Past Nigel Lappin (1994-2008)

[Grimreepah]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link

Lions hopeful on Lappin surgery
18/07/2008 4:26:27PM
Angus Morgan
Sportal

The Brisbane Lions are hopeful that surgery to relieve a trapped nerve will remedy the Achilles tendon problem that's kept veteran midfielder Nigel Lappin sidelined since Round 4.
Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews said the operation, which took place earlier this week, was fairly routine.
"As soon as the incision is healed in a week or so, then he’ll try and run," Matthews said of Lappin.
"He said it feels a little bit better to walk than it did last weekend, so that's a positive sign."
"It was always about what was causing this Achilles tendon tendonitis - different parts were getting sore."
"Now the medical people, Nigel, we’re all hoping that the nerve entrapment was the problem all along and having that being remedied he can resume his training."
Not only has Lappin not played since the first month of the season, he hasn’t taken part in a full training session over that period, so even if the injury comes good quickly he'll be battling to play again in 2008.
The 32-year-old triple-premiership player has played 279 games for the Lions since his debut in 1994.
He managed 19 games last year after missing the entire 2006 season because of a broken ankle sustained late the previous year.

 

[bears2lions]

Re: Nigel Lappin

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24040468-10389,00.html

The Lions hold faint hopes Lappin may be available for a return if the side goes deep into the finals.

After a frustrating three months where he has been unable to overcome an achilles tendon injury, the co-captain has enjoyed a breakthrough courtesy of a minor operation earlier this week that released a trapped nerve.

"Basically it's fairly superficial surgery and as soon as the incision is healed in a week he should be right to run," Matthews said.

"The only thing he said is he feels a little better to walk then he did last weekend so that's a positive sign, it was always what was causing this achilles tendonitis.

"We're all hoping that the nerve was the problem all along and that being remedied he can resume his training, but he hasn't done a normal training session for 10-12 weeks so there's a lot of steps to take unfortunately before he can play again."

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link

Lappin hoping for finals return for Lions
Greg Denham
July 23, 2008

BRISBANE veteran Nigel Lappin is hoping surgery last week will help him overcome a nagging achilles injury in time to play in the finals.
The four-time All Australian and Lions best-and-fairest winner has been sidelined since round four by the injury.
Lappin made progress mid-season, but after another setback, he resorted to surgery last week to release a nerve in his calf.
"Hopefully, it will ease some of the pain in my achilles, but I'll know a bit more at the end of the week when I can resume running," Lappin said yesterday.
"The surgeon said to take it slowly and I'll be able to move better once the wound heals."
The 32-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, but is concentrating solely on resuming this year at the elite level.
"I know I'm running out of time, but realistically, if the operation has been successful, I want to be playing in another three weeks," Lappin said.
"After so much time off, I'll come back through the reserves and hopefully get a senior game or two before the finals. It's the first time I've been excited for some time."
The Brisbane co-captain has had wretched seasons either side of a superb comeback last year when he was the Lions' leading possession getter.
In 2006 he missed the entire season because of a fractured ankle, but last year he played 18 games. "I'd love to play on next year, but I need to get well again and my main objective is get back this year," Lappin said.
The 279-game player is Brisbane's most experienced finals campaigner with 23 appearances.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link

Matthews has conceded that veteran midfielder Nigel Lappin's crippling achilles injury - which has sidelined him since round four - is not improving and the 2004 best and fairest winner is unlikely to play again this season.
The 32-year-olds decorated 279 game career remain in limbo."Nigel hasn't been able to complete a normal training session since he hurt himself four months ago," Matthews said on Monday.
"Time is marching on and we are now in the middle of August."
"If Nigel completed a normal training session on Wednesday (he could return to the side) but realistically he is no better placed than he was four months ago."
"He has done everything known to mankind in between but his achilles tendon is still sore when he runs."
But Matthews would not be drawn on Lappin's long term future saying "we will worry about next year when next year becomes the case."

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link

In good news for the Lions, gun on-baller Nigel Lappin (ankle) appears to be nearing a return and he ran at training on Wednesday, although not with the main group. However, if Brisbane cannot trump the Bulldogs on Saturday it would seem pointless bringing Lappin back for the last two games where the Lions would probably just be playing for pride.

