The Matthews / Bruns incident. What was it that caused the aftermath ?

[Tugga27]

And was a dirty thug.

The Kristian Beardsley hit was horrible

Haven't heard of that one.
Was he suspended?

 

[Partridge]

I was at the infamous game. Bruns was reported early in the game for unduly rough play on Michael Tuck, I think. The tone was set. The real trouble started when Mark Jackson king hit Chris Langford behind play. I was close by and happened to be watching them for some reason. Jackson hit Langford three times and Langford went down after the third hit.

Matthews later said that he was incensed by what had happened to Langford and the red mist settled over him. Bruns didn't deserve to be the recipient of Matthews' wrath but Jackson was at the other end of the ground.

Matthews crossed the line, but Mark Jackson was the catalyst for the subsequent mayhem.

It wasn't a king hit, there is footage. Langford gave Jacko a clip behind the ear as he took a mark (as fullbacks did a lot back then), Jacko turned around and belted him. Was definitely reportable, but wasn't a king hit.

 

[Catsace]

Greening finished 7th in the Brownlow that year despite playing 14 games (13 actually, you can’t count the St Kilda game as he was taken out so early). He polled 14 votes.

Extrapolated over 22 games, that’s 23 votes, he would have finished second.

He was 21 years old.

Indeed. His young age means that fans of my age (born '68) missed out on seeing someone who sounds like could have been at least a Malcolm Blight or peak Jesaulenko (70-72) well into the 70's and likely into the start of the 80's as well. And without doubt the Pies could have won at least one of the Flags in that '77-'81 era with four GF losses and a PF defeat in '78. Imagine Carman and Greening say in 1977, talk about having some talent if that was allowed to happen. I was only 4 when Greening was K.O'd but certainly my father who was a Pies fan said he was a prodigious talent.

And watching that video, what struck me was how close to the end of the game that was, I think the finals scores barely changed before Jacko's hit..although he did get whacked by Ayres in the marking contest though. He only played three more senior games after that, brought back for his only goal-less game in Rd 21 when Geelong lost to the Tigers at Waverley. Certainly an ugly sight, and footy is better nowadays without these king hits and stuff.

 

[Catsace]

Haven't heard of that one.
Was he suspended?

Got 5 weeks in Rd 2 1996, Gazza started with 9 in Rd 1, and kicked 6 in a high scoring win over St.Kilda at K.P. I know Gary sought to claim that Bardsley (Anning) was hit by his bicep/forearm rather than an elbow, but he certainly suffered a nasty facial injury and bled profusely from probably a broken nose. Gazza would up kicking 69 goals for the year, in 17 games....so just 52 in the remaining 15.

Johnny Gastev twice I think discovered being in the leading zone of Gary Sr was fraught with danger.

 

[Freddy Swift]

I'm sorta "glad"(??) this topic's come up simply to reinforce the perceptions of Alan Jeans and his thuggish tactics. Having been born a long time before most of you, I grew up in an era of tough men playing a tough game and I vividly remember moments of treachery and the evening up that accompanied them. My boyhood hero Bob Rose was roundly perceived by all and sundry as a fair man and a ball player but even HE ran from one side of the MCG to the other in order to confront Ronald Dale Barassi the day Ron decided to knock young Kenny Bennett into the metal railings of the MCG fence. "Barrass" chested several other remonstrating Pies but when he felt Bob Rose's hand on his shoulder and saw who it was, he hi-tailed it for the safety of his own players. Rose was well known to be an accomplished boxer and Barrassi sought discretion rather than valour.

I was at Moorabbin the fateful day that Johnny Greening was culled. People today have "heard the tale" but they truly have no understanding of what happened or who Johhny was and what this dastardly deed would mean for footy.

