Almanac Teams: To Sedat with love; Obscure 38s (1980- )

 

A team of more obscure/lesser known players to wear the Number 38 jumper since 1980.

 

 

Here’s my second team of players to wear the Number 38, mostly from 1980 onwards but I have made exceptions, such as Glynn Hewitt in the Number 19 side.

 

 

It is a light-hearted team based on cult figures, forgotten/lesser known players or stats/cameos associated with them, players known for other deeds, sons, fathers & brothers and forgotten players.

 

My criteria, similar to my previous efforts was:

 

• Attempt to include one player per club
• I have tried to create as balanced side as possible but this was not a priority

 

 

Stats are based on their time in that number

 

 

 

 

FB:           Austin McCrabb (Geel/Haw)        Michael Laffy (Rich)                        Peter Zychla (Geel)

 

CHB:       David Noble (Fitz)                           Nick Stone (Haw)                             Sedat Sir (WB)

 

C:             Daryl Cunningham (Ess)                Brett Scott (Syd)                               Rayden Tallis (Haw)

 

CHF:       Mark Harvey (Ess)                           David Neitz (Melb)                          Steven Richardson (Ess)

 

FF:           Shane Harvey (Ess)                         Lance Franklin (Haw)                     Mike Pyke (Syd)

 

Ruck:       Stuart Atkin (Coll)                           Mitch Grigg (Adel)                           Jack Steele (GWS)

 

Interchange: Shane Crothers (Geel), Majak Daw (NM), Sam Dunell (St.K), James McDonald (GWS)

 

No players from Brisbane, Carlton, Fremantle, Gold Coast, Port Adelaide or West Coast.

 

 

 

Games in Number 38 (Years played)

Austin McCrabb 35 at Geelong (1988-1991) 9 at Hawthorn (1992)

Michael Laffy 26 (1987-1990)

Peter Zychla 12 (1982-1985)

David Noble 2 (1991)

Nick Stone 17 (2002-2003)

Sedat Sir 24 (1995-1998)

Daryl Cunningham 7 (1987)

Brett Scott 33 (1981-1982, 1989)

Rayden Tallis 18 (1994)

Mark Harvey 60 (1984-1986)

David Neitz 20 (1993)

Steven Richardson 1 (1983)

Shane Harvey 11 (2002-2003)

Lance Franklin 20 (2005)

Mike Pyke 110 (2009-2015)

Stuart Atkin 18 (1980-1983)

Mitch Grigg 14 (2013-2014)

Jack Steele 7 (2015)

Shane Crothers 4 (1994-1995)

Majak Daw 32 (2013-2017)

Sam Dunell 12 (2012-2014)

James McDonald 13 (2012)

 

 

 

 

Austin McCrabb – McCrabb originally played for the Fitzroy U19s, then went back to Colac before he was recruited by Geelong. McCrabb debuted in 1987 aged 22 and wore the Number 55. Despite being just 186cm he often played at FB or HBF. McCrabb played just one game in 1987 and was then given the lower Number 38 for 1988; he played the last six games of the season and got over 20 disposals in four of them with a best of 25. In Geelong’s golden 1989 year McCrabb played eight games as a reserve defender. His best year was 1990 – he played 15 games including a 28 disposal match. After six games in 1991 McCrabb was delisted and drafted by Hawthorn in the 1992 Preseason Draft where he played another nine games. A cult figure for several reasons – the then old fashioned name of Austin and a brilliant moustache – McCrabb’s most famous moment occurred in 1990 against Hawthorn when he broke a team rule by kicking across goal and at the quarter time huddle, Malcolm Blight barred McCrabb from the address and left him alone in the middle of VFL Park. McCrabb also liked a bike ride in the off season with once rode a bike to Darwin.

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Laffy – Laffy joined Richmond from their Mt Waverley Zone and made his debut as a 19 year old in 1987. Laffy was known for his long hair and in his second year in 1988 he played 12 of the last 13 games at CHB; the young Richmond side started to show promise and won seven of these games. Laffy never kicked a goal and was not a high disposal winner with a best of 16. Laffy played with Port Melbourne in 1991 and was seen again on television in 2001: on the reality show The Mole – Laffy was the titular Mole.

 

 

Peter Zychla – Zychla’s name appears last alphabetically out of every footballer in the VFL/AFL. Zychla was recruited from St Mary’s Geelong and played his first game as an 18 year old in 1982. He played 12 games for one goal, 1985 was his best season with six games and his best return 20 disposals.

