2014 Round 24, Three quarter time.

23rd August Birthdays.

 

Luke Beveridge '70, Dean Hartigan '54, Peter Quill '69, Leon Rice '51,
Lance Whitnall '79.

 PLAYER OF THE DAY. David Dench, born 23rd August 1951.

Not only was David one of the youngest captains of a VFL team, he also had a career that spanned 15 years, first turning out for North Melbourne in 1969. When he finished playing in 1984 he had pulled on the boots 275 times and kicked 29 goals. 

One of the best full backs of all time he rarely got a bag of goals kicked on him and seemed to know exactly the right time to go for the ball.

Made Captain in 1972 at 20 years of age, he won the Best and Fairest 4 times and was part of their 1975 and '77 Premiership teams.  He also represented Victoria on 4 occasions.

Source: The Encyclopaedia Of AFL Footballers.

A Close Finish To The 2006 Grand Final.

The previous 4 games played between West Coast and Sydney leading into the Grand Final had ended with differences of 4, 4, 2 and 1 points. So there was every possibility the result of this game would be similar.

West Coast had won 17 and lost 5 for the season and Sydney were 14 and 8 with Adam Goodes having won the Brownlow Medal in the preceding week.  It was also the second year in a row that these two sides were fighting it out for the Premiership cup with Sydney winning in 2005 by 4 points.

Shots on goal were very even in the first quarter with the Eagles on 4.2.26 to the Swans 1.4.10. Then the West Coast scored a further 4.5 in the second quarter to Sydneys 3.2 seeing the Eagles take a handy 25 point lead into half time.

Sydney managed to reverse the trend in the third quarter and at the last break the scores were West Coast 10.10.70 to Sydney 8.11.59.  The swans carried on the same way in the last quarter by adding 4.1 to their score to West Coasts 2.3.

West Coast just held off a gallant Sydney to win by 1 point.  The scores at the final siren being West Coast 12.13.85 to Sydney 12.12.84.

Source: Wikipedia.

The Dear Brothers.

Greg Dear is the older of the 2 brothers by 3 years and played his first game for hawthorn in 1985.  From then until 1993 he played 137 games for 18 goals.

A mobile ruckman, he had some good years at the Hawks being a premiership player in ’86, ’88 and ’89 but missing out in ’91 due to a knee injury.

Moving to Richmond in 1994 he was one of the most experienced players on their list and his leadership was valued when the Tigers made the 1995 finals series.

Between 1994 and 1996 he represented the Tigers 53 times for 9 goals.

Paul Dear started his career at Hawthorn in 1987 and was there until 1996 playing 123 games for 80 goals.

Mainly playing at centre half forward with occasional turns in the ruck, this strong bodied player was at the top of his game by the 1991 flag win and received the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground. 

 

Source: The Encyclopaedia Of AFL Footballers.
 

Glenelg AFC.

A public meeting on 10^th March 1920 saw the establishment of the Glenelg Football Club and they were admitted into the South Australian Football League in 1921.

They struggled badly for the next few years finally winning their first game in 1925, having lost the previous 56.

In 1926 they got up off the bottom of the ladder finishing 7^th, which they did for the next 4 seasons.

Their first Premiership came in 1934 and since then they have won another 3 and been runners up on several occasions.

The Tigers have also produced 9 Magarey medallists and 13 SANFL leading goal kickers.

Some notable players to join VFL/AFL ranks from Glenelg include John Nicholls, Stephen Kernahan, Chris McDermott and Brad Ottens.

Source: Glenelg Football Club web site. 

3 x 32 At Carlton.

Alex Duncan played for Carlton from 1921-1924 and 1926-1930 in 141 games for 88 goals.

Initially playing in the forward line this tall, long kicking player was moved into the back line where he proved a tower of strength.

Playing in a losing grand final side in his first year he also got his first state jersey and in all he played 11 games for Victoria.

Brian Quirk had the number 32 from 1965-1975, playing 167 games and kicking 112 goals.

Pictured in the centre of this photo he was the clubs top goal scorer in his first season and after starting on the half forward flank he moved onto the wing.

He was part of the 1968 Premiership team and played in the grand final again in 1969 then missed the 1970 and ’72 deciders and  was reserve for the losing 1973 team.

 

David Glascott was also a winger with good pace and skills both offensively and defensively.

Overall he played 173 games and kicked 81 goals for the club and was part of Premiership winning teams in ’81, ’82 and ’87.

Source: The Encyclopaedia Of AFL Footballers.