Few People Have Had a Greater Impact
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1931-2014 Tom Hafey TIGER TOUGH The football world is mourning the loss of a coaching icon and one of the game’s great men. ADAM McNICOL ew people have had spending a large part of the 1958 a greater impact on season on the bench, he came to the Australian Football conclusion his time was up at the than Thomas Stanley highest level. Raymond Hafey, who He spent the 1959 season running died on Monday, aged around with a Richmond-based team 82, of cancer. And in Melbourne’s amateur competition, although he played then accepted the position as at the highest level, the renowned playing-coach of Goulburn Valley Ffitness fanatic will be remembered League club Shepparton. as one of the greatest coaches the Hafey led the Maroons for six game has seen. seasons and took great pride Between 1966 and 1988, Hafey in pushing his players to their coached Richmond, Collingwood, physical limits. Under his guidance, Geelong and the Sydney Swans Shepparton made four Grand Finals in 522 games. He won four and won a hat-trick of flags in his premierships with the Tigers, led last three years there. his clubs to 10 Grand Finals and recorded a winning percentage of 64. A Collingwood supporter in his youth, Hafey grew up in East Malvern in Melbourne’s inner-east, which was then in Richmond’s Few people have metropolitan recruiting zone. After he won two senior best and had a greater fairest awards with the East Malvern Football Club in 1951 and ’52, the impact Tigers, aware that Fitzroy and the Magpies were keen on him, invited Hafey to training. Hafey kept in contact with Although his relationship with Richmond during that time, scouting Richmond would wax and wane at potential players for the club. And times, he developed a close bond when Tigers coach Len Smith with the club from that moment on. suffered health problems during the A man who never drank alcohol 1965 season and had to relinquish HOT AND nor smoked, Hafey played 67 games his position, Hafey’s impressive bush STRONG: for the Tigers over five seasons, most coaching record saw him lured back A teetotaller, of them in the back pocket. But after to the Punt Road Oval. At the age of Tom Hafey liked nothing better than a cup of tea. 16 AFL RECORD | afl.com.au Tom Hafey 34, he was appointed Richmond’s senior coach. Not in their wildest dreams could TOM HAFEY the Tigers’ powerbrokers have imagined how successful Hafey’s BY THE NUMBERS coaching tenure would be. By ensuring his players were fit and by using a simple game-plan that can best be described as long kicks COACHING to mercurial centre half-forward Royce Hart, Hafey led Richmond to a RECORD premiership in just his second season RICHMOND back at the club. 1966-76 With an array of other brilliant 248 games, players at his disposal, including 173 wins, 73 losses, Kevin Bartlett, Ian Stewart, Francis 2 draws Bourke and Dick Clay, Hafey led the Tigers to another flag in 1969, then COLLINGWOOD back-to-back premierships in 1973 1977-82 and ’74. Ever the teetotaller, 138 games, 89 wins, he celebrated his successes by 47 losses, 2 draws drinking cups of tea. GEELONG 1983-85 But his relationship with 66 games, 31 wins, Richmond’s committee, namely 35 losses the godfather of the club, Graeme Richmond, broke down after the SYDNEY 1986-88 COMMUNICATOR: Hafey’s message 70 games, 43 wins, 1976 season. Hafey quit the Tigers resonated at four clubs including Richmond and headed to one of the club’s arch (above), Collingwood and Sydney. 27 losses enemies, Collingwood. By then known OVERALL as ‘T-shirt Tommy’, due to his penchant GAMES 522 for wearing T-shirts WINS 336 regardless of the LOSSES 182 weather, he led DRAWS 4 the Magpies to five WIN % 64 Grand Finals – the SEASONS 23 same number he took Richmond to. Yet he was heartbroken on COACHING each occasion. HONOURS In 1977, he almost RICHMOND performed a miracle, PREMIERSHIPS leading a Collingwood 1967, 1969, 1973, 1974 side that had finished on the bottom of the ladder Richmond the previous year all the Team of the way to the last Saturday in September. Century coach But after leading North Melbourne by 27 points at three-quarter time, the Magpies were overrun in the final term PLAYING and the game ended in a draw. The CAREER Kangaroos then easily won the replay. The rest of Hafey’s time at He led the Magpies to five Grand Finals – RICHMOND Collingwood