“Throughout my childhood I would practise by the old light towers across the road……..Drop punts; hard off the boot…….Artful torpedoes, spinning like a leaf in a gust of airborne flight …….”
“I could have played in the big-time…….and nearly did…….but the pang of disappointment for not making it can linger for years……..like a permanent ‘corky’………”
Paul Kennedy: Journalist, Author and Sports Presenter
In the previous On Reflection we profiled 12 of the 26 players who have left the Wangaratta Rovers and made the grade in League Football.
They met with varying degrees of success, as did the following fourteen:
SHANE and ROHAN ROBERTSON replicated the feat of the famous Krakoeurs when they became the first set of brothers to make their League debut on the same day.
They were poles apart in their playing styles……. Shane was a conventional, silky-skilled half forward, whilst curly-haired Rohan was a clever, elusive on-baller with a spear-like left boot.
Their paths to the big-time were also rather divergent……
Rohan, older by 16 months, was the Rovers Thirds B & F in 1978 before embracing the ‘hedonistic’ lifestyle of the ‘big smoke’ where he spent two seasons with North Melbourne Thirds and took out their Best & Fairest in 1980.
On his return to the Hawks he played 19 Senior games over two seasons, before being lured back to Arden Street.
After being recruited from WJFL club Centrals, SHANE had made just a handful of Thirds appearances when he was given his Senior opportunity by the Rovers in 1979.
The Hawks were at the height of their powers and the 16-year-old fitted in like a glove. He booted 3 goals and played a starring role in the 30-point flag triumph over Wodonga that year.
He had played 32 games (and kicked 34 goals) in Brown and Gold when he moved to Melbourne to study Physiotherapy and strip with the Roos Thirds.
The Robertsons made their League debut at Princes Park in Round 3 of 1985 in front of 20,000 fans, with their dad Keith, a former North champion, proudly looking on.
Both contributed strongly, finishing with 15 possessions apiece, as North snatched a last-minute, two-point win over Carlton……
Shane played three further League games, then damaged his knee, forcing him into an early retirement……He still operates a Physiotherapy business in Albury.
After 26 Senior, 55 Reserves games, and the Roos’ Best Clubman Award in 1986, Rohan stayed around the periphery of League for many years, mainly in his capacity as a ‘gun’ recruiter……He passed away early last year……..
There has scarcely been a more heralded entrance to O & M footy than that of PAUL BRYCE, who stormed onto the scene in 1985……
Six goals on debut, a ‘bag’ of 10 against Corowa-Rutherglen, and three other hauls of five during his early games saw the 194cm, 95kg, 16-year-old touted as ‘the next big thing’.
There were predictions that the Hawk 14-gamer could prove to be a VFL superstar……. but sometimes the sweetest of dreams come awry……
He spent a season with North Melbourne Thirds, then made his League debut against Collingwood in Round 13, 1987…….However, nagging injuries – particularly twangy ‘hammies’ – impeded his progress.
Paul seemingly found his niche as a ruck-rover but blamed a somewhat lazy attitude for his subsequent demise at North.
He sought a fresh start at Melbourne and produced occasional displays of brilliance. At last, his true potential was coming to the fore…….But he found himself on the trade-table, headed to the Sydney Swans.
He played his best game for the Swans, picking up 18 kicks and 7 handballs in their only win for the season – against Melbourne.
“But at the end of the 1993 season I sent a letter to them, telling them I’d had enough of League football,” he recalled.
He was 25 and had played 91 AFL games – 48 with North Melbourne, 26 with Melbourne, and 17 with Sydney……..
Paul Bryce
Rohan Robertson
Shane Robertson
TIM RIENIETS played his last game with the Rovers in the 1983 Reserves Grand Final. At 17, the blond, curly-haired, creative, smooth-running youngster was regarded as a star of the future – a potential 200-Gamer for the Hawks.
Alas, he was to make just 7 Senior appearances at the Findlay Oval……Under the zoning rules in operation at the time, he was snaffled by North Melbourne with whom he played 32 Thirds and 17 Reserves games.
VFA club Coburg was his next stop…..Their coach, Phil Cleary, couldn’t believe his good fortune to have arrived upon Rieniets ….”He played in the finals like he was super-human,” Cleary said.
The young star won Norm Goss Medals as best afield in Coburg’s 1988 and ‘89 Grand Final wins before Carlton picked him in the 1990 Pre-Season Draft.
In his three seasons and 24 Senior games with the Blues, he averaged 18 disposals and figured in the Blues’ 1990 Reserves flag.
But a strained posterior ligament, suffered in a late-season game, brought about the end of his time at Princes Park.