 

[Cousin Jed]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Lappin's been running for weeks. I think we can chalk that one down to "this is what happens when you get the cricket writer to do an AFL report"

 

[acuguy]

Re: Nigel Lappin

I hope Nige puts this season away, he should get away from the club,have a massive holiday with his family etc etc and look to next year. He is still close to our best player and it is worth him having one more year!

 

[Paul D]

Re: Nigel Lappin

After watching the interview with Leigh Colbert at half time of Saturdays game I expect an announcement from Lappin this week. He admitted he was meeting with Leigh this week so if he does decide to retire expect a lap around the Gabba this week before the Carlton game.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link

Matthews hints Lappin is nearing the end
August 18, 2008 - 3:02PM

Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Matthews has given the strongest hint yet the career of Nigel Lappin is over.
The triple-premiership winner has been sidelined for 17 weeks with a lingering Achilles tendon problem, which he again aggravated at training late last week.
The classy 32-year-old, Brisbane's oldest player, is off-contract at the end of the season.
During the Lions' win over the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba on Saturday he revealed he was contemplating his future away from the game after giving up hope of a return to the field this year.
The 279-match veteran said he would meet with Lions officials this week, but Matthews said he was yet to speak to Lappin.
"There's no appointment, but he might walk into my office any time I suppose," Matthews said.
While reluctant to speak about the midfielder's contract, Matthews admitted Lappin's long-injury layoff would not be favourable.
"At the moment we're getting towards decision time on all those issues," he said.
"We certainly love Nigel as a player, and obviously the question is we haven't been able to get Nigel as a player because his body hasn't quite been able to carry him."
Matthews has previously stated Lappin's playing career could extend beyond this season, but when asked about those comments, he chose to answer in past tense.
"We were hoping he could," Matthews said.
"This year hasn't given us much encouragement, but we were hoping he could because he's a sort of slightly built guy who doesn't seem to take a lot of work. (But) we're hypothesising and speculating."

 

[OldLion]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Not good - hope this injury won't affect his lifestyle in general. He did put it all on the line for the team many times.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Didn't sound good on the news.

 

[Warwick]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Thank you Nige.

You ****ing champion!

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Lion Nigel Lappin calls it quits

Andrew Hamilton | August 19, 2008 12:00am
Link to Article

TRIPLE premiership star Nigel Lappin will today announce his retirement.

The Brisbane Lions are entering a complex player-signing period and it is understood contract negotiations with several young stars may have squeezed the veteran co-captain out of football.

Lappin, 32, who has an on-going achilles injury, sought talks with Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews yesterday to determine if the club viewed him as a required player for next season.

"I was really desperate to play again, I just wanted some closure on my career and not to finish on the sidelines," Lappin said.

"But I've known all year it was time to retire, my wife and I have spoken about it at length.

"I have always put pressure on myself to perform and I got to the stage even before my injury that I was getting to game day and just not feeling the same intense motivation to get out there and play."

The hard running midfielder will retire on 279 games, third on the club's all-time list, and as one of the greatest players of the modern era.

He was Brisbane's best-and-fairest in 2004 and has four All-Australian jumpers.

The salary cap will pose problems for Brisbane leading up to the trade period as it attempts to meet the needs of its two best players, Simon Black and Jonathan Brown, while warding off poaching raids on young star Michael Rischitelli.

The Lions are in a rebuilding phase and face tough decisions on the futures of premiership veterans Tim Notting and Robert Copeland.

Ashley McGrath, Justin Sherman, Wayde Mills, Albert Proud and Matthew Moody are others believed to be out of contract.

McGrath would be a priority to keep, but Moody and Sherman have been mentioned as possible trades.

Last year Josh Drummond, Rhan Hooper and Jared Brennan received contracts based on potential more than contribution because of interest from other clubs.

Brennan has taken his game to a new level this year but Hooper has struggled for consistency.

Rischitelli recently said he wanted to remain a Lion but it is understood Essendon has tabled an offer that greatly exceeds where he would get if he stayed at Brisbane.

The big-bodied midfielder is shouldering a greater responsibility in the Lions' engine room, but Black is still the man and the Lions must find a way to fit both in.

