2014 Round 1, First Quarter.

11th March Birthdays.

Adrian Bassett 1967, Sam Kekovich 1950, Chris Lamb 1981, Kane Munro 1982, Nathan Steinberner 1977.

PLAYER OF THE DAY.  Shane Birss, born 11th March 1983.

Shane started his career with the Western Bulldogs in 2002 and played 51 games, kicking 20 goals up to the end of the 2006 season.  He then moved on to St Kilda where he played 20 games over the next two seasons and kicked 13 goals.

Coming from Sale in Gippsland he actually first played with Werribee in the VFL before being picked up by the Bulldogs.  Unfortunately he suffered a number of injuries that cut down the number of games he could have played.

In 2006 he had a fractured leg and a foot injury and the Bulldogs let him go at the end of that season.  He had a fairly good first year with the Saints in 2007 but 2008 saw him unable to hold down a senior spot and his career finished at the end of the season.

Source: The Encyclopaedia of AFL Footballers.

 

Early Days.

In the mid 1850’s games just tended to ‘happen’; there was no real organisation and no limit to the number of people involved.  However, by the mid to late 1860’s teams tended to be more formal and were usually formed from a cricket club or a particular suburb or even a local pub. Teams aligned to a pub usually played in the field next door which worked well for the publican as he managed to sell food and drink to the players and spectators.

Source: A National Game and More than a game.

 

 Voss v Worsfold 

When the Brisbane Lions and the West Coast Eagles met at 'the Gabba' in round 7 2013 it was more than just a match between two clubs looking for a much needed win, it was a game in the coaching box between two of the sports past champions.

Michael Voss and John Worsfold were premiership captains and highly respected players for their respective teams.

                                                           Michael Voss                    John Worsfold

Club                                             Brisbane Bears/Lions           West Coast Eagles

Career                                                   1992-2006                         1987-1998

Games                                                       289                                     209

Goals                                                         245                                      37

Premierships                                         2001/2/3                               1992/4

Brownlow medal                                      1996                                      -

Club Best & Fairest                                    5                                         1

 

So Michael probably takes the honours as a player, but on the day John Worsfolds Eagles got the win.

Source: Wikipedia and The Encyclopaedia of AFL Footballers.
 

Damian Got The Drum.

Damian Drum was approached by a reporter after leaving a meeting, who broke the news to him that he had been sacked as coach of the Freemantle football club. It was the 31^st May 2001.

Damian had been in discussions with the club about his future and even though they had come second last in 1999, 12^th in 2000 and had lost the first 9 games of 2001 and his future as coach was less than secure, it was still a tough way to be given the news.

Drum had played 63 games for Geelong from ’82 to ’89 and had been an assistant coach at Sydney before being asked to go and coach at Fremantle.

Incidentally, he is now a member of parliament in Victoria.

Source: Internet news sites and The Encyclopaedia of AFL Footballers.

 

THE ‘CHARLIE’.

The Brownlow medal, also known as the Charlie, is awarded at the end of each season to the ‘fairest and best’ player in the national competition.

It was named after Charles Brownlow who was a player with Geelong from 1880 to 1892 and their club secretary from 1885 to 1923, a period of 38 years.

The medal, which is engraved as the ‘Chas Brownlow Trophy’ was first awarded in 1924.  For many years it was only awarded to one player, so between 1930 and 1980 if there was a tie at the end of the votes being counted they looked at who had the most 3 point awards by the umpires and that player got the medal.  However, since 1980 if any players tie they all receive the award and there have been 8 medals awarded to players that would have got one had that system always been in place.

Source: Wikipedia.