Friday 30 May 2014

2014 Round 12, Three quarter time.

31st May Birthdays.
 
Justin Madden 1961.

 PLAYER OF THE DAY. Brett Bowey, born 31sth May 1969.
Brett has the honour of debuting with  St. Kilda great Robert Harvey, after he was drafted in 1988.  He was with the club until 1994 and playing 85 games as a rover he kicked 79 goals. 

In 1989 and 1990 he played 19 games each season, but in 1991 that number dropped back to just 4. 1992, however, was a great year where he amassed 482 disposals for the season at an average of 22.95 per game and had 27 against Collingwood during the finals series.

Source: The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.

 
The Cracking Krakoeurs.
There is no doubt that Aboriginal footballers seem to be a cut above the rest when it comes to skills and doing the unexpected on the field.  But for understanding between players it would be hard to go past the Karakouer brothers.
Jim was the older of the two and had 8 years with North Melbourne from 1982 to 1989 and played 134 games for 229 goals.
He was one of those players that seems to pop up in the right place at the right time to get the ball and punish the opposition.
Winning the clubs Best and Fairest in 1986 he also shared the honour of being the clubs top goal scorer with his brother in 1983 and won again in 1986 and 1988.
Moving to St. Kilda in 1990 he was there for 2 seasons and notched up 13 games and 7 goals.
 
Phil was a little different to his brother as he liked to ‘get in amongst it’ rather than playing loose.
He also started at North in 1982 and was there until 1989 playing 141 games for 224 goals. Such good players were they both that North had to fight off other clubs to get their signatures.
Not only did Phil share the goal kicking record with his brother in 1983, he won it himself in 1985 and 1987.
Again, like Jim, he moved on at the end of 1989, but he went to Footscray where he played 7 games for 7 goals in 1991.
Source: The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers & Wikipedia.

 
Andrew McLeod – Norm Smith Medalist.
Not only did Adelaide win their 2 premierships in 1997 and 1998, Andrew McLeod was judged best on ground in both of them.
Originally on Freemantle’s list he never made their team and was traded to Adelaide in 1995. It looked at first like Freemantle’s opinion of him may have been right as his first year was not outstanding.
However, in 1997 he looked like a new player and became an integral part of the back line including a Premiership that gave him his first Norm Smith.  He also won the Club Champion award that year.
1998 saw him have another fine season, again capped off by a flag and a second Norm Smith.  This time he had been able to go forward and use his pace to great effect.
He was with the Crows from 1995 to 2010 and played a wonderful 340 games and kicked 275 goals.  As well as the Norm Smith medals he was the clubs Best and Fairest 3 times, All Australian 5 times and in the Indigenous All Stars team 3 times.

Source: The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers & Wikipedia.


Marn Grook.
The term Marn Grook is Aboriginal for 'game ball' and it is quite likely that this sport had an influence on the basics of Australian Rules football.
Tom Wills had grown up in the Western district of Victoria and had spent time observing and interacting with the local Indigenous people.
Their game, played with a stuffed Possum hide, did not seem to have any real purpose other than fun and fitness.  Sides quite often represented creatures such as eagle or crow that were important to the tribe or clan the team was made up from.
An observation made by William Thomas, a Protector of Aborigines in Victoria, drew many similarities to the way our game is played, such as leaping to catch the ball, running with it and dropping to the foot to kick.
This game was also played over a large area by teams of many people and could go for hours, once again very similar to early games of Aussie rules.
Source: Wikipedia. 
 
Michael Long – Hall Of Fame.
Michael was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2007 in recognition of a wonderful career with the Essendon Football Club.
With them from 1989 to 2001, he played in 190 games for 143 goals and was blessed with speed and agility.
It was not all smooth sailing for Michael and after the teams 1993 flag win, where he won the Norm Smith Medal, he had to have a knee reconstruction in 1994. This made him so low that he went back to Darwin and it took some convincing to get him to return to Melbourne.
Luckily he did go back and 1995 was another great year where he poled 16 votes in the Brownlow Medal.
He was in another Premiership team in 2000 and was All Australian twice and played 4 State of Origin games.
Source: The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers & AFL Record Season Guide 2013.
 
