condition you describe, your copy is worth $50-75.

I have a history of the Melbourne Football Club published in the 1950s to commemorate the ﬁrst 100 years of the mighty Demons. Value?

RM: This is a great book and,

although not rare, it has become elusive. They sell for about $150.

I bought a large (about 2.5m) ﬁbreglass footballer dressed in a Victorian uniform. Do you remember seeing it trotted out when Victoria played interstate teams in Ted Whitten’s

PAT, VIA EMAIL

time as Victoria’s chairman of selectors? KAREN CAMERON, CASTERTON, VIC

RM: This is a new one on me.

I checked with AFL historian Col Hutchinson, but he has no knowledge of it, either. It is an amazing item and almost impossible to value. I’ll have a wild stab at around $500.

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

WATCH BEFORE THE GAME SATURDAY NIGHTS ON TEN

beforethegame.com.au L ADDER SAM 16 ANDY

FITZY

LEHMO

DAVE

MICK

TIPSTERS

FITZY West Coast Eagles Sydney Swans Adelaide Collingwood Western Bulldogs Richmond Geelong St Kilda

72 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

MICK West Coast Eagles Sydney Swans Adelaide Hawthorn Western Bulldogs Richmond Geelong St Kilda

SAM West Coast Eagles Sydney Swans Adelaide Collingwood Brisbane Lions Melbourne Geelong St Kilda

DAVE West Coast Eagles Sydney Swans Carlton Collingwood Western Bulldogs Melbourne Geelong St Kilda

LEHMO West Coast Eagles Sydney Swans Adelaide Hawthorn Brisbane Lions Melbourne Geelong St Kilda

ANDY West Coast Eagles Sydney Swans Adelaide Hawthorn Western Bulldogs Melbourne Geelong St Kilda

This week, special guest appearance by TADHG KENNELLY

BE PART OF THE ULTIMATE ANZAC DAY EXPERIENCE. Few days on the AFL calendar rival the traditional Anzac Day clash between Essendon and Collingwood – a day when we stand together to remember, honour and celebrate heroism on the battleeld and the footy eld. The AFL Event Oﬃce is oﬀering an unforgettable package to this blockbuster match: Pre-match function at Tonic @ Crown Promenade ��pm-�pm including beverages and nger food. Coach to the MCG. Pre-match guided tour onto the hallowed turf of the MCG by Collingwood and Essendon champions, plus a commemorative group photo. Prime reserved seating for the game, on Level �, Great Southern Stand. Souvenir AFL Record. Package price �� per person. Only �� packages available. Packages including one night’s accommodation at Crown Promenade and Crown Towers are also available from �� per person (twin share).

DON’T MISS THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE THE EMOTION AND ATMOSPHERE OF A CLASSIC ANZAC DAY AFL CLASH.

CALL THE AFL EVENT OFFICE ON �� OR VISIT AFL.COM.AU/EVENTOFFICE TODAY TO CONFIRM YOUR PLACE.

timeon

KIDS’ CORNER

IVE F TO FIND

Sudoku

� Solve this puzzle by ﬁlling in the empty squares with the nine letters of the player’s name (in this case, Sam Butler). You must make sure that you only use each letter once in every row, column or small box of nine squares. Do not guess, as there is only one correct solution.

SAM BUTLER S

B L E

E R

M T

M L

R R

E B A

1 What are the ﬁrst names of the Eagles

Selwood brothers? for the Tigers?

3 How many premierships did North Melbourne

win in the 1970s?

4 Who was Melbourne’s leading goalkicker

in 2009?

U M

R B

QUICK QUESTIONS

2 Who has played the most games

T U

5 Who are the three current Swans to have played

more than 200 games?

