Almanac Footy: James ‘Dodge’ Thiessen – A profile by Malcolm ‘Rulebook’ Ashwood

 

 

Permission to use image given by Roger Woodcock NFC History Committee

 

 

 

James ‘Dodge’ Thiessen by Malcolm ‘Rulebook’ Ashwood

 

 

Richmond (1993): 7 games, 3 goals

 

Norwood (1995-2000, 2002-03): 119 games, 150 goals

 

1995 – Leading Goalkicker (54), Advertiser Team of the Year

1997 – Premiership, Fourth B&F, Advertiser Team of the Year

2002 – Meritorious Service award

2003 – Third B&F

 

South Australia (1997): 1 game, 4 goals, Fos Williams Medal

 

Adelaide Crows (1998-2000): 44 games, 21 goals

1998 – Premiership

 

Early life

 

James ‘Dodge’ Thiessen is a story about a footy career which has endured the lowest of lows from being delisted 3 times to the ultimate triumph of being an SANFL and an AFL premiership player. He is also a thinking, caring person, particularly about the environment. But back to the beginning!

 

James is the son of Virginia and Tony (Tony was a good footballer in his own right, playing 24 VFL games representing Carlton, Melbourne and North Melbourne) and has an older brother, Peter, and a younger sister, Hermione. Peter was, like James, an absolute footy nut from a very young age where playing footy was very  much the highlight of the week.

 

He grew up in Glen Waverley and attended Jells Park Primary School and then Haileybury College (the famous Alan Jeans coached them at one stage). James’s junior club was Brentwood FC and his earliest major influence was his father who coached junior teams James played in. Tony was very supportive, always analysing James’s games and gave constructive criticism and feedback in general.

 

James must have shown a fair bit of potential, representing Vic schoolboys and then progressing through to the Vic Metro Teal Cup side under Denis Pagan only to be defeated by SA (the good guys) with Mark Ricciuto and Ben Hart having a major impact.

 

 

 

 

(Some very familiar names there including future Norwood teammates John Georgiou, Tony Plim and of course 1997 Jack Oatey Medallist the illustrious, JC – John Cunningham). Some elite talent in the Vic Side also!)

 

 

Richmond

 

James was then recruited by Richmond as a zone selection going through their junior ranks spending 3 years on the list. He is very honest on reflection saying he struggled with the demands and may have been seen as enjoying a good time too much in this semi-professional era – still liking to go out with mates away from footy for a good time. He admits he could have dedicated himself more to just footy.

 

In his time at Richmond, James rates Peter Schwab as a coach very highly while senior coach John ‘Swooper’ Northey was the old-fashioned fire and brimstone coach. He appreciates the dedication and help of Craig Lambert who always opted to pick James in circle work and pushed him to work hard and get the utmost out of himself. Also Dale Weightman who always made sure he knew who every player was and communicated from the rookie through to the most senior player on the list.

 

This had an amusing side to it when James was with past Richmond and Norwood teammate Simon ‘Alby’ Dennis in Victoria and wandered down to Punt Road to watch some cricket when they run in to a bloke who says ‘G’day’. James and Simon glimpse at each other trying to work out who it was then the penny dropped. No other than the ‘Flea’, the great Dale Weightman (C’mon Dodge and Alby!)

 

James was delisted by Richmond at the end of 1992 but opted to hang around as a supplement player (showed a fair bit of honesty re. himself in my opinion). With the handbrakes off, being more relaxed and recapturing a love for the game, he dominated for the Richmond reserves to have Richmond decide to re-draft him in the mid-season 1993 draft (Norwood flavour to this draft, Sydney picking Matthew Ahmat from the Redlegs with the first pick, James Thiessen number 2, and St Kilda picking future Norwood gun – Sir Anthony Harvey, acting Norwood premiership 1997 captain with pick 3 – certainly footy’s swings and roundabouts).

 

James then debuted for Richmond against Adelaide at Football Park. Unfortunately, the game was a cliff hanger only at the opening bounce with the Crows winning by 139 points. He went on to play 7 games in 1993 but hurt his knee at the start of 1994, coming back playing some good footy in the reserves, only to end up being delisted again. James mentioned he really had doubts whether he was good enough to play AFL footy and was seriously considering giving footy away altogether.

