Almanac (Country) Footy – Northampton: a football factory, Part 2: Paul Hasleby

 

 

 

 

I must admit, I am too young to remember Paul Hasleby in full flight for Freo. What I do remember is largely based on one DVD. A highlights package of season 2006 that I watched so often the disc is scratched beyond play now.

 

The player in the number four jumper always stood out. He was tough and skillful.

 

Derby 23 was one of my favourite highlights to watch on that DVD. It is one of the best derby wins Fremantle have had. The Eagles started 5-0, coming off a heartbreaking Grand Final defeat in 2005. It was a back-and-forth affair but with just over a minute left in the game, Bell found Hasleby 40 metres out from goal. Hasleby kicked truly and Freo won a classic.

 

Hasleby seemed to step up in derbies winning the Glendinning-Allan medal a record four times.

 

He is one of Fremantle’s greats and was one of the first footballers to put Northampton on the map.

 

Hasleby’s parents both grew up on farms but when they married, they moved into the town and opened Hasleby’s Hardware.

 

The Hasleby clan consisted of four kids with sport playing a key role in their childhood. They all attended the local primary school but when high school came around, they all went to boarding school.

 

Hasleby attended Mazenod College as a boarder only returning to Northampton in school holidays. It was a significant sacrifice for the family but had to be done to give them all the best chance of success.

 

“Particularly for me the reason was based around getting myself every chance to make it in the sporting world because they identified pretty early that I was good at sport,” he said.

 

Mazenod provided Hasleby with competitive high school football, playing against neighboring schools matching up on future AFL players such as Andrew Embley. Haselby made his senior debut for Northampton at age 15.

 

“I played a full game of colts before my League debut and sat on the bench the whole first quarter and came on and kicked seven in a fantastic win,” he said.

 

Hasleby credits Andrew Lockyer, the first player from Northampton to play for the West Coast Eagles in the VFL as the ‘Godfather’ to his generation of footballers growing up. Once he saw someone he knew make the big leagues, he felt he could do the same.

 

Although spending most of their careers apart, all the players from Northampton had mentors within the AFL community to help guide them to achieve success.

 

“We all had somebody a few years older that had taken that pathway to the AFL system. For me it was Daniel Chick and Tarkyn Lockyer who were just a few years older than me then I came along, and I guess I was that guy to Josh Kennedy and Josh Kennedy was that guy for Patrick Cripps.”

 

“Knowing and believing that you can achieve something because somebody close to you has done it is so important, it gives you a fair bit of confidence, so that was a key element,” he said.

 

Talent will always find a way to rise to the top and be successful, but Lockyer took the first steps and gave other Northampton footballers who were hopeful of taking the step to the next level a path. Hasleby credits him as a key factor in believing he could make it at an elite level.

 

“I remember going as a 13 year-old, I might have been younger, to East Fremantle training and Andrew Lockyer was there. He took his time to come to the fence and have a chat and that probably was the first time where a seed was planted in my mind that East Fremantle was a possibility for me,” he said.

 

Daniel Chick who was friends with Hasleby’s older brothers and Andrew Lockyer’s son Tarkyn helped guide Hasleby to be successful at the next level.

 

“It certainly does play a part in just helping you know and understand some of the extra requirements of making it in the AFL system.”

 

When I asked Hasleby what makes Northampton such a good spot for AFL talent he joked it was the lead in the water from Northampton’s history as a lead mining town but credited it with the culture of the town, its values and the relationships the town has with East Fremantle.

 

“I think it’s a combination of that sporting culture that has been ingrained in the town. It is a strong farming community as well so some of the values that have been passed on have played a part and also the close ties between Northampton and East Fremantle but to single it down to one thing is quite hard to do,” he said.

 

Singling it down to one thing is indeed hard.

 

After speaking with Hasleby, it seems the tight knit culture the community has fostered around sport is the key element that has made Northampton such a successful town for elite footballing talent.

 

The relationships that Hasleby described between him and other players at the next level are one thing that I keep coming back to when considering what makes Northampton this special place. I would be wrong saying that without the guidance and success of previous players that talents like Kennedy, Hasleby, Taylor and Chick would not have made it but it certainly did help.

 

There are thousands of country towns in Australia but not many of them have the footballing lineage that Northampton does. This small country town on the picturesque west coast of Australia has created an identity linked with football and inspires its players to achieve success.

 

The tightknit nature of Northampton as well as its previous successful players and their guidance of future players play a key role in making Northampton the football factory it is and it will not be long until we see another Josh Kennedy or Patrick Cripps assert themselves as Northampton’s next AFL star.

 

 

Part 1, and other stories from Josh Coales can be read Here.

 

 

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Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

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