Riverina wool team
Backs: Terry Daniher Jim Daniher Anthony Daniher
Half Backs: Reg Gleeson Jack Hawkins Mark Bos (?)
Centres: Chris Daniher Peter Box Ben Mathews
Half Forwards: Neale Daniher Jimmy Prentice Luke Breust
Forwards: Henry Playfair John Longmire Tom Hawkins
Followers: Justin Koschitzke Ricky Quade Paul Kelly
Interchange (from): Mike Quade Tom Quade Ross Wells (wool farmer from Jerilderie)
Terry Daniher: The Danihers grew up with Jim (Dad) and Edna (Mum) on their Ungarie sheep-wheat farm. Terry played 313 games with South Melbourne and Essendon, 1976-92. 469 goals. Two premierships.
Jim Daniher: Father of. A handy rugby league player and key defender. Raking drop kicks from full back.
Anthony Daniher: Sydney, Essendon. 1981-94. 233 games. 80 goals. Reliable key defender.
Reg Gleeson: South Melbourne 1970-76. 128 games, 11 goals. A strong backman from a Lockhart sheep property.
Jumpin` Jack Hawkins: Geelong, 1973-81. 182 games, 20 goals. Key position player. A tremendous high mark. Now a sheep farmer near Finley.
Chris Daniher: Essendon. 1987-97. 124 games. 40 goals. Handy utility player. The fourth brother. Went back to the farm and continued playing bush footy until he was a ripe old age.
Mark Bos: Geelong. 1979-89. Half-back. Recruited from Tooleybuc. Sheep? 195 games, 16 goals. Best and Fairest 1987-88.
Peter Box: Footscray 1951-57. 107 games, 43 goals. Centremen. 1954 premiership player. Brownlow Medalist. Took the coaching position at Grong Grong when Australia was riding on the sheep’s back. It’s said he was the highest paid footballer in Australia in his first year in the Riverina. Shearer. Photographed in his Jack Howe for the AFL’s book of Brownlow medallists.
Ben Mathews: Sydney 1997-2008. 198 games. 45 goals. Utility. Recruited from Corowa-Rutherglen. Grew up on a farm. Neighbours of the Longmires.
Ricky Quade: One of the 15 Quades from Ariah Park. South Melbourne 1970-80. Ruck rover. Best and Fairest 1976. Captain 1977-79. Coach of Sydney 1982-84.
Jimmy Prentice: South Melbourne 1971-74. 58 games, 44 goals. Centre half forward. Ariah Park. Farmer.
Luke Breust: Hawthorn (current) Brilliant goal sneak, with silky skills. From a seep-wheat farm in the Temora district.
Henry Playfair: Geelong, Sydney. 2003-2010. 68 games, 43 goals. From a sheep property at Holbrook.
John Longmire: North Melbourne, 1988-99. 200 games, 511 goals. From a sheep property. Recruited from Corowa-Rutherglen.
Tom Hawkins: Son of Jumpin Jack. Geelong 2007-now. Full forward. 2011 premiership.
Neale Daniher: Essendon 1979-90. 82 games. 32 goals. Brilliant ruck rover, forward who suffered a terrible run of injuries. Then coached Melbourne.
Paul Kelly: Sydney. 234 games, 200 goals. 1990-2002. Ruck rover. Brownlow Medal 1995. Best and fairest 1992,1993,1996,1997. Wool connection: truck driver who carts sheep?
Justin Koschitzke St Kilda 200 games 247 goals. Ruckman-key forward. From a Brocklesby farm. Also Tom Roberts painted Shearing the Rams on Brocklesby Station.
Mick Quade: North Melbourne 1966-68. 16 games, 9 goals. Brother of Ricky and Tom.
Tom Quade: North Melbourne 1957-58. 3games. Brother of Ricky and Mick
About John Harms
JTH is a writer, publisher, speaker, historian. He is publisher and contributing editor of The Footy Almanac and footyalmanac.com.au. He has written columns and features for numerous publications. His books include Confessions of a Thirteenth Man, Memoirs of a Mug Punter, Loose Men Everywhere, Play On, The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story and Life As I Know It (with Michelle Payne). He appears (appeared?) on ABCTV's Offsiders. He can be contacted [email protected] He is married to The Handicapper and has three school-age kids - Theo, Anna, Evie. He might not be the worst putter in the world but he's in the worst four. His ambition was to lunch for Australia but it clashed with his other ambition - to shoot his age.
G’day John, i have a recollection Mark Bos was from somewhere near the SA-Vic border, don’t think it was Tooleybuc.
As i’ve mentioned previously Peter Chisnall was a butcher; he certainly handled some sheep in that trade.
Micky Dowdle from Jerilderie. What did he do for a crust ? Fred Way from Berrigan ran a trucking firm, so one would be surprised if he didn’t transport sheep .
Isaac Smith from Cootamundra, possibly sheep linked.
Glen!
Isaac Smith’s father is the principal at a Catholic school. Some people draw a sheep analogy to describe the Catholic faithful, but that might be too much of a stretch in this case.
Mark Bos’ farm I am pretty sure is just on the Bendigo side of Kerang (in Victoria) and he was recruited from the nearby club of Wandella (Kerang and Districts Football League at the time – now Golden Rivers FL). He did play at Tooleybuc after finishing at Geelong but as far as I know would be a Victorian qualification rather than NSW. His father was Hendrik Bos, an immigrant from the Netherlands who didn’t take up footy until his early 30s and retired at 48.
I had a chat with Leo Barry during the Boxing Day Test. His Dad (Leo Snr) is a rice farmer near Deniliquin in NSW, but they also over the years have definitely had sheep. They have no woolshed on their farm but used the neighbours shed. Leo Jnr did work in the woolshed as a youngster roustabouting and despite scepticism from his brother while chatting, he maintained he knew how to throw a fleece.
Chris Smith
Mark Bos was from Wandella via Kerang, also Crackers Keenan and Phil Ryan off farms around Yarrawonga and Simon O’Donnell from a farm at Deniliquin
I remember Graham ‘Curley’ Ion (Footscray) coached Deniliquin in the late 1960s. Also in his team of 1966 Norm Dennis, a farmer from Cunderdin WA and premiership player with South Fremantle circa 1979. He was jackarooing on the famous Wanganella Merino Stud at the time.