 

It’s interesting doing interviews with past players. Yes, older and wiser now and honest in their reflections but it really reinforces how vital the mental side of the game is and how much is played above the shoulders. Every individual is different sometimes, needing to be pumped up and reinforced that they are up to the grade and at other times dragged down a peg or two. Certainly not the ‘one size fits all attitude’ – while this is an area of the game which has improved there is still a long way to go which would help the individual markedly but then obviously flows over into the whole team and club.

 

 

Norwood

 

Norwood through Tod Barabas contacted James about coming to the Parade. He admits it wasn’t a long phone call as he was won over very quickly. A meeting was then arranged with then Norwood General Manager the late Glen Rosser (RIP Black Duck):  Within a month or so James was a Redleg!

 

James was exactly what the doctor ordered – a quick smooth-moving wingman/half-forward with an eye for a goal. James hadn’t been at the Parade for long and the players at training may have been taking the mickey out of Matty Primus for his record towards the fairer sex calling him dodgey. Matty turned towards James and said ‘hey how ‘bout this blond surfie looking dude? He’s dodgey’. Hey presto, a nickname was born and hasn’t it stuck James ‘Dodge’ Thiessen! (always amusing how nicknames stick in sporting clubs, quite often born from nothing to do with an individual!)

 

James showed his class at the Parade against Port Adelaide in Round 12 1995, kicking 8 goals and taking a very good player in Stephen Carter to the cleaners. Matty Robran kicked 6 also in front of 13,308 (ahh, the good old days) with the legs winning by 92 points.

 

James was productive from the beginning, particularly damaging in 1995 winning the leading goal kicking award with 54 goals. There were some frustrating finals losses, in particular the 1996 preliminary final (yes, that goal from Scott Hodges). I was in hospital at the time and was quite crook – a radio may have come off second best. A nurse rushed into my room thinking I had collapsed and wasn’t exactly impressed with how serious I took footy. Particularly my reply after saying footy that’s all – no patient of the year trophy for yours truly.

 

Then came 1997. Individually for James, a highlight was winning the Fos Williams Medal for SA’s best player in the state game in Canberra. An indication of Norwood’s dominance in ‘97 having 10 players in the state side (c’mon folks name them in the comments section below.)

 

James felt an overwhelming sense of relief after Norwood won the Preliminary Final against Central District. He had developed negative thoughts about ever playing in a Grand Final. His father, Tony, had never played in one either. When finally through to the big dance he was relaxed as he was supremely confident in the legs side to deliver and what a delightful final score: Norwood 19.12 126 to Port Adelaide 7.11 53. He adds it was fantastic to relax, glimpse at the crowd and enjoy the final quarter and the celebrations with his teammates, staff and supporters was euphoric.

 

James had Neil Craig as a coach first up followed by Peter Rohde. James’s thoughts:

 

Neil was a great teacher/educator of football. Personable and very organised in preparation for game. Loved him as a coach but felt sometimes on game day he could have made moves quicker.

 

Rhodey, I enjoyed playing under him, definitely had to prove to him I could play. He was a good communicator and spent time on game plans and providing feedback to players. Always knew what my role was under Rhodey and I liked that.

 

James loved Norwood from the outset. It was a good fit, it had warmth and a soul and was very inviting with passionate supporters.

 

 

Adelaide Crows

 

During 1997 the word is that Malcolm Blight came to watch Norwood on 7 or 8 occasions. Watching James Thiessen was a huge part of that and Dodge performed well on each occasion with quite a few BOGs. Malcolm pushed the Crows hard to draft James which subsequently happened with draft choice 33 in the 1997 draft.

 

James absolutely loved playing under Blight and appreciated his communication in general. Yes, it could be tough love, but he preferred that (especially at that stage of his career) and knowing exactly where he stood. Malcolm showed his meticulous attention to detail noticing as Dodge was running and about to pick up a ground ball he was closing his fists so not picking up the ball cleanly and if a fumble occurred the ball could go anywhere, not helping James keep the ball in front of him and get a second bite at the cherry. Blighty had Dodge practice running at training making sure his hands were open. It felt weird consciously thinking about it but James felt he improved in that area and it undoubtably helped.

