https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au The complete history of Australia's greatest sporting club Tue, 30 Jan 2024 23:13:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.21 https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/collingwood-cult-figures-athas-hhrysoulakis/ Tue, 12 Jul 2016 23:44:41 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=10582 Lou Richards loved him; Jack Dyer wasn’t as enamoured for pronunciation reasons, but there was no doubting Athas Hrysoulakis‘ popularity with Collingwood fans during his relatively short stint at Victoria Park. Hrysoulakis had undeniable talent, even if his final tally amounted to only 19 games and 15 goals. The kid from Lalor with the cosmopolitan name that Dyer stumbled over with an almost guaranteed radio regularity, and the Greek background that Richards could relate to, had been an outstanding teenage footballer. For a time, it seemed as if he might parlay that into a highly successful league career. Hrysoulakis gave more than a few flashes of his ability as forward, kicked five goals in his 13th senior game, and he was one of 32 players to don the Black and White jumper during that remarkable 1990 season before his career at Collingwood ended prematurely. Described by the Herald Sun as an “elusive quick forward with a keen goal-sense and a fair share of skill”, he first came to notice through the club’s under-age talent squads and in elite state junior teams. In 1986, Hrysoulakis was a member of the Victorian Teal Cup side – along with a raw young ruckman called Damian Monkhorst – that won the title against Western Australia at Football Park by 125 points. His form was even good enough to see him named in the under 17s All Australian team that included the likes of future AFL players Nathan Burke, John Barnes, Glenn Lovett and Shaun Smith. That same season he played a significant role in Collingwood’s under-19s premiership side, a team that boasted future stars Gavin Brown, Monkhorst, Mick McGuane and Gavin Crosisca. On Grand Final day 1986, that young group of Magpies defeated North Melbourne, and it was seen as part of the building blocks required for the club to chase that elusive 14^th league flag. Hrysoulakis was named by the Sun newspaper as the best player in that 1986 victory, kicking two goals in the win. That sort of promise displayed, his solid work in the next preseason, and a significant injury list leading into Collingwood’s round one, 1987 season opener saw him named as one of nine fresh faces named to take on Sydney at Victoria Park. It was hardly a debut to remember, even if Hrysoulakis was one of the high points of a very bleak afternoon for the new-look Magpies. The Swans won the match by 91 points, and coach Leigh Matthews admitted post-game that there were very few positives to take out of the game, other than the debut of Hrysoulakis, and the first performance in Black and White of 19-year-old West Australian Craig Starcevich. Wearing the No. 37 jumper, Hrysoulakis had 12 touches in his first game, but managed only five in his second, against Carlton, the following week, having suffered ankle ligament damage in the loss. He wouldn’t return to the seniors until round 11 against Geelong, and in his first season, played nine matches. In keeping with the frustrating season the club had, he played in only one win from those first nine games. Hrysoulakis did not play a senior game in 1988, and for a time looked destined to leave the club. Collingwood’s eagerness to chase Tony McGuinness meant that he was linked to a trade along with Wes Fellowes and Ron McKeown for the Footscray rover. But it never eventuated. After one game early in the season, Hrysoulakis was relegated back to the reserves for much of 1989 before being afforded another chance in the round 16 clash with Hawthorn. That was the start of a string of games where he grasped the opportunities presented to him, and he locked in a forward spot late in the season. His best performance that season – indeed of his entire VFL-AFL career – came in the round 18 clash against Sydney at Victoria Park. While the Magpies went down by four points, he played a significant role, kicking five goals and having 16 possessions. Lou Richards, who had a Greek heritage courtesy of his great-grandfather, took great delight in talking Hrysoulakis up, just as his old media mate Jack Dyer was battling to pronounce his name. In the Sun News-Pictorial, Richards wrote: “Boy, is he a real find? … I love him. My great-grandfather was Greek, but his name wasn’t quite Athas Hrysoulakis. What a name, what a player. The (five) goals ‘Souvlaki’ kicked were a football gourmet’s delight.” The Age’s Patrick Smithers summed up the mood in the Victoria Park crowd when Hrysoulakis was slotting through the goals: “Halfway through the first quarter at Victoria Park on Saturday the Sherrin Stand had a new hero. Three times they cried out: ‘Athas’ as Collingwood’s skinny half-forward Athas Hrysoulakis booted his