 

Wednesday 28 May 2014

2014 Round 12, Half time.

 
 PLAYER OF THE DAY. Brent Guerra, born 29th May 1982.
Brent's football journey began at Port Adelaide where he played 65 games for 39 goals from 2000 to 2003.
Having being brought up on country football he was used to playing hard and having to defend himself against bigger bodies. So it didn't phase him moving to first grade where he was a very capable back man.
Falling out of favour at Port he moved to St Kilda in 2004 and in his 2 years there he played 31 games, kicking 44 goals as a forward pocket. Due to tapering form he struggled in 2005 and was taken on by Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson in 2006.

He repaid the trust shown by being a great servant of the club in his 159 games between 2006 and 2013, and kicked 25 goals. His time with the Hawks saw him return to the back line and he was part of their premiership teams of 2008 and 2013.

Source: The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.


This week is the Indigenous round in the AFL and in the last two posts this week we will honour the Aboriginal influence on our great game.


A TRAILBLAZER.
Nowadays it is not unusual to see many Aboriginal players in football clubs, but back in the 1930’s it was basically unheard of.  This changed in 1932 when Doug Nichols began his career at Fitzroy.
He was a fine runner and brought his pace to the football field.  Though he only managed 54 games and kicked 2 goals he certainly paved the way for the other indigenous players that followed.  Most of them seem to be very athletic and we all marvel at the things they can do on the footy field.
Doug Nichols came third in the Brownlow medal in 1934 and played for Victoria in 1935. After his playing days he became a minister of religion and then a politician, being appointed the Governor of South Australia in 1976.
Source: Wikipedia and The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.
 

Indigenous Team Of The Century.
To recognise the contribution of Indigenous players to Australian Rules Football the AFL announced the Indigenous Team Of The Century on the 1st August 2005.   Here are 3 great players named in the forward line of that team.
Syd Jackson was 25 by the time he played his first game for Carlton. As a forward pocket, he kicked 165 goals in 136 games from 1969 to 1976.
The long kicking livewire was part of the Blues 1970 and 1972 Premiership teams.  
 
 
 
 


Chris Lewis played in the forward line and as a ruck rover for the West Coast Eagles from 1987 till 2000 and kicked 259 goals in 215 games, winning the clubs Best and Fairest in 1990.
Being part of the clubs Premiership sides in 1992 and 1994 he then had a slump in form for a couple of years but came back strongly and took on an on field leadership role.
He also played 5 games for West Australia. 

 

Michael O’Loughlin was a 300 game player for Sydney (303) from 1996 to 2009 and kicked 521 goals.
It is amazing that a player of such talent was overlooked by a number of clubs, but looks can be deceiving, and he more than showed his worth when Rodney Eade took him on.
Winning Sydney’s Best and Fairest in 1998 he was also in their 2005 Premiership side and was All Australian in 1997 and 2000.

 
Source: AFL Record Season Guide 2013 & The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.

 
Leon Lights Up.
‘Neon Leon’ Davis was recruited to Collingwood from Perth in 2000 and played 225 games for the Magpies and kicked 270 goals ending his career there in 2011.
He progressed more quickly than expected at Perth and when he crossed to Collingwood he was an instant hit with the fans as his electrifying runs lit up the ground.
As with a lot of players his form was up and down, such as the 2002 grand final where he didn’t register a possession. 2003 was also a struggle for him but he slowly built back up to his earlier form and by 2009 he was a very confident player.
Twice All Australian, he played in the drawn Grand Final of 2010 and was awarded a premiership medal even though he did not play in the replay which the Magpies won.
Source: The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.

 

Monday 26 May 2014

2014 Round 12, Quarter time.

27th May Birthdays.
 
Wayne Carey 1971.

 PLAYER OF THE DAY. Kingsley Hunter, born 27th May 1975.
From 1995 to 1998 Kingsley played 41 games for Fremantle and kicked 86 goals. Though he was probably not the best 'reader' of the game he led well and had a physique which saw him win enough of the ball to be an effective full forward.

Footscray recruited him in 1999 to hopefully give them a high scoring full forward.  he was with them until the end of 2002 and played 57 games for 28 goals.

Due to a lacklustre year in 1999 he was moved to the back line for 2000 and did well.  2001 saw him back in the forward line then in 2003 he made an unexpected move to Hawthorn.

His career basically fizzled out as injury saw him play only 2 games in his 1 year there for a 1 goal return.

Source: The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.

