Almanac Teams: North and South
North and South. Polar opposites. Literally. But not necessarily figuratively. In VFL/AFL terms, both North Melbourne and South Melbourne/Sydney have many parallels. Both have had their years of struggle, both have had their years of success (but generally more struggle than success). Blue and white. Red and white. As simple as it gets from a colour perspective.
Over time, South went north and North went south. In the late 70s / early 80s, North pioneered the VFL’s expansion north to Sydney, playing a series of home games at the SCG. But it was South that made the move north, morphing into Sydney Swans. And ultimately it was North that then pioneered a (partial) move south, to Hobart.
Along the way, there seems to be an inordinate amount of players who represented both clubs. Hence, here is a team of players who played at least one VFL/AFL game at both North Melbourne and South Melbourne/Sydney. Some started South and went North, others started North and then went South, and some started South, went North, and headed South again (e.g. John Rantall). Some started at one club, but made their name at the second club. Some made their name at one club and then played out their days at the other. Some were legends at both clubs, some were journeymen. Some made their name somewhere else altogether (e.g. John Murphy, Derek Kickett).
Note: ‘Teams with a twist’ has been a recurring theme in recent months in the Almanac, and we can start a new twist of teams of players who had all played at two specific clubs. Think about how many permutations there are on this one! Collingwood/Carlton, Richmond/Geelong, Hawthorn/St Kilda are three combinations that immediately spring to mind with numerous examples of players who played at both clubs. But Dockers/Suns might be hard to fill at this stage!
Here is the team:
B David Ackerley Mark Roberts Denis Pagan
HB John Rantall Gary Cowton Maurice Boyse
C Doug Koop John Murphy Shane Zantuck
HF Jason Love Darryl Sutton Brett Allison
F Craig Holden Craig Davis Derek Kickett
Foll Barry Goodingham Shannon Grant Wayne Schwass
Int Daryl Cumming Paul Bryce Robert Saggers Michael Stilo
Coach Ron Barassi
Asst Coaches John Longmire, John Blakey
CEO Greg Miller
Music Not One Direction!
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About Michael Crawford
Born and bred in South Melbourne. Career highlight: 1984 - Sparred with Warwick Capper.
I like it, Mick.
Some good players there – and some obscure ones also.
Paul Bryce, I still laugh when I hear his name mentioned.
A noticeable name who is not there: Dean McRae (87-96 – 81 games with North, 60 with Swans).
I suspect you have discovered a rich vein here Michael.
Remember how Fran the Nanny would always tell Mr Sheffield off for his inability to pick Broadway hits?
“You passed on cats???”
Well here is a team of Swans players and Swans recruits who all played in premiership teams – after they left the Swans!
B: Greg Brentnall (Canterbury-Bankstown) Robert McGhie (Richmond) Chris Daniher (Essendon)
HB: Shane Morwood (Collingwood) Peter Caven (Adelaide) John Rantall (North)
C: Darren Millane (Collingwood) Greg Williams (Carlton) Wayne Walsh (Richmond)
HF: Bobby Davis (Geelong) Wayne Carey (North) Shannon Grant (North)
F: Terry Daniher (Essendon) John Longmire (North) Mark Roberts (North)
R: Darren Jolley (Collingwood) David Rhys Jones (Carlton) Norm Goss (Hawthorn)
Brings out your inner Fran: “You passed on Bobby Davis AND Wayne Carey????
Great team, Michael. Fair bit of traffic over the years. Gareth John as a support ruck and Glen Page as an emergency.
Thanks Darren and Phillip. Good gets.
IN: Dean McRae, Gareth John.
OUT: Robert Saggers, Mick Stilo
(Glen Page still an emergency)
George: I think your comment highlights some of the howlers made by the Swans recruiters in past years. Thankfully we now have Kinnear Beatson. Whilst Neville Fields was a handy player, his recruitment was grossly outweighed by losing not just Terry Daniher, but his three untried brothers (Neale, Anthony and Chris) and their progeny (Darcy and Joe) as well (and probably their progeny also!!). Still, I take solace in us giving John Pitura to Richmond in exchange for Brian Roberts, Graham Teasdale, Francis Jackson and $40,000. We definitely won on that one.
JTH: Thanks – I’d love to see some other ‘two club teams’ being nominated by other almanac contributors.