Winston Abraham

SonofSamsquanch

Enjoy decent coffee but don't dunk yer biscuits
Mar 31, 2016
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fu** the dogs - blokes like winston dont get their rightful praise because of *******s like you have expressed. same can be said for plenty of other indigenous players
Very very true. That goes for North players and those from other clubs.

Every now and again the media will heap praise, but it isn't universal.

I'm certain it's better these days on the field and for the most part (I hope) the players can treat each other with enough respect that they don't slip to the bottom and use racism or other marginalisation to provoke opponents. It seems to be less these days in the crowd as well, but as you point out, the media might show some highlights, but they don't often interview indigenous players or feature them the way they do with people like dangerfield and the like, who are widely promoted as role models.
 
Old Article:



Winston Abraham opens up on John Worsfold’s role in first western derby

Steve Butler
The West Australian
Wednesday, 3 July 2019

Winston Abraham and John Worsfold in action.

Winston Abraham and John Worsfold in action. Credit: Greg Burke

Former Fremantle forward Winston Abraham has opened up on one of WA’s most explosive football chapters, detailing the brutish behaviour of West Coast’s John Worsfold in the first western derby.
Worsfold ignited an enduring derby hatred in 1995 as he put several Dockers in his sights and the big brother Eagles put them to the sword. Abraham was his key target and in a rare interview, recalled the intensity of a rivalry that will stretch into a 50th game this Saturday night at Optus Stadium.


He said Dockers teammates Matthew Burton, Leigh Wardell-Johnson and Scott Watters were also on Worsfold’s hit list.
“He definitely put the fear in me. I remember the look on his face, he wanted to kill people,” Abraham recalled as he explained the moments before the ball was bounced to start the game.
“He was like, ‘You go near that ball and I’m taking your head off’. He hit Spider Burton and knocked the wind out of him and said to Leigh Wardell-Johnson, ‘They call you Hyphen, you’ve got a broken name, I’ll break your f...... legs’.
“Then he said to Scotty Watters, ‘You f.....g traitor, I’ll kill you’. I never played on anyone else like that.”
Former Dockers forward Winston Abraham.

Former Dockers forward Winston Abraham. Credit: Iain Gillespie

Abraham, right, said his mother Patricia and brother Heath had been in the stands near the boundary line and his elder sibling had threatened to jump the fence and confront Worsfold, who had even been warned by the umpires to calm down.
Dockers hero Shaun McManus also confirmed he was a Worsfold target in the match.
“I remember John’s mindset because when I first came on the ground the ball came flying out where the old Subiaco members used to be,” McManus said. “I tackled him to the ground and got a free kick against me.
“He got up and said, ‘You ever do that again, I’ll rip your legs off and shove them up your a...’. You could see he was breathing fire.”
Worsfold admitted putting his “real game face on”, getting his “general mood across” and cleaning up Dale Kickett in the first quarter, but did not recall all of the incidents suggested. He said he and Abraham chatted more cordially later in the game.
Fremantle captain in that first derby, Ben Allan, said not having more awareness for what was happening to his teammates was a failure of his leadership.
“Any regret I had about my captaincy, that would probably be encapsulated in that sort of event,” Allan said, adding that Abraham was the most skilled teammate he had played alongside.
“At the time, they were all excited to play against West Coast in that first derby because a lot of them grew up idolising them. For me, I’d played against them before and they were just another team and it wasn’t a big thing.
Winston Abraham takes the AFL’s mark of the year in 1998.

Winston Abraham takes the AFL’s mark of the year in 1998.

“In the heat of battle, there was a lot going on. For our guys to take the losses and stand up for themselves in those big games and go on to have exciting careers, I think that says more about our mob as individuals than who we were playing.”
Abraham booted two goals in that 85-point loss and said he even got a back-handed compliment from Worsfold after they clashed again the next year. “We were both going for the ball with Chris Waterman and we all hit it at the same time,” he said. “As were were getting up he said, ‘We finally turned him into a footballer’.”
Abraham also revealed a moment of payback in 1998 when he played his first game against West Coast back in Perth for his new team North Melbourne, after leaving Fremantle the previous year.
“Pago (coach Denis Pagan) got everyone around as we were about to go on the field and said, ‘One more thing’,” he recalled.
“He said, ‘Winnie and Woosha have got a bit of a history — that stops today’. Before the ball was bounced, Glenn Archer ran from centre-half-back and grabbed Woosha by the throat and it was on.
Former Docker Winston Abraham with his Grand Final medal in 1999.

