- Joined
- Dec 8, 2003
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- Richmond
RAY Hall refused to train with Richmond for several weeks late last year after a trade with Sydney could not be arranged.
Tim Fleming feared his AFL career might have come to a sudden halt when a sincere letter of apology to Nick Riewoldt could not save him from suspension from the last three games of the season.
Danny Frawley had been under such pressure that 60 members of his family bearing banners and good wishes travelled from Ballarat to Telstra Dome to support him.
How is it that we constantly underestimate the redemptive powers of AFL football? The Tigers have breathing space for the first time in a month and, while it cannot last, it gives us space to reflect on how quickly and savagely the pendulum can swing.
Football has never been more about individual talent, but there is still a place for the battler with a burning passion to prove the rest of the world wrong.
Like Wayne Brittain, the man who brought him to Tigerland, Fleming, 26, has no airs and graces on the football field. But if he turns the ball over too much and does not possess the silky skills of some, he endears himself by giving his all every week.
He kicked Richmond's last score on Friday night, a wobbly point, but the determination that he used to burn off his Hawthorn chaser and unleash a long punt meant few could be critical of the skill error.
Hall could have been at Geelong or Sydney this season, but instead he was taking the most important contested mark of his career.
BRAD Ottens has endured as much bad press as anyone in recent weeks, accused of timidity and failing to utilise his potential, yet he ran himself to the point of exhaustion in the ruck.
Courage is not always about backing into packs.
The Swans await Richmond in Sydney next week, as do the Eagles (Subiaco) and Port Adelaide (AAMI Stadium) by Round 10, but Frawley will still savour Friday night's win.
How can we have so badly judged Hawthorn's potential?
The loss of Jade Rawlings was always going to cut deep, but his departure was tempered by the inclusion of Trent Croad, Simon Beaumont and Danny Jacobs and the natural improvement from Sam Mitchell, Nathan Lonie and Nick Ries. Those of us in the room when Peter Schwab uttered that now infamous remark about winning a premiership this year were immediately bemused, but only because of his bravado, not because we did not believe the Hawks were some silly chance.
Rawlings may have contributed only 34 goals last year, but he made his teammates walk taller.
Those who know him in football circles say if he is not the best bloke in the AFL they don't know who is.
Sometimes not everything about performance and success is tangible.
Morale, brotherhood and enthusiasm count for so much at every level of football, as Schwab is finding to his detriment this year.
http://heraldsun.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,9442658%5E19771,00.html
Tim Fleming feared his AFL career might have come to a sudden halt when a sincere letter of apology to Nick Riewoldt could not save him from suspension from the last three games of the season.
Danny Frawley had been under such pressure that 60 members of his family bearing banners and good wishes travelled from Ballarat to Telstra Dome to support him.
How is it that we constantly underestimate the redemptive powers of AFL football? The Tigers have breathing space for the first time in a month and, while it cannot last, it gives us space to reflect on how quickly and savagely the pendulum can swing.
Football has never been more about individual talent, but there is still a place for the battler with a burning passion to prove the rest of the world wrong.
Like Wayne Brittain, the man who brought him to Tigerland, Fleming, 26, has no airs and graces on the football field. But if he turns the ball over too much and does not possess the silky skills of some, he endears himself by giving his all every week.
He kicked Richmond's last score on Friday night, a wobbly point, but the determination that he used to burn off his Hawthorn chaser and unleash a long punt meant few could be critical of the skill error.
Hall could have been at Geelong or Sydney this season, but instead he was taking the most important contested mark of his career.
BRAD Ottens has endured as much bad press as anyone in recent weeks, accused of timidity and failing to utilise his potential, yet he ran himself to the point of exhaustion in the ruck.
Courage is not always about backing into packs.
The Swans await Richmond in Sydney next week, as do the Eagles (Subiaco) and Port Adelaide (AAMI Stadium) by Round 10, but Frawley will still savour Friday night's win.
How can we have so badly judged Hawthorn's potential?
The loss of Jade Rawlings was always going to cut deep, but his departure was tempered by the inclusion of Trent Croad, Simon Beaumont and Danny Jacobs and the natural improvement from Sam Mitchell, Nathan Lonie and Nick Ries. Those of us in the room when Peter Schwab uttered that now infamous remark about winning a premiership this year were immediately bemused, but only because of his bravado, not because we did not believe the Hawks were some silly chance.
Rawlings may have contributed only 34 goals last year, but he made his teammates walk taller.
Those who know him in football circles say if he is not the best bloke in the AFL they don't know who is.
Sometimes not everything about performance and success is tangible.
Morale, brotherhood and enthusiasm count for so much at every level of football, as Schwab is finding to his detriment this year.
http://heraldsun.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,9442658%5E19771,00.html
