21. Richie Vandenberg (Retired end 2007 season)

[philhawk]

According to the My Man Thread (http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=291068), it looks like OneEyedHawk will be one of the posters responsible for looking after the Hawthorn Captain for us this season.

Take it away, OneEyedHawk!

[RustyHawk]

Ritchie Vandenberg announced on Thursday 06.09.07 his retirement from football, effective the end of the 2007 season.

Vandenberg has been named to play against Adelaide in the 1st Elimination Final on Saturday 8th September 2007 at the Telstra Dome.

Vandenberg has only played a handful of games this season due to constant back / hamstring injuries.

[RustyHawk]

Vandenberg calls it quits
2:25 PM Thu 6 September, 2007 | Back

Ben Broad

Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network

News
Vanders to ‘hang up boots’
Thu, Sep 06, 07 HAWTHORN captain Richie Vandenberg has announced he will retire from AFL football at the end of the 2007 season.

In an emotional press conference at the club’s Waverley headquarters on Thursday, Vandenberg told the media his body could no longer allow him to play at the top level, with a troublesome back injury hampering him for the past “three to four years”.

He thanked the club’s supporters, his teammates and the Hawthorn Football Club but said after his body had broken down earlier this season – he managed just six home and away matches this season – he began contemplating retirement.

“I started really thinking about it about 12 weeks ago,” Vandenberg said.

“Certainly at the start of this year, I thought I’d like to be able to go on again next season … the body has been letting me down (and) eventually it’s probably worn my mind down as well.”

Vandenberg has played 143 matches in the brown and gold and captained the club since 2005.

After a decade at the club, breaking the news to his teammates wasn’t easy and understanding it was time to hang up the boots was also a battle.

“The hardest part was just coming to the true realisation that you know in your heart of hearts that it’s the right time,” he said.

“Getting yourself to admit that, I found that to be very difficult. But then once I had made the decision, it just felt like a true relief.”

The 30-year-old said he was happy in the knowledge he was leaving when the Hawks were again a finals side, despite many believing the club is on the cusp on something special.

“I feel that it would have been just too much hard yakka next year to try and go through another pre-season, knowing that time’s not going to make it easier for me, it’s actually going to make it harder,” he said.

“Yeah, I’m disappointed I’m not going to be a part of the future of the footy club in terms of being able to get out on the ground.

“But I’m certainly going to be very excited watching the guys knowing that I had a great affiliation with them and the club.”

The most emotional part of the press conference came when Vandenberg spoke of his parents’ commitment to watch him play throughout his 143-game career.

He paused on a couple of occasions and the tears flowed as he mentioned their dedication.

“My parents live six hours away and in the past 10 years they’ve … in the past 10 years my parents have driven six hours each way from a place called Coomealla and back to watch me play,” Vandenberg said.

“And that has been one of the greatest joys I’ve got out of the game.”

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson, who sat beside Vandenberg throughout Thursday’s announcement, said the skipper would leave “an enormous legacy” at the club.

“I was shocked [when he told me],” Clarkson said.

“He’s battled for three years - only those within the club know the types of demands he’s placed on himself to try to get himself right from week to week.

“He’s such a proud man that he knows that his best form of leadership is leading from the front out on the ground, and he’s been enormously frustrated with that and he thinks that the time’s right now to pass the baton on to some of the younger generation of this club.”

[RustyHawk]

Vanders: a hard Hawk in the best tradition
2:24 PM Thu 6 September, 2007 | Back

By Daina Kennedy

Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network

News
THEY do it hard at Hawthorn.

The club’s official history book, The Hard Way, best personifies the club’s most enduring and admired trait – its hardness.

It’s a moniker that has been worn by many at Hawthorn – on and off the field - throughout the club’s 82-year league history.

We are familiar with the names that made the club the most feared in the land. We had commandos and mudlarks, blokes who snapped point posts in half, we had champions (too many to mention) and men who had to do it the hard way.