Former Docker Winston Abraham with his Grand Final medal in 1999. Credit: WA News

“Then he turned and ran into ‘Duck’ (Wayne Carey) and the next time he turned he ran into Corey McKernan and Byron Pickett got him that day as well. It was awesome, we got him back, finally.”
Abraham was born in Narrogin and spent part of his young life in nearby Pingelly. His late father Russell was part of the 1967 all-Aboriginal Pingelly Tigers team that spawned an incredible production line of players including Nicky Winmar, Lewis Jetta, Stephen and Bradley Hill and many more.
He admits without the direction and commitment of football, he may well have ended up in jail. The father-of-four now revels in watching his children make their way through their young lives in sport after playing his last game at just 26 years of age because of a debilitating knee injury.
Despite his early football exit, he left an exhilarating highlight reel that included the 1998 AFL Mark of the Year and a North Melbourne premiership 20 years ago in 1999.
“It was a great moment and just reflecting on that sort of thing after you’ve had children and they’ve grown up, it’s pretty special,” he said.
“It was pretty much like a dream. I played in nine finals, not many people get that opportunity and something you can always say is that you played in a premiership.”
Abraham said they were days of football he preferred significantly more than today.
“My kids are sarcastic and always say, ‘You’re not watching yourself again?’” he said.
“I just say to them, ‘I want to watch good footy’.”

Reading about how the boys stood up for him did make me proud
 
Last edited:
Apr 24, 2013
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Old Article:

Abraham also revealed a moment of payback in 1998 when he played his first game against West Coast back in Perth for his new team North Melbourne, after leaving Fremantle the previous year.

“Pago (coach Denis Pagan) got everyone around as we were about to go on the field and said, ‘One more thing’,” he recalled.

“He said, ‘Winnie and Woosha have got a bit of a history — that stops today’. Before the ball was bounced, Glenn Archer ran from centre-half-back and grabbed Woosha by the throat and it was on.

“Then he turned and ran into ‘Duck’ (Wayne Carey) and the next time he turned he ran into Corey McKernan and Byron Pickett got him that day as well. It was awesome, we got him back, finally.”

That folks, is "culture".
 
Apr 24, 2013
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Geez, watching that he places the ball on his boot beautifully everytime 👍

No '99 ? That 3/4 shimmy and goal ❤

In truth, he underachieved based upon his actual ability.

Still........1998........what a year.
 

Passmore

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That folks, is "culture".
It's damning to Fremantle. Winnie had to wait until he changed clubs to have Worsfold's bully boy tactics dealt with. I bet he wasn't making empty threats that day.

Thankfully Dennis didn't think flying the flag was crap and that Woosha was an ornament to the game.

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It's damning to Fremantle. Winnie had to wait until he changed clubs to have Worsfold's bully boy tactics dealt with. I bet he wasn't making empty threats that day.

Thankfully Dennis didn't think flying the flag was crap and that Woosha was an ornament to the game.

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Just knew his charges id expect, needed Winnie to know he was protected here and allowed to play his natural game
 

Passmore

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Just knew his charges id expect, needed Winnie to know he was protected here and allowed to play his natural game
I don't reckon there'd have been too many game to target North players physically in that era. They were a tight group.

And every now and again Dennis would light the fuse under a few of them just to remind the opposition.

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I don't reckon there'd have been too many game to target North players physically in that era. They were a tight group.

And every now and again Dennis would light the fuse under a few of them just to remind the opposition.

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Most people wouldn't want to pick on a slighter player with Arch, Pickett and Duck around. I don't think they needed much of a fuse under them :p
 
It's damning to Fremantle. Winnie had to wait until he changed clubs to have Worsfold's bully boy tactics dealt with. I bet he wasn't making empty threats that day.

Thankfully Dennis didn't think flying the flag was crap and that Woosha was an ornament to the game.

Sent from my SM-A908B using Tapatalk
In the aftermath of the Hawks game in 2015, they went on to win the flag and we dropped games to Gold Coast and Collingwood which cost us top 4.

This summed up Brad and why he never won a prelim. He never had the killer instinct.
 
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In the aftermath of the Hawks game in 2015, they went on to win the flag and we dropped games to Gold Coast and Collingwood which cost us top 4.