 

[dlanod]

Re: Nigel Lappin

The Brisbane Lions are entering a complex player-signing period and it is understood contract negotiations with several young stars may have squeezed the veteran co-captain out of football.
...
"But I've known all year it was time to retire, my wife and I have spoken about it at length."

Seems like a pretty lame attempt to stir up some controversy...

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link

Triple premiership winner Lappin retires
August 19, 2008 - 1:55PM

Brisbane Lions veteran Nigel Lappin says he's frustrated he wasn't able to finish his career on his own terms.

A persistent Achilles injury has kept the 32-year-old midfielder off the field for 17 weeks, and ultimately forced the Lions co-captain to end his 15-year AFL career.

Flanked by coach Leigh Matthews, and watched on by the entire Lions playing squad, Lappin told reporters in Brisbane he was disappointed to end his career in such a way.

"It's hard not to live in the moment, and for me at the moment I haven't been able to get what I want out of footy," a composed Lappin said.

"So at the moment I'm sort of frustrated, I have been frustrated by what has happened this year.

"But my career as a whole has been really successful."

Lappin, a 279-match veteran, was a vital part of the midfield machine that drove the Lions to three consecutive premierships from 2001.

He was named the Lions' best and fairest in 2004, and earned four All-Australian selections.

Lappin admitted his bad run with injuries, including an ankle reconstruction in 2006 that forced him to miss the entire season, had taken its toll.

"Mentally I was a little bit tired," he said.

"I was waking up and not really looking forward to playing footy as I had in previous years, and you just get the feeling it is time."

The Victorian said would remain part of the Lions squad until the end of the season, before taking a few months off to contemplate his future.

Link

Nigel Lappin retires
11:27 AM Tue 19 August, 2008

Vodafone Brisbane Lions Co-Captain Nigel Lappin today officially announced his retirement from playing AFL football.

Lappin informed his team-mates of his decision to hang up the boots on Tuesday morning before fronting a packed media conference at the Gabba.

The 32 year-old Club-listed veteran of 279 matches (5th on the Club’s all-time list) finishes his decorated 15-year career with a truly impressive list of team and individual achievements.

An elite midfielder and famed member of the Lions ‘Fab Four’, Lappin’s long list of accolades includes three premiership medals, a Club Champion award in 2004, four-time AFL All-Australian selection and Club Co-Captaincy to name a few.

The quiet and humble veteran has been sidelined since Round 5 of this year with a persistent Achilles injury which has effectively ended his final season at the Club. The Lions’ historic Round 4 comeback against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium will remain as Lappin’s final match of his illustrious career.

Nigel was initially drafted to the then Brisbane Bears from the Victorian country town of Chiltern back in 1993 and played 17 matches in his debut season – predominantly on the wing. Lappin’s supreme fitness, speed and marking ability made him a difficult match-up for any opponent.

By the late 1990s, Lappin had established himself as a genuine elite midfielder with the all conquering Brisbane Lions and was an integral part of the Club’s hat-trick of premierships from 2001-2003.

He was named the Lions’ Best Finals Player in the year of their first premiership triumph and was selected in the AFL’s All-Australian team on four straight occasions from 2001-2004.

Lappin made headlines back in 2003 when he fractured a rib late in the Preliminary Final but decided to play in the following week’s Grand Final with the aid of painkillers. This act embodied his enormous heart and courage to be part of the eventual triumph with his team-mates.

After twice finishing Runner-Up in 1997 and 2000, Lappin was a popular winner of the 2004 Club Champion award.

His professionalism and sheer athletic durability saw him rarely miss a match during the first 11 years of his career until he suffered a dislocated ankle which prematurely ended his 2005 season. He re-injured his ankle during a practice match at the beginning of 2006 and was forced to undergo further surgery which sidelined him for the entire year.

He returned in 2007 and averaged a career-high 26.8 disposals per game in 18 senior matches to finish in the top five of the Club Champion award for a remarkable seventh time.

As Lappin draws the curtain on his marvelous playing career, the Brisbane Lions salute his enormous contribution to the Club both as a leader, player and thorough gentleman regarding him as one of the Club’s greatest players.

Lions members and supporters will have their final chance to officially farewell and applaud Nigel Lappin in person this Saturday night at the Gabba as he performs a lap of honour prior to the Round 21 Lions v Carlton match.