 

James remembers a game against Essendon at Footy Park fondly. It was a cold wet night and James had taken a mark on the boundary line, 50 metres out as the half-time siren went. Not noted for being a long kick he managed to nail it perfectly. He fondly remembers the roar of the crowd and being mobbed by the players and then missing a sitter in the last minute. Then with the Crows 5 points up, the Bombers attempted to go the length of the ground from the kick-out. He remembers the sheer sense of relief when the siren went with the ball deep in the Essendon attacking 50.

 

Dodge also mentions the semi-final against Sydney where, after torrential rain, Blight was again very precise and just instructed Adelaide it was old fashioned footy time; long kick and don’t over finesse the ball. The Crows, despite having 65 fewer touches, won convincingly by 27 pts (it was Peter ‘Bomber’ Vardy’s best ever individual game kicking 6 goals despite carrying a heel injury).

 

I have never felt that James received the kudos he should have in the 1998 AFL Grand Final – for mine it’s up there with Shane Ellen’s 1997 performance. Dodge annihilated key Roo David King on the wing and his effort goes back to the game against North Melbourne in Round 21. At quarter time, James headed to the huddle feeling pretty good and that he felt he finally might belong at the elite level after having 10 touches only to have Blighty blast him for not working hard enough defensively and dragging him for not paying attention to King.

 

So come the Grand Final he made sure that King had no influence on the game, restricting him to 16 touches which, in general, were in defensive positions. James had 22 himself, including the vital first goal of the final term, putting the Crows 8 points clear and on their merry way (James was also very, very unlucky in the first quarter kicking a blinder with his left foot only for the ball to be adjudged to have gone out of bounds by millimetres).

 

 

 

 

DODGE!

 

That James had 8 score involvements leading to the Crows scoring 4.4 while King had 4 score involvements leading to 0.4 shows even further the number Dodge did on King (personally, judging from his commentary I reckon King’s never recovered!) He also had six inside 50s and one rebound 50s while King had the opposite.

 

Dodge had Mark Bickley in a mentoring role and once you could see past Bicks’s dad jokes really valued his help and encouragement. Bicks also was particularly complimentary of James, loving his happy disposition and that he listened and wanted to improve, also pointing out, ‘geez, he was sensational in the Grand Final, Malcolm!’

 

Dodge admits the memories of the night are a tad hazy and blurred but he did enjoy catching up with some past Richmond team mates briefly. He appreciates when it was chaotic in the change rooms that Malcolm Blight called the players and senior staff together only to go to the bathroom and that 5 to 10 minutes when it was just that group is special and is ingrained firmly in his memory.

 

Now, there are legendary stories about Dodge being amongst the votes for BOG for premiership celebrations in general. James says they are exactly that, only folklore, so we will leave them at that! I do remember being at the Maid on the Monday – James made a late arrival and was forced to scull which he did. Everyone cheered and there was the customary smile and famous cheesy grin.

 

Continue on! James makes the point that in 1999 he was just enjoying playing regular AFL footy so didn’t really notice or be involved in any way when Adelaide dramatically fell away like he may have done if he had been an established senior player. Speaking to Malcolm Blight for this article he mentioned ‘Watching James in 1997, he was a beautiful mover and played wing exactly how I felt it should be played: running and carrying the footy both ways; working from outside linking up; not quite a 50 metre kick. He was a vital member of our premiership side and performed his role perfectly in the Grand Final. I’m surprised he only ended up playing 50 odd games.’

 

 

Back to the Parade

 

In 2000, James had hurt himself in the Crows’ last trial game but felt he was ok to play. Being the first game under new coach Garry Ayres, James felt compelled to make himself available to play which turned out to be a huge mistake as he had actually fractured a tendon in his big toe and couldn’t twist or turn. He missed 14 weeks and it effectively ended his career at the Adelaide FC.

 

James AFL career ended after playing 51 games which, on reflection, he feels is an underachievement. The mental side of sport, while improved, still has a mile to go; if only James had relaxed and believed in himself more (clubs will practice for hours on end trying to perfect structures and set plays – would they be better off concentrating on the psychological side of the game?)

