LATE, great Melbourne wingman Robbie Flowerhas been remembered as a unique footballer and an even better person, taken fartoo soon, at a packed MCG service on Monday afternoon.
The service held in the members' dining roomat the MCG proved a fitting farewell for the universally admiredFlower, who died on October 2 after a short illness at the age of 59.
Tributes: Todd Viney | Tom Flower | Open Mike | Paul Kelly | Greg Shalless | Chris Reidy
A live broadcast of the event was alsoscreened in the great stadium's Percy Beames Bar, which was opened to thepublic to honour a man who was worshipped in the footy world for his on-fieldgenius and his humble, caring nature.
A veritable who's who of football attended theservice, including Flower's former coaches Ron Barassi and Bob Skilton,opponents Kevin Sheedy, David Parkin, Peter McKenna, Bernie Quinlan, RobertDiPierdomenico, Wayne Schimmelbusch and Doug Hawkins, ex-teammates Greg Wellsand Garry Lyon and Test cricketer Max Walker.
The AFL administration was represented by AFLCommission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick, League CEO Gillon McLachlan and footballoperations manager Mark Evans.
Emotional eulogies were delivered by Flower'sbrother Tom (who played 26 games for Melbourne in the late '70s) formerteammate Todd Viney and work colleague Chris Reidy, while close mate Quinlanand former journalist and friend Mike Sheahan produced a sombre version oftheir Open Mike interview.
Fitzroy great Quinlan, who became close toFlower when they roomed together for three weeks on a Gaelic football tour ofIreland in 1978, also spoke at Flower's funeral on Saturday, a private affairattended by family and close friends.
Quinlan articulated the consensus view ofFlower's inner circle: "I wish I could have played football like RobbieFlower, but he was my hero as a person … he was the best person I've evermet."
Sheahan agreed: "He was the best bloke ofall time."
What emerged was a portrait of a specialindividual who was a family man, practical joker, storyteller and the "ultimateentertainer" who was most in his element hosting a wide range of guests athis 10-bedroom Sorrento holiday home. Yet a man who would be embarrassed by allthe fuss.
Tom Flower revealed his brother was known byhis family as simply "Bob" – "Robbie" only came into beingwhen he started playing league football – a meteoric rise from the fourths(under-17s) to the seniors in the space of a single season.
Flower wasn't a great student, much preferringthe playground and sporting oval to the classroom. Later in life, afterenjoying a successful career as a founder of the Sportsco chain, he helpedyoungsters who were similarly disillusioned with traditional learning methodsto gain education through SEDA (Sports Education and Development Australia), whichthe loving father of four and grandfather of three regarded as his greatestlife achievement.
When beset by serious health problems, Floweralso thought outside his own predicament. In 2000, at 45, he was diagnosed withprostate cancer, which he overcame and used his profile to urge other men toundergo tests.
Viney recalled the wavelike momentum thataccompanied Melbourne's push to "do it for Robbie" in 1987, whenFlower ended a record 269-game wait to play his first finals series.
Viney, now the player personnel manager atMelbourne after stints with Hawthorn and Adelaide, described Flower as the mostcompetitive person and humblest champion he had come across.
Even so, Viney recalled watching a Foxtelreplay of the 1987 first semi-final, which Melbourne won by 76 points over theSydney Swans, with Flower kicking a game-high 4.4.
After the final siren, Viney's phone rang. Itwas Flower, who gushed: "How good was that? And how tight were yourshorts!"
Flower was affectionately known as"Tulip" – a nod to both his surname and his slender frame – and thefloral tributes at the MCG service comprised, of course, tulips (supplied byMelbourne's past players).
Fittingly, Flower's favourite musician, PaulKelly, performed a rendition of his favourite song, How To Make Gravy.Demons fan Kelly revealed that in recent times Flower had joined him and somemates for a leisurely kick-to-kick session, when his hero rose even more in hisestimation.
Continuing the lyrical theme, another longtimeMelbourne supporter, Greg Shalless, delivered a passionate recital of hisevocative 1987 poem Ode To Robbie Flower, which ends:
Round the Members' wing, it's a magical sight,
When he soars like an eagle in full flight,
And wouldn't it be a fantastic thing
If they renamed it, "The Robbie FlowerWing".
Quinlan went further, seizing the moment infront of powerbrokers of the AFL, MCG and Melbourne Cricket Club by declaring:"If we can't have a statue of Robbie Flower here, there's somethingwrong."
If the round of applause was any gauge, such aproposal would gain significant support.
CAREER SNAPSHOT
ROBBIE FLOWER
• Birth: 5/8/55
• Death: 2/10/14
• Recruited from: Murrumbeena
• Melbourne 1973-87: 272 games, 315 goals
• Melbourne captain 1981-87
• Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee,1996
• Melbourne Team of the Century (wing), 2000
• All Australian 1980 (carnival), 1982, 1983,1983 (carnival), 1984 (vice-captain)
• Victoria: 15 games, including three ascaptain
• 3rd Brownlow Medal 1979, 1984
• Best and fairest 1977
• 2nd best and fairest 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983
• 3rd best and fairest 1978, 1981
• Melbourne's leading goalkicker 1979 (33),1983 (40), 1987 (47)
• International Rules v Ireland, 1984
• Melbourne board member 2002-03
