Micro Noises 74: Numbers up!
Back to the 60s
Footy fans who tuned in to Melbourne's SEN on Thursday night last week would have heard Mark 'Finey' Fine and Paul Daffey discussing player jumper number oddities, with a focus on Merv Keane's seasons wearing 40, 19 and 18 and Collingwood's alphabetic system used back in the 1930s. Twitter chat then got in on the act, with one tweeter, Ross Slater recalling that Craig Davis wore number 60 in his brief comeback with Sydney in 1988.
@PaulDaffey @EWFiney_SEN Craig Davis wearing 60 at Sydney
— Ross Slater (@SlatsRoss) November 13, 2014
That got us thinking about players who have actually worn number 60 or higher on their backs. It turns out that seven VFL/AFL players have donned a guernsey with number 60 on its back, and one even wore a higher number - 65!
The proud owner of the number 65 jumper was Andrew Witts, who played with Collingwood in 1985. Witts was a late arrival at the Pies that season, with numbers (allocated down to under 19 level) having already been handed out to other players, so he got lumped with the highest number in VFL/AFL history. Witts' luck didn't improve much from there, delisted after seven games while recovering from a broken pelvis.¹ At least he holds a record unlikely to be broken for a long time, if ever.
The seven players that donned the number 60 include a Brownlow Medalist, although Tony Liberatore was wearing his more familiar 39 when he took Charlie home in 1990. He is the only Bulldog to wear the number 60. The other six "60"s are comprised of two players each from St Kilda, Sydney and Collingwood. The seven to have worn that number are:
PLAYER | YEAR IN NO. 60 | GAMES | OTHER NUMBERS |
Robert Mace (St Kilda) | 1982 | 13 | 49 and 38 at Hawthorn, 7 at St Kilda, 23 at Brisbane |
Steven Healey (Sydney) | 1983 | 1 | - |
Tony Liberatore (Footscray) | 1986 | 4 | 279 other matches wearing number 39 for the Dogs |
Terry Keays (Collingwood) | 1987 | 10 | 31 and 14 at Collingwood, 2 at Richmond |
Craig Davis (Sydney) | 1988 | 9 | 23 at Carlton, 14 at North Melbourne, 19 at Collingwood |
Dermot McNicholl (St Kilda) | 1990 | 3 | - |
Steven Anderson (Collingwood) | 1991 | 4 | - |
Tigers burning not so bright
It's been a tough year for Tiger fans across the country. In the AFL, Richmond, despite making consecutive finals series for the first time since 1975, was unceremoniously dumped from the finals in the first week by 57 points against Port Adelaide. In the VFL, Werribee made it to the second week of the finals, but could't get past Williamstown. In the WAFL, Claremont failed by a game plus percentage to make the top four. And in the SANFL, poor old Glenelg had a wretched year, finishing last for the second year in a row with just four wins.
But even Glenelg fans will surely spare a thought for the Kingborough Tigers, who have endured a baptism from hell in their first year in the Tasmanian State League. Not only did the Tigers fail to win a match (losing 12 of their 18 by over 100 points) and not only did they kick only 105 goals for the season (as many as Larry Donohue alone did for Geelong in 1976) but the poor old Tigers won just THREE of the 72 quarters that they played in 2014. To put that into some context, even the bottom two sides in the AFL this season, St Kilda and Melbourne, won 24 and 30 (respectively) of their 88 quarters in 2014.
The Tigers' 2014 tale of woe can be explored further on the TSL's advanced ladder page here. Let's hope 2015 holds some brighter days for the Tigers of the Tasmanian variety.
Dreaming of the draft
The 2014 National Draft is fast approaching and the Age's Emma Quayle took a look at some of the top prospects in this year's crop last week. While we would never profess to have the encyclopaedic knowledge of potential draftees that Emma does, we wondered if some of her top 30 might reveal something of themselves through the anagrams of their names. Here's what we learned:
- As well as being a likely type on the footy field, ISAAC HEENEY might cause some fans to swoon with his looks. He's an anagram of AHA! NICE EYES!
- DILLON VIOJO-RAINBOW should probably join anyone but Sydney, given that he's an anagram of I NOW JOIN BLOOD RIVAL.
- On the other hand, ANGUS BRAYSHAW probably should go to Sydney, as an anagram of A BRASH SWAN GUY.
- Is a PADDY MCCARTIN a crazy lover of hard crosswords? He's an anagram of MAD AND CRYPTIC.
- Although CHRISTIAN PETRACCA has been touted as St Kilda's first draft pick, perhaps he's better suited at Geelong, as an anagram of I PIN CATS' CHARACTER.
- Will DARCY MOORE's body hold up to the rigours of AFL football? He's an anagram of MAY CORRODE.
- JAYDEN LAVERDE might not be a crowd favourite if he joins the Blues, as an anagram of JEERED NAVY LAD.
- LIAM DUGGAN, no matter who he's drafted by, will no doubt be happy if he proves to be a star. That makes it entirely appropriate that he's an anagram of GLAD I'M A GUN.
- Meanwhile, the question being asked of PAUL AHERN is not can he play footy, but rather, can HE RUN A LAP?
- JAKE STEELE is a midfielder, so the chances of him overthrowing Hawthorn's current full back are virtually nil, despite him being an anagram of EJECTS LAKE.
- JORDAN DE GOEY is a chance of finding happiness at either the Bulldogs or Essendon. He's an anagram of DOG EARNED JOY and also DON JOY? AGREED!
- KYLE LANGFORD could be the sort of player that would happily do anything for Port Adelaide's coach Hinkley. This is supported by the fact that he's an anagram of GLADLY, FOR KEN.
Ridiculous footy anagram of the week
The Western Bulldogs have appointed Luke Beveridge as their new senior coach. Beveridge, who played for Footscray in the 1990s and also spent time with Melbourne and St Kilda is seen as a very astute man and this big news will be welcomed at the Kennel, with insiders and fans alike certain that he will be a good fit. Howe appropriate, then, that NEW DOGS COACH LUKE BEVERIDGE is an anagram of HUGE NEWS! A CLEVER DICK. BE GOOD.
Micro Noises is Andrew Gigacz's regular, quirky look at all things footy. The name Micro Noises is an anagram of Enrico Misso, who played one game for St Kilda in 1985. He remains the only Enrico and the only Misso to have played footy at the highest level.
Footnotes
1. As revealed by Witts to Peter Hanlon in the Age in 2009.
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