INSIDE
» The changing face of coaching
the Official Magazine Of the afl gaMe
You have to be capable of the freakish and be able to win games, sometimes off your own boot if that is what it takes. And the Hawks have mainly got it right. More than 20 players have worn No. 23 since the club joined the League in 1925 and several have given excellent service. Four of them have been superstars—not just of their club —but also of the game. And the No. 23 jumper is the only number at Hawthorn to appear in all 10 of the club’s. John Peck. Don Scott. He captained the club in 1953-54 although—as was customary at the time—he wore No. 1 once elevated to the top job. But as the Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers notes, Fletcher was a “vigorous protector” of his club’s smaller players. If nothing else, Fletcher created the DNA for future players in the No. 23 and, by 1954, John Peck, an apprentice butcher from Canterbury, was wearing the jumper. His endeavours saved the club and he took a seat on the board. Sadly, in typical Scott fashion, he remains estranged Round 23, from 2011the club and won’t allow himself to enjoy the club’s return to off-field health and onfieldaugust success. A little more than 12 months after Scott’s retirement (end of 1981), the No. 23 26-28 $5 belonged—most appropriately—to the precocious Dermott Brereton. He was shortish for the position (189cm), but the total package of bravery, ability to gut-run, his fierce attack on the footy, and an ahead-of-his-time capacity to grab the ball when it hit the ground, put him at the front of his peers in an era of great half-forwards. He will always be remembered for his extraordinary effort to stay on the ground after being knocked down and injured at the opening bounce of the 1989 Grand Final. Vomiting blood and bile, he had the audacity to mark minutes later in front of the pack and convert. When Thompson left the club in 2005, the jumper was put away for 12 months and the challenge thrown to the incoming batch of draftees, the first to be selected by coach Alastair Clarkson, to put their hand up to wear it. It became obvious quite soon that the coltish but freakishly talented It became obvio Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin was the candidate most likely. The Hawks switched Franklin from No. 38 to No. 23 in his second season The Hawks switched Franklin from No. FLAMBoYAnT 38 to No. 23 in his secondFouRSoME season (inc. gst)
Why ThE No. 23 is rEvErEd aT haWThorN
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THE HIGHS, THE HEROES, AND THE ‘WORD’ ACCORDING TO BILLY BROWNLESS penguin.com.au
round 23, august 26-28, 2011
features featu The senior coach is the leader and face of the club BRAD SCOTT
57 NUMBERS NUMB GAME
Peck, Scott, Brereton or Franklin ... w who is Hawthorn’s greatest No. 23? ASHLEY BROWNE BR reports.
64ALL 64 4 ALL-ROUNDER « Today’s senior seni AFL coach must be able able to multi-task. PETER RYAN RYA reports.
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ALEX FASOLO
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Backc Backchat The B Bounce Matchday Match Dream Team Answ Answer Man Kids’ Corner NNAB AB AAFL Rising Star
Collingwood’s Alex Fasolo. Collingwood
78 Talki Talking Point
Ted Hopkins on why tactics have Ted been taken to a new level.
The round 22 NAB AFL Rising Star nominee settles into a star-studded Magpie line-up. THIS WEEK’S COVERS The national cover pays tribute to Hawthorn greats who have worn No. 23. There is also a cover for the Essendon-Port Adelaide game.
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Your say on the world of football EDITOR’S LETTER
Complexities of modern coaching » Adelaide, Melbourne and Fadeouts are par for the course
Have you ever noticed how the AFL competition is like a golf tournament? You have to perform well over four separate stages of the competition to come out on top. How often do you see a lower-ranked golfer have the round of his life on day one of a golf tournament, only to see him fade away over the next three days? It’s similar in the AFL. A quarter-time lead does not necessarily mean the game is yours. The Suns were leading Geelong by more than three goals at quarter-time, and ended up losing by 11 goals. A consistent performance is required across the entire four quarters.
CRUEL BLOW: Mark
Harvey and the Dockers have been dealt a tough hand with injuries in 2011.
TIM BORTEN, MONTEREY KEYS, QLD.
A Docker shocker
How much more does Fremantle have to take? I mean, seriously. Injuries have absolutely decimated the club this year. When you’ve got stars including Aaron Sandilands, David Mundy and Michael Barlow out for much of the year, and lose a young gun like Anthony Morabito before a ball has even been bounced, you wonder whether Freo should have even bothered showing up this year. And Mark Harvey said his team might lose another seven players for its clash with Collingwood this Friday. When you think about it, it’s remarkable the Dockers have
GENERAL MANAGER, COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS Darren Birch AFL CORPORATE BUSINESS MANAGER Richard Simkiss AFL RECORD MANAGING EDITOR Geoff Slattery
AFL RECORD
VANESSA MALLANDER, WEST LEEDERVILLE, WA.
Excited by Lion cubs
Everyone knows what a disaster 2010 was for the Brisbane Lions. After winning their fi rst four games, they won just another three games for the year and their decision to top up with experienced recruits blew up in their face. However, slowly but surely, things are getting better. And, as is often the case, much of the improvement has come from the
PRODUCTION EDITOR Michael Lovett WRITERS Nick Bowen, Ashley Browne, Ben Collins, Paul Daff ey, George Farrugia, Katrina Gill, Luke Holmesby, Ted Hopkins, Adam McNicol, Darren O’Shaughnessy, Peter Ryan, Niall Seewang, Callum Twomey, Michael Whiting, Jennifer Witham SUB-EDITORS Gary Hancock, Howard Kotton, Michael Stevens
AFL RECORD EDITOR Peter Di Sisto
4
remained in finals contention for as long as they have. It’s been a brave effort. Roll on an injury-free 2012.
STATISTICIAN Cameron Sinclair
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kids. While Simon Black, Luke Power and, before he got injured, Jonathan Brown, have given what you’d expect from them, it’s the youngsters coming through who I’m most excited about— Matthew Leuenberger, Tom Rockliff, Jack Redden, etc. STAN FLORIAN, BOWEN HILLS, QLD.
HAVE YOUR SAY
The best letter each round nd will receive the 2011 AFL Record Season Guide. Email aflrecordeditor@ slatterymedia.com or write to AFL Record, Slattery Media Group, 140 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands, VIC, 3008.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Andrew Hutchison ART DIRECTOR Sam Russell DESIGNERS Alison Wright, Daniel Frawley PHOTO EDITORS Natalie Boccassini, Ginny Pike PRODUCTION MANAGER Troy Davis PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Stephen Lording DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Callum Senior
the Western Bulldogs are searching for new coaches. In recent years, clubs picking coaches have expressed their desire to conduct thorough searches focusing on a wide range of skill sets, sometimes engaging outside experts (including human resource managers, psychologists or retired premiership players and coaches, for example) to provide independent advice. Peter Ryan’s feature story on the modern coach (starting page 64) provides a fascinating insight into how complex the role has become. “What clubs need now more than ever is a coach-manager, someone with a skill set akin to that of any modern executive (with quite a bit more scrutiny thrown in for good measure): the coach is now a marketer, media performer, chief operating officer, teacher, human resources manager and numbers man, as well as the great leader and footy strategist, visionary and entrepreneur,” Ryan reports. The story should serve to highlight just how challenging tthe process of fi nding the right man for the job is, as the three m cclubs would attest. Those taking the jobs would be well aware of the modern b demands. And they’ll also be d aware of one other critical a rrequirement: the need to win. PETER DI SISTO P
FINANCE & COMMERCIAL MANAGER Jeffrey Sickert NATIONAL SALES MANAGER – SPORT Shane Purss ACCOUNT MANAGERS Kate Hardwick, Callum Senior, Rebecca Whiting ADVERTISING SALES COORDINATOR Laura Mullins (03) 9627 2600 PHOTOGRAPHY Sean Garnsworthy, Michael Willson, Lachlan Cunningham, Tim Terry, Justine Walker, AFL Photos, (03) 9627 2600, aflphotos.com.au
PRINTED BY PMP Print ADDRESS CORRESPONDENCE TO The Editor, AFL Record, Ground Floor, 140 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands, Victoria, 3008. T: (03) 9627 2600 F: (03) 9627 2650 E: peterd@slatterymedia.com AFL RECORD, VOL. 100, ROUND 23, 2011 Copyright. ACN No. 004 155 211. ISSN 1444-2973, Print Post approved PP320258/00109
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DAY OUT
Scott Thompson’s 51 touches put him in rare company.
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CHRIS JUDD
Keeping a star Blue to mere mortal status.
22
RETIREMENTS
Mooney, Hudson, Rawlings and Hahn to bid farewell.
I enjoyed combining something mental with something physical
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STILL IN THE HUNT: Todd
Goldstein (left), Brady Rawlings and Cruize Garlett join in the Roos’ celebrations against Fremantle last week.
Finals still a chance as Roos face moment of truth NICK BOWEN
N
orth Melbourne’s 2011 season hinges on its clash with St Kilda on Saturday night. Win and the 10th-placed Roos will draw within two points of the sixth-placed Saints—and the Sydney Swans (eighth) if they lose to Geelong at Skilled Stadium on Saturday. If North can then beat Richmond in round 24, it will sneak into the final eight if the Saints lose to Carlton or the Swans lose to the Brisbane Lions.
Lose to St Kilda, however, and the Roos’ finals hopes are kaput ... gone. North coach Brad Scott didn’t want to get caught up in what-ifs after his team belted Fremantle by 98 points last Saturday night. Ever the pragmatist, Scott said all his team could do was focus on its next two games, knowing it would fi nish where it “deserved” to fi nish. “Last year, realistically, we weren’t good enough to play in September,” Scott said of his
team’s ninth-placed fi nish, just percentage behind Carlton in eighth. “This year, I tend to think it would be great for our boys to experience a fi nal, but we’ve still got to play well enough to get there.” Scott does not want to make the finals solely to expose his young team to the experience of playing high-stakes games in front of big crowds. Rather, he is confi dent his players have improved
enough to be worthy fi nalists if they qualify. Scott’s confidence is based on several factors. In his second season as coach, he said his players now understand the game style he wants them to play and are executing it “really well”. Further, North had addressed its recent lack of speed and fl air in the midfield, he said. “We think in one draft we made a significant improvement in that area with Shaun Atley and Kieran Harper AFL RECORD
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7
The first Brownlow Medal, won by Geelong’s Edward ‘Carji’ Greeves in 1924, auctioned in Melbourne.
