Almanac Life: Templeton and Cordy

 

 

 

 

Kelvin Templeton has been amazing me, and a lot of others, for more than half a century.

We grew up not far from each other in small Gippsland towns, Tyers for Kelvin and Rosedale for me. We progressed though junior footy into the senior ranks in nearby Traralgon, about three years apart.

Our lives have intersected over the decades a number of times. Our most recent contact has been in connection with his novel Collision. As one of Australia’s great writers and historians Don Watson said: “It’s outrageous that a Brownlow Medallist should write a novel as good as this one.”

The first time I sighted Kelvin was when he was the star full forward for the Latrobe Valley Schoolboys in 1972.

The team had cult status in Gippsland because it showcased a lot of future VFL stars just a few years before they arrived on the biggest stage.

Morwell Football Ground was the scene of the Victorian Schoolboys Grand Final between the Latrobe Valley and Northern (Metro). I played in the curtain raiser, an Under 12s clash between Traralgon and Morwell representative teams.

We were serious about our footy in this part of the world.

Captained by Jeff Gieschen, the Latrobe Valley prevailed over Northern who were led by Phil Manassa. Jeff went on to play at Footscray and produce an outstanding coaching career at his home town Maffra, Wodonga, West Perth, Geelong and Richmond. Phil went on to play for Collingwood and create one of footy’s greatest highlights with his run and goal from the back flank during the 1977 grand final replay.

“The Morwell match was a fantastic experience for all of us,” Gieschen said.

“There were more than 5,000 fans there to watch a game of junior footy! We had a team of stars. With Geoff Raines in the centre and Kelvin at full forward, we couldn’t lose.”

The schoolboys experience was also the start of a lifelong friendship between Kelvin and Jeff. Few people know the footballing legend better than Jeff.

“We spent a lot of time together growing up,” Gieschen said.

“The distances we travelled by car to representative games meant we talked a lot. It was pretty clear Kelvin was a deep thinker and driven.”

The following year, 1973, a 16 year old Jeff was playing senior footy for Maffra when Kelvin was re-writing the record books for Traralgon. In one of the most amazing seasons in the history of country football Kelvin, also 16, kicked 103 goals in just 16 games.

With Traralgon out of the finals race and Kelvin needing seven goals from the last game he kicked 10.

 

I finally caught up with him in 1977 when I started playing with him at Footscray. It was a surreal experience. I’d grown up idolising Kelvin and now I was playing in the same team, well sort of. I was playing in the reserves and Kelvin was an established star of the VFL.

He was also a king of the campus at Vic Uni, (formerly FIT), where we were both studying for the same degree in Physical Education, again three years apart.

We were like minded in our studies, for our Academic Minor we both chose Australian History under the tutelage of Don Watson.

Kelvin and I both loved studying under Don. He gave us a love of history and a fresh perspective on it.

I’ll never forget some direct feedback Don gave me on an essay I wrote about the infamous ‘Bodyline’ Ashes series in 1933. I’d written something about the crowd erupting. He circled it and noted: “Volcanoes erupt! Crowds only erupt in sporting clichés.”

Decades later when Kelvin approached Don for help with the development of Collision he didn’t hesitate.

Don remarked recently, “While he was trying to teach Kelvin history, he was writing his own.”

He wasn’t joking, for the three years from 1978 to 1980 Kelvin produced seasons which would ultimately see him inducted into the Australian Rules Hall of Fame.

In `78 he booted 118 goals for the season in a Bulldogs team which finished second last on the ladder. The highlight came in Round 13 against St Kilda when he kicked 15.9.  In `79 he made it back to back Coleman Medals with 92 goals.

Both years he won the medal with the least amount of inside 50s in the history of the award.

To get Kelvin closer to the action, Bulldogs coach Royce Hart moved him to centre half forward. He won the Brownlow Medal and kicked 75 goals.

A horrendous knee injury the following pre-season curtailed his output the following seasons and he moved to Melbourne in 1983.

I made my senior debut in `79 so I had a front row seat to all of Kelvin’s heroics.

I also got to see how he operated behind the scenes.

Rick Kennedy, another Bulldog from Traralgon, was at an early crossroads in his career and told to pack his bags. He shared the news with Kelvin. In typically methodical fashion, Kelvin wrote out a plan to get Rick back on track. He also spoke up on Rick’s behalf for reinstatement and did extra training sessions with him.

It worked, Rick not only re-established himself in the team he became one of the best and meanest full backs in the competition. He also went on to captain the club from 1986 to 1988.

At a reunion for Traralgon past players this year he publicly thanked Kelvin for saving his career.

 

Kelvin and I crossed paths again in Sydney when he was CEO of my second team the Sydney Swans.

I was working for Network Ten as a reporter and the Swans were a rich source of stories, mostly negative.

He arrived in Sydney at a critical time for the club which had gone to the wall twice in the early 1990s. Kelvin produced another successful rescue mission.

He appointed Rodney Eade as coach and the Swans went from three consecutive wooden spoons in `92, `93 and `94 to contest the 1996 grand final against North Melbourne and play finals consistently.

Tony Lockett’s arrival also helped Kelvin put the club on an even footing financially.

Kelvin was living in the Middle East when Sydney won its drought breaking 2005 flag but had played a vital role in the Swans re-birth. Many of the stars of the team including Adam Goodes, Ryan O’Keefe and Jude Bolton were recruited during Kelvin’s tenure.

 

In a lifetime of over-achievement, it shouldn’t be surprising that he has found yet another field of endeavour in which to excel, as a novelist.

 

 

Read Kelvin Templeton’s piece about turning his energies to writing and the gestation of Collision HERE.

An extract from Collision will be published on the Alamanac site later this week.

 

 

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