Greening was a young tyro reaching his peak in 1972, he was undoubtedly the best young player in the league and a true matchwinner as well as being the most spectacular player to watch. A brilliant Tasmanian junior he had signed at 16 and came to Collingwood in the wake of other Tasmanian sensations (Hart, Hudson, Baldock, Stewart) as the best the state had ever produced. A midfielder of exceptional speed, balance, marking and general ball skills he could play multiple positions (C, Wing, R/R, HF, HB, he even played key forward when needed despite only being a Collingwood 6 footer)

I've seen some here compare Johhny to Nick Daicos in terms of popularity and respect for talent but Greening was far and away the more complete player. He would regularly take "mark of the day" and kick "goal of the day" in the same match and seasoned players from Terry Waters to Len Thompson referred to the fact that he had more skill than the rest of their team put together.

So we're talking an ALL TIME talent being lost from the game because of a filthy KING-HIT by a coward who'd been orchestrated by his THUG of a coach.

John had (minutes before) shaken O'Dea's hand as he always did, he'd then won the ball and kicked it forward and was following it's flight forward as O'Dea stole up behind him and swung a roundhouse right fist into John's right ear. Johnny never saw it coming, never had time to react, never did anything to provoke it and almost paid for it with his life. My memory of the incident is as clear today as it was the moment after it happened. It happened not 15m from us and at the time people at the ground were stunned to witness such unprovoked violence. John was "out" before he hit the ground, his bleeding began quickly and his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Players took a few moments to register what had happened. They too had been following the ball in play and none were in close proximity to where John lay and O'Dea stood looking on as if "lightning had struck his opponent"

The game stopped, players ran from all over the field. Ronnie Wearmouth and Max Richardson remonstrated initially with O'Dea but with "Cowboy" Neale and Carl Ditterich as opponents our little blokes were easily brushed aside and Police horses and trainers invaded the ground to see to the injured Greening. As they carried John off, fruit and quite a few cans were thrown in O'Dea's direction by those that knew the truth of the incident, quite a few Saint supporters near us were totally disgusted with him as well.

You can find out the rest if you're interested enough to do so but the John Greening we all knew and loved to see play had his career ENDED for him that day. 10 days in a coma, 6 months in hospital, rehab...the Saints made out they'd paid back for their crime by playing in a charity game to raise money for John's family but nothing ever got done about the crime. O'Dea got 10 weeks for almost killing someone, no criminal charges were ever laid despite hundreds of us (both Pies and Saints) being ready and willing to provide eye witness accounts of the assault. And Alan Jeans only ever got held to account by Peter McKenna on WOS. The media went quiet, the VFL did NOTHING and Jeans went on to be feted as a master coach.

In my lifetime watching and playing this great sport I've only ever been ashamed of my sport and it's caretakers on a handful of occasions. The racial slurs that indigenous players have been forced to put up with is one, Mathews and Bruns to me is a lot like Banksy and Rhys (payback on too many steroids) but in terms of what its meant to the game (the loss of one of the greatest ever players) then O'Dea's king-hit on Johnny Greening will forever be the one time I would've liked to have seen criminal charges laid against a player and his coach. They BOTH had blood on their hands.

This is a great post. I remember this incident. I was 12 or 13 at the time and recall the terrible uncertainty if he would survive. They spoke to his young wife on the news and she was understandably distraught and unsure what would happen.

I also remember that interview on World of Sport and I thought Allan Jeans was trying to deflect by refusing to answer any questions.

How no criminal charges were laid against O’Dea is beyond comprehension. I suspect, as has been said, Jeans influence in the Police force had something to do with that. 10 weeks by the VFL was pretty lenient too I think.

Just a terrible and uncalled for incident. Something I will never forget even though I didn’t support either side. How does someone live with themselves after doing something like that, or am I just an emotional old woman who’s never played the game?

 

[Saab NLAW]

but when he felt Bob Rose's hand on his shoulder and saw who it was, he hi-tailed it for the safety of his own players. Rose was well known to be an accomplished boxer and Barrassi sought discretion rather than valour.

Rubbish

 

[Cyclops]

I don't think Jeans was a thug coach but he did have some thug players. In the 60s it was a tactical requirement, in the 70s Richmobd and Carlton were very durty, North less so. By the 80s Essendon was bashing Hawthorn up in Grabd Finals.