(2010 draftees) coming into the side,” Scott said. “And I think (last Saturday night was) only about the second game of the year that (Matt) Campbell and (Lindsay) Thomas have played together too. “So, we’re starting to develop that synergy with those players and get a good mix of the inside ball-winners and the outside speed which can give us a bit more polish.” Scott also acknowledged the work his medical and sports science staff had done to get North’s playing list close to full fitness following its “disastrous” run of injuries over the pre-season, when, at one stage, the club had only 29 fit players. However, despite pushing Carlton and Hawthorn recently, Scott is aware the Kangaroos had not claimed a big scalp this season. In fact, they have not beaten a top-four team since round 21, 2009, when, ironically, they beat St Kilda. Although the Saints have slipped from the heights of their 2009-10 Grand Final years, Scott said their form in the second half of 2011 showed they would be just as big a test as the Blues and Hawks had been. As such, if North passed that test, it deserved to play fi nals, he said. “If in round 23 you beat a side like St Kilda, then I don’t think anyone could argue you’re not worthy,” Scott said. North will take good form of its own into the clash with the Saints. Since winning just two of its first nine matches, North has won seven of its past 11, its losses being to Collingwood, St Kilda, Carlton and Hawthorn. The Kangaroos’ winning margin against Fremantle was its highest since they beat Carlton by 124 points in round 22, 2003. After the match, defender Scott Thompson said it was also a sign the young team was developing a ruthless streak. “Over the last few years, we haven’t finished off teams like we’d like to when we get in front,” Thompson said. “So it was good to get nearly a 100-point win. It was good to see the boys not just packing up and taking a victory.” 8
AFL RECORD
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IRISH JIG
McKeever run-up all a stutter PETER RYAN
T
hose Irish recruits add something unique to the game. The latest to bring a different perspective to bear is Brisbane Lions recruit Niall McKeever. It was seven minutes into his eighth game—his first at the MCG—when a 50m penalty tall defender defender within within brought the tall anceof ofgoal. goal. kicking distance wo deep breaths eaths as as He took two reegulation he lined up, then five regulation turningsideways sid deways steps before turning d in for three threee more more as he moved ring forwar rd as steps, stuttering forward racing though he was racing agilityladder laddeer through an agility ghteningup up p before straightening through and kicking through the middle. od was was aa His method thestart start mix betweenn the ew Zealand Zealand of former New fast bowler Richard Richard n-up and the thee Hadlee’s run-up est Coast approach West er Josh Josh sharp-shooter mployed last Kennedy employed lastt diffeerent, season. Yep, it was different, utine that that was w as was as a set shot routine ootball as asDerek D Derek unusual to football ffling ing across acrossthe the Randall shuffl cricket. crease was too cricket. w McKeeverr laughed when when his his was raised. raised d.“It’s “It’sjust just unique style was hat comes comes pretty p pretty something that me,” he he said. said d. naturally to me,” ure why I have ha ave that “I’m not sure somethin ng that that II run up. It’s not something se. It just seems seeems to to do on purpose. hen I kick go oals. come out when goals. trying to to tweak t weak w itit “I’ve beenn trying ge the the run run up, u but up, but a bit to change puttting itit as long as I keep on putting sticks, itit doesn’t do oesn’t through the sticks, oo much.” bother me too nds a bit like likee the the way way That sounds expla in i how how most of us would explain ask ked. But But we dance if we were asked. and,as asMcKeever MccKeever it is effectivee and, all that that matters. mattters. said, that is all onse from hi is The response his th hegoal goal teammates following the cKeever is isaa popular popular indicated McKeever kicking player and he admitted kicking feeeling. the goal wass a great feeling.
He said strong camaraderie exists at the Lions. “All the boys are pretty close in age.” There is more to McKeever’s game, though, than an interesting set-shot kick. He is a strong defender who can pinch-hit in the ruck, and he has taken on some of the game’s biggest names in his short career. Last week, he tried to keep pace with Collingwood’s Travis Cloke and soak up the lessons on the way.
I’ve been trying to tweak it a bit to change g the run up NIALL McKEEVER
DIFFERENT: Niall McKeever’s goalkicking routine is unsual but it has been effective.
his “Everyone knows his (Cloke’s) (Cloke’s) bodywork bodywork is very, very impressive and he’s good on the lead. Collingwood’s skills help him out massively massive ly and andpretty pretty much where he wants to go, they’ll kick it, so (I was) learning different ways to counteract that. He is one of the tougher opponents I’ve played on.” The middle of the MCG is a long way from McKeever’s McKeever’s hometown of Portglenone, where he started playing Gaelic football aged six. He arrived at the Lions from County Antrim after afterrepresenting representingititat at the highest level, an athletic youngster so raw that when he played his first game in Queensland, he handballed the
ball to a teammate when taking a kick-out, forcing the umpire to ball it up at the top of the square. McKeever chuckled at the memory: “The team we were playing against could not believe it,” he said. “I don’t think they scored from (the bounce) but I think everyone got a good laugh out of it.” From there, he has progressed enough to make his debut against Fremantle in round 14 and impressed in his eight games since. He is athletic and plays with great heart, his skill level improving all the time. McKeever is a welcome addition to both the Lions and the AFL AFL scene sceneand andhe he has the right approach to m a k ethe make t htransition transition e t r a n s iwork. work. tionwork. “It’s been a massive learning curve,” he said.
Adelaide’s Bernie Vince and Andy Otten extend their contracts.
STATS WHIZ
BALL MAGNET:
Scott Thompson became only the third player to record 50-plus possessions.
50-disposal barrier ho-hum for top Crow BEN COLLINS
E
ven in this era of high-possession football, the 50-disposal barrier looms as almost untouchable. Well, Adelaide Crows midfi elder Scott Thompson touched it last week, becoming just the th third player to do so since such su stats were first rs recorded. Thompson’s remarkable T r 51-touch perform 51-touch performance in the Cro ows’ 61-point 61-point win over Gold Crows’ Coa ast at Metricon Metrico Stadium Coast wa actuall y the thesecond-best wass actually on record, behind behin only former cha ampion Greg Williams, who champion am massed 53 for Sydney against amassed St K Kilda at the SCG S in 1989. The 28-year-old’s T 28-year- o half-century effo ort was was the the best be in more than effort 20 years, since Collingwood’s C the en reigning pr then premiership skip pper Ton y Sh skipper Tony Shaw clocked an eve en 50 against against the Brisbane even Bea ars at Victoria Victoria Park in round Bears five, vee, 1991. Early in the last E la quarter aga ainst the Suns, Suns Thompson against bro oke the Crows’ Crows club record of broke
E Eighth is i not enough noten n o » With five teams tea battling it out for f the final three th spots in the top eight, e the contrasting con t hopes of teams t that that round rou out the eight have h come sharply sha into focus. With two two ro rounds remaining, the t three best best-placed candidates—St ccandidates—S Kilda (sixth), Sydney S (seven (seventh) and Essendon ( are llocked o (eighth) on 42 points apiece, while N North Melbourne a while and a Fremantle Fremantle are a game and a h outside outside the th top bracket. half Recent history histo suggests the diff between finishing the d erence bet m rounds in sixth or eighth minor rounds position can be p b the diff erence
44 disposals, previously shared by his coach Mark Bickley (in 1993) and Chris McDermott (1992). His own previous best was 40, which he achieved in the round three loss to Fremantle at AAMI Stadium. Thompson was also comfortably the most prolific player afi eld, dwarfing the 39 touches of Suns skipper Gary Ablett jnr. He also dished off the equal second most handballs in an AFL game-30—behind only Ablett’s 33 with Geelong in 2009. Thompson amassed 18 touches in the first term (almost a third of
between the premiership window being slightly ajar or bolted shut. Since 2000, when the fi nals system was changed to have
the Suns’ team total), followed by tallies of 10, 14 and nine. He had 32 touches while going to the one end of the stadium. In all, Thompson had 16 contested possessions, 35 uncontested, 71 per cent efficiency, nine clearances, just two clangers and, illustrating his role as a true midfielder, only four inside 50s and two rebound 50s. Thompson told afl.com.au even he was taken aback by the staggering stats. “I spoke to (Fox Sports boundary rider) Leigh Colbert after the game and he fi lled me
fifth playing eighth in week one (rather than fi rst playing eighth, as was the case under the original top-eight system),
MAKING UP THE NUMBERS? Season8th team5th teamEF result1SF resultFinal placing 2000
HawGeelW9L10
6th
2001
AdelCarlL68–
8th
2002
West CoastEssL33–
8th
2003
EssFremW44L39
6th
2004
EssMelbW5L10
6th
2005
PAN MelbW87L83
6th
2006
WBCollW41L74
6th
2007
AdelHawL3–
8th
2008
CollAdelW31L34
6th
2009
EssAdelL96–
8th
2010
CarlSydL5–
8th
in with how many touches I had and I was a bit surprised,” he said. “I didn’t believe him at fi rst.” Suns coach Guy McKenna was acutely aware of the damage Thompson caused. Asked at the post-match press conference which Suns players were meant to guard Thompson, McKenna said, “Good question,” before adding that the powerful Crow had been “too hot to handle”. Bickley confi rmed the 196-gamer was enjoying his best season and would come into strong consideration for All-Australian selection. “Obviously it is really tough as a midfielder to get in there, but his consistency and the level he has performed at, he has been outstanding for us,” Bickley said. And it’s hard to argue. Thompson is fourth in the AFL for disposals with 602—behind only Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd (631), Collingwood’s Dane Swan (605) and Carlton’s Marc Murphy (603). He is averaging a career-high 30 touches, and has dropped below 25 just three times this season. He appears a near-certainty to win his first club best and fairest, having finished in the top three in three of the past four seasons. Thompson is also a proven votegetter in the Brownlow, having received 59 votes over the past four seasons, when he averaged 25.3 touches overall.
no seventh or eighth-placed side has yet progressed to a preliminary fi nal. However, a sixth-placed side has—as Collingwood did in 2007, when the Pies came within seven points of upsetting Geelong. The team that entered the finals seventh has twice ultimately finished seventh or eighth, except for one occasion, in 2006, when Melbourne lifted itself to fifth. Meanwhile, the eighth qualifier has actually out-performed the seventh side, rising to sixth in six of 11 instances. However, when they have progressed to the second week, they have lost by an average of 41 points.
AFL RECORD
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9
Essendon’s ons SStewart tew war art a rrtt C Cr Crameri rameri to miss rest of season after surgery on dislocated shoulder.
THE NEXT STEP
FIT AND FIRING:
Matthew Leuenberger had a career-high 24 disposals against the Pies last week.
Big Lion taking a leap forward MICHAEL WHITING
I
n a trying season for the Brisbane Lions, one success story has been ruckman Matthew Leuenberger. The 23-year-old has played every match and anchored an impressive Lions midfi eld that is starting to win hard-earned recognition. Last week against Collingwood, the 204cm, 102kg giant came up against premiership ruckman Darren Jolly and got the points. He amassed a career-high 24 disposals, took seven marks and had 33 hit-outs, while Jolly had seven, four and 25 respectively. It came seven days after he pushed Simon Black for best-onground honours in the win over Gold Coast. It was a continuation of a superb season in general. After surgery on both knees and a staph infection that stripped 11kg from his frame in 2009, Leuenberger’s first three years in the League were cut dramatically short.