side’s first three goals.” He even regained the lead for Collingwood with a goal at the 11-minute-mark of the last quarter, even though the Swans overran the Magpies. The performance was the high point of his cult status at Victoria Park. Part of that came from his multicultural name, which resonated with many supporters, and part of it came from his livewire antics in the forward line. One former teammate described Hrysoulakis as being quick for his size (he stood at 184cm and weighed 83kg) with a light frame. But he said much of the fanfare came from his ability to bring the crowd to his feet with his strong marking abilities. He didn’t necessary ride on the back of opponents, but had a knack of sliding across the side of packs and dragging down powerful marks. Twice, he did that against the Swans, and a cult hero was born. Seated next to the great Darren Millane in Collingwood’s 1987 team photo. Teammates remembered him as being a relatively quiet player off the field, but more than capable of being vocal on the ground. Hrysoulakis kicked 13 goals in a five-week period near the end of the 1989 home and away season before being a late withdrawal for the last round with a sore knee. But the impact that he made in attack during that late stretch of games saw Matthews bring Hrysoulakis back for the 1989 Elimination Final against Melbourne at Waverley Park. And he backed up the coach’s faith, having 22 disposals and kicking a goal in a strong performance on what was a disappointing day for his team. As the Magpies built towards 1990 – off the back of two unsuccessful finals campaigns – one sports journalist said of Hrysoulakis: “If he builds up … he could snaffle one of the half-forward flanks.” Such was the belief that he was ready to take the next step that he was even rewarded with his own Scanlens Stimorol football card, No.57 of 168, in the 1990 season. But instead of consolidating his position within the team, Hrysoulakis went back to being a bit player, only called upon sporadically to fill a few gaps. There were varying reasons for this. For a start, the Magpies had built such a handy list that it was harder to get a regular game, but Hrysoulakis’ teammate Brian Taylor would later say that he didn’t work hard enough. He played two games in 1990, against Geelong (with four disposals) in round 12, and against Carlton (with no disposals) in round 15, and was never seriously considered a serious chance of breaking into the side that would ultimately break the club’s 32-year premiership hoodoo in October. But, 25 years later, the fact that he was on the playing list that season would see him honoured along with other players and staff and board members in the Magpies’ Hall of Fame. By the start of the 1991 season, Hrysoulakis was gone. The club’s football manager, Graeme Allan, said he had been delisted for “list management reasons”. Allan didn’t say it, but the Herald Sun suggested the decision came about because the Magpies were dissatisfied with “his general attitude to fitness and training.” But the 22-year-old insisted he wasn’t getting the opportunities he deserved. He would say: “I’m not disappointed, I wanted to leave the club … In a way I’m relieved.” “I’ve wanted a change for a while now. I’ve had no motivation.” Hrysoulakis joined Prahran for a period, playing under Taylor, but he was provided with an AFL lifeline in the 1991 mid-season draft, being chosen by Richmond as pick 5. He vowed: “I’ve really got no excuses now. I’ll give it everything. I’ll work on my fitness and I don’t think I’ll have any trouble fitting in.” “I was in and out of the team (Collingwood) for a while. It’s not news that I think I should have been in more often. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get a regular game and prove them wrong.” Tiger coach Kevin Bartlett said: “I remember one day he killed us in the reserves. I suppose the acid test is on him to work harder than ever before to realise that talent with our help and encouragement.” However, it was not to be, and Hrysoulakis never added to the 19 games he played at Collingwood, though he would later play with success in the Diamond Valley Football League, including topping the league goal kicking for Lalor in a premiership year in 1998. But to Collingwood fans, he will always be remembered for the promise he showed, that five-goal haul against Sydney in 1989, and the name that remains instantly recognisable to this day.]]