The Reserves Rap
“As you go through life and you live from day to day
There’s a lot that’s said about football and the glory for those who play
But some are missing out on the attention they deserve
Have you ever stopped to think about the men who play reserves?”
So sang Greg Champion in 1984 - and in 2011, those “men who play reserves” are still battling for recognition.
It’s fair enough that the senior team receive the lion’s share of the limelight as they are, after all, playing the sport at its highest possible level. However, the guys playing directly below them seldom capture the imagination of the football public.
While everyone knows of Jonathan Brown and, going back, Nigel Lappin and their respective injury issues, how many are familiar with the plight of Callum Bartlett and his comeback from back-to-back knee reconstructions, or former highly-regarded junior Luke Forsyth who spent two seasons with the Lions but just could not get his body right and was delisted without playing a senior game?
There wouldn’t be a Lions fan that wasn’t enraptured by Mitch Clark in 2009, when he spent the season jumping on heads and racking up mark-of-the-week nominations in nearly every other round. But Travis Baird did similar in the reserves in 2005 and almost nobody knew about it.
Remember when Jed Adcock kicked a last-minute winner against Collingwood at the Gabba in 2008? Yep? Remember when big Dan Murray did the same at Broadbeach in 2009? Perhaps not!
As I said before, to the top grade goes the well-earned kudos, but how’s about we spare just a few plaudits for those lesser-known Lions battling away in the seconds? Get on board these kids, nearly every AFL star used to be an unknown playing in the twos! Some will make it, many won’t, but they all deserve our support!
Personally, I’ve always had time for the seconds. One of my biggest thrills in football was being at the MCG on Grand Final Day in 1989 and witnessing Fitzroy’s heart-stopping reserve grade premiership win over Geelong. What a fitting send-off for club icons Leon Harris, Ross Thornton and Micky Conlan that was!
Of course, our future marriage partner, the Brisbane Bears, matched that feat with their run-away triumph over Melbourne at Waverley some two years later. I may not have been a Brisbane fan in those days, but it still gave me a real kick seeing the so-called battlers from the so-called northern outpost win some silverware on football’s biggest day.
Moving forward a few years and it was one week before the Brisbane Lions seniors were able to bask in the glory of their first AFL premiership that the reserves team - under Craig Brittain’s expert guidance - would bring the merged club’s first-ever flag back to the Gabba.
The side that charged to the upset victory over Southport that day included Craig Bolton, Richard Hadley, Des Headland, Jamie Charman, Joel MacDonald (as a top-up player), Dylan McLaren, Aaron Shattock, Damian Cupido and Ash McGrath. Six of those boys went on to become senior AFL premiership players.
Since moving North to Queensland in 2002, I’ve really enjoyed following the reserves. There have been many memorable days and some outstanding games of football played.
One of the first AFLQ matches I attended was the day a mini-cyclone blew in off the ocean at Mudjimba on the Sunshine Coast. The Lions were playing Redland and torrential rain was coming in sideways, and with little shelter around all you could do as a supporter was to stand there copping it and trying not to be blown over! The Lions went down and we all had a long, very soggy trip home. Not a great day, but quite unforgettable.
For the sadistic Lions fan, a happier day was spent at Labrador in 2003 when the Cubs routed the Tigers 199 to 12, with the home side’s only two goals coming, one, from a 50 metre penalty, and the other from a double 50 metre penalty! Thankfully the AFLQ-cum-NEAFL is a lot more competitive these days, in fact it puts the AFL to shame with its evenness.
There was a game at Zillmere around about six rounds into the 2003 season where the Lions were hit with three serious injuries early in the game. Out of necessity, one of our first-year draftees who was, up to that time, uncoordinated, unsure and generally as green as grass found himself thrust into the ruck. His skills might have been rough around the edges, but his big heart nearly won us the match. His name: Daniel Merrett.
From 2004 through to 2008, the reserves played under the Suncoast Lions banner, with a number of home matches played at Maroochydore. We had a good record there and a number of upset wins. My favourite memory of these games is probably the day there was a howling wind favouring the northern end and a young Lions rookie called Josh Drummond was peppering the goals from 80 metres out!
These days, the Brisbane Lions reserves have an alignment with the Western Magpies, using their under 21s as top-up players. Despite the Lions’ position at the foot of the NEAFL ladder, it’s a relationship that shows every sign of flourishing in the future and being win-win for both clubs.
One of the great moments of this season was when Magpie player Matt Dillon - one of the more regular top-ups - kicked a clutch goal for the Lions against Morningside and immediately grabbed a big handful of guernsey over his heart as he was mobbed by team-mates. Another bonus is the playing of some home games at the Magpies’ home ground at Chelmer. Their canteen provides the best darned hot chips in Brisbane! If we’re not allowed to play at the Gabba any more, I can’t think of a better place to go!
2011 has been a tough season for the seconds, with only four wins and a draw . The Brisbane Lions’ list rebuild has coincided with a surge in strength of the new NEAFL competition. Neverthless, the Lions percentage of just a tick under 90 proves just how close they’ve been to their opposition and with an ounce of luck in many games, might have had enough wins to be challenging for the finals.
Just last weekend and just like the seniors, the Lions were finally able to get one over the team from down the road. After so many close losses, it was fantastic to finally win a cliff-hanging game - especially against them! This rivalry is only going to grow - at both levels!
So, as of right now, the Lions’ NEAFL side has finished its Brisbane-based commitments for the season, but in 2012, do yourselves a favour and get on out to your local ground when the boys are visiting and support them as enthusiastically as you do with the seniors. It will be appreciated!
- Steve (Member #1016285)
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Club