Matthews was a thug who hit blokes in order to win games. Not a madman, maybe sociopath describes it? I'm not a doctor. He was seen as dirty in the early 70s, in thd 8ps he was a thug dinosaur.

Mark Jackson was a mug lair, could play a bit but hit blokes for fun.

Bruns was tough, and maybe a bit of a thug but Matthews hit him from behind, well off the ball, a cowardly calculated act. There was nothing to prompt it, except the assumption it would not be seen.

Maybe memories of O'Dea prompted police action. Geelong have some "top end of town" support, MPs and big land owners. Maybe some Geelong powerbrokers demanded retribution for Matthews. He was a known basher who was rarely caught.

Just a side note, I never saw Worsfold do anything brave. I saw him hit from behind, and choke blokes who were pinned. Off field a fine coach and a nice person i am told but on field he seemed a cowardly thug.

 

[basashi]

Ultimately it was a good thing that the police got involved. A vicious assault behind the play cannot be accepted as a part of the game. There are other incidents that would have been better dealt with in courts. For the game to thrive in the future we need to be less tolerant of blatant and dangerous criminality.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I don't think Jeans was a thug coach but he did have some thug players. In the 60s it was a tactical requirement, in the 70s Richmobd and Carlton were very durty, North less so. By the 80s Essendon was bashing Hawthorn up in Grabd Finals.

Matthews was a thug who hit blokes in order to win games. Not a madman, maybe sociopath describes it? I'm not a doctor. He was seen as dirty in the early 70s, in thd 8ps he was a thug dinosaur.

From Cowboy Neale bashing Peter Hudson (which Jeans openly said Neale had told him about on the Thursday before the game) to his Hawks teams in the 80s, severe violence followed Jeans. I get it was a different time but some played differently to others. Jeans indulged thugs and often outright encouraged them.

Dipper’s hit on Allan Stoneham in 1983 was horrible stuff.



Julie Stoneham says it would be years before she realised it, but her husband’s behaviour began to change in the aftermath of the DiPierdomenico hit.

Tests have since revealed damage to his frontal lobe and cerebellum at the base of the brain.

“I think it is the concussions (causing it) because I’m only a year younger than Allan and I certainly don’t have the same issues that he has,” she says.

“Of course, when you get older some of those things do happen, but at 40 when he first started to show some signs that things probably weren’t quite right, well that’s very young.

“One of the big differences in Allan is the really peculiar gait that he has when he walks, which he never used to have, and they do think it has got something to do with the brain and the messages that his brain is trying to send out.”

“This has been going on for quite some time. He gets very tired, he doesn’t have the same stamina that he used to have and he has changed quite a bit.

“His interaction with people is different and his memory is appalling. It’s shocking. He forgets everything. We are at the point now where I have to write everything down for him.

“He’ll walk up the street and buys half a dozen things but it won’t be anything that I actually asked him to get.

“We went to the market one day and got fish for dinner and when we got home he said to me, ‘what will we have for dinner?’, and I said, ‘we’re having the fish that we bought at the market’. Two hours later he said to me, ‘what will we have for dinner tonight?’, and I said, ‘the fish we got from the market’. A bit later I said, ‘I’m going to cook dinner now and he said, ‘oh, what are we going to have?’

“I mean his memory is just shot to pieces.”

He debuted for the Bulldogs in the VFL at age 16, suffering multiple concussions across a 200-game career, including the incident with DiPierdomenico where his nose was spread across his face and his eyesight was permanently affected. He played the following week.

“Everyone pays a price, some more than others,” Stoneham said.

“I think it (the DiPierdomenico hit) was the turning point in my life.

“I remember jumping on the tram on the way to work a few days later to see a doctor to find out whether I had lost any sight, and from there things just slowly got worse.”

 

[Tugga27]

I don't think Jeans was a thug coach but he did have some thug players. In the 60s it was a tactical requirement, in the 70s Richmobd and Carlton were very durty, North less so. By the 80s Essendon was bashing Hawthorn up in Grabd Finals.