NIGEL LAPPIN PLAYER HONOURS

Games: 279
Goals: 174
Finals: 23
Draft Details: Selection No.2 – 1993 National Draft
AFL Debut: Brisbane Bears vs Fitzroy (Western Oval), Round 3 1994

Australian Asthma Sportsman of the Year 1998
Lions Club Champion Runner-Up 1997, 2000
Lions Club Champion Third Place 2001
All-Australian 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
Lions Best Finals Player 2001
Lions Premiership Player 2001, 2002, 2003
International Rules Series 2001
Lions Club Champion 2004
Lions Life Member
Lions Co-Captain 2007, 2008

To be honest I'm not totally shattered about his retirement because he hasn't played at his best since 2005. The writing has been on the wall and I've already gone through much of the 'grieving' process.

 

[POBT]

Re: Nigel Lappin

The Official Nigel Lappin Appreciation Thread

 

[Old Den]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link



Link

To be honest I'm not totally shattered about his retirement because he hasn't played at his best since 2005. The writing has been on the wall and I've already gone through much of the 'grieving' process.

I feel exactly the same Grim but more emotional than any other retiree because he is such a decent and likeable man

No nonsense - no showoff - all loyalty - all courage - sublime footballer

Thanks for everything Nigel wishing you all the best for the future

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link

Lappin should look at coaching: Matthews
5:26 PM Tue 19 August, 2008

BRISBANE Lions veteran Nigel Lappin is being urged to consider a coaching future after announcing his immediate retirement from AFL.
The triple premiership winner confirmed his 15-year career had been ended by a persistent achilles injury that kept him to just four games this season.
Lappin didn't have to wait long to receive a reference for his next career move.
"Nigel's always had a great empathy for his teammates, and he knows the game, he's got a great empathy for the game," Lions coach Leigh Matthews told reporters at the Gabba announcement.
"I believe he understands the game too, more than most players.
"Nigel I'm sure has never thought of any possibility that he would go on and be a coach of any shape or form, but now the playing door has closed, well then you open your life up to possibilities, and that's obviously one of the distinct possibilities."
The quietly spoken 279-game veteran wouldn't rule out a future as a coach, but said he would first take a holiday to spend time with his young family.
"I always thought I'd just walk away," Lappin said.
"But when you get to the end it's sort of hard to walk away from something that's been a really big part of your life.
"There's a lot of options in different places where myself and my family can go, we've just got to try and work out which one's the best one for us."
The four-time All Australian remained composed as he reflected on his career, and was watched on by the entire club's playing and coaching personnel in an obvious display of respect.
The 32-year-old midfielder, who has played just 22 matches in the past three seasons due to injury, said he was "bitterly disappointed" the way his career had come to an end.
A badly broken leg in 2005, an ankle reconstruction in 2006 and the Achilles problem has worn Lappin down, after being known in his earlier days for his durability.
Lappin will "float around" Lions training until the end of the season, showing his dedication to the club has not waned.
"I'd like to finish the job I started so long ago, 15 years," he said.
"It does go really quickly, but I'd like to be here right to the end."
A member of the "fab four" that led the club to three consecutive premierships from 2001, Lappin saw the club's first premiership as the sweetest.
He will forever be remembered for his courage in the 2002 decider, when he took the field with a fractured rib suffered in the preliminary final.
The Lions will pay tribute to Lappin before their must-win clash against Carlton at the Gabba on Saturday.

I'd be surprised if he got into coaching. Just doesn't seem the type.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link



I'd be surprised if he got into coaching. Just doesn't seem the type.

I wouldn't be so sure... He has spent slot of time helping out the young blokes at training this year, and said at half time that he has really enjoyed that... Even if he leaves the afl behind, wouldn't surprise me if he ends up coaching in a country league.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link