 

Dodge travelled overseas in 2001, spending a fair bit of time with ex-Norwood teammates Todd Davey, Scott Carslake (more below), and Matt Davey. He then came back to Norwood and makes the point he loved playing under Garry McIntosh and that it was the most enjoyable time of his footy career with the care and compassion of the Parade environment shining through. He felt he played the most consistent footy of his career with the only disappointment being not playing in another flag. Dodge loved that Macca empowered and really encouraged the kids.

 

James studied, getting a Bachelor of Applied Science in conservation and park management, being heavily involved in the biological area of vegetation projects and also being a part of the Aboriginal Native Title organisation- roles he has found extremely fulfilling.

 

Post footy career he has helped out with Norwood reserves, coached by ex-Crows teammate Bryan Beinke, a role he enjoyed. James lives at Payneham with his wife Emma and has children Bebe and Noah. He has been involved with Noah’s footy with Glenunga and is pretty content with life in general. Yes, he’s a genuine good bloke.

 

Dodge all the best, thank you!

 

 

 

 

Tributes

 

Todd Davey

 

First up, there was the fact that James and I used to get mixed up, including being called the other person quite often by supporters. One time at a music festival on the great ocean road, James was pumped that he was recognised by a group of Norwood fans, only for him to quickly realise that they thought he was me. There is no truth to the rumour that either one of us picked up a girl pretending to be the other.

 

James was such a nice bloke that he often ended up getting stuck talking to a passionate Norwood fan for 20, 30+ minutes. He couldn’t bring himself to find a polite way to move on like many others, even when he might have been keen on a girl and this fan was standing in his way!

 

We climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya in 2012 with a friend (Karrie) and on the last night we were climbing to nearly 6000m. There are some unexpected side-affects from altitude sickness (e.g. Karrie threw-up, I was crook also) and James had such excruciating headaches, that when we arrived to the top, he posed for a photo and then just started walking back down without taking it in. On the same trip, we were camping on the Serengeti plain, and we realised the campground had no fences meaning that any sort of wild animal (lions, elephants, buffaloes etc) could just walk through. It was a slightly nervous sleep for all of us and especially when we woke in the morning to find pretty large footprints and ‘droppings’.

 

He was also a bit of an enigma who was famous for ‘doing the runner’ on the night out, regularly just disappearing at 1 or 2 in the morning without telling anyone. Then there was the fact that James has a record for taking the longest time to complete a Bachelor degree at the University of South Australia (9 years, Bachelor of Applied Science, Biodiversity and Park Management).

 

Dodge, awesome bloke privileged to have as a close mate

 

 

Scott Carslake

 

Dodge was a massive role model for me when I arrived from the Eagles. His carefree ability to just play footy at his best and enjoy life was inspiring and he never seemed stressed. He appeared to play each game as it came and he never got ahead of himself, even after 1997 redlegs flag and 1998 Crows, he would give everyone the time of day and roll up to the next game on his bike and dominate. He is a great mate today and still inspires.

 

A testament to Dodge’s carefree nature – one game (Dodge will know), the turf was a little soft and he just seemed to be having trouble turning one way, not both! Instead of changing into screw-ins, he only decided to change the one boot where he was having trouble turning and played the game out with one moulded boot and one screw-in. That’s Dodge.

 

 

Neil Craig

 

Hi Malcolm, currently in the UK with the English rugby team. Memories of James – outstanding teammate, highly skilled, always had a smile on his face. A joy to coach.

 

 

Nathan Bassett

 

He is a lovely guy. Always put people first, a man of good character.

 

Came and helped with the reserves for a couple of years at Norwood, was happy for him to be there for who he was, not just what he knew about footy!

 

Dodge is someone you can count on

 

 

Bryan Beinke 

 

One with nature.

 

Killer calves – maybe they were his Tinder profile pic

 

Quiet achiever

 

Great man

 

Not so good in one-on-one marking contests but could run all day

 

Knew how to kick a goal

 

Stepped up as a footballer when he came to SA

 

Profound knowledge and passion for native flora

 

Loves a chat

 

Loves his camping and hiking

 

 

 

You can read more from Rulebook Here.

 

 

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