There were those often not as talented or skilful as a Matthews or a Crawford, but were prepared to work hard to play senior AFL football.

Richard Vandenberg is one of those players.

Not blessed with super talent or ego, Vandenberg is almost a metaphor for Hawthorn.

It has not been an easy road for the blond midfielder, born and raised in Wentworth, NSW, and university educated in Melbourne. He played for University Blues in the ammos, and would have been drafted by Carlton bar for a quirk in the AFL rules about his place of birth and place of residence.

But it was during pre-season training at Carlton that he met David Parkin, who would become a career-long mentor and No.1 advocate for Vandenberg’s toil.

Richard Vandenberg was always Hawthorn’s first choice as captain. The decision was set in stone (and mud) on the jagged escarpment of the Owen Stanley Ranges in Papua New Guinea.

Blood was spilt on the club’s trek to Kokoda in November 2004, spilt for one another and for wartime battles won and lost, and Vandenberg led that charge.

On return from that physical and emotional journey, he was anointed – unanimously by his peers – as Hawthorn’s 32nd captain.

Rising 28 when he accepted the mantle, and it’s worth remembering that Michael Tuck was 32 when he got the chance, Vandenberg quickly went about becoming a players’ captain.

Not fancy with the marketing spiels, or long-winded speeches, he was hard-nosed on discipline.

He applied a zero-tolerance policy on those that transgressed, the same guidelines he placed on himself during his decade with the Hawks.

Understanding that he did not have the talent or skill alone to cut it in the big time, he worked on the one-percenters. Those nerdy things like measuring your own food, reading the fat content on a cereal packet, getting enough sleep, travelling interstate with his own pillow, wearing Skins tights to bed, on a plane … at dinner or just about anywhere.

He loved the club – and the opportunities it had offered him. He had a passion for its history and its people. He was particularly fascinated by Peter Crimmins, the former captain and premiership rover who died from cancer at age 27 in 1976.

His legacy is everywhere at Hawthorn.

A huge photo of “the little fella” adorned the old Glenferrie players’ change rooms, a constant reminder to those who entered that they were standing on sacred ground.

Vandenberg treated every moment of his career as that – sacred.

A dodgy back has cruelled his playing opportunities over the past three years, and there has not been a game in those seasons that he has played pain-free.

He has done it hard until the end.

When Hawthorn seeks a new skipper, it will be a hard decision.

Back in the 1970s, the Hawks made the hard call to select Don Scott as captain ahead of the club’s greatest player Leigh Matthews.

Gary Ayres had to wait his turn too – waiting, waiting for the league’s games record holder Michael Tuck who played until he was 38.

And no doubt, the Hawks will do it again. There is only one way at Hawthorn.

[RustyHawk]

Vanders: the end of a long, hard road
2:06 PM Sun 16 September, 2007 | Back

By Ben Broad

Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network

News
PETER Vandenberg has driven "hundreds of thousands” of kilometres to watch his son Richie live his AFL dream, but the constant travel is set to end, after he watched the Hawks exit the finals on Saturday night.

Like every week Hawthorn played in Melbourne, Vandenberg was present to watch his son lead the Hawks onto the ground for Saturday night's first semi-final against the Kangaroos.

While hoping the game wouldn't be the last time he saw son Richie in action for the brown and gold, Peter, a farmer from the Coomealla irrigation district in southern NSW, left the home of football as disappointed as the thousands of other Hawthorn fans.

Richie Vandenberg hung up the boots after Saturday night's 33-point loss, his team's finals departure a disappointing way to farewell the game at the highest level. But Peter Vandenberg said he felt enormous pride at his son's achievements throughout his 10-year career.

"It's been marvellous, really,” Peter said.

"To come from where he's come from, play 145 games, be the captain of an AFL side for three years … I'm just rapt in what he's done.”