R U

THIS WEEK’S ANSWERS 5 QUICK QUESTIONS: Adam and Scott; Kevin Bartlett (403); two (1975 and 1977); Russell Robertson (29); Adam Goodes, Jude Bolton and Brett Kirk. SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: Bandage on arm changed to blue; green hoop on sock; letter I missing from Sherrin on the ball; white trim on jumper near the left shoulder changed to black; black vertical strip on sign in the background removed. B IG G MOUTH: MOU MOUT M MO O H: BIG SCRAMBLED SCRA SC S CRA AM MBLE BLE LE L ED FO FOOTBALLER: OTBA BALLER ER: ER CRYPTIC CRYP C RYP YPTIC TIIC T C FOOTBALLERS: FOOT FO F OO OO OT TBALLERS: LE

74 AFL RECORD RE R EC CO COR OR O RD visit RD viis vvis isit it aﬂ aﬂrecord.com.au record..co om m.a .a au

timeon

NAB AFL RISING STAR

Hard work pays oﬀ Kangaroo youngster Ryan Bastinac could never be accused of resting g on his laurels.

hen Ryan Bastinac was selected with pick 21 in last year’s NAB AFL Draft, he knew the hard work had only just started. Where some players are content with merely hearing their name read out, Bastinac wanted to hit pre-season with a bang to give himself the best chance possible to be in North Melbourne’s line-up in round one. Having won two in-house time trials over summer, played the opening three games of the season and been nominated for the NAB AFL Rising Star after his team’s round-three win over West Coast, it would be fair to say Bastinac has achieved his draft-day goals. “It was always a goal to play as early as I could, but I knew if I got drafted, the work didn’t stop then,” Bastinac said. “Some people think you get drafted and that’s all good, but I wanted to get drafted and then make a good impression on the club and try to get a game as early as I could by having a good pre-season.” Bastinac received the nomination following his 24-possession effort against the Eagles, which included his shutdown job on star midfielder Daniel Kerr, whom the 18-year-old restricted to 21 touches. Kerr had little influence on the game. North coach Brad Scott described the performance as “outstanding”, and that he couldn’t “recall a third-game player playing as well as that on one of the great midfielders of the competition.”

C A L LU M T WOMEY

2010 NAB AFL Rising Star Nominees

BIG SCALP: P: Ryan

Bastinac did a tdown job great shutdown oast star on West Coast rr last week. Daniel Kerr

Round 1 – Chris Yarran (Carl) Round 2 – Daniel Hannebery (Syd) Round 3 – Ryan Bastinac (NM)

THREE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW His father Peter is an assistant coach at Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup.

2 He always likes to

run on to the ﬁeld last.

3 He has ambition is to

work with kids after footy, possibly as a primary school teacher.

It was always a goal to play as early as I could, but I knew if I got drafted, the work didn’t stop then RYAN BASTINAC

Having found out he would be getting the role on the Thursday before the match, Bastinac went to work on how to beat the Eagles star. “The instruction was just to play on Kerr and, when the footy was there, to win it,” Bastinac said.

“It wasn’t necessarily a tag. I was told that, when they had the ball, I had to be really accountable for him, and just try and stop his inﬂuence on the game as much as I could. “I looked at a lot of his vision from the games this year to see how he positions himself around stoppages and things like that.” Co-captain of the Dandenong Stingrays last year – with

No. 1 draft pick Tom Scully – Bastinac said that, despite his endurance, he had never caught the athletically-gifted Scully in a time trial. He has, however, kept in touch with the Melbourne midﬁelder since they started their respective AFL careers. “I spoke to him the other week and asked how he was going,” Bastinac said. “I’ve been following his progress, and all the other Stingrays boys, really closely. “It’s a bit surreal that, having played with each other throughout juniors, that we might be coming up against each other soon in the AFL.”

Each week throughout the home and away season, a panel of judges will select the nominee for the 2010 NAB AFL Rising Star. At the completion of the season, one outstanding player will be chosen as the 2010 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.

76 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

NAB Community NAB AFL Auskick

Who will be the 2010 NAB AFL Auskicker of the Year? The search is on again in 2010 for the NAB AFL Auskicker of the Year. We are looking for the Auskicker that best demonstrates the spirit of the game – commitment, enthusiasm, teamwork and passion. Twenty-two nominees for the Award will receive a money-can’t-buy 2010 Toyota AFL Grand Final Experience in Melbourne, plus the overall winner will receive $5,000 in a NAB Smart Junior Saver Account and Joel Selwood as a footy mentor in 2011.

Enter at nab.com.au/auskick today!

