Past John Fidge (1987-1989)

[Grimreepah]

 

[Grimreepah]

Footyinfo

Full name: John Fidge
Born: May 4, 1966
Teams: Melbourne 1984-86, Brisbane Bears 1987-89, Essendon 1991
Height: 182cm
Weight: 82kg
Debut: Essendon vs Melbourne Round 4, Waverley Park, 21 April 1984

Wikipedia

He was one of many VFL players to join the new Brisbane Bears team for their inaugural season in 1987 and played in every one of their first eight games. Late in the season he kicked six goals against Fitzroy to equal his career best and followed it up the following week with five goals and six behinds against his former club. Injuries returned in 1988 and Fidge, who had an icy relationship with coach Peter Knights, was sacked a few games into the 1989 season.

Statistics:

afl tables
footywire
all the stats

 

[Grimreepah]

Melbourne bio

Talented, but inconsistent forward from St Peters, East Bentleigh, whose career was disrupted by injury. Went to SA where he kicked 124 goals for Glenelg in 1990. He was drafted by Essendon in 1991, but did not last the season.

 

[Grimreepah]

Demonwiki

In 1986 the brother of Ted played just six games because of right foot stress fractures, and was cleared to the Brisbane Bears at the end of that season for $125,000 - their fifth highest transfer fee for a recruit.

He played in the Bears first side, for a total of 16 that season. In 1988 he played eight matches, and was sacked by the Bears three weeks into the 1989 season, apparently after punching Warwick Capper in an intra-club game and abusing coach Peter Knights.

 

[Grimreepah]

Brisbane Bears first game

B:      Peter Banfield     Mark Roberts             Dale Dickson
HB:     Cameron O'Brien    Steve Reynoldson (dvc)   Matthew Campbell
C:      David O'Keeffe     Geoff Raines             Phillip Walsh
HF:     Brenton Phillips   Mick McCarthy            [U]John Fidge[/U]
F:      Neil Hein          Jim Edmond               Mike Richardson
Rucks:  Mark Mickan (c)    Mark Williams (vc)       Bernie Harris.
I/C:    Brad Hardie        Chris Waterson
Emerg:  Rick Norman
Coach:  Peter Knights

 

[Grimreepah]

Hard knock life
Jon Pierik
May 31, 2011

Back then, Fidge, from East Bentleigh, was a major talent, but one who never quite blossomed because of a horrific run of injuries and a controversial sacking by the Bears in 1989 after a rift with officials over the struggling but highly paid full-forward Warwick Capper.

Fidge, dumped with three years remaining on his contract, attempted for years to recover the $300,000 he believed he was owed by the privately owned Bears — first by the late Christopher Skase and later Reuben Pelerman — but he has not seen a cent.

Unable to work, he is living off welfare payments of $250 a week, plus money borrowed from family. His weekly mortgage repayment is $300 and he has a credit card debt of $12,000.

​

​

 

[Grimreepah]

Link ....

One only has to look at the sufferings of John Fidge, the former Melbourne and Brisbane Bear. Since his retirement he has had 20 operations, he has had his back fused twice, he can't stand for any length of time and his life is one of pain control. Fidge played just 59 games and earned little from the game he loved. He is now struggling to make ends meet.

 

[Grimreepah]

Agent argues for more support
Jon Pierik
June 1, 2011

JOHN Fidge is not alone in suffering post-football hardship, with a leading player agent describing the plight of the former Melbourne and Brisbane forward as the ''tip of the iceberg'' for retired stars.

The AFL Players Association last night said Fidge could apply for a $5000 grant through its hardship fund. An AFLPA spokesman said Fidge also had access to a number of services.

​

​

​

​

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Frank Dunell (1987 - 1988)

Brisbane wields axe: five chopped
Peter Blucher
4 May 1989

Former Melbourne utility John Fidge, the Brisbane Bear's costly $125,000 buy, last night headed a list of five sackings as the Gold Coast club nosedived into the biggest crisis of its existence. The sacked players cannot move to new clubs becuse under VFL rules players can no longer transfer after the internal draft in March. Bears chief executive Ken Murphy said the club would negotiate in the next few days the termination of the sacked players' contracts.

Only last year Fidge renegotiated a five-year contract that followed the $125,000 transfer fee the Bears paid for his release from Melbourne at the end of 1986. The talented but inconsistent utility, 23 today, was the second most expensive recruit in the Bears' first year behind Brad Hardie. Fidge had played 27 games with the Bears, including rounds two, three and four this year, before he was dropped last week. He has played 59 league games since his 1984 league debut and missed just as many through injury and non-selection.