Welsh rues weird run of injuries » It has been a luckless season for Essendon vice-captain Andrew Welsh. Welsh was concussed in the first quarter of the Bombers’ 57-point loss to West Coast last week and substituted out of the game. He will be hoping it is the end of a weird and slightly unconventional run of injury troubles in 2011 for the hardened midfielder. It started at an intra-club game in February, when Welsh pulled up sore from the hit-out and had scans on what he 10
AFL RECORD
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“Early on, I definitely missed more footy than I played,” Leuenberger said. “The way I’ve got better is being healthy enough to train every week and being healthy enough to be available for selection every week. “I don’t think you really learn much when you’re doing rehab. For me to stay fit and healthy and train, I’d like to think I’m guaranteed I’d keep improving.” Leuenberger was selected at No. 4 in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft and has played 64 games for the Lions, including the past 42 straight.
thought was a groin strain. Instead, the scan showed a rare abdominal injury, which required conservative monitoring and nd treatment, including c cluding blood injections. on ns. “I had a scan an n to to make sure myy groin groin was all fi ne and n itit nd picked up thatt II had had a tear that thee doctor hadn’tt seen before, and he has been in the caper for 30 years,” Welsh told afl.com.au in April.
Early on, I definitely missed more footy than I played MATTHEW LEUENBERGER
He is averaging almost 16 disposals a game and sits second behind North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein (679) in total hit-outs (644).
The injury setback meant he wasn’t picked in the Essendon team until its round six clash with Gold Coast. Welsh W e l s strained strained h s t r a iaancalf cealf d muscle ac in the warm-up warm-u p before beefor the Suns game and and was was a w late withdrawal. He missed missed another anotthe fi ve weeks before bein being ng rrushed back into the side sid to take on Fre Fremantle at Pat Patersons ers Stad diu for his Stadium first game. NO LUCK:
Inj Injuries have be been a curse ffor Andrew We W Welsh in 2011.
“I feel like I’m starting to get a bit more consistency in my game,” he said. “In the past, I’ve played a decent game and generally the week later have followed it up with a poor performance. I think it’s just a natural progression in gaining more experience.” Leuenberger was seen by the Lions as a cornerstone for their revival from the bottom four and recently signed a two-year contract extension. He said with a young group emerging at the same time, it was never a consideration to go elsewhere. “The blokes around me, apart from Simon Black, haven’t played much footy together at all,” he said of the midfield combination. “(Daniel) Rich, (Jack) Redden, (Tom) Rockliff and (Ryan) Harwood when he plays, (James) Polkinghorne—apart from this year, I’ve never really played too much with them inside. “We’ve got better as the year’s gone on and the key to us getting better is having time out there working together and fi guring challenges out together as a group. “There’s a lot of room for improvement too, which is exciting. We’ve experienced a few downs this year and we’ll be a lot better when we start working our way up the ladder. It’s pretty exciting.”
The Bombers lost and he was dropped a week later. By round 15, Welsh looked to have finally shaken his injury curse with an excellent first quarter-and-a-half in Essendon’s shock win over Geelong. He kicked two goals and had eight possessions in a defensive role on champion Cats defender Matthew Scarlett. He then tore his hamstring and had to wear the red substitute’s vest. The 28-year-old spent another five weeks on the sidelines recovering from the injury and returned as the substitute in the Bombers’ round 21 win over the Western Bulldogs. CALLUM TWOMEY
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Channel Seven to broadcast next Friday’s Collingwood-Geelong match live in Melbourne.
PREDICTIONS
MATHEMATICIAN AND IT CONSULTANT DARREN O’SHAUGHNESSY LOOKS AT THE CHANCES OF CLUBS IN THE FINALS RACE. IF IT...POSITION AFTER ROUND 23FINALS CHANCES
1 2
3 4
v Fremantle Patersons Stadium, Friday night
v Sydney Swans Skilled Stadium, Saturday
v Western Bulldogs MCG, Saturday
v Brisbane Lions Gabba, Saturday night
First
Will finish first and play the team in fourth—likely West Coast—at the MCG in its fi rst final.
First
If Geelong beats Sydney, the winner of the CollingwoodGeelong match in round 24 will be the minor premier. If the Cats lose, the Magpies will stay fi rst.
Second
Only two circumstances would give the Cats the minor premiership next week: the more ‘likely’ is for Collingwood to lose to both Fremantle and Geelong. The other is a 20-goal win over Sydney followed by a 10-goal win over the Pies.
LOSES
Second
Will very likely fi nish second and play Hawthorn in its first final. If Geelong loses to Collingwood and Hawthorn wins its last two by large margins, the Hawks could pass the Cats on percentage, but the fi nal match-up would not change.
WINS
Third
Will almost certainly fi nish third and play Geelong in its first final.
LOSES
Third
Will still finish third and probably play Geelong, as long as the Hawks can defeat Gold Coast next week. Another loss would open the door for West Coast to shove Hawthorn into fourth.
WINS
Fourth
Guaranteed a double chance, but would have to beat Adelaide next week and hope Hawthorn loses both matches to climb any higher than fourth and a date with the minor premier.
LOSES
Fourth
Will finish fourth if it defeats Adelaide, or St Kilda defeats Carlton. Otherwise fifth.
WINS
LOSES
WINS
5
BYE
Fifth
Will finish fifth and play the team in eighth, unless West Coast loses two from two and Carlton defeats St Kilda next week, in which case it would sneak into fourth.
Sixth
6
WINS v North Melbourne Etihad Stadium, Saturday night LOSES
Will host a fi nal from sixth if it can beat Carlton, or if Sydney fails to win both matches. Otherwise seventh and a likely trip to Sydney (possibly as low as eighth—see Percentage Matters, right)
Seventh if Geelong and Essendon win, eighth if Geelong loses or St Kilda is thrashed, sixth if Essendon loses.
Most likely to fall out of the eight and fi nish ninth if it loses to Carlton and North Melbourne defeats Richmond. Can still land anywhere between sixth and 10th.
WINS
Up to sixth if St Kilda loses; otherwise seventh.
Will likely host a fi nal from sixth after beating Brisbane, but St Kilda could prevent that by winning both its matches. Lowest possible position is eighth, depending on percentage.
LOSES
Down to eighth if Essendon wins and St Kilda does not lose by six goals or more; otherwise seventh.
Still a fi nalist if it beats Brisbane, with a good chance of hosting a fi nal if it can keep this losing margin small and thrash the Lions.
WINS
Up to sixth if St Kilda and Sydney both lose, seventh if one of them wins; stay eighth if both win.
Guaranteed a finals position, probably eighth to play Carlton or seventh travelling to Sydney. Can fi nish as high as sixth, if St Kilda and Sydney both lose their remaining matches.
LOSES
Eighth
Will still finish eight unless North Melbourne or Fremantle wins its fi nal two matches, eliminating the Bombers.
WINS
Ninth, but only two points out of the eight.
Must defeat Richmond and depend on either Essendon losing on Sunday, St Kilda losing to Carlton, or Sydney dropping both matches to make the eight. Could fi nish as high as sixth if everything goes right.
LOSES
Ninth if Collingwood wins, 10th if Fremantle wins.
Eliminated
WINS
Ninth if St Kilda wins, 10th if North Melbourne wins.
Must defeat Western Bulldogs and hope for two of these: Essendon losing on Sunday, St Kilda losing both, North Melbourne losing at least once, and Sydney losing twice. The odds are against the Dockers, and yet they could finish as high as sixth and gain a home fi nal in theory.
LOSES
10th or 11thEliminated
7
8 9 10
v Geelong Skilled Stadium, Saturday
v Port Adelaide Etihad Stadium, Sunday
v St Kilda Etihad Stadium, Saturday night
v Collingwood Patersons Stadium, Friday night
THESE PREDICTIONS WILL FEATURE IN THE 12
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AFL RECORD FOR THE REST OF THE HOME AND AWAY SEASON.
THE REST
» Western Bulldogs,
Richmond and Melbourne can all fi nish as high as ninth or as low as 14th. Adelaide cannot reach higher than 11th, and will most likely be 13th or 14th but no lower. The Brisbane Lions will finish 15th, or 16th if Gold Coast wins twice to take 15th. Otherwise, the Suns will be 16th, or last if Port Adelaide wins a third match.
PERCENTAGE MATTERS
» Percentage is likely to decide the order of the lower half of the eight, with the Saints (108.37%), Swans (106.13%) and Bombers (99.67%) all expected to fi nish on 46 points if favourites prevail. The percentage difference between St Kilda and Sydney is worth almost six goals, while Essendon would have to make up about 20 goals’ margin on the Swans—certainly possible with its draw this week. As an example, if Sydney loses 60-110 then wins 109-79, Essendon wins 159-58, and St Kilda wins 80-79 then loses 50-105, all three teams would have 11½ wins and exactly the same percentage of 104.35%. PREDICTED FINAL LADDER 1 Collingwood 2 Geelong 3 Hawthorn 4 West Coast 5 Carlton 6 St Kilda 7 Sydney 8 Essendon (no change)
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Gold Coast commits to drafting 17-year-old local boy Alex Sexton as a Queensland zone selection.
HALL OF FAME
Tigers honour trio of greats
» Dual premiership players
Joe Murdoch and John Northey and former captain and two-time best and fairest Matthew Knights were last week inducted into Richmond’s Hall of Fame. They became the 49th, 50th and 51st inductees since the Hall of Fame’s inception in 2002. Murdoch, a rugged defender, had an impressive 10-year career at Richmond, from 1927-36. He played in six Grand Finals in a seven-year period and was a key member of Richmond’s 1932 and ’34 premiership sides. Northey, a half-forward, earned the nickname ‘Swooper’ due to his capacity for swooping on the loose ball and making something happen. He played a vital role in the Tigers’ 1967 and ’69 premiership teams, before departing Punt Road at the end of 1970 to take up a coaching role interstate. He once kicked eight goals in a game, and scored five goals or more on six occasions. Northey later coached the Tigers. Knights was a classy left-foot midfielder who had a stellar 15-season career. From Mildura Imperials, he was still a teenager when he won the first of his two Jack Dyer Medals and he went on to skipper the Tigers from 1997-2000. Knights, who delivered to teammates by hand or foot with the utmost precision, later coached Essendon and is also a member of Richmond’s Team of the Century.
KEY TO BLUES’ SUCCESS
Judd’s output lower in Carlton’s losses NICK BOWEN
J
ust how important is Chris Judd to Carlton? Obviously, very. But has his importance lessened since he joined the Blues at the end of 2007? Since players like Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs, Kade Simpson and Mitch Robinson have developed? Probably. Still, Carlton’s loss to Hawthorn last Friday night coincided with a rare quiet game by Judd, prompting some cynics to theorise ‘No Judd, No Carlton’. Obviously, that’s not the case, but the AFL Record took a statistical look at Judd’s performances in Carlton’s six losses in 2011 in search of any discernible patterns. Last round, Hawk Jordan Lewis (with help from others) held Judd to 15 possessions—his lowest tally since round 18, 2008—and, as you would expect of most players, Judd’s output has been down in Carlton’s losses this season. Most noticeably, Judd has averaged five fewer possessions in the Blues’ losses than he has in their other 15 games (14 wins and a draw)—23.7 compared to 28.7. He has also averaged 1.6 fewer clearances a game (5.7 to 7.3), 2.9 fewer contested possessions (12.2 to 15.1), 2.8 fewer inside 50s (2.7 to 5.5) and 1.7 fewer goal assists (0.3 to 2).
FEELING THE PINCH:
Carlton skipper Chris Judd was kept to just 15 posessions last week—his lowest tally since 2008.
