Luke Elkington passed away earlier this month, aged 45…..His farewell, attended by a huge gathering, was held on Friday………… The following tribute to his sporting career was delivered by one of his team-mates……..
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Luke Elkington had to tread in some fairly large sporting footsteps……
His dad Stuart fashioned an everlasting reputation in cricket as a leg-spinner and prolific run-scorer…..and in footy as a 212-game utility player, Baker Medallist, and coach of his beloved Whorouly.
Believing it was his obligation to also become an exponent of wrist-spin, ‘Pooch’ attempted to master the left-arm variety made famous by the likes of Brad Hogg, Michael Bevan and ‘Chuck’ Fleetwood-Smith….
As those greats could testify, ‘Chinaman’ bowling is an unpredictable, and extremely difficult art to conquer………He could sometimes wheel down a delivery that bounced three times, followed by a couple of absolute ‘Jaffas’ which spun wickedly, nipped off the pitch and deceived the unsuspecting batsman.’
He was good enough, though, to capture occasional ‘bags’ of wickets and regular runs in the middle-order. He represented Wangaratta three times at Bendigo Country Week where he received top marks as a ‘tourist’, relishing the banter between team-mates, and embracing in-depth reviews of the day’s play until well into the night…..
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His football journey began with Whorouly Juniors where old die-hards anticipated a lengthy career with the Maroons…..
It was not to be even though, at the age of 15, he was given a taste of senior football….
He was recruited to the Rovers Thirds in 1995. Several of his team-mates from that side who are here today, might recall their coach Geoff Welch preaching that they should be disciplined spoilers, should chase desperately, smother with determination and bump fiercely…..
That became ‘Pooch’s’ footy mantra.
The Thirds survived three tough finals that year and earned the right to face the unbeaten Wodonga in the Grand Final. They surprisingly got the jump on the Dogs who came back strongly, looked like winners at one stage, but fell short by eight points. It was ‘Pooch’s’ one and only flag.
The coach’s post-match message was also one that he heeded throughout his career: “You’ve learnt an important lesson in life…..Even if you’re the underdog; if you give your best you stand a great chance of success.”
After being voted their Best Finals Player, he made only sporadic appearances with the Hawks the following season as he was snapped up by the Murray Bushrangers……..His 12 games with the ‘Bushies’ came about, not because of his outstanding skill-set, but more so his attitude and determination.
It prompted an approach from VFA club Preston, with whom Luke played several games, before the Rovers enticed him back into Brown and Gold mid-way through 1997.
Admittedly, returning home didn’t loom as a terribly attractive proposition. The Hawks were in the midst of a tumultuous season, having declared themselves ‘broke’. There were no player payments available and wins were expected to be few and far between.
Nonetheless, in Round 9 1997, ‘Pooch’ made his senior debut. He joined fellow youngsters Adam Clark, Paul and Shane Flynn, Ross and Andy Hill, ‘Dacca’ McLaughlin, Danny Nolan, Shane Welch, Pat Hicks, Adam Booth and Rohan Graham in the side.
Closely followed in subsequent years were Andy Murray, Troy Walker and Brian Tavare. All of them were to become lifelong friends.
It was the beginning of a new wave of Hawks who treasured their time together, both on and off the field……..One particular moment sticks in the mind, after a forgettable loss to North Albury at Bunton Park, the Hoppers’ home ground.
Our coach at the time, Laurie Burt, remarked in his post-game address that he’d consider it unfathomable for any Rovers player to go out and enjoy themselves after a performance like that……
Cue the smug looks around the group from the aforementioned young Hawks……Before you know it we were on our way home to Wangaratta in ‘Pooch’s’ clapped-out Landcruiser, plotting a night of merriment at the Sydney Hotel……
High-profile teams and corporates pay huge dollars in pursuit of the connection we had in those days, and Luke James Ellington was a vital part of that dynamic.
Another of his senior coaches – Anthony Pasquali – reflected that the Hawk Number 3 regularly won the Fitness Tests and was rated among the Club’s hardest trainers : “….An unassuming player who just goes out and gets his 20 possessions a week,” he once wrote in his weekly notes.
‘Pooch’ won the Coach’s Award in 1999, and was voted their Most Determined Player the following year. His hard-running and combativeness became a feature of his game, as did his courage.
He and his great mate David Steer headed west in the early 2000s and lined up, at first, with WAFL club Subiaco, before being recruited to Northam Railways, a club situated 97km north-east of Perth, in the Avon Valley.
“He and Steery would go down as two of the top five recruits the Railways have had over the years,” they posted in a recent tribute.
Luke shared Northam’s Best & Fairest Award, the ironically-named Morris Medal, in 2003, and played excellent footy before an opponent fell across his leg. The tibia and fibula were both broken and he had to have a pin inserted in the tibia.
Doctors suggested that he should take two or three years off. He took their advice, which led to an adventure he wouldn’t otherwise have experienced…….a trip overseas, and, in the stuff of which dreams are made, meeting his wife Samaia.
When he returned home, his love of the game drew ‘Pooch’ back to the Rovers.
Injuries had dealt him several cruel blows over the journey. A broken leg interrupted his initial season with the Hawks; He shattered his forearm at the Bushrangers, and, all up, estimated that he’d incurred nine or ten broken bones to his slight, 70kg frame.
Those ‘chicken legs’ and his propensity to ‘lead with the head’, cost him countless stints on the sidelines.
Was it any wonder that, when he lined up for his 100th O & M game, against Wangaratta in 2010, he regarded it as his proudest football moment.
It arrived 13 years after his senior debut. He was playing some of his best footy at the time, as a rebounding defender, and had been the Hawks’ best in a gallant performance against Yarrawonga the previous week.
The Rovers, who hadn’t saluted over the Pies for four years, got up to win by 22 points.
Three matches into the following season, he sustained a hamstring injury which continued to cause him grief. He came back, it recurred, and he decided to pull the pin….He’d chalked up 105 senior games with the Hawks.
Whorouly were on the march in 2012 and nabbed ‘Pooch’ as a key plank in their bid to win an eighth flag. There was a touch of romanticism about the return of their ‘Prodigal Son’…..
After an eventful season they reached the Grand Final but were steam-rolled by a North Wangaratta side, which booted eight goals in the final quarter. North’s outstanding defender was his best mate David Steer…….Elkington starred for the vanquished Maroons……
Upon his retirement he maintained his enthusiasm for sport and was a regular attendee at Rovers games. It wasn’t hard to visualise traces of ‘Pooch’ in the sporting development of Samuel and Ava…..
For the final word, I’d like to refer to ‘Pas’s’ coaching notes from the final round of 2001……’Well done, Pooch……everyone wishes you well…..Highly-respected and loved as a team-mate……..”
Yes, you were loved as a team-mate, ‘Pooch’…….but you were admired and respected as a person even more……
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.
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