- Aug 11, 2008
- 8,962
- 12,263
- AFL Club
- Collingwood
Not on a personal level, no.
But how the Saints handled it, well on a club level...Karma bus well and truly still being driven to this very day.
John Greening 50 years ago today - 8 July 1972
- Thread starter Maggie Greg
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Not on a personal level, no.
But how the Saints handled it, well on a club level...Karma bus well and truly still being driven to this very day.
All clubs are different re reacting to those types of incidents - havent read the whole thread - so this vision might be in the thread
But what i can remember - it might have been on the replay that night where i saw it - but Neil Mann who was the Coll coach at the time - he came down to the boundary line - when Greening was being taken away on the stretcher to see how he was
StK should have got rid of Odea at the end of that season - clearcut
Coll had Duncan Wright in the mid 60s and he was involved in an incident in a big final against Ess behind the play and they got rid of him - that was the last game he played for them
And FWIW - even though i support a club - what Milburn did to Silvagni ( a sickening incident - and i think disgraceful )- if Milburn had been alot less talented player - Geel would have given him the flick - and rightfully so
But because he was a good player - thats the only reason he was kept
Maggie Greg
Cancelled
- Jan 24, 2002
- 955
- 1,171
- AFL Club
- Collingwood
- Thread starter
- #103
Not 80 metres behind the play and from behind.
- Mar 2, 2015
- 19,090
- 34,349
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
The intellect in this thread is astounding. No difference in being hit 80 metres or 50 metres behind play.
Are we still crying about this? Like Collingwood don't have any skeletons hahaha. Move on, folks, it's not good for your health holding on to crap.
The main premise here is simply recalling the incident. I'd venture to say that maybe only a relatively few posters here would have seen this live or even be of an age, guessing at least 60 y/o now, to have fully cogent memories of the incident and whatever media exposure this had back in the day.
Obviously it's past, but it's never a bad thing to remember the past. It is a case where a player who one could argue would have been as highly regarded and renowned if his career had run to it's full extent (you could say that he may have played a career roughly of the duration and quality of a Keith Greig, a Rod Ashman, a David McMahon etc). A player had he continued until his early 30's that many more posters on here would be much more familiar with. There hasn't been many players who have had a career stymied by an on-field but behind the play incident like this hit was.
So yes it's happened long ago and both O'Dea and Greening are now into their 70's and are living life now in retirement. I get the feeling that there's quite a cohort of posters on Bigfooty who are of a similar age to me, (54) where we're too young to recall it but were alive when it happened. And as i mentioned before there's no harm in re-tracing events from the past, in some cases just bringing to light that bad things have happened on the footy field for a long time, and reminding younger posters of these events. And i agree with Goggin our Best as well, that Cats/Blues game of 2001 left a very sour taste in most Cats fan's mouths, there were a few ugly hits (Kilpatrick on Ratten i think too was nasty), and Geelong were smashed, a horrid end to Buddha Hocking's career.
Obviously it's past, but it's never a bad thing to remember the past. It is a case where a player who one could argue would have been as highly regarded and renowned if his career had run to it's full extent (you could say that he may have played a career roughly of the duration and quality of a Keith Greig, a Rod Ashman, a David McMahon etc). A player had he continued until his early 30's that many more posters on here would be much more familiar with. There hasn't been many players who have had a career stymied by an on-field but behind the play incident like this hit was.
So yes it's happened long ago and both O'Dea and Greening are now into their 70's and are living life now in retirement. I get the feeling that there's quite a cohort of posters on Bigfooty who are of a similar age to me, (54) where we're too young to recall it but were alive when it happened. And as i mentioned before there's no harm in re-tracing events from the past, in some cases just bringing to light that bad things have happened on the footy field for a long time, and reminding younger posters of these events. And i agree with Goggin our Best as well, that Cats/Blues game of 2001 left a very sour taste in most Cats fan's mouths, there were a few ugly hits (Kilpatrick on Ratten i think too was nasty), and Geelong were smashed, a horrid end to Buddha Hocking's career.
Re - you mention Kilpatrick- i liked him overall - however the incident with Ashman - i dont know if it was the same one - but late in the game - after the Milburn incident - Kilpatrick lowered the knees at speed and with intent - re just grazed a Carlton player who was on the ground - and i thought what in hell are you doing
Caro called us a shocking club - she said - that Shocking club - and she was right
I was ashamed to be a Cats supporter that day - absolutely annihilated - i dont think we kicked a goal after quarter time - and then did all these dog acts
I went and looked that up out of interest ('I would've loved to have stayed': A Collingwood enforcer's tears). A really interesting (and quite balanced) article.