These statistics are signifi cant, given the Blues’ reliance on Judd in these areas. The captain leads Carlton in contested possessions (300, the next best is Murphy on 259), clearances (143, followed by Murphy on 113) and goal assists (32, followed by Eddie Betts on 21) and is second for inside 50s (98, behind Simpson on 101). Judd’s lowest disposal tally in a win this season has been 22, in round 11 against Port Adelaide. However, in half of
Carlton’s losses he has had 22 disposals or fewer. Judd has been named in Carlton’s best players in the other three losses, most notably in both defeats by Collingwood; in the round 17 loss against the Magpies, he racked up a game-high 35 possessions. No one should question Judd’s work ethic this season either, with his tackle average marginally higher in losses (6.5 to 6.3).
Judd by the numbers in 2011 Losses Wins
DCLCPGGAI50T 23.75.712.20.30.32.76.5 28.77.315.10.625.56.3
All statistics are game averages
Judd’s performances in Carlton’s losses Round three (Coll)24 disposals, 8 tackles* Round nine (Geel) 22 disposals, 1 goal, 5 tackles Round 14 (WC) 17 disposals, 1 goal, 6 tackles Round 16 (WB)29 disposals, 9 tackles* Round 17 (Coll) 35 disposals, 5 tackles* Round 22 (Haw) 15 disposals, 6 tackles *Named in Carlton’s best
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14
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Port Adelaide mourning SANFL great John Abley, who died last weekend aged 81.
PLAYER AGREEMENT
AFL hopeful CBA deal is close KATRINA GILL AND LUKE HOLMESBY
T
he AFL remains hopeful an agreement on the new collective bargaining agreement will be reached before the end of the home and away season. The AFL and the AFL Players’ Association failed to sign off on the new CBA by the original June 30 deadline and have been at an impasse ever since. The players are demanding a 25-27 per cent share of the AFL’s revenue over the next four years, but the League remains opposed to agreeing to a fixed percentage. On the eve of the June 30 deadline, 800 players from the 17 teams met simultaneously across the country to reaffi rm they would not compromise on their demands.
AFLPA CEO Matt Finnis “It’s a very busy period and it’s and chairman of the body’s very important as we stressed advisory board Neil Hamilton in the meeting that we need to were invited to make a provide some certainty submission to the to our clubs, so far AFL Commission as the budgeting at a meeting process going in Adelaide forward and also last Monday. to the players. Demetriou “There’s no denied either deadline. I’m just party had softened saying in the ideal its stance world it would on the issue, be preferable but said both to try and get remained this resolved committed to sooner rather reaching an than later, agreement particularly as before the nine we’re getting non-finalists towards left for their the end of post-season the football break. season. AFL CEO ANDREW DEMETRIOU “At the “That’s meeting, the ideal both (parties) scenario and agreed to set about trying to hopefully with goodwill that resolve the CBA and try to do it can happen. We’ll continue to in a timely manner,” Demetriou have the dialogue and continue said on Monday. to meet.” “It’s very important we do it AFLPA vice-president in a timely manner, particularly Luke Ball (pictured) agreed with with the end of the season not Demetriou’s belief that time was that far away. of the essence for players and
We’ll continue to have the dialogue and continue to meet
clubs planning for 2012 and beyond. “With finals closer, from a players’ point of view, you are more focused on the playing side of things and trusting Matt Finnis and his team to do their job,” Ball said. “Hopefully it is getting closer and there will be a positive announcement in the next month or so.” Demetriou and members of the Commission also met with officials at the SANFL, Adelaide and Port Adelaide during their stay, with Demetriou re-confirming the League’s commitment to the Power. “We assured Port they should put at the bottom of their list of worries the financial situation of the club because we’ve assured that through the financial package,” Demetriou said. “Port Adelaide’s balance sheet is actually pretty good compared to a lot of our other football clubs. There’s a lot to look forward to and they have got a young list, which will take time to develop.”
WIN – THE ULTIMATE
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Bomber Heath Hocking suspended one week for rough conduct on West Coast’s Daniel Kerr.
DREAM DEBUT ON TARGET: Jason Tutt had a debut to remember, kicking three goals with his ďŹ rst three kicks.
Young Dog kicks his way into record books CALLUM TWOMEY
I
t took Western Bulldog Jason Tutt, in his ďŹ rst AFL game, only two-and-a-half minutes to kick his ďŹ rst goal against Port Adelaide last week. Less than two minutes later, Tutt had his second kick of the day—also a goal. Three minutes after that, he had his third kick at the elite level for another goal. Remarkably, the 20-year-old wingman, who has played in the VFL all year with Williamstown, had kicked three goals with his ďŹ rst three kicks less than eight minutes into his ďŹ rst game. All were scored through general play and all relied on
First kicks in League football resulting in goals 6Clen Denning (Carlton)Round 4, 1935 4Richard Lounder (Richmond)Round 5, 1989 Daniel Metropolis (West Coast)Round 3, 1992 3Jason Tutt (Western Bulldogs)Round 22, 2011 Marcus Baldwin (Geelong)Round 21, 2000 Ian Fairley (North Melbourne)Round 7, 1983 Tim Hargreaves (Hawthorn)Round 5, 1994 Damian Houlihan (Collingwood)Round 7, 1994 Ben Rutten (Adelaide)Round 16, 2003 Michael Tuck (Hawthorn)Round 8, 1972
a cool head, excellent awareness and classy ďŹ nishing skills. Tutt became just the 10th player in history to achieve the feat. Of the nine to previously do it, two went on to kick goals with their ďŹ rst four kicks. One—Carlton’s Clen Denning, in round four, 1935—kicked goals with his ďŹ rst six kicks. Tutt is the ďŹ rst player since Adelaide’s Ben Rutten in 2003 to kick-off his career with three goals from three kicks. The young Dog, from Ainslie in Canberra, was not content with that, and went on to collect 26 disposals in his team’s 60-point win over Port Adelaide. He also kicked a fourth goal in the third quarter. Tutt’s opening-quarter heroics were crucial to the Bulldogs’ record ďŹ rst term. The Dogs’ score of 10.3 (63) is the highest against Port Adelaide in a ďŹ rst quarter.
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Melbourne’s Aaron Davey (one match) and Colin Sylvia (two matches) suspended by Match Review Panel.
MILESTONES ROUND 23
AFL 200 CLUB
ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
Celebration of finals greatness NIALL SEEWANG
Quinten Lynch West Coast
100 GAMES Hamish McIntosh North Melbourne
100 CLUB GAMES David Rodan Port Adelaide
50 GAMES
Ben Reid Collingwood Jarryn Geary St Kilda Chris Masten West Coast Jamie Bennell Melbourne Jesse White Sydney Swans The list includes those not necessarily selected but on the verge of milestones.
18
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T
he AFL’s advertising campaign for the 2011 finals series will focus on the theme of ‘Greatness’. The first of five television commercials aired on Channel Seven during the telecast of last round’s Carlton-Hawthorn match at Etihad Stadium. The AFL’s general manager of strategy and marketing Andrew Catterall said the campaign, to run through September, will recognise and celebrate the greatness of players, the passion of the fans and the pinnacle of the AFL season, the fi nals. “The AFL fi nals are the high point to our season and a series of five commercials around the theme ‘This is Greatness’, includes a range of famous AFL finals moments,” Catterall said.
“Tim Rogers, a legend of Australian music and a Kangaroos supporter, has composed the music and provided the voice-over for all five commercials. “Tim takes his footy as seriously as his music, and wass involved in choosing some of the mix of famous moments that are highlighted.” The Greatness campaign is part of a broader AFL strategy to build interest in the month-long finals series among both dedicated and casual fans. This will include musical entertainment at matches, the placement of banners and other promotional materials in and around Melbourne’s CBD, activities for fans of all ages before and during finals and consumer product promotions giving fans the chance to win AFL Grand Final tickets. Melbourne’s Federation Square will again be the location of the AFL’s ‘Live’ site during Grand Final week (Monday, September 26 to Saturday, October 1).
EYE-CATCHING: Great marks, like this
one by Magpie Dale Thomas, feature as part of the AFL’s advertising campaign for the 2011 fi nals series.
Geelong’s Nathan Vardy to miss remainder of the season after hip surgery.
A Crow who played with surgical precision PAUL DAFFEY
M
atthew Liptak had a good career as a midfi elder for Adelaide. He played 116 games, from the Crows’ inaugural season in 1991 through to 1999, and won the club’s best and fairest in 1996. But it is his off-field life that has served to intrigue. Liptak was a medical student early in his AFL career and a qualifi ed doctor towards the end. Several doctors have played League football, including Melbourne’s 1946 Brownlow medallist Don Cordner and Hawthorn’s Nick Wilton in the early 1980s. But Liptak managed to combine a medical life with football in a national competition. “Time management was the key,” he said. “I enjoyed the challenge of combining something mental with something physical.” Liptak finished high school at 16 and studied three years of medicine at Adelaide’s Flinders University. He was playing for Glenelg in the SANFL during that period. When he made the Crows’ inaugural squad in 1991, he deferred his studies. After starting as an uncontracted player, he made his debut in round nine, in a two-point loss to North Melbourne. He deferred his studies again in 1992 and 1993, as he sought to establish his football career. After three years away from the books, he felt compelled to return to medicine. “I realised there’s life after footy,” he said. “I thought I might not be able to go back to
20
AFL RECORD
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CLEVER CROW: After playing
116 games for the Crows, Matthew Liptak completed his medical studies, becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
medicine if I left it any longer, so I jumped back in.” Liptak combined his medical and football careers so well that he won the club’s top individual award in 1996. The irony is that after spending his young adult life learning how to mend others, his own body fell apart. A catalogue of soft-tissue injuries cost him a place in the 1997and 1998 premiership teams. In 1999, his body truly rebelled, with injuries to his
achilles, hamstrings and calves. He retired from the AFL after playing in the round 22 match in 1999, a 76-point thrashing at the hands of North Melbourne. The next season he played one game for Glenelg before badly tearing a hamstring. At 29, he retired for good to concentrate on his medical career. Despite missing out on two premiership teams and having his final few seasons marred by injuries, Liptak said he ended his football career a happy man. “I wouldn’t change anything,” he said. “I look back on it. I would have been happy to play one game.”
I enjoyed combining something mental with something physical
Liptak, 41, still catches up with his former teammates. He attends matches irregularly, but is on the board of the club’s charity group, the Crows Foundation. Mostly, he is busy with his family—he and wife Jo have four girls, Ella, Ruby, Kate and Milla—and his life as a medico. Just as he once balanced footy with medicine, he now juggles work and family. Having started his medical studies in 1987, he became a qualified consultant as an orthopedic surgeon in 2007— a journey of two decades. Surgeons rely in part on steady hands. The obvious question is whether Liptak was worried during his footy career about damaging his hands. “I didn’t think about it,” he said. “I had a passion for footy. It overrode anything I was doing in medicine.”
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Collingwood’s Dale Thomas “close” to agreeing to two-year contract extension, the Herald Sun reports.
