˜˜AFL RECORD THE BACK HALF

Mosquitoes buzzing again Cazaly: the ˜˜Papua New Guinea, Ireland and man behind Croatia walked away with the spoils at the AFL International Cup. Papua New Guinea again proved the legend to be the best men’s team outside Australia after beating New Zealand he name Cazaly brings by a point in a thrilling division one to mind two things: a Grand Final at the MCG. footy anthem and an The Mosquitoes won bragging rights T iconic photograph. as the first team in AFL International Mike Brady’s 1979 chart-topper Cup men’s competition to win forever back-to-back titles in a war of attrition immortalised Roy Cazaly as a with Oceania neighbours the Hawks. legend of Australian Football. Ireland wrested back its crown For students of the game, the as the best women’s team at name Cazaly (which originated in international level with a scintillating France) also conjures one of the most four-point victory over courageous remarkable and debated on-field Canada in the women’s Grand Final images ever captured: that of the at Etihad Stadium. then South ruckman either The northern hemisphere taking a spectacular one-hand mark ‘Battle Royale’ was a hard but or winning a ruck duel in a 1924 game fair-spirited contest. against Essendon. Ireland, the competition’s To these bare bones of public inaugural champion (in 2011, when consciousness, author Robert Allen the women’s competition was has skilfully added flesh, blood and introduced), stormed ahead in the humanity to produce a refreshingly final quarter and did not look back. broad biography, Cazaly: The Legend. And Croatia enjoyed victory Allen, who devoted 10 years of in its first AFL International Cup, painstaking research to the project, convincingly beating a gallant traverses Cazaly’s numerous lives, German team in the men’s division including those of a revered footballer, two Grand Final. a well-travelled coach, a fitness For many, the 2017 AFL fanatic and trainer, a horse trainer, International Cup was a step a self-styled physiotherapist who into the unknown. worked wonders with polio patients, For some, the carnival opened the and an unsuccessful Liberal Party door to Melbourne and its historic candidate in where Cazaly football fields for the first time. lived a large chunk of his life. AHEAD OF For everyone involved, it was “Football is what made Roy,” Allen HIS TIME: told the AFL Record, “but he didn’t let Champion an unforgettable two weeks and footballer a monumental win for Australian it define him, because he did so many Roy Cazaly Football around the world. other worthwhile things in his life. was a man of Twenty-six male and female teams “He was very well-rounded. many talents. representing 21 nations descended These days we’d probably call him a upon Melbourne, united by a passion renaissance man.” “There were times of self-doubt and energy for football. Allen’s work highlights Cazaly’s where Roy went to ground when it Through colour, smiles, tears, successes – most notably the playing got a bit much, but he always pulled pain and pride – and the city’s most career with St Kilda, South Melbourne himself together and went on with unpredictable weather – 65 matches and Tasmanian clubs that led to his his life,” Allen said. and off-the-field opportunities have official Legend status in the Australian “Hec de Lacy, The Sporting Globe left an indelible mark on the lives of Football Hall of Fame – but also journo, was a good friend of Roy’s those it touched. his hardships. and he was amused that Roy could TOM POUNTNEY The last-born of 10 children into be such a lion on the field but a lamb a working-class family in South off it, in that he wasn’t afraid to Melbourne in the midst of a Depression, show how he felt in the days when Cazaly suffered great tragedy – two men were told not to. of his brothers committed suicide, his “He was ahead of his time first child died from diphtheria and in so many ways.” his wife’s sister-in-law and her three BEN COLLINS children were murdered. There were also football setbacks, Cazaly: The Legend, by Robert Allen, published despite his greatness as a player. by Slattery Media Group. RRP $39.95.