The Roachs'

itsintheblood

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Roach Jr gives dad reason to party
Mike Shehan
23apr04

IT IS 25 years to the round since Michael Roach leapt into contention for the mark of the 20th century.

The then Richmond full-forward sat on top of a pack of Hawthorn players at the MCG on May 5, 1979, to take one of the game's great marks.
The following year, Richmond scored a then-record win in the 1980 Grand Final.

"Disco" Roach kicked two goals that day and a career-best 112 that year.

Yet the star forward of Richmond's most recent successful era is no longer sure how to rate his favourite football memories.

His elder son, Thomas, made his debut in yellow and black last Saturday night, giving his dad a thrill like none before.

He shies away from ranking a premiership against a famous mark against Coleman medals (two) against watching his son play at league level, saying only that it was a special day.

"To have your son run out in the colours that you ran out (in), gee, it's a bloody big thrill," he said yesterday.

"It was a real big thrill for (wife) Kerry and myself. I was just rapt.

"You just don't think when your boys are born they're going to get the opportunity to play league footy.

"You hope that they're good enough, but you never know."

Roach Sr's only disappointment was that his son's first game ended in defeat.

The Tigers of 1977 beat Footscray at the MCG in his first game, but Roach Jr, 18, at least has the distinction of being a couple of months younger than his father on debut.

While Richmond lost its third game in a row, Roach represents a ray of sunshine in the black cloud that seems permanently stationed above Punt Rd.

He had 14 possessions after coming off the bench in the second quarter, giving anguished Richmond supporters some hope of better things to come.

Like his father 27 years before him, Thomas started on a wing.

He is about 10cm shorter and doesn't kick with the same penetration, but he is a hard runner and neat with hands and feet.

About 30 members of the Roach family and close friends were at Telstra Dome for the occasion.

They included Michael's parents, Terry and Betty, who travelled from Westbury in Tasmania.

Roach Sr suspects he was more nervous than his son.

"We went and watched his old team, Oakleigh Chargers, play on Saturday and tried to keep his mind off it, but he was better than I was.

"I remember being pretty nervous back when I started.

"I tried not to show it, but I visited the toilet quite a few times."

Young Roach left the family with no advice, just good wishes.

"I just said, 'give it your best shot and enjoy yourself'. He plays well when he runs and I thought he ran fairly hard, even though it was chasing backsides a lot of the time."

While Roach has remained loyal to the cause despite Richmond's lean times of the past 20 years, he found himself watching his boy rather than the team.

"You tend to watch what he's doing, where he's running to and things," he said.

"You probably don't concentrate as much on the team.

"I keep pretty quiet. I don't yell much at the footy. Sometimes I applaud, that's all."

Roach said the nerves were entirely different as a father.

"You're in control of what you do (as a player)," he said.

"When you're sitting in the grandstand watching your son, you've got no control."

He admitted to being agreeably surprised at his son's progress between seasons, progressing from Carey Grammar captain to AFL player.

"Nobody sort of said he was going to get drafted until it was about to happen," he said.

"Danny (Frawley) and (recruiting manager) Greg Beck came round after he'd been drafted and said they didn't think he'd play seniors this year.

"When he got Wizard Cup I thought, 'Well, he's not too far away', and then he got called up last week. I'm surprised, yeah, but he's worked hard for it."

Roach Jr is happy with his No. 22 guernsey rather than his father's No. 8, now worn by Kayne Pettifer. In his father's day No. 22 was worn by best-and-fairest winner Barry Rowlings.

"We've had a bit to do with Barry," Michael said.

"He was always interested in how Thomas was going. Thomas said he'd love Barry's number.

"He's rapt to be wearing it and hopefully turns out half the player that Bazza was."

Roach also revealed how sons of former guns recently turned the clock back more than 20 years.

Richmond's VFL affiliate, Coburg, started the game against Springvale with a bench including the names Roach and (Andrew) Raines.

The first two kicks Raines got were delivered by Roach, a nice twist on events at Richmond in the late 1970s and early '80s, when champion centreman Geoff Raines delivered the ball so often to full-forward Roach.
 

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#2
Throw a Kym Monteath into this list and possibly the better of the 3 clokes and it could possibly be like travelling back in a time machine.


Well one could only wish..........
 
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