HANGING UP THE BOOTS
Retiring Cat hoping for flag farewell ADAM McNICOL AND
G
JENNIFER WITHAM
eelong forward Cameron Mooney this week confirmed he would retire at the end of the season. The 31-year-old three-time premiership player (he won his first with North Melbourne in 1999 and two with Geelong, in 2007 and ’09) made the announcement last Tuesday. He was one of four players to announce their retirements this week, along with Bulldogs pair Ben Hudson and Mitch Hahn and North Melbourne’s Brady Rawlings. “Everyone knew it was coming,” Mooney said. “I haven’t made it a secret that I am retiring at the end of the year. I just wanted to get it out of the
ANOTHER FLAG: Triple
premiership forward Cameron Mooney, with son Jagger, after the 2009 Grand Final.
way before the finals. There are more important things coming up than some old guy retiring.” Cats coach Chris Scott said Mooney was likely, but not certain, to play in the fi nals. “It’s a bit of a sad day because he’s been such a huge contributor to Geelong, but it’s also exciting because he’s got an opportunity to contribute to some success at the end of the year,” Scott said.
Mooney has battled a chronic knee problem this year. He played five games and kicked 19 goals in the VFL during the middle part of the season in an attempt to be fi t for the fi nals. He returned to the AFL team in round 19 against Melbourne, kicking five goals in the fi rst half as the Cats beat the Demons by 186 points.
A one-match suspension after the Adelaide game has denied him a home-ground farewell for this weekend’s match against the Sydney Swans at Skilled Stadium. Mooney has played 229 games and kicked 297 goals since making his debut with the Kangaroos in 1999. A day after Mooney’s announcement, Hudson and Hahn said they would be bidding farewell at the end of the season. Hahn, 30, was delisted by the Dogs at the end of last season and was re-drafted as a mature-aged rookie. He played 181 games between 2000-10. He has spent this season playing for Williamstown in the VFL, while also coaching some of the Seagulls’ young forwards. Hudson has played 142 games, 55 for Adelaide (2004-07) and 87 in the ruck for the Bulldogs since 2008. Rawlings has been one of the Roos’ most inspirational players in the club’s history, showing great discipline and commitment during his 243-game career. He is a three-time best and fairest winner and has fi nished third on two other occasions.
AFL RECORD PROMOTION
Thank you for beingONE – a 2011 Member » This has been a milestone year for our club with our new coaching group, an exciting and improving playing list and of course our 50,000 members! Our members are the heart of our great club and as a way of showing thanks, we have set aside round 23 as ‘Member Recognition Round’. Thank you for being part of the team in 2011, we look forward to having you onboard again in 2012!
22
AFL RECORD
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BOMBER BLITZ: Jake
Melksham (No. 17) and Angus Monfries give Essendon fans more reason to celebrate.
e m o c e b m e see th
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FLAMBOYANT FOURSOME
WHY NUMBER
IS REVERED AT HAWTHORN Peck, Scott, Brereton, Franklin … all superstars and proud owners of the No. 23 for the Hawks. But who‘s the best of them all?
T
ASHLEY BROWNE
hey don’t just hand the No. 23 jumper at Hawthorn to anyone these days. You have to be tough. You have to be brave. You have to inspire. You have to be capable of the freakish and be able to win games, sometimes off your own boot if that is what it takes. And the Hawks have mainly got it right. More than 20 players have worn No. 23 since the club joined the League in 1925 and several have given excellent service. Four of them have been superstars—not just of their club —but also of the game. And the No. 23 jumper is the only number at Hawthorn to appear in all 10 of the club’s premierships. John Peck. Don Scott. Dermott Brereton. Lance Franklin. They represent greatness and explain some of the reasons
Hawthorn fans have come to love their club. They are the ultimate first four for any Hawthorn fan in any race in any season. Can any other AFL club boast a better collection of footballers to have worn the same number for the bulk of their career? The first notable No. 23 at Hawthorn was ruckman/defender Ted Fletcher, who played 129 games from 1948-54. He captained the club in 1953-54 although—as was customary at the time—he wore No. 1 once elevated to the top job. But as the Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers notes, Fletcher was a “vigorous protector” of his club’s smaller players. If nothing else, Fletcher created the DNA for future players in the No. 23 and, by 1954, Peck, an apprentice butcher from Canterbury, was wearing the jumper. When he played his first game for the club against Essendon at Glenferrie Oval in the first game of that year, he became (and still is) the youngest player to debut for the Hawks. Peck went on to become Hawthorn’s first matinee idol. He was tough, rough, unsophisticated in play, but AFL RECORD
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57
23
THE TWITTERATTI
» “Dermie or Scott. Buddy might be by the time he fi nishes, but not yet.” - @sjhross
A showman like Peck, with an edge like Scott and the flamboyance of Brereton, the Hawks chose their current No. 23 well HAWTHORN’S NO. 23s 1925
Dave Elliman
1926
Jack Drake
1927-30
Pat Keary
1931
Reg Davies/Willie Woolf
1932-33
Bob Murdoch
1933
No record
1934
F. Meehan
1935
No record
1936
Tom Green/Jack Clements
1937
Jack Clements
1938
Charlie Pierce
1939
Tom Byrne
1940-41
Tom Wellington
1942
Norm Alvin
1943
Stuart Hamilton
1944-47
Malcolm Worrall
1948-52
Ted Fletcher
1953
John McCashney
1954-66
John Peck
1967-81
Don Scott
1982
Paul Abbott
1983-93
Dermott Brereton
1994-96
Simon Crawshay
1997-98
Justin Crawford
1999-2000 Michael Collica 2001-2004 Nathan Thompson 2006-
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Lance Franklin
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TOTAL PACKAGE: Dermott Brereton’s
bravery and skill, combined with his charismatic off-field persona, made him larger than life.
dramatic in action. Brave as they come, he was the epitome of the mould John Kennedy created in the early 1960s as the Hawks finally came in from the cold. Peck was known by several nicknames: ‘Speed’ (because of his occasional bursts of pace), ‘Gregory’ (because of the Hollywood star of the same name
and an ability to milk key free kicks at important times) and ‘Elvis’ because he boasted the same slicked back hair and high cheekbones of the rock’n’roll heart-throb of the time. Primarily a full-forward, Peck could miss goals from dead in front (as he did in the 1961 Grand Final), and land
THE TWITTERATTI
» “Will be Buddy, but as it stands: Brereton, Scott, Franklin, Peck.”
- @brettacollett
‘torps’ from the railway side of Glenferrie Oval. In 1960, he kicked the most significant goal in Hawthorn’s history up to that time, after the siren against Collingwood to give the Hawks their fi rst win at Victoria Park. In 1961, he kicked four goals in the second semi-fi nal win over Melbourne and, from 1963-65, won consecutive John Coleman medals, the fi rst player to do so since the award was introduced after Coleman’s retirement. Only Gary Ablett snr has done the same since.
The total package put him at the front of his peers in an era of great half-forwards Peck moved on from Hawthorn at the end of 1966. With the recruitment of Peter Hudson, he had seen the writing on the wall. But young ruckman Don Scott was a worthy heir apparent. Scott was a model in different ways—a classic example of a young man who gave everything he could for himself, his coach, and his football club. He was unrelenting in his attack on the ball, and unrelenting in his expectations of himself and his teammates. He was brilliant in the brutal 1971 Grand Final win over
St Kilda and it was his stirring and defi ant threequarter time address to teammates that helped plant the seed for the brilliant final-quarter comeback. He backed that up with fi ne performances as captain in the
FREAKISH TALENTS: One of the game’s most exciting players, Lance Franklin was
the obvious modern-day candidate to inherit the famous number.
1976 and 1978 Grand Finals, both Hawthorn victories over North Melbourne. Scott was painted as unorthodox because of his
flamboyant fashion sense and the unpardonable crime (at least in the macho world of football’s chattering classes) of sporting a handbag.
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59
23
THE TWITTERATTI
» “For me, Dermott!”
- @rj_louise
“Brereton for now, Buddy fast approaching this mantle.” - @diggydaz
WHAT SOME HAWTHORN FANS SAY GEOFF SLATTERY
SHOWMAN: With
his slicked back hair and high cheekbones, John Peck was the Hawks’ first matinee idol.
Peck was tough, rough, unsophisticated in play, but dramatic in action But he was a great on-fi eld leader, not so engaging off the field. He took that approach in 1996, emerging from the wilderness and refusing to yield to pressure to fold Hawthorn into Melbourne. His endeavours saved the club and he took a seat on the board. Sadly, in typical Scott fashion, he remains estranged from the club and won’t allow himself to enjoy the club’s return to off-fi eld health and on-field success. A little more than 12 months after Scott’s retirement (end of 1981), the No. 23 belonged— most appropriately—to the precocious Dermott Brereton. Brereton came into the spotlight as a teenager, a red-headed, goalkicking centre half-forward who, as his charismatic off-field persona 60
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emerged, became larger than life. He was one of those players who ‘owned’ the toughest position in the game; heaven help anybody who attempted to take it away from him. He was shortish for the position (189cm), but the total package of bravery, ability to gut-run, his fierce attack on the footy, and an ahead-of-his-time capacity to grab the ball when it hit the ground, put him at the front of his peers in an era of great half-forwards. He will always be remembered for his extraordinary effort to stay on the ground after being knocked down and injured at the opening bounce of the 1989 Grand Final. Vomiting blood and bile, he had the audacity to mark minutes
Managing editor, AFL Record » I’d heard about ‘Buddy’ before he was revealed in the round one thrashing by the Sydney Swans at the SCG in 2005. At the time, Shane Crawford was writing his life story and was a regular visitor to the office. I asked him about this big fella from the west. He said he was “frightened” at how good he had been in pre-season activities. Crawford’s words have resonated through the years, and will continue to do so. Franklin can do what none before him could—whether the 23s of the Hawks, or any other forward in any other era. He is the ultimate excitement machine—if only he could kick straight—at least the easy ones. We should never forget that in 2008, the year he became the first indigenous centurion, he also kicked 88 behinds. In an era when forwards don’t kick bags, he had 201 shots at goal. And we loved them all. » RANKINGS FRANKLIN 1, BRERETON 2, SCOTT 3, PECK 4.
STEPHEN QUARTERMAIN Network Ten/One HD presenter and commentator I never saw John Peck kick a footy. I do know he could seriously play and was tough. Whack him at your peril! I share a little bond with Don Scott, helping Hawthorn avoid the merger. He’s a different cat, was scary mad on the fi eld and a great warrior. I have enjoyed a lot of laughs with Mr Brereton. One of the toughest I have ever seen, on and off the fi eld. He got bored during the season. Finals were his go. ‘Buddy’, meanwhile, is unique. The most exciting of all the 23s. If he wins a couple more premierships he might just give ‘Derm’ a run for his money. Maybe.
» RANKINGS BRERETON 1, FRANKLIN 2, SCOTT 3, PECK 4.
