John Greening 50 years ago today - 8 July 1972

[South of the Yarra]

WTF???

We've forgiven the Japanese, and even the f**king Germans - yet you think it's even remotely reasonable for some stupid old dicktards to be sobbing in their Metamucil about an incident on a footy ground 50 years ago??!! FFS.

It's borderline psychotic behaviour.

A ‘franchise’ with no history, culture or substance wouldn’t understand

 

[sherb]

WTF???

We've forgiven the Japanese, and even the f**king Germans - yet you think it's even remotely reasonable for some stupid old dicktards to be sobbing in their Metamucil about an incident on a footy ground 50 years ago??!! FFS.

It's borderline psychotic behaviour.

Given how tribal footy was back then, the fact that one of your team's players nearly died as a result of a deliberate act of opposition thuggery would probably resonate with many still to this day.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

A ‘franchise’ with no history, culture or substance wouldn’t understand

I'm not sure what that means?

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Given how tribal footy was back then, the fact that one of your team's players nearly died as a result of a deliberate act of opposition thuggery would probably resonate with many still to this day.

Franky, you're a genuinely tragic loser if you give even the slightest s**t about anything that happened on a sporting field 50 years ago.

Not tragic in a good way, either.

 

[Maggie Greg]

Way before my time, but O'Dea was a goon.

Goons were a dime a dozen in footy, up until the 80s really.

Footy was like ice hockey in the sense that punching someone wasn't really considered that abhorrent an act. In big games, it was expected.

The only issue with the Greening one, relatively speaking, is the damage that was caused. The act itself wasn't that unusual.


FWIW, supporters sulking about this still today is frankly quite weird.

I suppose the big difference was he was hit from behind when the ball was 80-100 metres away.

No one is sulking about it.

But when it is the worst moment of your football supporting life it stays with you, especially as it happened to your favourite player of all time.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

I suppose the big difference was he was hit from behind when the ball was 80-100 metres away.

No one is sulking about it.

But when it is the worst moment of your football supporting life it stays with you, especially as it happened to your favourite player of all time.

What, are you like 8 years old? FFS man, grow up. Get fair dinkum.

 

[Maggie Greg]

What, are you like 8 years old? FFS man, grow up. Get fair dinkum.

It’s past your bedtime - have your Milo and off you go.

 

[Prestigerrycomo]

The fact that St Kilda has never formally apologised to Greening is a disgrace

 

[deck]

My dad worked with a bloke who attended the tribunal for this incident as a witness from the stands.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

The Greening incident probably cost Collingwood a premiership in the 70s. He was clearly their best player.

Wasn’t the first time for the Pies either. 17 years earlier Melbourne’s Bluey Adams had rocketed into Des Healey in the 1955 GF. The head clash left Healey’s face a mess, it was later found he had fractured his skull. He won the B&F and never played league footy again.

(Should be pointed out Adams’ hit was nothing like O’Dea’s, it was a legitimate bump that resulted in a head clash. Both players were knocked out cold)

 

[maskmcgee]

Our thoughts were that John would have concussion and miss the next week and be back the week after.

Did anybody know about concussion before 2005?

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

1983 Grand Final... Tim Watson and Colin Robertson tangled in the 1st quarter. Watson shaped up to Robertson like they were in a boxing ring and Robertson dropped him with a straight right.

Absolute rubbish, Watson never shaped up in his career. Thug act by Robertson.

As for O’Dea he should have been charged by police and jailed

 

[catscratchfever]

I remember it well. Greening was a brilliant player who was well on his way to winning the Brownlow that season before he was knocked out by a behind-the-play king-hit from that filthy disgusting St Kilda thug Jim O’Dea. Did O’Dea even get reported? I don’t think so - he might have even got a medal for basically putting Greening in a coma and ending his career…. Different times and thankfully no longer acceptable… An everlasting stain on the Aints.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Absolute rubbish, Watson never shaped up in his career. Thug act by Robertson.

