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.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment

If there are any items about Aussie rules history/players etc. you would like me to present in my blog please let me know.