Lappin the perfect fit
Article from:
Andrew Hamilton
August 20, 2008 12:00am

FOR a footballer, the standing Nigel Lappin has within his club is valued above any accolade. Lappin walked away from the game yesterday hailed as the most complete member of Brisbane's famed "Fab Four" and labelled the "perfect player".
There has never been as much said about Lappin as Michael Voss, Jason Akermanis and Simon Black, but one quote from co-captain Luke Power stamped his legacy among the greatest Lions.
"Everyone used to talk about the Fab Four, and they were all superstars," Power said.
"Nigel is probably the most low profile, but he was the one with all the assets.
"Aker was explosive and had the skills, Blackie had great skills and the vision and Vossie could influence a contest by his presence. Nigel was the complete package.
"He had a piece of all that and was the most complete footballer I played with."
Lions coach Leigh Matthews agreed.
"As great as Nigel's reputation was, he was an even better player than his reputation," he said.
"He wasn't a limelight player and sometimes high profile and ability get confused.
"The perfect player wins his own ball, uses it well when he has got it and works very hard to get it back off the opposition. Very few players have done that as well as Nigel."
If the words of his coach didn't adequately sum up Lappin, the actions of his teammates did.
When Lappin appeared before the media yesterday he received a standing ovation.
The room was packed, rookie players who never took the field with him stood alongside premiership teammates and co-captains Power, Black and Jonathan Brown.
The coaching staff were there, so too was chief executive Michael Bowers, chairman Tony Kelly, football manager Graeme Allan and front office staff.
Somewhere in Lappin's house are three premiership medallions, a Merrett-Murray Medal as the Lions' best-and-fairest and four All-Australian jumpers to remind him of the success he enjoyed.
But Lappin, 32, believes football is about much more than on-field success.
"It's the team things you cherish: the friendships, the bond you have with other footballers, Lappin said.
That is the sort of things you miss because you will never get that again.
"You might find something similar in other avenues, but will never have that forum when you play together with guys, when you walk off the field knowing you have competed together."
Lappin said his overwhelming emotion was disappointment at not being able to finish his 279-game career on the field.
"It's hard not to live in the moment. And for me at the moment, I haven't been able to get what I want out of footy," Lappin said.
"So at the moment, I'm sort of frustrated. I have been frustrated by what has happened this year. But my career as a whole has been really successful."
In Brisbane's three Grand Final wins, Lappin had more disposals than any of his teammates.
Lappin's body has had enough, but he will still appear at training every day for as long as Brisbane's season remains alive because he is a club captain and his job isn't finished.
"I won't be able to train too often with the boys," Lappin said. "The achilles won't allow me to do that.
"But I'll float around the club - do the gym, do what I can. I'd like to finish the job I started so long ago."

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link

A quiet word from a brilliant player
Andrew Stafford
August 20, 2008

TRIPLE premiership Brisbane Lions hero Nigel Lappin ended his 15-year playing career yesterday with the same minimum of fuss and quiet efficiency that he went about his football.
There was no speech: just a brief appearance with his coach Leigh Matthews where he answered questions deftly, in a way that matched the understated elegance of his suit.
Lappin played 279 games for the Lions after making his debut in 1994 for the then-Brisbane Bears. Although he accumulated individual honours like possessions — an All-Australian from 2001-04, club champion in 2004 — the brilliant onballer was always the fourth wheel in the Lions' "Fab Four" filled out by the more extroverted likes of Michael Voss, Jason Akermanis and Simon Black.
That midfield drove the Lions to triple premiership success between 2001 and 2003, with Lappin famously playing the last of them with cracked ribs, but he said yesterday the first one, against Essendon, remained the most cherished.
"We're coming up to the first 10-year reunion pretty bloody soon and that'll be something special," he said.
Lappin was durable and supremely fit, but from 2006, his body simply caved in, after he broke an ankle in the 2006 pre-season.
He added only four games to his tally this season before damaging an Achilles tendon that refused to heal. Since then, he has kept running and running, while his teammates trained. And running some more.
"It's probably over-trying that's probably cost me more than anything," he admitted. "That's always been me, really. You live and die by the sword."
Lappin fathered twin girls last September, making four daughters with wife Claire, and a family holiday is on the agenda.
"A lot of people don't understand how much pressure there is in this type of job, and mostly the pressure came from myself," he said.
"I wanted to be best-on-ground every week, and with that comes disappointment because obviously you can't be that player every week."
Matthews, who is fond of saying that reputation often trails performance, put a new spin on his own maxim by saying that Lappin was even better than his glittering record suggested.
"He's an even better player than his reputation," he said.
"He obviously wasn't a limelight-seeker; he was a low-profile player and sometimes high profile and ability get confused.
"Basically, the perfect player wins his own ball, uses it well when he's got time and space and works really hard to get it back off the opposition, and very few players have done that as well as Nigel. That makes him a really, really valuable package."
Off the field, Lappin's presence was equally valued. "Nigel's always had a great empathy for his teammates," Matthews said.
"He knows the game, he understands the game more than most players, so actually Nigel's potentially got a lot to offer."
The inference was that Lappin could coach, if he wanted to, even if he lacked the force of personality of his mentor.
Lappin himself is investigating his options, including buying a business in his native north-east Victoria.
"It's really hard to think of your future options until you actually close the door and that door's been pretty much closed today," he said.
And with that, ignoring the applause from his teammates, Lappin rose to his feet, walked out the door and was gone.