> https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/babes-for-the-woods/ Tue, 22 Mar 2016 21:29:52 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=10316 By: Glenn McFarlane, Herald Sun journalist and Collingwood historian. Lou Richards enjoyed an afternoon nap one mid-March afternoon ahead of what was going to be a big 64th birthday party that night, but when he woke he felt as if his world had changed. It was same sort of feeling that many football fans felt on the eve of the 1987 VFL season. Change was not only in the wind, it was blowing up a storm. And it seemed as if the football landscape was going to be changed forever. In Richards’ case, it came in the bombshell decision from his employer Channel 7 – the long-standing network partner of Australian football – to opt out of the VFL broadcasting rights, seemingly silencing ‘Louie The Lip’ and allowing the ABC to take over the broadcasting for the season ahead. “It’s a very sad day, I’m sad to be out of it,” Richards said before heading off to his party which he humorously called ‘The Last Supper’. By the end of the month, he had joined the Nine Network. But the change was not just coming on our television screens. The 1987 season would be a landmark one in Australian football, and few would be unaffected by the impact of those changes. The near-bankrupt Melbourne clubs finally agreed to bring in two new franchises, West Coast and Brisbane, eager for the revenue that the licence fees would bring about. But the Eagles and the Lions were not the only new things. The inaugural draft happened a few months earlier (Collingwood’s first pick was West Adelaide midfielder Grantley Fielke); and a salary cap was implemented for the first time (it was $1.25 million for that first year). About the only thing that hadn’t changed was the level of distrust between some clubs and league headquarters. Before the first round of that season – one that pitted Collingwood against Sydney – a group of concerned VFL clubs gathered at Victoria Park under the hint of darkness to discuss “league issues”, concerned with the direction in which the game was taking. Change had come to Collingwood in a football sense, too. In the lead-up to the season, it seemed as the Magpies had been cursed by injuries. Leigh Matthews, about to enter his second season as coach, couldn’t believe the club’s misfortune. Each practice match – a loss to Richmond at Donald, a win over Fitzroy at Parade, and a loss to Footscray at Western Oval – seemingly brought about fresh injuries and it left the club dangerously short of players ahead of the season-opener. STATS: Review every Collingwood match since 1987. Stress fractures in his right foot – caused by wearing sandals – ruled Peter Daicos out. Shane Morwood, who was hoping to be there for his brother Paul‘s first game in Black and White, suffered a knee injury. Newly appointed captain Tony Shaw insisted he would be right after hurting his back in the match against the Lions and spending a week at home in a traction device. In the lead-up to the Swans’ game, he ran 10 laps on the first night and 12 the following night before proving his fitness on the Thursday night before the clash at Victoria Park. Denis Banks and Darren Millane flew to Adelaide that same week to meet with surgeon James Hyde for an assessment of groin complaints. Both were cleared of any need for surgery, though Millane was told he had to rest for the next few weeks. Ron McKeown had stress fractures; Shane Kerrison could not be considered due to a hamstring complaint, while Russell Dickson and Mark Beers were also ruled out. So what’s a coach meant to do when confronted with such an imposing injury lost? Pick a bunch of kids and a few interstate recruits, and hope for the best. As luck would have it, the Magpies had an abundance of young hopefuls to choose from, including a number of players who had played in the 1986 under 19s premiership side. Still, it was no easy task. Matthews hadn’t made up his mind on selection deep into the Thursday night’s training session, and Collingwood’s round one team to take on Sydney wasn’t processed to media until 10pm that night. Channel Seven’s League Teams, which had featured Richards, Jack Dyer and Bob Davis, had been axed along with the rest of the footy coverage, so the lateness of the selected Collingwood team didn’t matter too much. But it was filed through to The Sun News-Pictorial in time for the metro editions of the newspaper. The headline said it all: ‘Babes for the Woods’. Looking at the team – there would be nine new faces – the headline might well have said ‘Babes to the Woods’, for Richards’ Kiss Of Death preview of the game said Collingwood could expect a good old-fashioned hiding from the more experienced Swans. “I’m all for giving the youngsters a go, but this is ridiculous! Dejected fans have already christened their heroes “Magpies Anonymous’,” Richards wrote. “Coach Leigh Matthews isn’t giving a pre-match talk; he’s welcoming the new boys to the club and introducing them to each other.” Despite all the injuries, the reigning Copeland Trophy winner, ruckman Wes Fellowes, was relegated to the reserves, deemed unworthy of selection. Fellow ruckman David Cloke would play his 250th VFL match that day. Two of the new Magpies had come from other clubs – former Swan and Saint Paul Morwood and former Hawk Glenn Howard. Two were from Western Australia – Craig Starcevich and Michael Christian – while Fielke had come from South Australia. And four of the new faces were from the successful under 19s side – the