Matthews was a thug who hit blokes in order to win games. Not a madman, maybe sociopath describes it? I'm not a doctor. He was seen as dirty in the early 70s, in thd 8ps he was a thug dinosaur.

Mark Jackson was a mug lair, could play a bit but hit blokes for fun.

Bruns was tough, and maybe a bit of a thug but Matthews hit him from behind, well off the ball, a cowardly calculated act. There was nothing to prompt it, except the assumption it would not be seen.

Maybe memories of O'Dea prompted police action. Geelong have some "top end of town" support, MPs and big land owners. Maybe some Geelong powerbrokers demanded retribution for Matthews. He was a known basher who was rarely caught.

Just a side note, I never saw Worsfold do anything brave. I saw him hit from behind, and choke blokes who were pinned. Off field a fine coach and a nice person i am told but on field he seemed a cowardly thug.

I've read some dumb crap on here before but I think this takes the biscuit.

Laughable.

 

[Cyclops]

I've read some dumb crap on here before but I think this takes the biscuit.

Laughable.

Another incident with Worsfild was in the 1994 final where McGuane dropped a mark with seconds to go.

When the siren blew Worsfold became vocal, jeering at McGuane... after the game was over.I wasn't at the ground fir that one.

I was there to see Worsfold in the drawn final in 1990: McKenna cleared after a fine goalsquare mark, and the kick was tracked by a hesitant Worsfold who failed to bend down to pick up the ball in front of him. He was easily brushed aside by Millane (a very dirty player but one who faced his opponents) which resulted in Daicos legendary goal.

I was at Waverly in 1991, fir Worsfolds courageous 10 touch 1 tackle game when the Hawks pounded the Eagles into submission. Heady wore the hits, Sumich battled hard despite being thumped, Lewis tried to ignite the Eagles, Worsfold the captain was unsighted.

I have little to no respect for Worsfold as a player.

 

[Osho]

Another incident with Worsfild was in the 1994 final where McGuane dropped a mark with seconds to go.

When the siren blew Worsfold became vocal, jeering at McGuane... after the game was over.I wasn't at the ground fir that one.

I was there to see Worsfold in the drawn final in 1990: McKenna cleared after a fine goalsquare mark, and the kick was tracked by a hesitant Worsfold who failed to bend down to pick up the ball in front of him. He was easily brushed aside by Millane (a very dirty player but one who faced his opponents) which resulted in Daicos legendary goal.

I was at Waverly in 1991, fir Worsfolds courageous 10 touch 1 tackle game when the Hawks pounded the Eagles into submission. Heady wore the hits, Sumich battled hard despite being thumped, Lewis tried to ignite the Eagles, Worsfold the captain was unsighted.

I have little to no respect for Worsfold as a player.

Yeah, Worsfold, a hopeless no good double Premiership skipper. What a loser.

 

[99cents]

From Cowboy Neale bashing Peter Hudson (which Jeans openly said Neale had told him about on the Thursday before the game) to his Hawks teams in the 80s, severe violence followed Jeans. I get it was a different time but some played differently to others. Jeans indulged thugs and often outright encouraged them.

Dipper’s hit on Allan Stoneham in 1983 was horrible stuff.



Julie Stoneham says it would be years before she realised it, but her husband’s behaviour began to change in the aftermath of the DiPierdomenico hit.

Tests have since revealed damage to his frontal lobe and cerebellum at the base of the brain.

“I think it is the concussions (causing it) because I’m only a year younger than Allan and I certainly don’t have the same issues that he has,” she says.

“Of course, when you get older some of those things do happen, but at 40 when he first started to show some signs that things probably weren’t quite right, well that’s very young.

“One of the big differences in Allan is the really peculiar gait that he has when he walks, which he never used to have, and they do think it has got something to do with the brain and the messages that his brain is trying to send out.”

“This has been going on for quite some time. He gets very tired, he doesn’t have the same stamina that he used to have and he has changed quite a bit.