Richie Vandenberg told a press conference of his retirement in the week leading up to Hawthorn's elimination final against Adelaide, so the 30-year-old knew his playing days would only last as long as the Hawks remained in the premiership race.

It was an emotional day when Vandenberg announced his retirement, with the gritty Hawk breaking down when speaking of his parents' devotion in watching him play.

He spoke of their willingness to make the six-hour drive to Melbourne to watch Hawthorn's matches, and Peter admitted that it would take some getting used to now those days were over for he and wife Pam.

"We come down every weekend, or I follow the games all over the place. It's going to be like a big vacuum in our lives,” he said.

"But I guess we'll move onto the next thing. We've enjoyed the trip - we've enjoyed being around the Hawthorn footy club and the people.

"We've had an absolute ball for 10 years.”

The Hawks' cheersquad – while no doubt hoping they wouldn't need it – came ready for the occasion, draping a ‘Farewell Vanders' banner over the fence after the final siren, while the Kangaroos also acknowledged the outgoing skipper with a guard of honour.

"It was very impressive,” Peter Vandenberg said of the tributes.

"It was quite moving, quite touching. It was a nice little finish to the night.”

[RustyHawk]

Retiring skipper hopes youngsters learn from loss
1:50 AM Sun 16 September, 2007 | Back

By Jennifer Witham

Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network

News
RETIRED Hawthorn skipper Richie Vandenberg hopes his former teammates will grow from their semi-final loss to the Kangaroos, and will be willing to learn from the pain of bowing out of the September race two weeks earlier than hoped.

Vandenberg's career officially ended on Saturday night with the Hawks' 33-point defeat at the MCG, after the tough midfielder announced his retirement from the game almost two weeks ago.

While he said he was yet to personally address the team, he told the media after the match he'll exit the game with the hope the Hawks will now work towards taking that extra required step towards football's ultimate prize.

“I thanked all the guys individually for the great times I've had with them over the years, and full credit to the way they've applied themselves over the last three years since Clarko [coach Alastair Clarkson] has come to the club,” he said.

“I thought they gave everything they had, especially last week and during this week and tonight, and for that matter, all year.

“But as Clarko pointed out, they'll be an exciting group – if they're prepared to work. If they want to put in the work and if they want to look each other in the eye and really hurt for something, they'll get it.

“If they learn from tonight, they'll be a good team.”

Vandenberg said it wasn't surprising the match was punctuated with unforced errors, considering the pressure associated with September football and the youthful nature of the Hawthorn side.

“That's finals footy, and with such a young group, and I don't know what the ages of the sides out there tonight were, but the way footy has changed these days, 10 years ago I reckon the average age was 27, 28 in those types of games,” he said.

“Tonight, I would say it would be more like 22, 23. They're young kids out there; you talk about a bloke like [Lance] Franklin, at the end of the day, fair go, the guy is 20.

“Jordan Lewis and Jarryd Roughead … these kids have played three years of footy. You'd expect them to feel a bit of pressure. So, for that matter, we all did, and that's why it's just a great experience.

“They won't understand what a great experience that is until they take the time to reflect. I think the guys that will really take something out of it and will be able to pass it on to the young guys will be guys like Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge, who have played their first finals series.

“I spoke to them during the week and they said they've already learned something out of last week. I'm sure they'll learn a hell of a lot more out of tonight.”

When asked how he was feeling shortly after the match, Vandenberg responded with “probably to be as expected at the moment”.

“Obviously I'm very, very disappointed that we lost. We thought that we had a genuine opportunity today, and as Clarko said, we didn't bring our A-game tonight,” he said.

“That's it. It's a bit of a funny feeling, to be honest.”

However, he did say he was slowly coming to terms with the fact his playing career has now officially drawn to a close, but expects to feel the full brunt of his decision by the time the pre-season kicks in.

“I've had time to think about it, and when you think about something and you've had it in your mind for quite a while, you go through stages where you feel like you've addressed it and you're more than comfortable with it,” he said.