As for O’Dea he should have been charged by police and jailed

Same year as Dipper on Stoneham, another courageous act

 

[Port 2004]

It is 50 years ago today that John Greening was felled 100 metres behind the play at Moorabbin.

Here is my article that I posted on The Footy Almanac today.

John Greening 8 July 1972

I know it is ancient irrelevant news for most of you and of no interest to you.

But there may be some older fans who are happy to have a look who haven't seen it before.

Cheers.

Loved John Greening as a kid growing up in SA watching the VFL replay. I used to collect the magazine Football Life and one has a cover shot of Greening taking a screamer. What a great player he was.

 

[Oliver09]

Amazingly Stoneham got back on the field in the second half after the incident a few posts above. Dipper also got Kevin Walsh a bit high in the last quarter of the 84 GF and one of the Essendon trainers went berserk at him. No doubt Essendon weren't happy with Dipper in that period. It was a great time to watch footy, the crowds loved it but it had to change and thankfully it has.

 

[Back One Out]

Absolute rubbish, Watson never shaped up in his career. Thug act by Robertson.

No, you are talking out of your arse
I've heard interviews with people who there out on the ground (including Watto himself) and that is exactly what happened
Sorry, it doesn't fit your narrative about "thug" Hawks taking out Watson behind play with a king hit. But that didn't happen.

 

[kickazz]

Unfortunately it was part of the game back then, and earlier.

Mate's dad recons as nice a media personality as he was, Lou Richards along with brother Ron basically did this sort of stuff for a living.

Society as a whole was different though. Regular Saturday night pub fights were a normal thing. Those early park games of footy you hear about and see drawings of - I can only imagine they were an "anything goes, no eyes or genitals" kind of affair.

 

[kickazz]

Cheap shots are soft. The game is as hard as it's ever been. The snipers aren't missed.

The cheap shot givers from yesterday would likely not be hard enough to play the modern he anyway.

 

[Back One Out]

Same year as Dipper on Stoneham, another courageous act

Same year that Essendon thug, Roger Merrett ruptured one of Kelvin Moore's testicles with a squirrel grip

Fun times.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

No, you are talking out of your arse
I've heard interviews with people who there out on the ground (including Watto himself) and that is exactly what happened
Sorry, it doesn't fit your narrative about "thug" Hawks taking out Watson behind play with a king hit. But that didn't happen.

Absolute bs. Robertson is the one who claimed Watson shaped up and no one at Essendon has ever backed that up because they know it was bs.

 

[Back One Out]

Absolute bs. Robertson is the one who claimed Watson shaped up and no one at Essendon has ever backed that up because they know it was bs.

No, you are talking complete crap

Watson and Robertson squared off.. Robertson threw a straight right, hit Watson on the button and put him down for the count

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that is exactly what happened.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

No, you are talking complete crap

Watson and Robertson squared off.. Robertson threw a straight right, hit Watson on the button and put him down for the count

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that is exactly what happened.

Complete garbage

 

[Matrix10]

Geez, that's a hell of an accusation to make to accuse club & coach of premeditating the violence.

The simplest explanation is that Jim O'Dea chose to do what he did (just like every other footballer who coward punched an opponent)


Collingwood were always one of the dirtiest teams in the VFL from 1920's through to the 1980's.
Plenty of king hits dished out by Collingwood players over the years. I suppose those were also premeditated and directed by the Collingwood coach?

Football fans can be such hypocrites

Why is it a hell of an accusation? Because he want on to coach your mob ! This has got his name imprinted all over it , that it was his directive to take “ Greening out of the game “ from one ex cop to another. Take him out. Gutless act

 

[Bombermania]

Right, but Collingwood was ok appointing Leigh Matthew’s as coach who got deregistered and charged by police for his dog act on Neville Bruns ?. They were also laughing in the face of Geelong I guess ?.

A lot of faux tough men in that period who were happy to throw cheap shots. The game is better for it being rubbed out.

The game is better for stamping out the behind the play hits regardless of what people like Rex Hunt think, but if the rumored reason for Leigh Matthew's hit on Bruns are true then its a different situation to what happened to John Greening.