DAVID PARKIN
Hawthorn premiership captain and coach » In my 50-year association with Hawthorn, these No. 23s have been incredibly significant players in creating the rich history of the club. Other than Bernie Quinlan, John Peck was the best forward/ ruckman I have ever seen. Don Scott was a great athlete, leader (on and off the fi eld), competitor and footballer. A unique person who contributed directly to three premierships. An unbelievable mixture of skill and physicality made Dermott Brereton one of the best centre half-forwards of all time. He played in five flags and was a genuinely feared opponent. Potentially, ‘Buddy’ Franklin has the latent talent and athleticism to be the best of them all. But to this point, it is far from being realised consistently.
» RANKINGS BRERETON 1, SCOTT 2, PECK 3, FRANKLIN 4. MARK O’CONNOR
Founder, Hawk Headquarters message board John Peck kicked a goal after the siren to give us our first win at Victoria Park. Dermott Brereton carried broken ribs into a must-win game in 1990 and came away with 11 goals and just as many bruises. Lance Franklin kicked a goal from the boundary line to win us a fi nal. These men might have saved a game and, in some cases, a season. But only Don Scott could claim he saved the club. Hawthorn was on its knees in 1996, set to disappear from our lives forever. Only when Scott stepped in to be the face, heart and spirit of the anti-merger campaign did our once-proud club finally begin to believe it could stand alone and be strong again. Scott had the commitment, courage, selflessness and competitive drive that personified our motto: CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE
»
Tom Harley AFL Premiership Captain
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THE TWITTERATTI
later in front of the pack and convert. The goal enlivened his teammates and the crowd, and served to further build the antipathy some Geelong players had towards him. With his body just about shot, Brereton finished with the Hawks at the end of 1993 and the No. 23 was handed to several players, Michael Collica and Nathan Thompson among them. When Thompson left the club in 2005, the jumper was put away for 12 months and the challenge thrown to the incoming batch of draftees, the first to be selected by coach Alastair Clarkson, to put their hand up to wear it. It became obvious quite soon that the coltish but freakishly talented Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin was the candidate most likely. The Hawks switched Franklin from No. 38 to No. 23 in his second season, and he has since become one of the best fi ve otball. players in football. nine goals goals He kicked nine rival Essendon Essendon against hatedd rival WARRIOR: Don Scott was unrelenting in his attack on the ball and in his expectations for the team.
» “Half-Dermie, half-Buddy. If you have to choose one – Buddy.” in 2007, booted the matchwinning goal against Adelaide in the elimination final the same year, and kicked 102 goals to win the Coleman Medal (and played in a premiership team) the following year. In 2010, he kicked two of the best goals of the season, in almost identical fashion, within minutes of each other on a cold night at the MCG. (One was later named goal of the year.) That they came, once again, against Essendon, only added to the joy they brought Hawthorn supporters. A showman like Peck, with an edge like Scott and the flamboyance and match-winning ability of Brereton, the Hawks chose their current No. 23 well. As Channel Ten commentator Tim Lane noted after Franklin sunk the Crows in 2007, in comparing him to Peck, Scott and Brereton, he might be the best of the lot.
- @HAWKER44
WHAT SOME HAWTHORN FANS SAY “Let us be known by our actions.” Peck was a champion, Brereton a legend, Franklin a superstar. Don Scott is Hawthorn. » RANKINGS SCOTT 1, BRERETON 2, FRANKLIN 3, PECK 4.
ROSS STEVENSON
3AW breakfast presenter John Peck the full-forward/ butcher and had that Elvis hair; he won us our first game at Victoria Park though I wasn’t actually there. Don Scott had a man-bag and was a more fashion in football urger; he (and Ian Dicker) spoke as one and saved us from the merger. Dermott was a player; he didn’t need a job; though at three-quarter time that Waverley day he worked the Bomber mob. All four champs found themselves a lot before the judiciary; though why Buddy ever did is a complete and utter ‘myshtery’. Now Lance is our 100-goala-year unique one, he moves in curious ways to kick it; but our best 23 of all? Well, photo. Can’t pick it.
PETER DI SISTO
Editor, AFL Record Others are far better placed to assess which of the four was or is the best player, so my views are based strictly on peripheral fashion and style matters. Franklin’s ‘sleeve’ tattoo on his left arm gives his otherwise standard look (cropped hair and flashy white boots) an edge. And having his own T-shirt label buys him an extra point. 6/10 Peck was known as football’s Elvis when the king of rock was making females weak at the knees (and before Presley’s expanding gut made his own knees weak), the star forward’s pompadour haircut an outstanding feature. 7/10 Scott was—and remains— complex; he ran a jeans store, wore kaftans, once donned what looked like mittens in a
62
AFL RECORD
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night game, and when he was especially motivated, would slick his long hair back before running on to the ground with a crazed look in his eyes. Today, he trains horses and rides them in equestrian events, sports a chrome dome and wears multi-coloured ties to black-tie events. 8/10 Brereton liked to mix it up. He surfed, rode a Harley and drove a Ferarri, dyed his red hair blond and wore it big, sported green boots that looked like slippers, was a fi xture in the nightclub scene, guest-starred in a television soap, kissed an opponent, fashioned a peacockstyle celebratory dance as a nod to a professional wrestler, and even sung Frank Sinatra tunes on morning television. 9/10
KEVAN CARROLL
Contributor, AFL Record There were good 23s at Hawthorn before John Peck and there have been good and great 23s after him. But Peck put the Hawthorn No. 23 on the map. He arrived at Glenferrie as a tall, strong, tough, fast and wonderfully talented teenager and is still the club’s youngest debutant (16 years and 255 days). Graham Arthur believes Peck could have won a Brownlow were it not for the asthma that prevented him from having anything but short spells on the ball; and he was an outstanding ruckman whose technique, according to then chairman of selectors Jack McLeod, was similar to that of Bill Morris, the Richmond Brownlow medallist. Peck spent most of his career at full-forward, and one of his nicknames, ‘Elvis’, indicated his cult-figure status to a generation of Hawthorn supporters. » RANKINGS 1. To go into the trenches with: PECK 2. To win or turn a big game: BRERETON 3. To put on a magic show: FRANKLIN 4. To inspire the team:SCOTT
Command d the modern coach is
The demands of modern coaching are becoming more complex than ever. As the face and leader of the club, the role is all-encompassing. PETER RYAN
N
MEN AT WORK: North Melbourne’s
Brad Scott gives Kieran Harper an encouraging pat, Eagle John Worsfold and Saint Ross Lyon in refl ective mood, and Collingwood’s Mick Malthouse and Nathan Buckley discuss tactics.
64
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ot for f the fi rst time, the concept of the coach in the modern game needs explaining. As the role has become more complicated, the gap between what the talkback set imagines clubs require and what they actually need has never been wider. Successful Italian soccer coach Arrigo Sacchi once described his role as “both a screenwriter and director”, a succinct defi nition in keeping with a coach’s penchant for plain language. The modern senior AFL coach has become, in effect, the CEO of football, setting direction and driving implementation. This is the clear view of those in the role. “When it is all boiled down, the senior coach is still the leader and the face of the football
club,” said North Melbourne coach Brad Scott, who has been in the job two years, after an apprenticeship as Mick Malthouse’s development and assistant coach at Collingwood. What clubs need now more than ever is a coach-manager, someone with a skill set akin to that of any modern executive (with quite a bit more scrutiny thrown in for good measure): the coach is now a marketer, media performer, chief operating offi cer, teacher, human resources manager and numbers man, as well as the great leader and footy strategist, visionary and entrepreneur. The average senior AFL coach has 70 people (including the players) reporting to him on issues ranging from a player’s hamstring injury to the latest in sports science research. As well as leading this group, he has the board, sponsors, club
staff, the media and, through the media, supporters to impress along the way. No wonder effective senior coaches are now up there with the best and the brightest in the community. “The tactical side of things and actual football planning is potentially the easiest thing,” Scott said. West Coast coach John Worsfold has seen the dramatic shift take place since he started playing in 1987, and then after he became senior coach in 2002. When he defines the role, it is apparent the qualities required to succeed in the gig go well beyond getting through to the players (even if it is still what attracts most people to the job in the first place). “The coach has a massive role in creating a vision for what the group wants to achieve,” he said. “They then assist in the
de der-in-chief implementation of different systems or structures to make sure things are geared around working towards that vision.” The coach is pivotal in setting that direction, but he does not work in isolation. The club’s system must work to support the football department’s vision so the club CEO, the board and, importantly, the football manager, must operate with the coach as a cohesive unit. “You have got to get the whole club on the one page,” said former Bulldogs and Swans coach Rodney Eade last week on Triple M when asked to describe how he saw the role of the coach. “I don’t think you are just a team coach, I think you are a club coach.” The coach is at the head of the system, overseeing the different sub-groups within the football department. “The role of the coach now is really critically analysing
the performance of all our One minute it is about a staff,” Scott said. player’s living arrangements, “To be able to do that, the next training loads are being I need to have relevant discussed. Then the president qualifications and at least a base is on the phone, then there is level of understanding in all the team meeting detailing those areas.” systems for the It is hard game ahead, to imagine and then the Jock McHale list manager espousing such is there to a philosophy, consider next although he year’s list, and may well have the one for the done the same year after. things, in the The system amateur era he coaches create coached in. to process all RODNEY EADE Scott has the information defined a and manage managerial their time is role, whatever way you cut therefore critical. it. The range of issues that fl y At Collingwood, during a year across the coach’s desk and the I spent as an in-house observer, types of conversations they the system was explained engage in are never ending with one short phrase: ‘Know in their scope. your role, play your role’, a line
I don’t think you are just a team coach, I think you are a club coach
intoned with sharp directness if anyone stepped over the mark. What such a system allowed was for people to fl ourish within their area of expertise— whether as an assistant coach, a physiotherapist, sports scientist, doctor or information technology manager—without over-reaching it. There was only one person expected to direct in all areas, and that was the senior coach. Malthouse’s approach was to question and listen and direct when required. He gave those under him more and more autonomy as they proved capable of working in a way that added value to the organisation—it was his idea to give his deputies control through the NAB Cup, including the Grand Final. Malthouse is forever industrious, competitive, always searching for ways to
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the changing face of coaching make the team better, never shirking from the diffi cult responsibility of being the leader. He has authority but he is not an authoritarian. It may surprise those who only know him through the media, but he has a talent of knowing when the mood needs to be lightened. Scott said his fi rst season was hugely demanding as he set the direction for the club, not only coaching the players but also the staff about what he expected. He now has total confidence to delegate responsibility to other staff because they understand what he wants. “That gives me more time with the players and developing that coach-player relationship, which I think is a vital component of the coach’s role,” he said. It is essential coaches can rely on their staff to deliver a consistent message because the coach depends on his players being trained to make good decisions aligned to the way he wants the club to operate. It is why the coaching team is increasingly important, the assistant coaches’ roles crucial factors in team performance, their professionalism and smarts as essential as the senior coach. The assistant coach works long hours, assessing vision, preparing training and meetings, being the fi rst go-to person for players and providing one-on-one tuition—as well as promoting ideas through the senior coach, or exploring ideas from the senior man. Their relationship with players extends to phone calls at all hours or invitations to dinner. It is pastoral as well as technical. The criteria used to select Geelong coach Chris Scott last October was the best public indication yet of how the senior coaching role has changed and expanded. The Cats’ wish list was sophisticated, with leadership and cultural development, personal qualities and management ability being weighted as 55 per cent of the job, while technical ability, coaching history, ability to communicate and commercial appeal made up 45 per cent of the criteria.