 
Subiaco Football Club.
The Subiaco Football Club was incorporated in 1896 and until 1900 played as a First Rate Junior side and had some premiership success.
In 1901 they were admitted to the Western Australian State League and up until 1911 they finished last or second last every year.
Their fortunes turned around in 1912 when they won their first WASL Premiership. They followed this up with another in 1913 and a third in 1915.
Winning a fourth flag in 1924 they then had to wait until 1973 for another. They had played in 3 grand finals during the early 1930’s but lost them all.  Part of the reason for this could be the fact that they lost a lot of players during that time.
In 1938 they recruited triple Brownlow medallist Haydn Bunton as captain coach, along with another couple of VFL players, in a hope to field a ‘champion team’.  This of course did not eventuate, but Bunton did win 3 Sandover medals in his time with the club.
1968 saw the arrival of Haydn Bunton Jr as playing coach. Whilst they did not win a premiership under him it was his example and leadership that changed the attitude of the players and returned them to a top team.
Other Premierships came in 1986, ’88, 2004, ’06, ’07 and ’08 – 11 in all.
Some notable players to join VFL/AFL ranks from Subiaco include Bighton Diggins, Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer, Mike Fitzpatrick, Peter Featherby, Dwayne Lamb, Mark Zanotti, Karl Langdon and Drew Banfield.
Source: Subiaco Football Club web site.


3 x 10 at Fitzroy.
Len Wigraft was with Fitroy from 1917 to 1927 and wore the number 10 guernsey from 1922.  He played 135 games for the club and kicked 41 goals.
He was a close checking follower who had a big body and football smarts. During his time the club were in 3 grand finals for 1 flag.
An 8 time Victorian representative, he won Fitzroy’s Best and Fairest in 1920, 1924 and 1925.

Vin Williams played 93 games for the ‘Roys between 1952 and 1959 and scored 7 goals.
He was a fair player and was used mainly on the wing. Vin played for Victoria in 1954.

Laurie Serafini, real name Lorenzo, kicked 9 goals in 146 matches between 1977 and 1985.
Starting in the forward line he actually found his niche in the back half and was a more than capable player.
He was moved to the full back position but eventually settled on a half back flank where he was able to move around more and clear the ball down the ground.
In 1983 he played for Victoria against South Australia and also played for the state B side twice.
Source: AFL tables and The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.
 
VFA & EARLY CLUBS.
By the early 1860’s actual football clubs were becoming more common with the main clubs at that time being Melbourne, South Yarra, St Kilda, Richmond, Emerald Hill (which became South Melbourne), Prahran, University and Collingwood. Some of these teams are not those of the same name in the current competition.
By 1877 people realised that there needed to be a central body to help organise and control the competition and so the VFA was formed on 7th May 1877.
At that time the association was split into two divisions with the senior clubs being Carlton, Melbourne, Hotham (which became North Melbourne), Albert Park and St Kilda. Geelong also played against these clubs, though it was not officially recognised as a senior club until 1878.
Some of the junior clubs were Essendon, Hawthorn (not current club, as it was disbanded in 1888) and South Melbourne.  Essendon and West Melbourne became senior clubs in 1878 and South Melbourne in 1879.
By this time there had developed a gap between the richer, more prosperous clubs and their ‘poor neighbours’, so some of the clubs got together and decided to form another competition and the VFL came into existence in 1897. 
The breakaway clubs were Carlton, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, South Melbourne, St Kilda and Collingwood. Meanwhile the VFA were left with Richmond, Port Melbourne, North Melbourne, Footscray and Williamstown, some of which eventually made their way into the VFL.
For a number of years there were attempts for the two groups to work side by side but there was always some ill feeling and eventually the VFL became the more well supported competition.
Source: A National Game & More Than A Game.
 

 

Friday 23 May 2014

2014 Round 11, Three quarter time.

24th May Birthdays.
 
Aaron Keating 1974, Mark Kennedy 1972.

 PLAYER OF THE DAY. Ryan Murphy, born 24th May 1985.
In 7 years at Freemantle  (2004-2010), Ryan was only able to rack up 48 games and kick 50 goals.

He got a taste of the big time with 2 games late in 2004 then played another 10 in 2005. Spending most of his time in the WAFL in 2006, he came back for 7 games in 2007 and 9 in 2008.

Source: The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.


