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17🏆19🏆20🏆
All eyes on Deledio
26 March 2005 Herald Sun
WAYNE Deledio, father of Richmond Round 1 debutant Brett, figures he has one week left before his teenage son tells him to shut up when it comes to matters football.
Not that 49-year-old Wayne doesn't know the code, having been a legendary country footballer of 400-plus games, but it boils down to how many AFL matches the father-son pairing have played.
As of tomorrow, when Brett plays for Richmond at the MCG against Geelong, they will be on a level footing, with one match each to their names.
"After that I'm in trouble when Brett plays his second game because he will have played one more than me," Wayne said, laughing.
Wayne played one senior match with Carlton under John Nicholls before carving out a fine career with Brunswick, Avoca, Kyabram, Echuca and Nathalia.
His reference to his 17-year-old son is a lighter moment in what has been a surreal week for Wayne and his wife, Judy, while Brett seems to take everything in his step.
A quietly-spoken, polite and mature teenager, Brett – known to mates as "Lids" – has always set high sporting goals.
Naturally, there was the desire to play AFL at an early age – not unrealistic when you can kick perfect drop punts by age four.
"What Dad said about me not listening to him, that will never be the case because Dad has taught me so much, right from my first game at age eight," Deledio said. "I don't know if Mum could believe it and I didn't understand it until the last few years, but Dad really knows the game."
For Wayne, the penny really dropped that Brett had what it takes when his son played his first senior game for the Kyabram Bombers.
"He was just 15 and a skinny little runt for a game against Tongala, which is a real grudge match," he recalled with pride.
"He was named best on ground and we knew then that Brett was going to be a good player."
From his first game at age eight in the Maryborough mini-league Brett showed he had it.
At age eight he was playing in an under-13 competition beside teammates Jed Adcock and Troy Chaplin.
Adcock, two years older, played with the Brisbane Lions on Thursday night against St Kilda, while Chaplin, one year older than Deledio, is progressing well as a key position prospect with Port Adelaide.
Not surprisingly, their side won a couple of premierships and the experience of playing against bigger bodies helped Deledio.
"That was what I noticed most when playing for Richmond against Collingwood in the Wizard Cup, the physicality of the game," said Deledio, who shares a beachside home with teammate Mark Coughlan.
"At one stage I went to tackle (Ryan) Lonie and just at the last moment saw (Matthew) Lokan as he was about to smash me.
"That and the pace were the difference but I didn't feel uncomfortable being there, so that was good.
"When Terry Wallace told me a week or so ago I would be playing (in Round 1), I told Mum and Dad and a couple of close friends."
Someone who would have been very proud was Brett's grandfather Ron Deledio, a bush champion in the Dunolly area and someone who resisted all VFL attempts to lure him to the big smoke.
He spent countless hours with Brett as a child, teaching him how to kick and mark..
Naturally, things in the Deledios' Kyabram home have been hectic this week; in a township of just over 5000, everyone knows everyone. For Brett's parents the week has been "overwhelming", in the words of Judy. "You have to pinch yourself because it doesn't seem real but it's great for Brett, it's what he's always wanted to do," she said of her son, who has built up his frame from 78kg to 86.5kg in the past year.
"As a mother I know getting hit is part of the game but Brett has good vision and he's pretty quick."
Brett's first coach Jock Sellers, of the Maryborough under-13s, will get his own particular pleasure when the blond youngster makes his debut.
"I knew with Brett's family pedigree he was born to play and he was certainly more advanced than most in his age group," Sellers said. "Brett was just a top young boy and everything he did he did with ease."
Tigers coach Terry Wallace agrees with that assessment and was more than comfortable selecting his No. 1 draft pick for Round 1.
Deledio was destined for bigger things after winning the Kevin Sheehan medal as best player in the 2003 under-16 national championships and an All-Australian jumper at the under-18 titles.
Deledio took the pressure of being taken at No. 1 in last year's draft in his stride, like most other things in his life.
This year he will complete part one of a two-year Year 12 course, a tutor coming into Richmond one day a week to teach Deledio, Richard Tambling and Luke McGuane.
And tomorrow he will live his dream, taking the field against the Cats, many of whom he met last year when training at Skilled Stadium during the under-18 championships.
"I played with Kane Tenace and met several of the others and they were a really good bunch of blokes, but I don't think they'll be as nice to me on Sunday," he said.