“His interaction with people is different and his memory is appalling. It’s shocking. He forgets everything. We are at the point now where I have to write everything down for him.

“He’ll walk up the street and buys half a dozen things but it won’t be anything that I actually asked him to get.

“We went to the market one day and got fish for dinner and when we got home he said to me, ‘what will we have for dinner?’, and I said, ‘we’re having the fish that we bought at the market’. Two hours later he said to me, ‘what will we have for dinner tonight?’, and I said, ‘the fish we got from the market’. A bit later I said, ‘I’m going to cook dinner now and he said, ‘oh, what are we going to have?’

“I mean his memory is just shot to pieces.”

He debuted for the Bulldogs in the VFL at age 16, suffering multiple concussions across a 200-game career, including the incident with DiPierdomenico where his nose was spread across his face and his eyesight was permanently affected. He played the following week.

“Everyone pays a price, some more than others,” Stoneham said.

“I think it (the DiPierdomenico hit) was the turning point in my life.

“I remember jumping on the tram on the way to work a few days later to see a doctor to find out whether I had lost any sight, and from there things just slowly got worse.”

Chilling. Thanks for posting this. Certain that previous generations wouldn't want the current player to have to go through this sort of thing.

 

[BomberManU]

From Cowboy Neale bashing Peter Hudson (which Jeans openly said Neale had told him about on the Thursday before the game) to his Hawks teams in the 80s, severe violence followed Jeans. I get it was a different time but some played differently to others. Jeans indulged thugs and often outright encouraged them.

Dipper’s hit on Allan Stoneham in 1983 was horrible stuff.



Julie Stoneham says it would be years before she realised it, but her husband’s behaviour began to change in the aftermath of the DiPierdomenico hit.

Tests have since revealed damage to his frontal lobe and cerebellum at the base of the brain.

“I think it is the concussions (causing it) because I’m only a year younger than Allan and I certainly don’t have the same issues that he has,” she says.

“Of course, when you get older some of those things do happen, but at 40 when he first started to show some signs that things probably weren’t quite right, well that’s very young.

“One of the big differences in Allan is the really peculiar gait that he has when he walks, which he never used to have, and they do think it has got something to do with the brain and the messages that his brain is trying to send out.”

“This has been going on for quite some time. He gets very tired, he doesn’t have the same stamina that he used to have and he has changed quite a bit.

“His interaction with people is different and his memory is appalling. It’s shocking. He forgets everything. We are at the point now where I have to write everything down for him.

“He’ll walk up the street and buys half a dozen things but it won’t be anything that I actually asked him to get.

“We went to the market one day and got fish for dinner and when we got home he said to me, ‘what will we have for dinner?’, and I said, ‘we’re having the fish that we bought at the market’. Two hours later he said to me, ‘what will we have for dinner tonight?’, and I said, ‘the fish we got from the market’. A bit later I said, ‘I’m going to cook dinner now and he said, ‘oh, what are we going to have?’

“I mean his memory is just shot to pieces.”

He debuted for the Bulldogs in the VFL at age 16, suffering multiple concussions across a 200-game career, including the incident with DiPierdomenico where his nose was spread across his face and his eyesight was permanently affected. He played the following week.

“Everyone pays a price, some more than others,” Stoneham said.

“I think it (the DiPierdomenico hit) was the turning point in my life.

“I remember jumping on the tram on the way to work a few days later to see a doctor to find out whether I had lost any sight, and from there things just slowly got worse.”

Terrible stuff. Just have a peek on social media, there are dickheads that still think that sort of thing is 'real' football and somehow adds to the game.

 

[Blue1980]

This thread is a great reminder that the past isn’t always better.

Am I right in saying trial by video was introduced in the aftermath of the Matthews hit on Bruns?

Also hawks fans booed bruns from then on, watch the 89 GF and he is booed whenever he gets the ball.

 

[Tugga27]

Another incident with Worsfild was in the 1994 final where McGuane dropped a mark with seconds to go.