 

 

David Noble – Noble was drafted by Fitzroy with Pick 111 in the 1989 Draft aged 22 having being vice-captain of North Hobart. He debuted in Round 6, 1991 against Hawthorn at North Hobart Oval where he had 18 disposals, sadly for Fitzroy they lost by 157 points. Noble played the next week against North Melbourne but was dropped the week after and delisted at the end of the year. Noble took up coaching in 1995, initially in the TAC Cup with Oakleigh and then the NSW/ACT Rams. In 1998 Noble joined the Western Bulldogs as an assistant coach and won a Reserves premiership in 1998. Noble coached Glenelg in 2003-2004 and then joined Adelaide from 2005-2016 serving roles as an Assistant Coach, List Manager and Head of Football. Noble joined Brisbane as General Manager of Football in 2016 and in 2021 was appointed senior coach of North Melbourne. David’s son John is a current Collingwood player.

 

 

Nick Stone – Stone was initially drafted by Collingwood in 1999 but after two seasons he did not play a game. Stone was then Rookie Listed by Hawthorn with Pick 44 in 2002. He made his debut in Round 2, 2002 against Brisbane and played 17 games in two seasons before he was delisted. After his stint at Hawthorn he was again Rookie Listed, this time by St Kilda in 2004 and played three games in two seasons at St Kilda. In 2010 Stone moved to New York and set up his own cafe chain Bluestone Lane; an Australian style coffee shop, it has 30+ locations across the USA.

 

 

Sedat Sir – Sir is of Turkish heritage and was the first Muslim player to debut at VFL/AFL senior level. Sir was drafted in 1993 and debuted in Round 1, 1995 against Sydney; he played six games for the year. Sir played 24 games in four seasons, his best season was 1996 with nine games.

 

 

Daryl Cunningham – Daryl is only 18 months younger than brother Geoff though he debuted at St Kilda six years later. He made his debut in Round 7, 1983 and played 15 of the last 16 games. Cunningham made an impact straight away; he kicked four goals in his second game and then five against Richmond later in the year to finish the season with 21 goals. Over the next three seasons Cunningham played 19 games for eight goals. In 1987 Cunningham found himself traded to Essendon where he played seven games for five goals. His second game at Essendon was against Geoff at St Kilda – Essendon won by 15 points and Daryl collected three disposals. Cunningham finished up at the end of the season and joined Maffra as captain-coach for five seasons.

 

 

Brett Scott – Scott debuted in 1981, he arrived at South Melbourne from The Rock-Yerong Creek near Wagga Wagga. Scott played seven games in his debut year but showed promise in 1982 as a highly skilled centre over 19 games for 15 goals; in seven of those games he had 20+ disposals and best of 27. In 1983 he moved to the lower Number 6 but only played 26 games in six seasons with none in 1988 due to knee and back injuries. Scott went back to Number 38 in 1989 in the hopes that his luck would change, but played only seven games before he retired due to injured at age of 27 with 59 games in total. Scott was an assistant coach at Sydney under Gary Buckenara and when Buckenara was sacked in 1993 Scott coached the Swans for two games before Ron Barassi took over. The Swans were terrible in 1993 and Scott’s two games as a coach resulted in a 93 point loss to Fitzroy and 124 point loss to North Melbourne.

 

 

Rayden Tallis – Tallis was drafted by Hawthorn with Pick 56 in the 1993 Draft. Tallis made headlines before he had even played a senior game. In a reserves practice match in 1994 Hawthorn played Sydney and Sydney’s Dermott Brereton lined up in his first game against Hawthorn. After a tackle on Tallis, Brereton stood on Tallis’s head which he was reported for by video and resulted in a seven week suspension. Tallis debuted in Round 3, 1994 and played 18 games in defence and midfield to earn himself a Rising Star nomination. He moved to Number 29 in 1995 and Number 4 in 2001 and played 163 games from 1994-2004.

 

 

Mark Harvey – Harvey debut in Round 4, 1984 as an 18 year old – he kicked two goals and followed up with four the following week against Richmond. In his first year Harvey played 16 games for 28 goals, a premiership and despite not kicking a goal in the Grand Final he had kicked four the previous week. In 1985 Harvey had a great season: he played for Victoria, made VFL Team of the Year, won the goal kicking at Essendon with 48 including four in the Grand Final. In 1987 Harvey moved to Number 1 and in his first game broke his leg. Harvey became an Essendon great over 206 games for 170 goals before he retired in 1997. In the second half of his career he became a defender where he won a Best & Fairest in 1992 as well as All Australian selection and a Premiership in 1993. Harvey was an assistant coach from 1998-2005 at Essendon then at Fremantle from 2006-2007. Mid-2007 Mark Harvey took over as senior coach at Fremantle from Chris Connolly, was appointed coach from 2008 and took Fremantle to the finals in 2010 but after they missed in 2011 he was sacked for Ross Lyon. He joined Brisbane as an assistant coach for 2011 and in 2013 took over for the last three games as caretaker coach. Harvey returned to Essendon from 2015-2020 as an assistant coach. All up Harvey coached 100 games for 41 wins.