 

[MacMum]

Re: Nigel Lappin

'Tis indeed a sad time....seeing that avatar of TBD really brings it home as to how close we are to having no Bears left at all.....as he said previously...only two left.... I was quite teary when I saw Niges press conference, just couldn't get our Bears out of my brain...

We wish you well and good fortune Nigel..

 

[Ruse]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Does anyone here know if there's a link anywhere in the interweb where i can watch the press conference.

Nige is such a legend.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Nigel Lappin

Link

Football's wheel is always turning

By Simon Black
11:48 AM Thu 21 August, 2008

AGE IS one of those things in football which is all relative. It means different things to different people at different stages of their career.

When you arrive at an AFL club at 18 you can’t comprehend 30. It’s a lifetime away.

At 28, after a decade in the system, you realise 30 is not so old after all.

And when someone like Nigel Lappin retires at 32 you realise there is an inevitability about any sporting career. No matter how good you are and how hard you work, nothing lasts forever.

The door to retirement at the Gabba has been a busy one over recent years as one by one a group which had become like a second family to me was been whittled away.

Only Tim Notting and Daniel Bradshaw of the players who were at the club when I arrived in November 1997 are still there.

Each departure has an impact but when you’re asked to write a column about it then you look at it a little differently. And a little more thoughtfully.

I was surprised when Nige dropped his retirement bombshell into a captain’s meeting a few days before it became public.

He, Jonathan Brown, Luke Power and I had got together to chat, as we do regularly, and out of the blue he said he was hanging up the boots.

It was sad that such a great player had been forced down that track by injury. Given a half decent run with injury I’ve got no doubts he could have gone on and still been a standout next year.

How can I be so sure? Because he’s the absolute professional, and he’d work so hard in the gym, on the track and in every game he’d make sure.

But that’s the side of AFL football people don’t see. It’s not all glitz and glamor. When things don’t go quite according to plan and you have an extended run with injury you can get down on yourself. And there’s no way out.

That’s been Nige this year. Sidelined since that unforgettable fourth quarter comeback to beat Port Adelaide in Adelaide in Round 4, he’s been terribly frustrated because he couldn’t get on top of his injury.

Given that he missed 2006 with a broken ankle you can understand why he’d had enough, yet it still hits like a lightning bolt.

I don’t know what he’ll do next year, and I’m not sure he’s got any fixed plans yet either.

But I do know that if you’re fortunate enough to spend a long time in the AFL it gives you a pretty good grounding for life after football whatever you do.

Most importantly, you learn about team dynamics. About accepting and playing your role in a team situation and about respecting and appreciating the role of others.

Hopefully, too, you learn about teamwork, discipline, sacrifice and work ethic. You learn how to cope with pressure and expectation and how to live with criticism. You learn the importance of good communication and by necessity you establish a sense of humor because a footy club isn’t a place for too many airs and graces. You become a bit street smart or otherwise you won’t survive.

It’s interesting to see where my retired ex-teammates are now, and it wasn’t until I went through the list that I realized that there's about a dozen of them still involved in football.

Nige has an outstanding football mind and a compassion and understanding for young players as good as you’ll see. He’s given a real sense of direction and clarity to a lot of guys and is respected enormously by anyone who has had anything to do with him.
He epitomizes everything good about football and would make a wonderful coach at any level if he chose to go down that track.

I can’t see him not being involved in the game in some capacity, and whatever club gets him will be very fortunate indeed.

 

[bLuEbOy1984]

Re: Nigel Lappin

top player.. take a bow nigel
thanks for the memories