previous year’s ‘thirds’ best-and-fairest winner Neil Brindley, Athas Hrysoulakis and a couple of other likely lads in Gavin Brown and Gavin Crosisca. Brindley, 19, recruited from Greensborough, received a phone call from Matthews on the Friday night before the game, informing him he would shadow star Swan Barry Mitchell for the game. He recalled: “It was a bit of a shock to be picked … I debuted with a number of under 19s players and also some recruits who came across (from interstate).” “It was a very, very new side … I think it was the start of the building block for the 1990 premiership.” Four of those nine new faces would be there three-and-a-half years later when Collingwood on the 1990 premiership, but that must have seemed like a pipedream then for the 17,129 fans who attended Victoria Park for that March 28, 1987 game against Sydney. The Swans were too good, from start to finish, setting the scene with five goals to nil in the first term and never looking challenged. By half-time the difference was 73 points, and it had bloated to 95 at the last change. Collingwood managed to outscore Sydney in the final term, kicking six goals to five, but the Magpies still went down by 91 points. Sydney forward Warwick Capper kicked nine goals for the game – seven in the first 41 minutes and only two fewer than the Magpies. Each time he scored, he gave an insulting gesture to the crowd, and at half-time there was almost an ugly scene when one frustrated Collingwood fan confronted Capper as he came off the field. Swans coach Tom Hafey took Capper off towards the end of the game to avoid any further trouble, which perhaps cost him from kicking more double figure goals. The first person to congratulate Capper in the dark and dank visitors’ rooms was Australian Prime Minister and Sydney Swans supporter Bob Hawke. Hawke had reason to celebrate the moment – the score line of 25.15 (165) to 11.8 (74) was, and still is, Sydney’s biggest score against Collingwood, and 91 points remains the Swans’ greatest winning margin against the Magpies. Four members of Collingwood’s 1990 premiership team (Gavin Brown, Michael Christian, Gavin Crosisca and Craig Starcevich) made their senior debuts in the club’s 91-point loss to Sydney in round one, 1987. Hafey was realistic after the game, saying: “It’s good to have a first up win, but it is a different Collingwood side from what we’ve seen in the past, mainly because of all the recruits they’ve got.” Matthews told reporters: “Athas Hrysoulakis and Craig Starcevich were probably the two plusses for us off the top of my head. But they were small mercies really when you’ve been beaten so badly.” “But we have no choice other than to play the inexperienced players and there’s nobody in the reserves, apart from Wes Fellowes, that are likely to come through in the immediate future.” Mitchell had had 35 touches and kicked three goals, which made for a busy afternoon for Brindley in what was his only game in black and white. “I managed to play the whole four quarters without being rested … I didn’t get picked the following week,” Brindley recalled. It was a tough call on 19-year-old Brindley, who was an exceptionally good footballer, and a quality individual, as Mitchell was one of the most exciting players in the competition at that stage. Matthews admitted as much later. Brindley would later return to the Diamond Valley Football League, where he had a long and distinguished career with Greensborough. He deserved another chance, but sadly didn’t get it. But the winds of change were blowing. As the Magpie fans trudged home from the game that night, they had taken a glimpse into the club’s future. The skinny kid with raw courage wearing the No.26 jumper, Gavin Brown, had 21 touches; 18-year-old Gavin Crosisca had 19 disposals; Craig Starcevich kicked three goals; and Michael Christian showed he had a future. Craig Starcevich kicked three goals from 21 disposals on debut against the Swans in round one, 1987. So, too, did the Magpies. From one of the darkness of the club’s worst ever round one loss – 91 points – it would lead to one of the most illuminating of moments. One hundred and four games on, and before a crowd of almost 99,000 at the MCG, four of those nine fresh faces from 1987 were among the 20 players who helped to end one of Australian sport’s long-running and most embarrassing droughts. All played key roles in Collingwood’s drought-breaking 1990 flag. Brown was knocked out during a quarter-time melee, but returned in an inspirational effort during the third term. Crosisca kicked two critical goals. Starcevich kicked a goal and was in the running for the Norm Smith Medal before he was concussed by Terry Daniher, the same Bomber who had earlier struck Brown. And Christian played a steady but important hand deep in defence. The ‘Babes’ of Round 1, 1987 graduated swiftly; and Collingwood’s 14^th VFL-AFL premiership – which was almost 12,000 days in the making – was the reward for long-suffering Magpie fans in 1990.]]>