ALL EARS: Geelong coach
Chris Scott demands his players’ attention.
According to Geelong CEO others, but it’s not exciting,” Brian Cook, a modern coach Scott said. has to have the ability to lead “People think it’s exciting, and manage people to collective and there are parts that are outcomes. If that seems like super-exciting, and they get mumbo-jumbo, it isn’t. reported, but there’s another Cook said on-fi eld 95 per cent that isn’t exciting performance remained the and doesn’t get reported.” No. 1 performance measure. Worsfold admits the role is And that win-loss column, difficult to describe, such is the as Eade suggested last week on extent of its reach, but it is, he his departure from the Dogs, agrees, comparable to the CEO is the main tool when used to of a company. assess whether someone can The balance between the coach or not. broader vision No one and immediate complains needs to be about that found, and reality, but is the coach has it possible to to be able to really analyse handle both big someone’s decisions and performance deal quickly as a journalist? with issues Brad Scott as they come thinks it is to hand. BRAD SCOTT possible but In the not necessarily textbooks, palatable it is called because much of the reality is not situational leadership; in the that interesting to read about. land footy clubs inhabit, it is And he understands that called the ability to win respect interesting media coverage and command authority. is critical to him being able This is where the position to ply his trade. requires an X-factor, a mix of “The thing that most people wisdom and brilliance that goes don’t understand about beyond the process. professional sport is that it is It is what has made Malthouse the boring daily routine that such a strong modern coach and separates champions from allowed Alastair Clarkson, Paul
It is the boring routine that separates champions from others
Roos, Mark Thompson, Kevin Sheedy, Mark Williams, Eade, Leigh Matthews, Neil Craig, Worsfold and Ross Lyon to shine over long periods. They are mature people managers, with their heads above the parapet, generally aware of the right call in any circumstances, and very capable of driving their vision through all levels of the organisation. A sense of humour and a sense of perspective are essential to achieve this objective. Worsfold said getting a feel for what is affecting the players on and off the field was where he devoted most of his energy. “To do that, you need to be among the players as much as possible. It may not be a formal chat with them but an informal feel you get walking among them,” he said. Those informal moments are where real insight can be gained. Any coach worth his salt has his ears pricked at all times for knowledge, a voracious appetite to get better or seek advice on improving a characteristic that can then be passed on to their players. Such skills cannot be measured. Nor can the maturity to make the right call when the moment demands a decision. Worsfold said there was as much art to coaching as science. AFL RECORD
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67
the changing face of coaching “As you get more experienced, you get the balance of making decisions based on hard facts and data and balancing that with the decisions you make where something just feels right at the right time,” he said. To cope with the inevitable scrutiny those decisions attract, a coach must have an overriding philosophy that keeps them steady even when the boat begins to rock. Scott understands it is the profile and scrutiny that allows him to work in professional sport, so he has no complaints when criticism comes his way, but he is not immune to the pressure. “I’ve always believed that, in times of severe pressure, you fall back on your preparation and on your knowledge base and the comfort that (if you are) thoroughly prepared and really diligent in what you do, then when the pressure period inevitably comes, you are better able to deal with that,” he said. And don’t worry; every coach has their moments. Scott’s team was on the end of a 104-point thumping at the hands of St Kilda in just his second game as coach, an event that tested his mettle. Worsfold coached the Eagles as they finished last in 2010. It is the AFL coach’s lot to go through a period when doubt
The coaches as you may not know them
» An AFL Record survey of the League’s senior coaches found the vast majority draw their strategic inspiration from the so-called “invasion sports” such as soccer, basketball, rugby, ice hockey and gridiron. They listed managing individuals to work as a team, staying at the “cutting edge” of tactics and sports science, time management, delisting players and finding time for family among the most challenging aspects of coaching.
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LISTEN HERE: Richmond
coach Damien Hardwick spells out his tactics.
surrounds the team. Both held their nerve. “I always ask myself where my focus is,” Worsfold said. “I’ve got some tools that I use to say, ‘Am I still vision-focused and not too focused on the current reality?’ That does affect the way you think. It affects the decisions you make if you can focus on the big picture.” It is why trusted sounding boards are essential for coaches. Any coach who thinks he has all the answers is on a quick path to oblivion. Scott is happy to hear and assess criticism: “If you’ve got
enough confidence and you’ve got enough belief in what you’re doing, it actually encourages criticism because it provokes thought.” That does not make coaches bulletproof. The demands of the job are huge. Roos and Thompson voluntarily stepped away from the spotlight that comes with being a senior coach, their life beyond football receiving more attention than it possibly had in previous years. Those who are in the position need to build a wall around them to ensure they can direct
The coaches’ favourite non-sporting book authors include Malcolm Gladwell, Tim Winton, Bryce Courtenay, John Grisham, Alan Furst, James Surowiecki, Robert Ludlum and Patricia Cornwell. Musically, they favour anything from “The Potbelleez to Kenny Rogers”, Powderfinger, U2, Crowded House, Charlie Pride, John Denver, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, Guns N’ Roses, Paul Kelly, Black Eyed Peas, Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac. When they get time for a break, they prefer to visit v countries including
Fiji, F Bali or Hong Kong, cities c including Miami and London, “anywhere with water and sun”, and getaways g such as Cape Schanck, Whistler, Hamilton Island, Palm Cove and Broome. Most like to show their skills in the kitchen, with their signature dishes including seafood risotto, osso bucco, cheesecake, rib eye steak, scrambled eggs, roast lamb and chocolate pudding. Some coaches revealed they had a “skill” or habit that would surprise people. Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss can complete comple the Rubik’s Cube comp puzzle; Gold Coast’s pu uz
their energies where they are most needed, as well as keeping personal relationships away from football alive. It is a tough but satisfying role. Worsfold said the satisfaction comes when he sees the rewards from constant hard work. Those rewards include the factor that gives Scott (who started as a development coach with Collingwood in 2007) the most satisfaction: watching people under his coaching succeed in footy and life. This same mantra has been part of the Malthouse package, and was mentioned many times by those coached and directed by Allan Jeans last month when the great coach passed on. Once you look beyond the myth of the super coach or the messiah and start to see the coach as a young professional, a brand that represents their club to the outside world, your capacity to analyse their performance changes. Coaches are driven individuals in an increasingly complex environment, all motivated to chase success by the thrill of the chase itself, a point stressed by Worsfold. “If you win lotto, it doesn’t necessarily bring the same sort of reward as working your butt off to make a million dollars,” he said. PETER RYAN IS THE AUTHOR OF SIDE BY SIDE, A YEAR INSIDE COLLINGWOOD, THE STORY OF THE 2009 SEASON.
($499??) GuyRRP McKenna said he couldCamera “drop a packet of Mint Slices” in one sitting; Hawthorn’s Alastair Clarkson said he was an “adept” yabby poacher; North Melbourne’s Brad Scott and Port Adelaide’s Matthew Primus fancy themselves in the garden; Carlton’s Brett Ratten can bowl a cricket ball left- and right-handed; West Coast’s John Worsfold plays the piano; Fremantle’s Mark Harvey plays darts and Adelaide’s Mark Bickley is an “excellent” Scrabble player. THE AFL RECORD WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE AFL COACHES’ ASSOCIATION. FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO AFLCA.COM.AU
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Our AFL history guru answers your queries.
col hutchinson NAME GAME
Mullett comeback » The mullet hairstyle, a
NO JOY: Collingwood lost both its games at Victoria
Park in 1999, including a farewell appearance in round 22 when it was led by Nathan Buckley (left).
Worries W ithhf on the home front
The Suns have won only one home game this year—against Brisbane at the Gabba. When was the last time a team went through an entire season without winning a match at its normal home venue? TIM BORTEN, MONTEREY KEYS, QLD.
CH: During the past 30 years,
there have been several cases. The most recent example was in 1995 when Fitzroy’s two victories for the season were against St Kilda at Waverley Park and Adelaide at Football Park. In 2002, Carlton suffered defeats in
all four of its contests at Princes Park and also lost its only match there three years later. During that period, the majority of the Blues’ home matches were played at either the MCG or Docklands Stadium. In 1999, Collingwood won two of its 13 encounters at the MCG. However, the Magpies lost both of their Victoria Park games, including the last one played at the famous ground, against Brisbane in round 22. Melbourne’s only win for the 1981 season was by a point, against Footscray at the Whitten Oval.
GENUINE SENIOR FOOTBALLERS » Paula Brockfield has advised her father, Malcolm McBean, is scheduled to celebrate his 90th birthday on October 4. Recruited from West Footscray, the ruckman-defender, known as ‘Bubba’, represented the Bulldogs four times in 1944-45 when on leave from army service. He then switched to St Kilda where he played 55 games in four seasons. He was reported twice, including in round three, 1949, when he
was found guilty of violently pushing Essendon star John Coleman, however, he escaped with a reprimand. He polled five Brownlow Medal votes during his career. He regards his farewell match as a highlight, helping his team defeat Collingwood to cost it top place in the final four. For many years, McBean was heavily involved in country and metropolitan football and maintains a keen interest in the game.
Do you have knowledge of any players who are close to 90 or older, or who reached such an age before passing? Contact Col Hutchison on (03) 9643 1929 or col.hutchinson@afl.com.au. 70
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feature of 1980s football, has all butt disappeared. ed. However, A. Mullett made a return to the big timee in round 22 when Aaron Mullett made his debut for North Melbourne. Mullett is a variation of the surname Mullet, which has various possible origins: it may derive from the medieval word molet (or mulet) for mullet, a type of fi sh, and would have been a name given to someone who caught and/ or sold these fi sh; it may have come from the Old French mulet, a nickname for a mussel-seller; it could have been a nickname based on a diminutive form of “mule” and, in the best interpretation, would have been bestowed on someone who was stubborn or obstinate—good football qualities; it could also be of Irish descent as an anglicised form of Ó Mealóid, a status name coming from the Latin miles, a soldier. KEVAN CARROLL
WRITE TO ANSWER MAN The Slattery Media Group, 140 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands, 3008 or email michaell@slatterymedia.com
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Ask the expert about all yyour footy y memorabilia. I have some copies of Footy Fan magazine from the 1960s. Some have player pictures on the front, such as Kevin Murray of Fitzroy and Melbourne’s Ron Barassi, while others have players in action on the field. Any value?
» In the early days of the
V VFL, lots of companies ttried to cash in on the huge popularity of Australian p Football. The National F C Candy Co. was no exception. I assume they issued these little colour ‘shields’ for all li te teams, although I have only sseen this one for St Kilda. As ssmall and insignificant as it is, I would still value it very is highly, as St Kilda is one of h most-collected AFL/VFL tthe th he most cclubs. l b $500. $500
RM: I love these. Although they
are not especially hard to fi nd, they still sell quite well. Those with player photos on the cover sell for around $20-$25; the others at $15 or so.
ANDREW, VIA EMAIL
RM: Andrew, I assume the cards
are neither damaged nor faded. Picture frames aren’t always the best place for valuable cards. Somewhere around $3000 if in good condition.