George Doig –WA Sharpshooter.
It was seen from an early age that George Doig had something special about him.  Playing for an East Fremantle team in a local league he once scored the teams entire score (26.20) off his own boot!
As the first West Australian to kick 100 goals in a season it is not surprising that he was named as Full Forward in the state team of the century.
He started his first grade career with East Fremantle in 1933 and was initially with them until 1941 and then returned for part of the 1945 season.  Overall he played 202 games for a return of 1103 goals.
Not only was he the first to kick 100 goals he did it for 9 years in a row from 1933 to 1941. Captaining the club in 1940-1941, he was also in their premiership sides in 1933, 1937 and 1945.
Due to a WANFL decision to only allow under 18’s to play during the war he had to stand out as he was both too old to play and too old to enlist.  He made his return in round 14 of 1945.
Playing 14 games for WA and kicking 62 goals, he is a legend of  the WA Hall Of Fame and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall Of Fame in 2002.
Source: AFL Record Season Guide 2013 and Wikipedia.

The Junction Oval.
The St Kilda cricket ground, affectionately known as the Junction Oval, was opened in 1852 and has seen football games played there since the late 1800’s.
St. Kilda made it their home from the first year of the VFL (1897) until 1964.  They hosted 564 games there before moving to Moorabbin.
South Melbourne played 29 games there as their home ground in 1944-1946 and Fitzroy were based there from 1970 to 1984 for 135 games.
The ground not only saw the first women’s game in 1921 it also hosted a number of VFA finals matches, including the grand finals of 1898, 1899 and 1944, all of which were won by Fitzroy.
With a current capacity of just 8,000 the largest crowd of 46,973 was for a game between St. Kilda and Carlton.
It has also been home to VFA club Sandringham and Old Melburnians amateur club as well as being an administrative and training base for the Melbourne Football Club.
 Source: Wikipedia.
 
Top 3 Draft Picks 1989.
1989 was the first year of the pre-season draft, which of course allows established players to be traded instead of having to go into the national draft.
These players however were the top three in the national draft.
Anthony Banik at number 1 was selected by Richmond.  He was a big bodied half back flanker with good ball skills and played 49 games from 1990 to 1994.
Matthew Croft was next and out of the 3 top picks had the most influence on the game in his 186 games for Footscray and kicking 72 goals from 1991 to 2004.
He was a no frills defender who went about his business quietly but effectively and was unfortunate to have his career interrupted by niggling injuries.
In his farewell game in 2004 he kicked 5 goals.
Jodi Arnol was recruited to St. Kilda from North Hobart as a tall forward but was only able to be part of 13 games for 6 goals over 2 seasons (1990-1991).
Peter Matera just missed out on the top 3 by coming in at number 4 and some other notable names that year include Brad Rowe, Dale Kickett, Gavin Wanganeen, Ben Allan and Matthew Campbell.

Source: AFL Record Season Guide 2013 & The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.
 
The Early Years Of Richmond FC.
The Richmond Football Club was established in 1860 by the 2 men who were pivotal to the development of the game of Australian Rules, Tom Wills and his cousin Henry Harrison.
Unfortunately when the 2 men left the club shortly after interest fell away and the club went into recession for 20 years.
1885, however, saw a resurgence and the Tigers played their first game, a practice match, on 25th April. Having been admitted to the VFA, they played their first official match, against Williamstown, the following week.
By 1900 the club had become a force to be reckoned with and coming third that year they bettered it to second in 1901 and then first in 1902.
Source: The Clubs (The Complete History Of Every Club In The VFL/AFL).
 
 

Wednesday 21 May 2014

2014 Round 11, Half Time.

22nd May Birthdays.
 
Stan Alves 1946, Steven Baker 1980, Luke Ottens 1976.

 PLAYER OF THE DAY. Daryn Cresswell, born 22nd May 1971.
As a hard at it mid fielder Daryn played 244 games for Sydney from 1992 to 2003 and kicked 208 goals.

No doubt many people remember the game where he dislocated a knee cap and knocked it back into place while sitting on the ground. 

He was the clubs Best and Fairest in 1994 and an All Australian in 1997.  His form dropped off in 2001 but he had good years in 2002 and 2003 and retired whilst still a valuable member of the team.

Source: The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.