 

 

David Neitz – Neitz made his debut as an 18-year-old against Hawthorn in Round 1, 1993. Neitz started his career as a CHF/HB and played 20 games for 17 goals including six against Richmond. The following year Neitz moved to Number 9 and was predominately played at CHB where he made the Victorian squad. Neitz moved back to FF in 1996 with 56 goals and in 2002 won the Coleman Medal with 82 goals. He ended up with 306 games for 631 goals upon his retirement in 2008 with a best haul of nine goals (twice). Neitz captained Melbourne from 2000-2008, was All Australian in 1995 and 2002 and won Melbourne’s goalkicking seven times. He has also been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

 

 

Steven Richardson – Stephen is the twin brother of ex-Collingwood, Essendon & Brisbane player Mike. While Mike started his career in 1983 and played 156 games, Stephen came to Essendon via the WAFL and QAFL side Mayne before he debuted age 24 against Melbourne in Round 20, 1983. Richardson had 16 disposals and kicked two goals but such was the strength of Essendon side, he did not play again for the season and was instead a member of Essendon’s Reserves premiership team. Richardson returned to Perth in 1984 and played for his original club Swan Districts before he went to Norwood, back to Swan Districts and finally East Perth.

 

 

Shane Harvey – Shane is five years younger than brother Brent and was drafted by Essendon in 2001 with Pick 18 in the draft. Shane’s debut was against Fremantle in Round 6, 2002 with three goals and seven disposals. He played seven games for six goals in 2002. His fifth game was against his brother in what was an eight point loss; Shane kicked a goal and Brent kicked two. Shane’s first game in 2003 was highlighted by three goals against the Bulldogs but he only played four games for the year before he was delisted. In 2004 Shane was drafted by the Kangaroos with Pick 6 in the Preseason Draft and played three games for North including one where he kicked a bag of four but was delisted at the end of the year. Harvey has since played in the Northern Football League and became the first player to kick 1,000 goals in the league; five times he has kicked over 100 goals in a season.

 

 

Lance Franklin – Franklin was drafted by Hawthorn with Pick 5 in the 2004 Draft from Perth. He wore Number 38 in his first year and debuted in Round 1, 2005 against Sydney. Franklin had six disposals but did not kick a goal. The following week he kicked three goals to show his potential and ended up playing 20 games for 21 goals in the year. Franklin made the move to Number 23 the next year (made famous at Hawthorn by Dermott Brereton). Buddy is the last person to kick 100 goals in a VFL/AFL season (113 goals in just his fourth season in 2008). One of the stars of the game, he played 182 games for Hawthorn for 580 goals before his move to current club Sydney. He has played 146 games for 443 goals at the Swans, a total of 328 games for 1,023 goals. Franklin has two premierships, eight All Australian jumpers, four Coleman Medals, a Best & Fairest, two Goal of the Year wins and has twice kicked double figure goals in a game with a best of thirteeeeeeen.

 

 

Mike Pyke – Pyke was born in Victoria, Canada and played representative Rugby for his homeland in 20 matches from 2004-2008. Pyke was convinced by a friend that he could play Australian Football, so he made a DVD of his highlights which was sent to an AFL player manager Michael Quinlan who then passed it on to the Sydney Swans. Sydney were interested and rookie listed Pyke with Pick 57 in the 2008 Rookie Draft. He made his debut at age 25 in Round 6, 2009 against Richmond and had four disposals and 11 hit outs. Pyke played eight games in 2009 but was a regular from 2010-2015 over 110 games in total for 48 goals which included the 2012 premiership where his 16 disposals and 29 hit outs were one of the best performances on the day – he also played in the 2014 Grand Final.

 

 

 

 

Stuart Atkin – Atkin joined Collingwood in 1979 from Beaufort as an understudy ruck who could also play in defence. Atkin debuted in Round 22, 1980 against Melbourne and kicked a goal which meant he kept his spot for the Elimination Final against North Melbourne, but was dropped for the remaining finals. He played 12 games in 1981 including the last 11 of the season (finals too). Peter Moore was captain in 1981 but struggled with injury and was played mainly as a forward in the 1981 Grand Final; Atkin was named as first ruck. Atkin had 11 disposals and 11 hit outs in the Grand Final. He played two games in 1982 and two in 1983 before he joined Preston in 1984.

