Australian Football

Damian Monkhorst joined Collingwood from Woori Yallock and right from the outset of his V/AFL career he operated as the club's number one ruckman. Rugged, rough and reliable, he used his sizeable 202cm 108kg frame to good effect both in ruck contests and around the ground. His spell with the Magpies spanned the years 1988 to1999 during which he played 205 games and kicked 45 goals. The undoubted highlight of his career came in the 1990 grand final when his out-pointing of star Essendon ruckman Simon Madden was a significant factor in the Magpies' crushing win.

Monkhorst also made headlines for unsavoury reasons, and indeed he is probably  best remembered today for racially vilifying Essendon's aboriginal wingman Michael Long during the 1995 Anzac Day match. As a direct result of this incident the AFL introduced racial vilification laws which have helped diminish, although not entirely extinguish, the problem. Monkhorst was also instrumental in getting the AFL to introduce a melee rule after he ran through the Essendon huddle prior to the start of a game in 1994.

Towards the end of his time with Collingwood Monkhorst suffered a variety of injury problems which caused him to miss quite a few games and undermined his effectiveness. He crossed to St Kilda in 2000 for what proved to be his last season of AFL football, but it was far from a memorable swansong as he only managed 10 appearances for the year.

After leaving St Kilda Damian Monkhorst played for his original club Woori Yallock for a time. He subsequently served as an assistant coach at Hawthorn.

Author - John Devaney