“I think it will probably hit me when the boys start pre-season again, to be honest, and I won't be there. It's a tough time.”

[RustyHawk]

Ritchie won the award for being the best "Clubman" of season 2007 at the PCM Awards 06.10.07

Sewell claims first Peter Crimmins Medal
11:01 PM Sat 6 October, 2007 | Back


for hawthornfc.com.au

News
DANGEROUS midfielder Brad Sewell claimed his first Peter Crimmins Medal after a nail-biting finish in front of a 1300 strong crowd at Crown’s Palladium on Saturday night.

In the count to decide the 2007 Hawthorn club champion, Sewell (173 votes) and eventual runner-up Campbell Brown (172 votes) went into the semi final against the Kangaroos on equal votes.

However, Sewell scored the winning votes after his solid performance to narrowly defeat Brown. 2005 Peter Crimmins Medallist Luke Hodge topped off another consistent year finishing in third position.

After four seasons and 64 games, Sewell’s achievement crowns another sensational year for the 23-year-old, who played every game for the second consecutive season.

Shifted from a small defender’s role to the midfield, Sewell averaged 21 possessions per game – the biggest return coming in round 21 against the Western Bulldogs when he picked up 39.

He laid the most tackles of any Hawk with 104 for the season and had his fair share of clearances. He also managed to curb the influence of a number of the big names in the AFL including Chris Judd, Shannon Grant, Paul Chapman and Adam Goodes.

In other awards, Stephen Gilham was named the Most Improved after stepping up as a key defender and playing every game since his elevation from the rookie list in round 19, 2006. Gilham’s willingness to keep learning and working hard won him the honour.

Sewell also picked up the club’s award for the best player in the finals, while Brent Guerra was rewarded for his hard working year at half-back securing the Most Consistent award.

Xavier Ellis was named the best first year player for his impressive debut season.

In his second year at the club, Ellis made his debut in round one and played a total of 13 games for the season, switching between the wing and half-back.

The contribution of retiring trio Richie Vandenberg, Ben Dixon and Joel Smith was acknowledged during a fitting tribute to the popular players.

Vandenberg was also awarded Best Clubman, an acknowledgment of how his peers regard him.

The Peter Crimmins Medal - an Olympic-sized gold medal depicting a sculptured image of the former Hawthorn champion - was presented to Sewell by Crimmins’ wife Gwen who attended the awards with son Sam and daughter Amber.

Crimmins was vice-captain of the 1971 premiership team and captain for two years from 1974. He fell ill with cancer on the eve of the 1974 finals series, missing September action that year.

However, the ‘little fellow’ made a return from treatment to play at the start of the 1975 season. In round six that year Crimmins had to return for intensive treatment and never played senior football again.

Club awards
Best Clubman - Richie Vandenberg
Most Improved - Stephen Gilham
Best First Year Player - Xavier Ellis
Most Consistent - Brent Guerra
Leading Goalkicker - Lance Franklin
Most Votes in the Brownlow - Sam Mitchell

Peter Crimmins Medal voting – top ten
Brad Sewell - 173
Campbell Brown - 172
Luke Hodge - 161
Jordan Lewis - 154
Sam Mitchell - 137
Lance Franklin - 136
Brent Guerra - 136
Shane Crawford - 126
Trent Croad - 121
Rick Ladson - 116

Peter Crimmins Medal voting procedure
Votes for the 2007 Peter Crimmins Medal were awarded by the match committee, consisting of senior coach Alastair Clarkson and assistants Todd Viney, Damien Hardwick and Ross Smith after each home-and-away and finals match.

A maximum of 16 votes could be accumulated by a player after the four coaches’ voting cards were submitted using the following grading system:

- three votes to the best player or players

- two votes for a good game

- one vote to players who beat their opponents

On rare occasions a player or players may receive four votes for an exceptional game.

There is no restriction on the number of players who receive votes in a match.