AFL Authorisation Code: GFAFL10/01. The provision of tickets to any match that is a declared event under the Major Sporting Events Act 2009 (“Act”) including the 2010 Toyota AFL Grand Final is subject to the provision of tickets being permitted in an approved ticketing scheme under the Act.

timeon

LAST LINE

Applying data laterally

A theory out of left ﬁeld

Teams have good and bad days. Left- or right-sidedness had nothing to do with the result

n outlandish proposition was recently floated about the club whose colourful president is fond of wearing a flamboyant jacket. Last month, a backpage newspaper story claimed the Hawks won the 2008 premiership because the team was stacked with left-footers. I have news for the re-born left-winger Jeff Kennett. Hawthorn won the flag because it had the talent credentials and form at the right time of the season to win a flag. Critically, its second half in the 2008 Grand Final was an absolute blinder. In contrast, its Grand Final opponent Geelong was blessed with more talent credentials and also had displayed good form, but had a shocker in the second half. That’s footy – sometimes it just happens this way. Talented players and teams have good and bad days. Left- or right-sidedness had nothing to do with the result. For the sake of testing, let’s say it was possible to substitute Hawthorn left-foot premiership players Lance Franklin, Luke Hodge and Stuart Dew with the right-footed Nick Riewoldt, Chris Judd and Lindsay Gilbee. Would this have diminished the Hawks’ chances? No way. There are activities and sports in which left- or rightsidedness is an advantage, due mainly to specific factors. Military statistics confirm that left-sided soldiers have a higher chance of getting killed in battle than their right-sided counterparts, primarily because of right-biased weaponry.

78 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

RIGHT TIME: Luke Hodge

starred, but the Hawks’ 2008 premiership wasn’t the result of having an abundance of left-footers. It was because the team produced its best when it mattered most.

Notwithstanding Phil Mickelson’s win in last week’s United States Masters, elite golf is another activity treating lefties poorly. The availability and range of left-sided clubs is limited. Hence, promising right-sided youngsters get all the advantages of access to equipment and coaching, and it is rare to see a left-hander on the professional golﬁng circuit. Across all societies worldwide, the general population comprises about 90 per cent right-sided people. As such, life isn’t always easy for the minority 10 per cent. Indeed, in darker times, leftsidedness was often frowned upon as freakish and sinful. I recall a time not so long ago, before coach Terry Wallace took the reins at Richmond, when coaching staff blamed the club’s woes on too many leftfooters in the team.

Prejudice can also lead to strange conclusions. For instance, it is often claimed leftfooters kick the ball differently and faster, ﬂatter and more accurately than right footers, despite the fact there is no reliable evidence or reason why this is the case, other than a right-sided perceptual view of the world. Fortunately, we live in more enlightened times and I can gladly declare the adorable Sherrin is not biased to one side (like a lawn bowl) and the alignment of the centre circle, centre and goalsquares and scoring sticks are set perfectly plumb. A goal kicked from the left or the right pocket is worth six points and, over time, the number of goals kicked from either pocket is, I predict, about the same. The conﬁguration of an AFL ground is a marvellously open

and expansive canvas in which the result invariably boils down to a glorious mix of talent, tactical nous and luck. If there were an advantage either way for either left- or rightfoot kicking, it would most likely appear in goalkicking statistics. Because the general population is represented 90 per cent and 10 per cent rightand left-sided respectively, it is reasonable to assume at least one of the 10 all-time leading goal scorers is a left footer – Essendon’s Matthew Lloyd. (Stats buffs are encouraged to test this proposition of one in every 10 by scouring through the goalkicking records). The reason Hawthorn has had recent premiership success with an abundance of left-foot players is better explained by a coaching and recruitment philosophy that is non-preferential. The Hawks looked at talent on genuine merit, rather than lopsided views of counterparts. A similar occurrence of illogical bias once concerned indigenous players. How many were overlooked by recruiters in the past? Now, ignorance of indigenous talent is perilous for the career of a recruiter. Perhaps, occasionally wheeling to the left rather than the right does have some tactical advantage. But it is surprisingly short-lived. Hawthorn, beware! It is in the nature of elite opponents to adjust, shut down and counterattack, catching off guard an opposition overly committed to one side of the ground.

TED HOPKINS IS A CARLTON PREMIERSHIP PLAYER AND FOUNDER OF CHAMPION DATA. HIS CURRENT PROJECT IS TEDSPORT, A HIGH PERFORMANCE DATA ANALYSIS AND CONSULTING SERVICE.

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