In the spirit of reconciliation, the Fitzroy Football Club incorporating the Fitzroy Reds acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of lands throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
Our football club is a place free from discrimination, where everyone belongs. We respect and celebrate the diversity of our communities, including people of all cultural and faith backgrounds, classes, gender or sexual identities, ages and abilities and we are committed to creating a safe and welcoming space for all.
The coach wanted us
to pin them in, watch their reverse and sideways breakaways,
and for us to use the ball with precision. We were going well
at the stoppages with the Claytons, Grace, Toohey and Kyroussis
providing grunt.
The scenes coming off
the ground made a hard man find a lump in his throat. Misty
eyes for Nathan and Matty K as they were chaired off by the
19-year olds. The old and the new. All to rapturous applause.
Darcy Lowrie, who acquitted himself with cool and calm aplomb,
must have wondered how good this could get. It got better as
he was thoroughly drenched in the rooms. The support and acclaim
players receive at this club is without peer. The song was
sung with gusto. The coach lauded those who had jobs to do:
Mad Max Davie, Jack Hart, Bronco Bill Clayton, and the Silent
Assassin, Max Ellis, who put another high-profile gun to the
sword, slicing him up, quarter by quarter.
You've got to understand,
part of the joy of doing this column is the opportunity to
meet and converse with Fitzroy people, all a bit younger than
me, who are part of the fabric of the club. Bill and Ted Clayton
are two such characters. Separated in age by only a few minutes,
at 20 the twins are mature young leaders, great performers
on and off the arena.
Auskick at Clifton Hill,
with Andy Roberts in charge, started when they were still in
kinder. The Fitzroy identity kicked in at Under 9. Nino, as
in Lazzaro, is their biggest memory of that time. Team camps
at Lorne, in the surf, coaches Graham Jorgensen, Paul Broderick
and Monty Stuart later in Colts. They dominated under age,
but in their latter under age and Colts years, their teams
probably underachieved. Strange haircuts before grand finals
then became an outlawed tradition.
The twins excelled ATAR
wise, gaining identical scores in the high 90s, but interestingly,
in different disciplines. Bill's the scientist, Ted the History/Politics
kind of guy. This is their most significant point of difference,
if you don't count Bill as the ruckman/defender, Ted the midfielder.
'Bill watches documentaries on mega factories, I'm reading
20th century history.' They both do restaurant work at Entrecôte
in South Yarra, mainly back of house with the snails, the veal
and the pomme frites. The University of Melbourne mixed with
a bit of South Yarra, some Westgarth, and a lot of Fitzroy.
They cannot see themselves
playing football anywhere else. 'No amount of money would drag
me away', said Ted. Bill noted that it would have to be a ridiculous
amount, but even then, they couldn't leave behind what they
have. 'We will definitely be playing at Fitzroy'.
A footy club needs its
quiet achievers.
Keep an eye on the
You’d be hard pressed
to find a stronger guest speaker line up than what we’ve got
planned on Saturday 27 July.
George Megalogenis – journalist, author and one of Australia’s most respected
political commentators. His book The Australian Moment won
the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction and
the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction, and formed the basis
for the ABC documentary series Making Australia Great.
His most recent book is The Football Solution: How Richmond’s Premiership Can Save Australia.
Christos Tsiolkas is an award-winning novelist, playwright, essayist and poet.
Two of his best-selling books, The Slap and Barracuda,
have been adapted into ABC television drama series. Christos
has a longstanding interest in the convergence of sport and
literature. He barracks for Richmond.
Dr Chris McConville is
an historian, Victoria University academic and former member
of the Coodabeen Champions. His fields of expertise include
urban history, sports history and the history of gambling in
Australia. Chris is a Fitzroy local and an often be found
lurking in the BSO Grandstand of a Saturday arvo. He also barracks
for Richmond.
