Almanac Bush Footy: The Legend of ‘Trunk’ Weckert

 

By Peter Argent

 

Couple of Saturdays ago, August 26, the Brinkworth-Spalding-Redhill (BSR) football and netball clubs enjoy their 30th anniversary.

 

They are a combination of the BSY (Brinkworth-Spalding- Yacka) and Gulnare-Redhill Football Clubs.

 

The football club has a rich and strong history with a number of stars that have gone on to higher stages including seven-time Central District premiership ruckman Jason “Buckets” MacKenzie, west coast recruit, via the Eagles Zac Fitzgerald and current stars Sam Heinjus and Phil Raymond, but there are many that would argue the club’s greatest player is Dennis “Trunk” Weckert.

 

A triple Mail Medal winning player he was the star of the North Eastern competition for over a decade and a half.

 

Playing for SA Country team at a national championships’ during the 1980s in rural Victoria Weckert received a phone call from a recruiting officer of a then VFL Club.

 

The offer was to take Weckert, simply from performances at the carnival in the following year’s AFL draft.

 

The legend goes that Weckert, consuming a beer at the time and with a smoke smouldering in front of him, looking to demolish a family size pizza on the table, nonchalantly suggested that he wasn’t all that interested.

 

He would go down and have the 1987 season with Glenelg spending the majority of the year in the reserves and playing two league games.

 

His reserves teammate at the Bay and current Glenelg under 18s coach Darren Tull remembers Weckert as a great bloke and a step above most of his teammates at reserves level, commenting that he should have played a lot more league football.

 

Weckert also played a handful of league games for West Adelaide.

 

He was a part of a six A grade flags for the Tigers. BSR’s Triple Treat between 88 and 1990 along with their 93, `99 and 2000 successes.

 

Weckert’s premiership teammate over those six titles Frank Hayes – whose wife Jo played in the Tigers last A1 netball premiership back in 1995  – and has his oldest two of  five sons, Nick and Jack playing with the Woodville West Torrens Eagles league side was high in his praise of his teammate. (Jo was 16 weeks pregnant with Jack at the time and they defeated the favourites North Clare by 16 goals).

 

“I certainly think he’s the best footballer I played with, but I may be a bit biased,” Hayes who played in the midfield alongside Weckert, explained.

 

“…and the South Clare guys will suggest differently, but he was a special player.

 

“Strong and quick he was a ruckman, who had good skills, was a great kick and his biggest attribute was his ability to protect the drop zone when the ball was coming in was second to none.

 

“He was so strong.”

 

In that time BSR played in nine grand finals.

 

Footnote –  Weckert presented the special commemorative jumpers to the A grade players