This summed up Brad and why he never won a prelim. He never had the killer instinct.
Yup! That, along with “hopefully” and “we believe” we can “match it with the best”
 
Apr 27, 2008
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In the aftermath of the Hawks game in 2015, they went on to win the flag and we dropped games to Gold Coast and Collingwood which cost us top 4.

This summed up Brad and why he never won a prelim. He never had the killer instinct.
He must have used up his killer instinct quota as a player, because he had plenty of it back then
 
Yup! That, along with “hopefully” and “we believe” we can “match it with the best”
For so long the narrative was around trying to beat a top 4 team.
Or trying to match it with the good teams of the competition.

I was watching highlights from 2012 and the whole AFL world adopted the rhetoric that was coming out of Arden St and that beating Geelong or Collingwood was our ceiling.

Internally Brad set the standard at top 4 with the playing group. Go listen to any Andrew Swallow interview from that time and it was a consistent message. Our results actually backed it up so hindsight says Brad set out to achieve what he wanted without actually playing off in a grand final. It’s the only reasons he lasted 10 years.
Finishing top 8 and winning through to a prelim was our measurement for success and when you think about it, we played three finals in 2014 and 2015 like most premiers do, except we finished a week early each time.

Handicapped expectations were installed from the night we got belted by 100 points by St Kilda in 2010 and stayed right through the decade.

Brads greatest strengths was going in to defend the playing group, but this came through by virtue of the players following through on what success was measured on internally within the four walls of the club, and they delivered on that.
He was never good enough.
 

north_lad

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For so long the narrative was around trying to beat a top 4 team.
Or trying to match it with the good teams of the competition.

I was watching highlights from 2012 and the whole AFL world adopted the rhetoric that was coming out of Arden St and that beating Geelong or Collingwood was our ceiling.

Internally Brad set the standard at top 4 with the playing group. Go listen to any Andrew Swallow interview from that time and it was a consistent message. Our results actually backed it up so hindsight says Brad set out to achieve what he wanted without actually playing off in a grand final. It’s the only reasons he lasted 10 years.
Finishing top 8 and winning through to a prelim was our measurement for success and when you think about it, we played three finals in 2014 and 2015 like most premiers do, except we finished a week early each time.

Handicapped expectations were installed from the night we got belted by 100 points by St Kilda in 2010 and stayed right through the decade.

Brads greatest strengths was going in to defend the playing group, but this came through by virtue of the players following through on what success was measured on internally within the four walls of the club, and they delivered on that.
He was never good enough.

Remember reading a glowing article about Brad that day from RoCo (before the saints game). I was so rapt and excited for the future of the club. We had beaten the Saints the year before with a caretaker, why not that night?

Then I headed down to Etihad and walked out feeling like I'd been at a funeral. We looked utterly s**t.
 

SonofSamsquanch

Enjoy decent coffee but don't dunk yer biscuits
Mar 31, 2016
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It's damning to Fremantle. Winnie had to wait until he changed clubs to have Worsfold's bully boy tactics dealt with. I bet he wasn't making empty threats that day.

Thankfully Dennis didn't think flying the flag was crap and that Woosha was an ornament to the game.

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Worstfold is a campaigner. Nothing more. I think Ben Buckley might even agree to that.
 

Asifhe Givashe

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It's damning to Fremantle. Winnie had to wait until he changed clubs to have Worsfold's bully boy tactics dealt with. I bet he wasn't making empty threats that day.

Thankfully Dennis didn't think flying the flag was crap and that Woosha was an ornament to the game.

Sent from my SM-A908B using Tapatalk



very true, but to be fair Dale Kickett had a fair crack at squaring up the following year.
 
The game in rd 5 2008 against them looked and sounded like the loudest largest North crowd I ever seen in a regular game.
Since the start of the 2003 season we have played only 3 night matches at the G in the home and away season. That’s 3 night games in 18 years. All against Collingwood.
The 2008 game you mentioned, a 2005 Friday night home game we also won and a thumping loss in 2010 on a Saturday night.

If ever we wanted to consider ourselves minnows it’s the fact we are forever locked out of blockbuster fixtures at the G.

If it’s any consolation we’ve played three finals under lights since 2003 and as we know we’ve won all three.
Not bad for 6 out of 7 but we already knew that. We ******* started that.
 

Bugsy Malone

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Makes you wonder how many footy careers Worsfold ruined, Mcadam was finished after that final at waverly park. The part about Pagan was gold
 
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