2014 Round 28, Quarter time.

16th September Birthdays.

 

   John Beckwith 1932, Andrew Ford 1970, Greg Healy 1965,
Brad Lloyd 1976, Michael Ross 1991.

 PLAYER OF THE DAY. Michael Symons, born 16th September 1971.

Recruited from Subiaco in Western Australia, Michael played 109 games for Essendon from 1992 to 1999 for 109 goals and also represented his home state.

Brought to the club as a forward with good marking ability, his game was marred by his inaccurate kicking for goal and he was moved to the back line where he found better form. 

Despite playing most of the games in 1993 he missed out on the Grand Final win but came back in 1994 to kick 28 goals including bags of 5 and 6 against Adelaide and Richmond. 


Source: The Encyclopaedia Of AFL Footballers.

Carlton V Essendon Record Crowds.

There are some rivalries in football that go back many years and whenever two particular sides meet they are sure to draw big crowds.

One such meeting is between Carlton and Essendon with the biggest home and away game crowd being a Friday night game in round 20 of 2000.

The match was played at the MCG and drew 91,571 fans who saw Essendon run out winners 16.13.109 to Carlton 12.11.83.

116,828 people attended the 1968 Grand Final between these clubs, which saw a much lower final score.  This time Carlton came out on top 7.14.56 to 8.5.53.

Source: AFL Record Season Guide 2013 & Wikipedia.

Dan Moriarty – Magarey Medalist.

The fact that he was one of the greatest centre half backs to play the game is evidenced by the fact that he won the Magarey Medal 3 years in a row, from 1919 to 1921.

He initially won them outright, the only player to do so, though another player was awarded one retrospectively for 1920 and another 3 players for 1921.

Playing for South Adelaide from 1919 to 1925 he kicked just 2 goals from his 97 games and was Best and Fairest in 1923.

He also played 22 consecutive games for South Australia during his career and is a member of no less than 4 sporting Halls’ of fame.

Source: AFL Record Season Guide 2013 & Wikipedia.

3 X 31 at St. Kilda.

Colin Watson had a few goes at senior football for the Saints, first playing 3 games in 1920 before returning to the country.

They managed to lure him back in 1922 and he stayed until 1925 when he again left to play/coach in country football.

St. Kilda were again able to entice him to return in 1933 and this time he was there for 3 seasons.

During his career he played 93 games for the Saints for 34 goals, was Best and Fairest in 1924, captained the club, was a state representative 8 times and won the 1925 Brownlow medal.

Jeff Sarau donned the #31 from 1973 to 1983 and in 226 games kicked 119 goals.

Though he was on the short side for a ruckman (191 cm) he had a good leap, attacked the contest hard and was a strong mark.

Best and Fairest in 1975 and 1977, he was a member of the Victorian B team twice and emergency for the state side in 1982.

Jamie Shanahan played 125 solid games for the Saints from 1992 to 1997 and didn’t score a goal; mainly because he was down at full back negating the effectiveness of some of the best forwards in the league.

Playing as a forward ruckman with Fitzroy and St. Kilda reserves he was not used in that role in the seniors and his value as a back is evidenced by his 6 state of origin games for Tasmania and the Allies.

In 1998 he  moved to Melbourne where he played a further 37 games over 2 seasons, again not kicking a goal.

Source: The Encyclopaedia Of AFL Footballers.