The Rieniets reputation as a big-game player was emphasised when he transferred to Werribee and starred in their 1993 flag, then repeated the dose at Sandringham in 1997 – the last of his four seasons with the Zebras…….it was the sixth career flag for the consistent Rieniets.
ROBERT HICKMOTT is better known these days as a prominent racehorse trainer, particularly for the role he played in the Melbourne Cup wins of Green Moon (2012) and Almandin (2016).
But his arrival on the football scene was almost as noteworthy……
‘Hicky’ was a tall, slim utility player of rare skill who happened to arrive at the Findlay Oval just as the Rovers were building the momentum to a Golden Era.
He began to attract the attention of League talent scouts, appearing in a couple of practice matches with Essendon before homesickness kicked in……..After playing a significant role in the Hawks’ 1988 premiership, he again flirted with Essendon before Melbourne drafted him.
The Hickmott League career lasted just two matches – against St Kilda and North Melbourne in mid-1990.
VFL footy had become an uncomfortable fit for the racing-mad ‘Hicky’ and, although remaining on the Demons’ list, he returned to the Rovers to contribute to another flag in 1991.
The final game of his 70-game career with the Hawks came in 1997, sandwiched in between stints with Wodonga and Myrtleford…….
DEAN HARDING grew up in a mad-keen Rovers family with the ambition of becoming a long-term star for the Club.
There was little doubt – as he progressed through 16 Thirds games ( including the 1988 Premiership ) and 20 with the Reserves – that he was a player of the future.
When he adapted so easily to Senior footy in 1990, wise old heads saw traces of the brilliant Hawk Joe Wilson in his creativeness and flair.
Ensconced in his job at the Commonwealth Bank, Dean was enjoying a quiet after-work ale at the Pinsent Hotel when he was advised that he’d been drafted.
“Be buggered,” was the reply….. Indeed, Fitzroy had chosen him with their pick 79, and ‘Hards’ couldn’t wait to get down there.
He played 19 Senior games with the Lions over the next three seasons, riding the roller-coaster of the beleaguered club before they dispensed with him at the end of 1993.
He received several offers to continue his career but opted to move to Wodonga where he played 80 games and coached the Bulldogs at both Under 18 and senior level.
Tim Rieniets
Robbie Hickmott
Dean Harding
SEAN O’KEEFFE was a schoolboy champion. The gifted left-footer represented Victorian Country in a plethora of representative appearances, and his dream to wear the Brown and Gold was confined to 5 Senior games in 1999.
Two years later, after being drafted by Carlton, he made his debut in Round 17, 2002 but managed just six Senior games before being delisted in 2003.
O’Keeffe subsequently established a distinguished career at State and country level……He played a starring role in Sandringham’s premierships of 2004 and ‘05, and represented the VFL against South Australia.
He found his way to Sturt, then to Kalgoorlie club Railways where he won a flag and the League Medal.
Eleven years after his last game with the Rovers, ‘Okey’ returned home and proceeded to become a dominant player for the next 11 seasons.
Wearing his father Greg’s number 37 guernsey with pride, he amassed 167 games, B & Fs in 2010 and ‘16, and club Life Membership in 2021…..
KARL NORMAN is also the son of a former Rovers champion……It was probably at the urging of goal-kicking legend Steve that he found his way back to the Findlay Oval in 2002.
At age 19, the superbly-proportioned lad took on, and outpointed, most of the O & M’s gun forwards, in a brilliant season that alerted talent-scouts to his potential.
Carlton picked him as a ‘smokey’ despite Karl never having played elite junior football. He improved rapidly and played 7 Senior games in his first season.
Then things began to go pear-shaped……He fell foul of Carlton’s disciplinary standards. Despite being on the verge of being sacked, the Blues hung onto him and he produced strong enough form to earn a Rising Star nomination in 2004.
But, after 27 games, the larger-than-life ‘Karlos’ reckoned he’d had enough of the ‘rat-race’. He was recruited to Mooroopna and then, to everyone’s delight, returned home to the Rovers in 2008.
Over the next six seasons he won the B & F in 2012, and finished top-five in all but one year…….After 121 games with the Hawks, he finished his career with Glenrowan where he dominated in their four flag-winning years……
LUKE MULLINS displayed obvious talent in his debut season with the Rovers Thirds in 2000…..A lean 6’2”, 80kg forward/ mid-fielder, he possessed a handy pedigree, as his grand-father, Bill Comensoli, was a former long-serving Wangaratta ruckman.
Between regular appearances with the Murray Bushrangers, the Hawks slotted him in for two Senior games over the next two seasons. They were resigned to the fact that they’d lose him to the Draft
True enough, Collingwood picked him up in the 2003 Pre-Season. His debut, with 13 disposals against Fremantle, was handy enough but he managed just two more AFL games.