You got it, Brett.
26 March 2005 Herald Sun
WAYNE Deledio, father of Richmond Round 1 debutant Brett, figures he has one week left before his teenage son tells him to shut up when it comes to matters football.
Not that 49-year-old Wayne doesn't know the code, having been a legendary country footballer of 400-plus games, but it boils down to how many AFL matches the father-son pairing have played.
As of tomorrow, when Brett plays for Richmond at the MCG against Geelong, they will be on a level footing, with one match each to their names.
"After that I'm in trouble when Brett plays his second game because he will have played one more than me," Wayne said, laughing.
Wayne played one senior match with Carlton under John Nicholls before carving out a fine career with Brunswick, Avoca, Kyabram, Echuca and Nathalia.
His reference to his 17-year-old son is a lighter moment in what has been a surreal week for Wayne and his wife, Judy, while Brett seems to take everything in his step.
A quietly-spoken, polite and mature teenager, Brett – known to mates as "Lids" – has always set high sporting goals.
Naturally, there was the desire to play AFL at an early age – not unrealistic when you can kick perfect drop punts by age four.
"What Dad said about me not listening to him, that will never be the case because Dad has taught me so much, right from my first game at age eight," Deledio said. "I don't know if Mum could believe it and I didn't understand it until the last few years, but Dad really knows the game."
For Wayne, the penny really dropped that Brett had what it takes when his son played his first senior game for the Kyabram Bombers.
"He was just 15 and a skinny little runt for a game against Tongala, which is a real grudge match," he recalled with pride.
"He was named best on ground and we knew then that Brett was going to be a good player."
From his first game at age eight in the Maryborough mini-league Brett showed he had it.
At age eight he was playing in an under-13 competition beside teammates Jed Adcock and Troy Chaplin.
Adcock, two years older, played with the Brisbane Lions on Thursday night against St Kilda, while Chaplin, one year older than Deledio, is progressing well as a key position prospect with Port Adelaide.
Not surprisingly, their side won a couple of premierships and the experience of playing against bigger bodies helped Deledio.
"That was what I noticed most when playing for Richmond against Collingwood in the Wizard Cup, the physicality of the game," said Deledio, who shares a beachside home with teammate Mark Coughlan.
"At one stage I went to tackle (Ryan) Lonie and just at the last moment saw (Matthew) Lokan as he was about to smash me.
"That and the pace were the difference but I didn't feel uncomfortable being there, so that was good.
"When Terry Wallace told me a week or so ago I would be playing (in Round 1), I told Mum and Dad and a couple of close friends."
Someone who would have been very proud was Brett's grandfather Ron Deledio, a bush champion in the Dunolly area and someone who resisted all VFL attempts to lure him to the big smoke.
He spent countless hours with Brett as a child, teaching him how to kick and mark..
Naturally, things in the Deledios' Kyabram home have been hectic this week; in a township of just over 5000, everyone knows everyone. For Brett's parents the week has been "overwhelming", in the words of Judy. "You have to pinch yourself because it doesn't seem real but it's great for Brett, it's what he's always wanted to do," she said of her son, who has built up his frame from 78kg to 86.5kg in the past year.
"As a mother I know getting hit is part of the game but Brett has good vision and he's pretty quick."
Brett's first coach Jock Sellers, of the Maryborough under-13s, will get his own particular pleasure when the blond youngster makes his debut.
"I knew with Brett's family pedigree he was born to play and he was certainly more advanced than most in his age group," Sellers said. "Brett was just a top young boy and everything he did he did with ease."
Tigers coach Terry Wallace agrees with that assessment and was more than comfortable selecting his No. 1 draft pick for Round 1.
Deledio was destined for bigger things after winning the Kevin Sheehan medal as best player in the 2003 under-16 national championships and an All-Australian jumper at the under-18 titles.
Deledio took the pressure of being taken at No. 1 in last year's draft in his stride, like most other things in his life.
This year he will complete part one of a two-year Year 12 course, a tutor coming into Richmond one day a week to teach Deledio, Richard Tambling and Luke McGuane.
And tomorrow he will live his dream, taking the field against the Cats, many of whom he met last year when training at Skilled Stadium during the under-18 championships.
"I played with Kane Tenace and met several of the others and they were a really good bunch of blokes, but I don't think they'll be as nice to me on Sunday," he said.
You got it, Brett.