I do think that all this stuff about how O'Dea should have been kicked out of the game, karma bus etc doesn't take into account the fact that it was a very, very different game back then when all of that stuff went on - and pretty much every team did it.
Greening and O'Dea were the unlucky ones in that it ended a career and tarnished another.
But there are so many similar incidents from the 70s and 80s. Somerville, the Matthews/Bruns hit, Parkin instructing Mario Bortolotto to punch David Cloke in the '82 GF, Yeates running through Brereton (not that Brereton was an angel). Punching other players in the head happened, and it happened a lot. Frankly, a deliberate punch in the head is still a deliberate punch in the head, whether it's in play or 80 yards behind it.
Greening and O'Dea were the unlucky ones in that it ended a career and tarnished another.
But there are so many similar incidents from the 70s and 80s. Somerville, the Matthews/Bruns hit, Parkin instructing Mario Bortolotto to punch David Cloke in the '82 GF, Yeates running through Brereton (not that Brereton was an angel). Punching other players in the head happened, and it happened a lot. Frankly, a deliberate punch in the head is still a deliberate punch in the head, whether it's in play or 80 yards behind it.
- May 8, 2006
- 5,038
- 4,559
- AFL Club
- Melbourne
All good points.
To what extent (if any) was Allan Jeans ever held to account for this incident? given the rumours he'd sent O'Dea to ''fix up' Greening. Jeans seemed to have encouraged thuggery in his players (and perhaps that was just the culture in footy at the time). But you only have to read about St Kilda of this era (and the bloodbath 1971 Grand Final) to see that they were particularly ruthless and played the man rather than the ball.
I see poeple comparing the Matthews/Bruns incident (another team coached by Jeans) and watch the testy interview with Peter McKenna and Jeans and Tom Hafey the following day. Jeans was clearly fuming that McKenna had the temerity to question Matthews' conduct. The Matthews incident (and any other king hit incidents) could have so easily been a Greening incident, and the Greening incident could have so easily resulted in his death. But Jeans and Matthews didnt see it that way - they saw themselves as the victims for actually being held to account for it.
Remember seeing Matthews interviewed years after and he lamented that because of the incident he couldn't play football as hard as it needed to be played, or something to that affect. He was at the end of his career anyway, but I'd be interested to know what is ''hard'' about whacking a player 30 metres off the ball behind their back? It's the definition of cowardice. Matthews was obviously a hard and courageous player, but he still struggles to recognise that this act (and many other like it his career) were cowardly.
The Greening incident (and any others where players are sent out to fix up star opponents) are cowardly and I argue, have never been in the spirit of the game.
Last edited:
People aren't talking about cheap shots off the ball when referencing the games gone soft and most aren't talking about the 70s.
They are comparing it to 90s and 00s footy, before the bump was killed, before the tackle had multiple restrictions put on it under DoC laws. Today's footy is very soft in comparison and likely will get softer again. I'm waiting for them to ban high knees to head in marking contest, they already tried it by paying a free kick vs Howe and another player I can't recall that season trialling it but with feet in the back.
The intellect in this thread is astounding. No difference in being hit 80 metres or 50 metres behind play.
Are we still crying about this? Like Collingwood don't have any skeletons hahaha. Move on, folks, it's not good for your health holding on to crap.
Who smacked Matthews one? looked out if it coming off blood streaming from his nose/mouth?
- Apr 29, 2003
- 1,926
- 266
- AFL Club
- Western Bulldogs
- Other Teams
- Western Bulldogs
Steve Hocking (Yes, that Steve Hocking) took the credit, although it's not exactly captured on film.
- May 8, 2006
- 5,038
- 4,559
- AFL Club
- Melbourne
It was definitely Steve Hocking
Maggie Greg
Cancelled
- Jan 24, 2002
- 955
- 1,171
- AFL Club
- Collingwood
- Thread starter
- #115
The intellect in this thread is astounding. No difference in being hit 80 metres or 50 metres behind play.
Are we still crying about this? Like Collingwood don't have any skeletons hahaha. Move on, folks, it's not good for your health holding on to crap.
From behind, and behind the play. Who said there is s difference between 80 or 50 metres? Comprehension and basic intellect not your strong point.
Collingwood skeletons? Pray tell.
That gif tells us how small your appendage is but we didnt really want to know.