A Bunch Of Galahs.
This was the term used to describe the first Australian International Rules touring side in 1967.  It wasn’t the official name for the team but was used by someone when he saw their ‘garish’ blazers, slouch hats and plumes, and the name stuck.
The tour was put together by Harry Beitzel who was a media person and ex umpire. Playing games in Ireland, England and America, the only game the team lost was the one in America.
Consisting only of VFL players some notable members of the team were, Ron Barassi, Bob Skilton, Royce Hart, Neville Crowe, Alex Jesaulenko and John Nicholls.
Another team toured in 1968 and again played in Ireland, England and America, but this time they did not lose a match.
This team was made up of players from the VFL, VFA, SANFL, WAFL and some minor leagues and played some Australian Rules exhibition matches, as well as the International Rules games, including 1 in Romania.
Source: Wikipedia.
 

Bob Davis – Coach and Player.

Bob Davis was known in the press as the ‘Geelong flyer’ as he used his pace around the half-forward line to kick 149 goals in his 189 games for Geelong from 1948 to 1958.
Playing in the clubs 1951 and 1952 premiership sides, he was the Best and fairest in 1957 and Captain from 1955 to 1958.  He was in the Victorian team 13 times and was Victorian and All Australian Captain in 1958.
After leaving football he entered the media, but when his old club needed a coach in 1960 he answered the call.  Leading the club in 116 games for 72 wins, 5 draws and 39 losses from 1960 to 1965 he was at the helm for their 1963 flag win.
Source: The Encyclopaedia Of AFL Footballers and Wikipedia.
 

Patrick Cash.
When you mention the name Pat Cash most people would think of Australia’s Wimbledon singles champion of 1987. But there was another Pat Cash, father of the tennis ace.
Pat Cash senior played football for Hawthorn from 1951 to 1955.  He was the gun forward of his era at the club and kicked 75 goals from his 58 games. He was Hawthorn’s top goal scorer in his debut year with 26.
Source: The Encyclopaedia Of AFL Footballers and Wikipedia.

 
 
 

Monday 19 May 2014

2014 Round 11, Quarter time.


Martin Pike – Journey man.
Martin pike seemed to attract premierships to clubs.  He played for 4 clubs and 2 of them won the flag within a short time of him joining them.
His career started at Melbourne in 1993 and in the 2 seasons he was there he played 24 games and kicked 25 goals.
In 1995 and 1996 he was with Fitzroy and played most of his 36 games there as a rebounding back man; a job he did well.
Off field indiscretions saw him overlooked when Fitzroy merged with Brisbane, but he was thrown a lifeline by Denis Pagan at North Melbourne in 1997. He repaid the faith by playing some great football in 81 games up until 2000 and was part of their 1999 premiership team.  He also managed to kick 19 goals in his time there and was selected in the South Australian team in 1997.
Brisbane did finally recruit Martin in 2001 and once again his skills showed as he played 106 games and kicked 67 goals before finally retiring at the end of 2005.
During his time with Brisbane he was part of their three-peat of flags in 2001, 2002 and 2003 giving him 4 premiership medals in all.
Source: The Encyclopaedia Of AFL Footballers.


The Jock McHale Medal.
The Jock McHale medal has been awarded since 1950, which was the year after the legendary coach retired, to the coach of the winning grand-final team.
For premiership coaches from 1897 to 1949 the Premiership Coaches Medal was introduced in 2004 and recipients were announced at a special event in July that year.
Jock himself got 8 Premiership Coaches Medals, all with Collingwood. Some multiple winners of the Jock McHale medal include Norm Smith (5), Kevin Sheedy (4) and Mick Malthouse (3).
Source: AFL Record Season Guide 2013.


Up There Cazaly!
There wouldn’t be many people, particularly in Victoria, that haven’t heard the cry ‘up there Cazaly’ at some stage.  Even people who don’t follow ‘the great game’ would have had it on their televisions during the football season. But who was this Cazaly fellow and where did the saying originate?
South Melbourne ruckman Fred Fleiter is credited with coining the phrase  as he called it out when he wanted Cazaly to fly for a mark or take a ruck tap.
Roy was one of 10 children in his family and played his junior football at Albert Park School and then for the Middle Park Wesley team.  Carlton was his team of choice and he did play a few reserves games with them but issues led to him moving on to St. Kilda.
He started with the Saints in 1911 and was there until 1920 for 99 games and 39 goals. Part of their losing grand final team in 1913, he was voted their best player in 1918 and Captain in 1920.  Unfortunately unrest at the cub saw him seek a transfer back to Carlton; but instead he got traded to South Melbourne.
Having two terms at the club, 1921 to 1924 and 1926  to 1927, he played a total of 99 games for them and kicked 128 goals.  Though he was 28 when he started with South, an age where a lot of players are slowing down, he played some of his best football. This was a testament to his physical condition and a lifestyle of no alcohol, no smoking  and no fried food.
1921 was the first year he was picked in the Victorian team but he ended up representing them 13 times.  He was Captain-Coach of South Melbourne in 1922 and Best and Fairest in 1926.
His year away in 1925 was spent as Captain-Coach at Minyip and after he left South he also coached Preston, South again (non-playing), Camberwell, Hawthorn and Newtown (Tasmania), where he in a game at the age of 58.
Interestingly, he is credited with changing Hawthorns nickname from the Mayblooms to the Hawks.   Roy was fittingly inducted into the Australian Football Hall Of Fame in 1996 as a legend of the game.
Source: The Encyclopaedia Of AFL Footballers.