played out in a similar 1953-58 way. He was continually able to get the same number he took Richmond to 67 games, 10 goals his teams to the pointy end of the season, but they faltered again and senior coach. His time at the Cattery and high-flying forward Warwick again when it mattered most. was unsuccessful, but he never lost Capper, Hafey took the Swans to Hafey’s Magpies lost the 1979 faith in his methods. the finals in 1986 and ’87, yet his and ’81 Grand Finals to Carlton and, In late 1985, he found himself back men floundered in September in most galling of all for the former in business when he took over as both years. Tiger, were thrashed in the 1980 boss of the reinvigorated, and then Hafey left Sydney after the 1988 decider by Richmond. privately owned, Sydney Swans. season. Although he was often Collingwood slumped in 1982 With the VFL’s highest-paid mentioned as a candidate for other and Hafey was sacked, yet he picked squad of players to pick from, a coaching jobs during the following himself up off the canvas again, soon group that included star midfielders decade, especially whenever winning the position as Geelong’s Gerard Healy and Greg Williams Richmond found itself in turmoil, 18 AFL RECORD | afl.com.au Tom Hafey which was often, Hafey never coached again. However, the end of his coaching career didn’t slow him down. He became a gifted public speaker, A SIMPLE MESSAGE inspiring thousands of school children around the nation with his messages about being active and dreaming big. Even as Hafey entered his 80s, keeping fit remained an obsession. He rose every morning at 5.20am and went for a run, a swim in Port Phillip Bay, and did an inordinate number of push-ups and sit-ups. Before his illness, he could have been mistaken for being 20 years younger than he was. Something that warmed Hafey’s heart was his reconciliation with Richmond during his later years. He was welcomed back into the Tiger fold, with the Tommy Hafey Club, which financially supports Richmond and its past players, founded in his honour. The recipient of an MBE in 1981, Hafey was part of the inaugural intake into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He was named coach of Richmond’s Team of the Century in 1998 and was named an Tom Hafey’s philosophy on life was simple: treat everyone equal, work hard ‘Immortal’ by the club in 2003. and love your family. Fittingly, this extract from The Tigers: A Proud History His death will be felt throughout of a Great Club by Rhett Bartlett, sums up his attitude. football, but it will resonate most at the Tigers, who have truly lost one Every day’s a great day; if you don’t believe me, friends. I think being very family is a big help, of their own. try missing one. I say that all the time now. So you’ve got a beautiful loving family and very Hafey is survived by his wife many people have got a grouch on the world, got a close, I think that’s lovely. Maureen and his daughters Rhonda, terrible attitude. I just think you’re dead for a long Karen and Jo. time, why don’t you enjoy what you’re doing? You only get out what you put in. You learn @AFL_AdamMcNicol When I come to think of my life, I never had so much about football. Look, there’s no race, a job I didn’t like. And that just comes about colour, creed in a football or netball club. because you like people and like working. You’ve There’s no rule for the rich or rule for the poor in got to be busy, busy, busy, busy, like every job I a football or netball club. It doesn’t matter what have ever had. I did leave the printing trade from school you went to, what car you drive, or how big time to time, I was a brickie’s labourer, it was a the house you live in is, when you get down to the great job, and when I delivered papers I loved it. ground everybody is an equal. I delivered papers for five years, even when The camaraderie, the respect, and the getting I was starting work I would still go in and deliver to know the life disciplines, whether you’re a papers before I went to work, it was a great job. youngster, older folk, parents, grandparents, I delivered green groceries, because you used there’s history and tradition that comes from to ride the push bike on a Saturday morning and football clubs that is so special and I don’t think you’d have the banana box between the people understand that. handlebars. You’ve got to do things I’ve just finished reading ‘Polly’ Farmer’s to make dollars.