.jpg)
David Neitz in 1994
Related content
Today's headlines
Today's videos
AUGUST 17, 2007 will become one of the most significant
dates in the history of the Melbourne Football Club – believed to be one of the
oldest football clubs in the world.
Although the club, formed on July 10, 1858, is the pioneer
of Australian Football and a foundation member of the VFL/AFL, it is the only
Victorian-based club in the competition not to have a 300-game player. That is
until now.
On Friday night at the MCG, against its greatest rival
Collingwood, David Neitz will become the first Melbourne player to reach this extraordinary
milestone and the 53rd player in VFL/AFL history.
It is yet another outstanding achievement in the
32-year-old's career, whose journey is a remarkable one, having accomplished
more than most in the red and blue.
Originally from Parkmore in Melbourne's
southern suburbs, Neitz, the son of Alec who played for St Kilda reserves in
the 1960s, joined the Melbourne
under 19s as a 15-year-old in 1990.
To put that in perspective, he was at an AFL club when today
most youngsters are honing their craft via the TAC Cup or a state league-based
competition. He was not drafted and is one of only 11 2007 AFL-listed players
not to have been recruited via the draft system.
His path to Melbourne
was prompted by a now former AFL coach, who went on to coach two premierships
with the Kangaroos in the 1990s – Denis Pagan.
"How it all came about, I was about to play for Vic
Metro in the Teal Cup [now the NAB AFL under 18 championships] and Denis Pagan
was the coach of the Teal Cup side and I was playing under 15s for my local
team Parkmore," Neitz told melbournefc.com.au.
"Denis said: 'Look son, if you want to play in the Teal
Cup side, you've got to go and play under 19s against some bigger boys'.
"I was a little bit toey about that, but I came down to
Melbourne and
had a runaround with the likes of David Schwarz and Paul Hopgood – guys I
played a fair bit of footy with.
"I remember playing Sydney in my first game of under 19s footy
and it was very tough, but I remember picking up the footy and coming through
the pack and giving some guy a shirtfront and ended up still being alive.
"My teammates were happy a 15-year-old could win a hard
footy and I got a bit of respect from day one, which was some weight off the
shoulders."
It proved to be a big year for Neitz. He not only captained
the Victorian under 15s schoolboys team in 1990, he also represented Vic Metro
in the victorious Teal Cup side and played in Melbourne's losing Under 19 grand
final against North Melbourne in the same year.
For three consecutive seasons from 1990-92, Neitz was a
member of the Vic Metro Teal Cup side and was again part of the winning team in
'92. In 1991, he represented the Australian under-17 team which toured Ireland
and was named best player during that series.
From 1990-92, when Neitz played under 19s and reserves for
Melbourne, he was under the tutelage of Mark Cross, who played four matches for
Footscray in 1974, and was at the helm of both teams.
Neitz was never left wondering what his impressions were of
his first coach.
"He was a hard man and he made sure we were a
disciplined team," Neitz said.
During his time in the reserves, Neitz managed to play on
two of the great premiership players of the 1980s, which he said was invaluable.
"As a 17-year-old I played against guys like [Hawthorn's]
Chris Mew and [Carlton's] David Rhys-Jones and it was an amazing experience, so
it was a great development process to go through and also get a feel for the
Melbourne footy club culture," Neitz said.
Melbourne's
senior coach during this era was John Northey. 'Swooper' lifted the club to the
finals in 1987 – for the first time since 1964 – as the Demons played off each
September until 1991.
Although Neitz was never coached by Northey in a senior
match, he recalled being in line to play against Hawthorn in the final round of
the 1992 season. Melbourne's
fate was already known, as it was set to miss the finals for the first time
since 1986.
"Myself and Shane Burgmann, who ended up having a
really distinguished career in the VFL, were vying for a position and 'Burgs'
got the nod in the final round of the season, so I had to wait until the
following year. I was so close, but so far," Neitz recalled.
For the record, that was Burgmann's only game for Melbourne and as it
eventuated, Neitz would never play a match under Northey, as it was his final
as coach of the Demons.
"I didn't end up playing a senior game under 'Swooper'
which would've been good to get that way, but anyway, things turned out
well," Neitz said.
"I remember some hard, slogging training sessions under
'Swooper' and those were the days when everyone worked and had a full-time job
and footy was part-time, so we'd get some absolute floggings."
"He was a hard man and a very direct person – not that
I had a lot to do with him."
Still, Neitz's season in the reserves in 1992 and the way he
finished it off - as one of Melbourne's
best in its loss to Essendon in the grand final - meant exciting times were
just around the corner for him.
To be continued …
WebMail
My BigPond