I have the following Grand Final Football Records and was wondering what they are worth: 1968 Essendon/Carlton, 1970 Collingwood/Carlton and 1971 Hawthorn/St Kilda. GRAHAM KEMP, WARRNAMBOOL, VIC.
72
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rick milne RICK’S RARITY
TERRY BRYANT, VIA EMAIL
I have a complete set of 1965 Scanlen VFL cards with names such as Farmer, Whitten, Stewart, , etc. They are framed and all are inn good condition. I was hoping you could give me a valuation?
time on
TOP SELLERS: Copies of Footy Fan, n,
andKevin Kevin featuring stars such as Ron Barassisiand Murray on the cover, are popular with collectors.
RM: I’ll assume very good
condition, Graham. In order, $80, $100, $80.
I have a match-game 1938 Big V VFL football jumper passed down from my grandfather Roy Evans, who captained Footscray to its first fi nals campaign that year. It is staying in the family, but just out of interest, would it have any value? MATT EVANS, VIA EMAIL
RM: Matt, you have a super
Roy collectable here. As you say, Roy Evans captained the Doggies in their first fi nals game in VFL 1938. This is a piece of true VFL 0. history. Not less than $4000. Look after it well.
CONTACT RICK MILNE mrpp@iprimus.com.au or drop him im ck, a line: 5 Cooraminta St, Brunswick, Vic, 3056 or call (03) 9387 4131. One query per reader.
BRAINS
answers at bottom of page
Find the 5 DIFFERENCES between the 2 cards
Unscramble In the Grocery to Can you guess this AFL discover the AFL player’s name! Player’s NICKNAME?
_____ _______
Tony Lockett is the highest goal scorer in the history of the AFL with 1,360 goals. How many of those did he kick for the Saints? A. 602
NEW!
B. 711
C. 898
B&F
game card
D. 1148
Silver CODE cards and enter codes to play
Answers: 1. Head turned around, missing foot, extended backdrop, Ruckman instead of Midfielder, no stars 2. Corey Enright 3. Beamer 4. 898 (C)
4
______
TV N O N AS SEE
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SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
FIVE TO FIND
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: The No. 29 on Easton Wood’s back changed to 23; the AFL logo on the No. 3 on Jason Tutt’s back removed; a red stripe has been added to the sock on bottom left; the collar on Shaun Higgins’ guernsey (at right) changed to red; extra piece of tape added to Higgins’ left knee.
EXTENDED PLAYTIME
FREE ENTRY
The AFL Playground outside the MCG will continue to operate for the rest of the season due to popular demand. The playground, the coolest fan zone for kids looking to test their footy skills and warm up before watching the footy, attracted more than 14,000 kids and families in the first nine rounds of the season.
Located below Gate 6, the playground features activities of all types for kids, with club mascots also in attendance. It is open 90 minutes before the start of the match until the end of the half-time break. (An AFL Playground is also operating at Metricon Stadium.) Visit afl.com.au/ playground for more information.
Scrambled Sc S crra am mb blleed Footballer: Fo F oot otb ba all ller er: Cryptic Cr C ryyp pti tiicc Footballers: Fo F oo ottb ba alllleerrss:: BI B IG MOUTH: MO M OU UT TH H:: BIG 74 AFL L RECORD R EC RECO RE CO COR OR ORD RD visit viis vvis isit itafl afl afl flrec record.com.au rree ord.com.au
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Despite a flying start, young ng Magpie is trying g to keep his fe feet on the ground.
T
here is no faster way of earning recognition in the AFL than to become a Collingwood cult hero. And the latest man to be dubbed a Magpie fan-favourite, Alex Fasolo, admits the attention can be a bit confronting. “It’s quite overwhelming. I joined Twitter just a few days ago and there were a few followers already. It’s a huge supporter base and it’s great,” Fasolo said. But Fasolo’s teammates are keen to make sure he doesn’t get too carried away with himself, despite the solid start to his AFL career. Anyone following Fasolo and his teammates on Twitter would have seen in the past week that some of his more senior teammates rarely miss an opportunity to have a shot at the Magpies goalsneak. Dale Thomas and Tyson Goldsack have taken great delight in pointing out Fasolo’s ample behind, christening him ‘Beyonce Bum’, while Thomas posted a photo of Fasolo reading an article about himself. Not that he seems to mind. “It’s just a bit of banter around the club. The boys are all in on it. Just a bit of harmless fun. They keep me grounded. It’s good,” he said. Fasolo has been a hit in his first nine games, and he booted five goals in the round 19 win over Essendon. His 19-possession, two-goal performance in last week’s win over the Brisbane Lions earned him a NAB AFL Rising Star award nomination. It’s a credit to the 19-year-old that he has made such an impact
LUKE HOLMESBY
2011 NAB AFL RISING STAR NOMINEES Round 1 Dyson Heppell (Ess) Round 2 Luke Shuey (WCE) Round 3 Mitch Duncan (Geel) Round 4 Jasper Pittard (PA) Round 5 Brandon Matera (GCS) Round 6 Jack Darling (WCE) Round 7 Zac Smith (GCS) Round 8 Shane Savage (Haw) Round 9 Reece Conca (Rich) Round 10 Jack Steven (St K) Round 11 Jordan Gysberts (Melb) Round 12 Sam Reid (Syd) Round 13 Daniel Menzel (Geel) Round 14 David Swallow (GCS) Round 15 Luke Breust (Haw) DAUNTING: Young
forward Alex Fasolo says he has been overwhelmed by the Magpie fans’ support.
Round 16 Jake Batchelor (Rich) Round 17 Trent McKenzie (GCS) Round 18 Allen Christensen (Geel) Round 19 Andrew Gaff (WCE) Round 20 Zac Clarke (Frem)
in a team that is defending a premiership and has earned a reputation for its depth. Fasolo said the Pies’ ability to bring through ready-made players was a credit to their development program. “Our development guys help the young kids out and they’ve done a lot for me,” he said. “The overall structure Mick (Malthouse) has put together helps. It doesn’t matter who comes into the team, they play their role and know exactly what’s asked of them. That makes it a lot easier.” Wearing the No. 35 made famous by Peter Daicos and
then Simon Prestigiacomo, Fasolo is fast learning about Collingwood’s rich history. Following Prestigiacomo’s retirement last year, the Magpies decided to hand the No. 35 guernsey to the club’s fi rst draft pick each year. Fasolo has had a bit to do with Prestigiacomo since arriving at the club and he met Daicos for the first time several weeks ago. Like Daicos, who saved some of his best football for fi nals, Fasolo is hoping he gets a chance to show his worth on the big stage. “I’d love to play some finals but there are still some blokes to come back in,” he said.
Round 21 Luke Dahlhaus (WB) Round 22 Alex Fasolo (Coll)
THREE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW
1
Fellow West Australian Sharrod Wellingham has been acting as Fasolo’s mentor.
2
Fasolo lives with rookie-listed players Jack Perham and Jye Bolton.
3
He grew up as a big fan of West Coast, with Ben Cousins and Chris Judd his childhood heroes.
Each week throughout the home and away season, a panel of judges will select the nominee for the 2011 NAB AFL Rising Star. At the completion of the season, one outstanding player will be chosen as the 2011 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 fulfi l their dream of playing in the AFL.
76
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Applying data laterally to analyse and understand the modern game.
Taking tactics to a new level
A
ustralian Football Hall of Fame coaching legend John Kennedy snr guided Hawthorn to its fi rst three VFL premierships, establishing a reputation for tactical nous and a disciplined ‘militaristic’ physical conditioning of his players. Earlier this year, he told me in some games he had experimented with the introduction of a 70-metre ‘rule’ for his players. He said his football philosophy was founded on the simple principle that it is better to have more numbers at the contest than the opposition. I thought this was the fi rst version of the ‘press’ invented more than 40 years ago. “After Hawthorn had won the 1971 premiership, we backed up by playing the SANFL premiership team of that year (North Adelaide) in an exhibition match,” Kennedy explained. “They were getting more numbers around the ball and beating us. I told the players to push up so that no one was more than 70m from the ball.” During our conversation, he acknowledged two exceptions to any rule: the great fullforward Peter Hudson was allowed to stand alone in a vacant forward line to contest one-on-one with the full-back. Leigh Matthews was the other. He could do what he liked. I was reminded of these comments last week when I talked with a current premiership coach who is fond of referring to military tactics, team structures and roles. He told me he was teaching his players how, in various situations, when and which players must 78
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LEARNING CURVE:
James Hird is being groomed as a ‘general manager’ of the Bombers, with a professional support team surrounding him, including former Geelong coach Mark Thompson.
be within 30m of the ball, 50m Fans were treated to and 70m. It sounded immensely spectacles, such as brilliant complicated, and is. centre half-forward expert The comments by the Wayne Carey pitted against premiership coaches are a brilliant centre half-back reflection on how footy expert Glen Jakovich. was taught James Hird and played not was a sublime so long ago, utility-follower and today. expert and Kennedy the intrigue was willing to of watching explore new Essendon games tactics to win. became trying He understood to fathom if his role was to the opposition impart expert had suffi cient knowledge to experts to quell players, who, his influence. JOHN KENNEDY in turn, could It made sense become to filter and experts at what they did. exchange expert knowledge from A winger, back pocket, centre the sage coach to the player in half-forward, follower and so on this manner, because there were all learned and became experts no football coaching groups like in the craft of playing their there are today, nor the range respective positions. of extensive and sophisticated That preparation and expertise resources at clubs’ disposal. was complemented in the lead-up With limited resources, the to each match with knowledge expert exchange system ensured about a specific opponent. high standards and produced
I told the players to push up so that no one was more than 70m from the ball
a form of entertainment and enlightenment the fans could relish. They could witness a picture of team versus team and a host of expert versus expert contests evolving throughout a game. The difference now is that coaches are assumed to be experts, but, above all else, are expected to be superior line managers. Kevin Sheedy tutored Hird. A lot of playing and coaching knowledge has rubbed off. But as a rookie coach, he is not expected to be another sage, like ‘Sheeds’. Rather, a professional team has been assembled around Hird, grooming him in the crafts of general managing Essendon’s footy worth and ‘brand’. The Bombers are averaging 122 interchanges and have a complex hierarchy of rules and structures in place. I imagine Hird is not watching the game and weighing up expert versus expert match-ups. His coaching staff is segmented to do this job and report accordingly. The focus for him is noting cracks in the structure and playing roles and how to fix problems. Even his former coach has made the transition. Sheedy is no longer the coach he once was. He is now a corporate vehicle representing expansion club Greater Western Sydney. Entertainment is still paramount. And so are the numbers. The bottom line is the ultimate test of a management system. Procedure now vies with expert judgment in the neverending story of team success. TED HOPKINS IS A CARLTON PREMIERSHIP PLAYER AND FOUNDER OF CHAMPION DATA. HIS BOOK THE STATS REVOLUTION (SLATTERY MEDIA GROUP) WAS RELEASED RECENTLY AND IS AVAILABLE VIA FOOTYBOOKCLUB.COM
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