When the siren blew Worsfold became vocal, jeering at McGuane... after the game was over.I wasn't at the ground fir that one.

I was there to see Worsfold in the drawn final in 1990: McKenna cleared after a fine goalsquare mark, and the kick was tracked by a hesitant Worsfold who failed to bend down to pick up the ball in front of him. He was easily brushed aside by Millane (a very dirty player but one who faced his opponents) which resulted in Daicos legendary goal.

I was at Waverly in 1991, fir Worsfolds courageous 10 touch 1 tackle game when the Hawks pounded the Eagles into submission. Heady wore the hits, Sumich battled hard despite being thumped, Lewis tried to ignite the Eagles, Worsfold the captain was unsighted.

I have little to no respect for Worsfold as a player.

I guess everyone can't be as tough as Brayden Maynard.

 

[Catsace]

Correct, the Hawks haven't liked Geelong players for quite a while, Brun's headbut of Lethal's swinging forearm was cause for consternation up until Bruns retired in 1992. They even booed triple Premiership star Isaac Smith

7

Isaac Smith

Age

35

Ht

188cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.3

5star

K

13.0

5star

HB

8.4

5star

M

5.5

5star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.7

4star

D

19.4

4star

K

11.1

4star

HB

8.3

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.5

3star

CL

1.3

4star

D

19.2

5star

K

10.6

4star

HB

8.6

5star

M

7.6

5star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.6

3star

when he chose Geelong after the Hawks said they would transition the older guard out.

 

[Cyclops]

From Cowboy Neale bashing Peter Hudson (which Jeans openly said Neale had told him about on the Thursday before the game) to his Hawks teams in the 80s, severe violence followed Jeans. I get it was a different time but some played differently to others. Jeans indulged thugs and often outright encouraged them.

Dipper’s hit on Allan Stoneham in 1983 was horrible stuff.



Julie Stoneham says it would be years before she realised it, but her husband’s behaviour began to change in the aftermath of the DiPierdomenico hit.

Tests have since revealed damage to his frontal lobe and cerebellum at the base of the brain.

“I think it is the concussions (causing it) because I’m only a year younger than Allan and I certainly don’t have the same issues that he has,” she says.

“Of course, when you get older some of those things do happen, but at 40 when he first started to show some signs that things probably weren’t quite right, well that’s very young.

“One of the big differences in Allan is the really peculiar gait that he has when he walks, which he never used to have, and they do think it has got something to do with the brain and the messages that his brain is trying to send out.”

“This has been going on for quite some time. He gets very tired, he doesn’t have the same stamina that he used to have and he has changed quite a bit.

“His interaction with people is different and his memory is appalling. It’s shocking. He forgets everything. We are at the point now where I have to write everything down for him.

“He’ll walk up the street and buys half a dozen things but it won’t be anything that I actually asked him to get.

“We went to the market one day and got fish for dinner and when we got home he said to me, ‘what will we have for dinner?’, and I said, ‘we’re having the fish that we bought at the market’. Two hours later he said to me, ‘what will we have for dinner tonight?’, and I said, ‘the fish we got from the market’. A bit later I said, ‘I’m going to cook dinner now and he said, ‘oh, what are we going to have?’

“I mean his memory is just shot to pieces.”

He debuted for the Bulldogs in the VFL at age 16, suffering multiple concussions across a 200-game career, including the incident with DiPierdomenico where his nose was spread across his face and his eyesight was permanently affected. He played the following week.

“Everyone pays a price, some more than others,” Stoneham said.

“I think it (the DiPierdomenico hit) was the turning point in my life.

“I remember jumping on the tram on the way to work a few days later to see a doctor to find out whether I had lost any sight, and from there things just slowly got worse.”

Yes footy thuggery was more normal back then. My club and yours had reputations as dirty teams, but all sides had bashers.

Terrible to hear about Heard, and I bet his story is the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Catsnlakers]

Correct, the Hawks haven't liked Geelong players for quite a while, Brun's headbut of Lethal's swinging forearm was cause for consternation up until Bruns retired in 1992. They even booed triple Premiership star Isaac Smith when he chose Geelong after the Hawks said they would transition the older guard out.