 

 

Mitch Grigg – Grigg was drafted by Adelaide with Pick 41 in the 2011 Draft from Norwood. Grigg debuted in Round 17, 2013 against Geelong as the sub. Grigg’s first two games were as a sub, he played five games for six goals with a best of 21 disposals. Grigg played a further nine games in 2014 before he moved to Number 8 where he played six games in 2015. After no games in 2016 Grigg went back to Norwood where he has since starred – he won the 2017 and 2018 Magarey Medals and 2018 Jack Oatey Medal.

 

 

Jack Steele – Steele was drafted with Pick 24 in the 2014 Draft. Steele was the first ever Academy player picked for GWS when they matched North Melbourne’s bid. He debuted in Round 12, 2015 and played sevem games in 2015 and ten in 2016. With a glut of midfielders at GWS, Steele requested a trade to St Kilda. He left for a future second round pick. Steele played 20 games in 2017 and has being a starting midfielder for St Kilda since his debut. Steele won All Australian honours and St Kilda Best & Fairest in 2020 & 2021 and has captained St Kilda since 2021.

 

 

Shane Crothers – Crothers was drafted by Geelong with Pick 113 in the 1989 Draft, however after he did not get a game the 198cm Crothers joined the Geelong Supercats who then were part of the NBL. Crothers played three games for the Supercats as a spare player but he was redrafted by Geelong Football Club with Pick 34 in the 1993 Preseason Draft. His debut came in Round 20, 1994 and he played Rounds 20 and 21 with a total of 13 hit outs. Crothers played two games in 1995 but struggled; he registered just two disposals and three hit outs. Crothers joined Port Adelaide’s SANFL side in 1996 and played in a premiership.

 

 

Majak Daw – Daw was born in Sudan where he lived until he was 9. When his family fled during the civil war they moved to Egypt for three years before they then moved to Australia in 2003. Daw was the first Sudanese-born player drafted: he went at Pick 9 in the 2010 Rookie Draft. He made his debut aged 22 in Round 4 against Brisbane. Daw played six games in a row for nine goals with his best game his fourth where he kicked 6.4 against the Western Bulldogs. He struggled for regular games (32 in five seasons) but in 2018 while wearing Number 1 and playing as an intercept marking defender Daw played 18 games for 10 goals. Daw suffered a broken hip and pelvis after a fall from the Bolte Bridge in December 2018 and did not play in 2019 but returned for four games in 2020. Daw was delisted at end of 2020 and rookie listed by Melbourne before his retirement due to injury in 2022. Daw played 54 games for 43 goals and won Mark of the Year in 2016.

 

 

Sam Dunell – Sam is the son of former Essendon and Brisbane player Frank Dunell who played 100 games (one in a premiership) for Essendon and 15 for Brisbane. Sam was Pick 12 in the 2012 Rookie Draft and debuted in Round 16, 2012 against Brisbane. He only played 12 games for one goal in three seasons before he was delisted. Dunell joined Williamstown in the VFL and played 100 games for 240 goals including a second place in the JJ Liston Medal.

 

 

James McDonald – James is the younger brother of Alex and Anthony and was drafted by Melbourne with Pick 78 in the 1997 Rookie Draft. McDonald started his career in Numper 54 at Melbourne and played four games in 1997. From 1998-2010 McDonald was a regular in the seniors over 251 games at Melbourne, won two Best & Fairests, All Australian in 2006 and was captain from 2008-2010. After a forced retirement at Melbourne aged 33, McDonald spent 2011 playing in the amateurs and as a member of the Match Review Panel. McDonald then joined GWS for their inaugural season as a playing assistant coach and in his first game was reported and suspended for two weeks by the Match Review Panel. McDonald played 13 games in 2012 for GWS and would spend 2013 as an assistant coach. In 2021 James rode the winner of the Melbourne Cup, Verry Elleegant, after a shock physical transformation.

 

 

Some of the forgotten Number 38s are Nathan Clarke (Bris), Rohan Welsh (Carl), Michael Erwin & Craig Jacotine (Coll), Jarrod Atkinson (Ess), Jack Hannath (Freo), Leo King (Geel), Jack Leslie (GCS), Martin Heppell (Melb), Brendan Mutimer (NM), Phillip Bottams (Rich), Sam Jones (St.K), Darren Denneman (Syd), Kurt Mutimer (WCE) Gary Barrow (Foots)

 

 

 

To return to our Footy Almanac home page click HERE.

 

 

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.

 

 

Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?

And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help things keep ticking over please consider making your own contribution.

 

 

Become an Almanac (annual) member – CLICK HERE.

One-off financial contribution – CLICK HERE.

Regular financial contribution (monthly EFT) – CLICK HERE.