The Tribunal.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em the tribunal is a necessary part of Australian football.  Do they always get it right? Probably not, but they are only human, just like the players that appear before them.
From 1897 to 1912 the panel was made up of club representatives, headed by the League president. The members for each case were made up of people not associated with the clubs involved.  Charges could be laid by the umpires at the game or by a club.
In 1913 there was a change to an independent tribunal, with the League president still in charge.  This was again changed in 1976 when Alf Foley was appointed as the first chairman not connected to the League administration.
The Match Review Panel was introduced in November 2004 and it is their job to look at all charges laid, whether on match day or by video.
Currently the Tribunal is made up of the Chairman and 3 jury members who are usually past players. It is the jury’s task to hear the evidence and decide on the guilt or innocence of the accused player and the penalty that will be imposed.
Of course a player can avoid facing the tribunal if they accept the early guilty plea.
Source: AFL Record Season Guide 2013.
 
 
 

Friday 16 May 2014

2014 Round 10, Three quarter time.


Vale Tom Hafey.
The supporters of 4 VFL clubs, as well as many other Aussie Rules fans can be glad that Tom Hafey decided to don a pair of footy boots.
Always destined to be a Tiger, he was born in Richmond on 5th August 1931 and played his first football with East Malvern.

Tom actually had a fairly short playing career with only 67 games and 10 goals from 1953 to 1958 at Richmond.

 
His forte was obviously as a coach and he cut his teeth at Shepparton in the Goulburn Valley league.  He got them to the grand final in 1961 (which they lost) and then led them to 3 premierships in a row from 1963 to 1965.
Talk of his success got back to his old club and when they were looking for a new coach in 1966, Tom got the nod.  With his fitness regime being legendary, he imposed this on the players and it had great results as they won their first flag in over 25 years in 1967.
Leading the club to a further 3 premierships in 1969, 1973 and 1974 he coached them in a total of 248 games for 173 wins 2 draws and 73 losses; a winning percentage of 70%.
After 11 years at the helm, a poor performance in 1976 saw Tom move on from the club and take up the reins at Collingwood.
Tom was with the Magpies from 1977 till 1982 and from 1977 to 1981 they finished the season second on 4 occasions and third once.  His overall tally as coach there was 138 games for 89 wins 2 draws and 47 losses; a winning percentage of 64%.
Once again a bad start to the year in 1982 saw him replaced and he moved on to his third club at Geelong.  Here he was in control of 66 games between 1983 and 1985 for 31 wins and 35 losses; a winning percentage of 47%.
Coming off 9th position in 1982 the players seemed to respond to Toms coaching style and they won their first four games in 1983 but unfortunately from then on the consistency dropped and they again finished 9th.
In his last 2 years at the club they finished 6th on the ladder and could have done better had they not been hampered by injuries and suspension of top players.
In 1986 a cashed up Sydney were looking for a coach and Tom took the challenge to move north.  He was with the Swans from 1986 to 1988 and in that time they played 70 games for 43 wins and 27 losses; a winning percentage of 61%.
His cause was certainly helped by the ability to ‘go shopping’ for a number of out of contract or disgruntled players.  Two of these were Greg Williams, who had played under Tom at Geelong and Gerard Healy from Melbourne; both of whom became Brownlow Medalists (in 1986 and 1988 respectively).
Tom’s coaching career ended in 1988 with 522 games for 336 wins 4 draws and 182 losses; a winning percentage of 64%.
There is no doubt that Tom Hafey had an influence on many footballers from 1953 to 1988 and beyond, and will be remembered as a coach that, whilst sometimes hard, could really relate to his players and seemed to be able to get the best out of them.
He was recognised as a true great of the game by being inducted into the Australian Football Hall Of Fame in 1996.