Going by my pop (I’m much too young to know) it goes back to Kennedy vs Davis, Davis calling Kennedy’s Commandos the dirtiest team in the league, and subsequently after the 1963 GF we buried a dead Hawk at KP… When he found out Kennedy was not pleased to say the least apparently.

 

[Catsace]

Going by my pop (I’m much too young to know) it goes back to Kennedy vs Davis, Davis calling Kennedy’s Commandos the dirtiest team in the league, and subsequently after the 1963 GF we buried a dead Hawk at KP… When he found out Kennedy was not pleased to say the least apparently.

Could well be, Hawthorn is one side who used to smash Geelong mercilessly, four defeats by 100+ points from 1975-1990, Geelong rarely suffer defeats of that magnitude. 1986 and 1990 GF replay were both games where Geelong may have nosed ahead early in the 3rd quarter of just before half time, only for Hawthorn to kill the Cats in the 2nd half with withering footy.

 

[Freshwater]

From Cowboy Neale bashing Peter Hudson (which Jeans openly said Neale had told him about on the Thursday before the game) to his Hawks teams in the 80s, severe violence followed Jeans. I get it was a different time but some played differently to others. Jeans indulged thugs and often outright encouraged them.

Dipper’s hit on Allan Stoneham in 1983 was horrible stuff.



Julie Stoneham says it would be years before she realised it, but her husband’s behaviour began to change in the aftermath of the DiPierdomenico hit.

Tests have since revealed damage to his frontal lobe and cerebellum at the base of the brain.

“I think it is the concussions (causing it) because I’m only a year younger than Allan and I certainly don’t have the same issues that he has,” she says.

“Of course, when you get older some of those things do happen, but at 40 when he first started to show some signs that things probably weren’t quite right, well that’s very young.

“One of the big differences in Allan is the really peculiar gait that he has when he walks, which he never used to have, and they do think it has got something to do with the brain and the messages that his brain is trying to send out.”

“This has been going on for quite some time. He gets very tired, he doesn’t have the same stamina that he used to have and he has changed quite a bit.

“His interaction with people is different and his memory is appalling. It’s shocking. He forgets everything. We are at the point now where I have to write everything down for him.

“He’ll walk up the street and buys half a dozen things but it won’t be anything that I actually asked him to get.

“We went to the market one day and got fish for dinner and when we got home he said to me, ‘what will we have for dinner?’, and I said, ‘we’re having the fish that we bought at the market’. Two hours later he said to me, ‘what will we have for dinner tonight?’, and I said, ‘the fish we got from the market’. A bit later I said, ‘I’m going to cook dinner now and he said, ‘oh, what are we going to have?’

“I mean his memory is just shot to pieces.”

He debuted for the Bulldogs in the VFL at age 16, suffering multiple concussions across a 200-game career, including the incident with DiPierdomenico where his nose was spread across his face and his eyesight was permanently affected. He played the following week.

“Everyone pays a price, some more than others,” Stoneham said.

“I think it (the DiPierdomenico hit) was the turning point in my life.

“I remember jumping on the tram on the way to work a few days later to see a doctor to find out whether I had lost any sight, and from there things just slowly got worse.”

Cowboy Neale blinded a young bulldog in one eye in one of his first games for the club. It was an horrific act of cowardice, never apologised for by Neale or Jeans. Thoroughly disgraceful and never forgotten by those of the time who remember.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Cowboy Neale blinded a young bulldog in one eye in one of his first games for the club. It was an horrific act of cowardice, never apologised for by Neale or Jeans. Thoroughly disgraceful and never forgotten by those of the time who remember.

Neale literally announced to Jeans and the whole team in a meeting on the Thursday night before the 71 GF that he was going to knock Hudson unconscious.

That tells you all you need to know about Jeans, his teams and the way he coached.

Again, I get it was a different era. But all were not equal when it come to violence and thuggery. And we're not talking about toe-to-toe, duke it out violence. We're talking targeted king hitting of opponents who weren't expecting it.

