CLUB historian Lynda Carroll catches up with former Demon ruckman Jeff White
WITH 268 games - 32 for Fremantle and 236 for Melbourne - under his belt, as well as Best and Fairest and All Australian honours in 2004, Jeff White is without doubt at the heart of the red and the blue.
A Life Member of the Club, he retired at the end of 2008, but has retained numerous connections ever since to both the Club and the game as a whole. Connections, indeed, are vital to White’s ongoing activities, and he can be found on Twitter @JeffWhite34.
Following a move to Queensland with wife Stacy and son Kalani - only three years old, but, his proud father declares, ‘already five feet tall!’ - White’s life since retirement has certainly been one of much activity and diversity.
As well as playing for the Redland Bombers alongside his brother last season, since March 2009 he has been part of the sales and marketing team for Gold Coast radio station, Hot Tomato - 102.9 FM.
As well as this, White is part-time ruck coach for the new Gold Coast AFL side.
‘Hot Tomato is one of the club’s media partners, so we’ll probably be doing pre- and post-game work with them,’ he told melbournefc.com.au.
‘It all links well, and I like the marketing side of it all.’
Add to this his new website, www.whiteecho.com, specialising in social media consulting and iPhone application development, and White’s life is a full one, building on his expertise and experience in football, media and marketing.
Among those who have signed up to the website as clients are golfer Adam Scott, and cricketer Damien Martyn, as well as a range of businesses.
White’s background stands him in good stead, with his knowledge of sporting life meaning that he is well aware of the worth of social media for capturing an audience.
Where AFL is concerned, he said ‘players need to look outside footy, and find a niche in the market.’
His first hand experience is sound testimony, and his building of Twitter pages sees him at the forefront of the new technology.
Back at the football, White is ‘really enjoying my role. There are some good juniors coming through!’
In the unique position of traversing from oldest to newest club, he readily admits to retaining a ‘soft spot for Melbourne - I’ll always have that.’
With a recent reunion of members of the 2000 Grand Final team, White treasured the chance to catch up with former teammates of a decade ago.
‘I hadn’t seen some guys since 2001, 2002. It was great to catch up with the likes of Matty Collins, Stephen Powell - I really enjoyed it,’ he said.
With that, the former No. 34 has many connections as a central point of his life.
From Twitter to whiteecho, the occasional stints on air at Hot Tomato, and reuniting with old mates, Jeff White is as strong a presence as he ever was throughout more than a decade of playing and dominating the game.