Good bye Tom, and thanks for everything.
 

Wednesday 14 May 2014

2014 Round 10, Half time.

15th May Birthdays.
 
Joshua Kitchen 1975.


Coaches Addresses.
In the modern game there always seem to be runners on the ground delivering messages from the coaches; but it wasn’t always so!
Very early in the evolution of the game there were no coaches at all and decisions were made by the Captain on the ground.
Prior to 1955, when runners were introduced, coaches couldn’t get instructions to the team at all during play and until 1964 they were only able to talk to the players before the game, at half time and three quarter time.
The exception to this, of course, was the playing coach who was on the field most of the time and could make moves from there.
Source: The Old Dark Navy Blues by Lionel Frost.
 
 
Neil Kerley – King of South Australia.
For such a fine player Donald Neil Kerley had an interesting start to his football career. He was signed by West Adelaide and played for them in 1952, then, in 1953, he went to the country to work and play, finally being enticed back to Wests in 1956.
He ended up playing 155 games for them until 1963 and kicked 87 goals. One of few players, particularly in that era, that could play in any position, he played a lot in the ruck, even though he was only 182 cm tall.
From 1964 to 1966 he was at South Adelaide for 56 games and then at Glenelg from 1967 to 1969 for 55 games and 36 goals.
He coached each of these clubs for at least some of the time he was with them and was playing coach at Glenelg and continued as coach until 1976. The other two clubs Neil coached were West Torrens and Central Districts, making it 5 clubs in all.
As part of West Adelaide’s 1961 Premiership team, he also won the clubs Best And Fairest 4 times.  He took South Adelaide from last position in 1963 to flag winners in 1964 and was coach of premiership teams at Glenelg in 1973 and West Adelaide again in 1983.
An Australian Football Hall Of Fame inductee in 1997 he played in 32 state games for South Australia.
Source: Wikipedia.
 
3 X 4 at St. Kilda.
The St. Kilda football club has had many great # 4’s and most of them have played a lot of games for the club.  Here are just 3 of those men.
Barry Breen was a 300 gamer and scored at better than a goal a game (308) in a career covering 3 decades, from 1965 to 1982.
Even though his form could be up and down at times he was obviously a good shot at goal and is possibly best remembered for kicking the behind that gave the Saints the 1966 premiership over Collingwood.
As well as being in the flag side he represented Victoria on 3 occasions.
Tony Lockett has done so much as a player that he has a whole page written about him in the Encyclopaedia of AFL players.
Though he finished his time as a player at Sydney, he was with St. Kilda from 1983 to 1994, played 183 games and kicked 898 goals.
Tony was rather a reserved person and didn’t appreciate the media spot light which is hard to do when you are one of the best full forwards of all time!
He won the Coleman Medal twice while with the Saint’s and also earned himself a Brownlow in 1987 (the first forward to do so).
Andrew Thompson joined the club in 1997 and wore the famous #4 from 1999 to 2007.  He played 221 games and scored 93 goals.
Having originally tried out with the Saints over Summer ’93-’94 he spent time on their and Footscray’s supplementary lists and it didn’t really look like he would make it into first grade football.
But looks can be deceiving, and when he got his chance he really shone, proving to be a great tagger with good tackling and smothering skills.
Source: AFL tables & The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.


Bond – Troy & Shane.
The older of the two brothers, Troy was with Carlton from 1994 to 1995 and played 36 games for 26 goals.
When he was not selected to play in the 1995 Premiership side he left on Grand Final eve to return to Adelaide without telling anyone.
Traded to Adelaide in 1996 he quickly became a permanent part of the team and was one of the best in the finals of 1997 where he was able to do what he had missed out on at Carlton; wear a Premiership Medal.
 
Shane is two years younger than Troy but started his football journey at the same time.
In 1994 he was signed to West Coast and played 34 games for them up to 1996 and kicked 20 goals. Like his older brother he was also able to claim a Premiership Medal, in 1994.
Moving to Port Adelaide in 1997 he played every game that year but injuries saw him sidelined for a number of matches from then on and he finally hung up the boots at the end of 2000 after 57 games and 11 goals.
He played 1 State Of Origin game for South Australia in 1997.
Source: The Encyclopaedia of  AFL Footballers.