 

[Breretonisahood]

Going by my pop (I’m much too young to know) it goes back to Kennedy vs Davis, Davis calling Kennedy’s Commandos the dirtiest team in the league, and subsequently after the 1963 GF we buried a dead Hawk at KP… When he found out Kennedy was not pleased to say the least apparently.

Kennedy was also incensed that Davis used his media pulpit to attack Hawthorn claiming rightly that it was a conflict of interest for Davis. Kennedy refused to participate in any media where Davis was involved. Kennedy quit coaching for 3 years after which Geelong v Hawks was a non-event until the Bruns incident.

 

[Shane Heard]

Let’s not forget too one of worse moments of cowardice with a punch to the head while the player is on the ground in a pack.

I got no real sympathy for DRJ but Williams’ punch that broke his jaw is a disgusting act of violence.

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On an episode of the excellent but discontinued Fox Footy interview show, Open Mike, Rhys-Jones opened up on Williams and his reasons for disliking him.

“The thing that disappointed me with Greg Williams, who was a great footballer, is that he’d snipe, but when it comes to a one-on-one he wasn’t too keen and whinged and moaned to the umpires. If you want to dish it out, you’ve got to go one-on-one at times, too.” –Rhys Jones

Williams recants the story of their 1989 altercation with a little more detail.

Diesel remembers wrestling with Craig Bradley on the ground when he felt a knee from behind. He atributes that knee, which broke a bone in his shoulder, to Rhys-Jones. In his estimation, the whack he gave to Rhys-Jones was a receipt from that incident earlier int eh quarter.

“Shoulder blades aren’t easy to break, but he (Rhys-Jones) did it.” – Williams

“He kneed me in the back on the ground from behind, and about a minute later there was a ball-up in the centre. Unlucky for Rhys, he grabbed the ball at the ball up, and I belted him back.” – Williams

Asked if he thought it was “an eye for an eye”, Williams replied “I just think it is. I’m sorry, but I did”

Whilst there is no footage available of the aftermath, Williams claims he went to the goal square following the incident and Rhys-Jones, who refused to go off to be treated, followed him. Williams states that Rhys-Jones then went at him again and Williams hit him in the jaw a second time.

“I knew I was going to miss about seven or eight weeks, and I wanted to make sure he missed about the same. I went looking for him” – Rhys-Jones

“He came at me again in the goal square and I did (hit him). I hit him in the jaw again and he went down because he was in a lot of pain.” – Williams

Infamous Moments V1 - Greg Williams and David Rhys-Jones - The Mongrel Punt

Greg Williams broke the jaw of David Rhys-Jones in 1989. HB looks at the incident that cost Diesel five weeks and the bad blood that followed

themongrelpunt.com

 

[Back One Out]

The Hawks haven't liked Geelong players for quite a while, Brun's headbut of Lethal's swinging forearm was cause for consternation up until Bruns retired in 1992.

Nope.

Neville Bruns was a dirty sniper who regularly took sneaky sly shots at Hawthorn players over the years. Always when they weren't looking. He was reported by umpires in the 1st half of that 1985 game at Princes Park for cowardly punching Michael Tuck.

Geelong went after the Hawks that day, going the knuckle in the first half and again in the last quarter, well before Lethal lashed out. (Just like they did in the 1989 GF)

Has anyone mentioned this yet in the previous 4 pages of the thread or have they conveniently glossed over this fact?

Leigh Matthews noted in his autobiography that Bruns was a hypocrite who liked to dish it out, but who squealed like a bitch when he copped some back. "Live by the sword, die by the sword."

Bruns also decided to press charges against Matthews, the first time any VFL player had done that before. So much for the players' code!!!

Rightly or wrongly, that was the reason why Bruns was booed by Hawks fans for the remainder of his career.

Typical of some of you Geelong flogs to act holier than thou and to ignore the totality of the facts and to pretend the 'old school' violence on the footy field wasn't a two way street.

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