He continued his career with Wangaratta with whom he played over 100 games, including the 2007 and ‘08 premiership sides……
ALIPATE CARLILE is one of five siblings who all gravitated to the Rovers…….After his brother Robbie had played in their 2002 Thirds premiership team, ‘Pate’ followed suit by starring in their second-straight flag the following year.
That was just about the last the Hawks would see of the 191cm, 98kg Carlile in a playing capacity….In between his playing commitments with the Murray Bushrangers the following season, they took the opportunity to blood him in two Senior games but he was inevitably headed for the big-time.
Port Adelaide, looking for a pillar down-back, took him with Pick 44 in the 2005 National Draft. ‘Pate’ was in-and-out for a couple of years before a run of good form saw him pick up a Rising Star gong in 2008.
He proceeded to become one of AFL footy’s most reliable defenders, proving an ‘immovable force’ against jostling spearheads for the next eight years.
Port coach Ken Hinkley rated him “one of the smartest players I’ve been involved with” and “one of those blokes you love having around your footy club.”
A series of injuries put an end to the Carlile AFL career in 2016 after 167 games………
Karl Norman
Luke Mullins
Alipate Carlile
BEN REID produced a dominant season as a bottom-ager in his 17 games with the Rovers Thirds in 2005. Tall and highly-skilled, he took out the O & M’s Leo Dean Medal along with the Club B & F. He was a focal part of the Thirds’ run to the flag that season.
After an imposing year with the Murray Bushrangers, Collingwood picked him up with their Number 8 selection. He debuted, aged 18, with the Magpies in 2007.
Injuries played havoc with the 6’5”, 102kg defender, and restricted him to 152 games over 14 years, including the Collingwood premiership of 2010.
He has coached Wangaratta, with considerable success, since 2022…..
SAM REID followed the path of his brother Ben when he made first appearance with the Rovers Thirds in 2008.
Similar in physique, he played 13 Thirds games – restricted by his regular appearances with the Murray Bushrangers.
Sam was drafted to the Sydney Swans with pick 38 of the 2009 National Draft. The injury-stick has also been unkind to the 6’5”, 98kg swing-man who was a Rising Star in 2011 and played in the 2012 premiership for the Swans. He has played 181 games in Red and White over 14 seasons.
ZAC O’BRIEN took a circuitous route to League football…….A product of WJFL club Imperials, he enjoyed a brilliant season with the Rovers Thirds in 2007, winning both the Club B & F and the League’s Leo Dean Medal.
He played 21 Senior games with the Hawks over the next two seasons before being cleared to Yarrawonga where a handful of his cousins were playing.
In pursuit of a Chiropractic Degree, he spent time with EDFL club Aberfeldie and came under notice of recruiters when he produced several fine performances in 11 games with Essendon’s VFL side.
So, in an unlikely scenario, the on-baller attended Draft camp and was picked up by Brisbane with their number 47 Rookie selection, aged 23..
The O’Brien League career at the Lions extended to 13 games over 2014 and ‘15…..He later spent time with West Adelaide and NEAFL club Sydney University……..
Ben Reid
Sam Reid
Zac O’Brien
NICK MURRAY would have rightfully believed that the opportunity to play League footy had passed him by when he was overlooked in successive AFL Drafts.
The agile 6’4”, 98kg key defender had produced sterling performances with the Murray Bushrangers, Henty, GWS Reserves, Ganmain-GGM, and finally, Wang Rovers……but had still been unable to attract attention.
He displayed outstanding form down back in seven games with the Hawks in 2019 and was working on a friend’s Riverina farm when he received the call which changed his life.
Nick was invited to try out for a vacant spot on the Adelaide list, won the spot, and the resultant Rookie contract.
He became an intrinsic part of the Crows’ defence, was offered a full contract, and had chalked 46 AFL games when he incurred a serious knee injury last season……He is hoping to return to the Senior side mid-season, nine and a half months after he began his rehab……
THOSE WHO WERE ALSO DRAFTED
Craig Patrick: Selection 35, North Melbourne 1987
Scott Williamson: Selection 44, West Coast Eagles 1988, Selection 31 Melbourne 1989
Joe Wilson: Selection 51, Brisbane Bears 1989
Aidan Bussell: Selection 88, Hawthorn 1991
Stuart Cooper: Rookie Selecyion 20, North Melbourne 2001
Andrew Hill: Rookie Selection 39, Collingwood 2002
Brayden George: Selection 26, North Melbourne 2022
Nick Murray
Brayden George
To read Part 1 of ‘Cracking the Big Time’ click HERE.
This story appeared first on KB Hill’s website On Reflection and is used here with permission.
All photos sourced from KB Hill’s resources unless otherwise acknowledged.
To read more of KB Hill’s great stories on the Almanac, click HERE.
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