The Ultimate Team Man
THE DAYS of aspiring to be a 30-possession midfielder or a five-goal forward each week are gone.
Today’s footballers are not going out there each week with intentions of dominating games like they once were.
Instead, today’s focus is playing a role for the team and contributing the team defence, which we hear so often these days.
When I was a young boy, dreaming of playing in the AFL, I admired players like Matthew Richardson, for the sheer amount of goals he kicked and his passion, and Joel Bowden, because I loved watching him rack up the touches across half-back.
And yes - I was a Richmond supporter!
Not to say that those players didn’t play their role, but these days it’s players like Alan Toovey who the Collingwood faithful love and cheer loudest for when he has the ball.
Every time Toovey gets the ball, a loud “TOOOOOV” (which sounds like boos) echoes around the stadium.
When I was growing up, I never would have thought that someone averaging roughly 11 touches a game would get this much appreciation from the crowd.
This just shows how attitudes towards such unsung heroes have changed considerably.
I believe this generates from within a football club. In actual fact, I know it generates from within the club.
A term commonly used around football clubs is ‘play your role’.
It’s something at Melbourne we build our game around.
We know that if everyone is playing their role in any given game, against any opposition, we can match it with them and give ourselves a good shot at winning the game.
Someone at the club who leads the way in relation to the ‘play your role” motto is Clint Bartram.
Clint is very highly respected by players and coaches at the club because of the way he goes about his football, and his reliability.
When Clint is given a role, such as playing on a dangerous small forward, as is so often the case, he will do it unconditionally, putting it before his own instincts.
Although I’m not part of the match committee picking the team each week, I know that Clint’s name is one of the first picked each week.
Players like Clint are growing in stature throughout the AFL.
Nick Maxwell has become the captain of Collingwood through his ability to put the team first, and continually put his body on the line for the team week in week out.
Players like this don’t lead the disposals or goals at the end of games, and the work they do goes relatively unnoticed.
In fact, a lot of the work they do doesn’t go down as a stat.
The ultimate team man is becoming the way of the future in AFL, it seems.
As spectacular and as popular as the game is, in my short involvement I have noticed this change.
The team player is getting more recognition than ever.
Match reviews are more in-depth than ever, with about 20 TV cameras covering each game. There is nowhere to hide if you don’t do the team thing.
Players in the reserves are getting picked for senior selection on this basis, not so much for getting a stack of touches or kicking goals.
And on the flipside, players in the senior side are losing their spot because of this.
