ONE of football's most colourful playing careers will come to an end today when Damian Monkhorst runs out for the Woori Yallock Tigers against Upwey-Tecoma, in the Yarra Valley Mountain District league's division 1 grand final. Now aged 40, and with almost 400 games of senior footy to his name, "Monkey's" aching limbs have had enough.
"This is definitely my last game, the body's knackered," Monkhorst said with a grin, before the Tigers' final training session on Thursday night, although his teammate, Danny Ryan, was quick to point out that the big fella had been making such claims for "the last five years".
Making today even more special for the Monkhorst family is the remarkable fact that Damian - all 140 kilograms of him - will be lining up alongside his teenaged son Ben.
Old-timers around Woori Yallock, such as 78-year-old senior timekeeper Ivan Ferguson, believe it is the first time a father-son combination has taken to the field in a Yarra Valley premiership decider.
"It's a privilege, I think you could call it that," said Monkhorst, who has four sons, two of whom, Zac and Ryley, play in the junior grades (the oldest, Brent, has become a budding musician after recovering from a heart transplant in 2007).
"Ben's got a bit of fire in the belly so the old man has to calm him down all the time and make sure he pulls his head in. But it's a lot of fun. We've kicked a few goals together, dished off a few handballs to each other. He's crumbed my high-flying feats!"
A towering bloke of Dutch descent, Damian Monkhorst rose to prominence while running around in the Woori Yallock juniors. He went on to become a star at Collingwood, and although lucky to scrape into the side for the 1990 grand final, he was among the best players in the Magpies' famous win.
Throughout his time in elite footy, Monkhorst refused to move into the city, preferring to commute to training from his haven in the hills.
"Being six foot eight, with no teeth, and playing for Collingwood, you'd get recognised a fair bit," he said. "I always found it good to come back home, relax, and be myself. I moved down to Lilydale for a couple of years. That's as far as I went. Then I came back to Woori, bought a farm and set up back here. The travel never worried me. I enjoyed the drive home, by myself, in peace.
"The Collingwood guys always came up here. We'd have bonfires on the farm. They really enjoyed it."
Monkhorst returned to his home footy club after leaving St Kilda at the end of the 2000 season. He won the Woori Yallock best-and-fairest in 2001, before taking over as senior coach in 2002, guiding the Tigers into a grand final in his first season at the helm. A year later, he led the club to its first premiership since 1987.
Since then, he and his many helpers have focused on developing a senior team based around local youngsters. Many of them, including three Williamson brothers, will be on show today.
"I think there's only three or four players in the side who didn't play junior football here at Woori," Monkhorst stated proudly. "I've seen these kids grow up, seen them play all through the juniors. It's great to play footy with them now and help them out."
The Tigers have brought in a few big names over the years, among them Dermott Brereton, who drew some huge crowds back in 2007. Yet the emphasis on home-grown talent has proven a lesson for their rivals, especially Silvan.
The Cats won the division 1 premiership in both 2007 and '08. But they achieved their success thanks to a high-priced team of imports that included ex-Essendon players Gary Moorcroft, Ben Haynes, Aaron Henneman and Marc Bullen, whose hefty match payments were funded by a local businessman.
But when the business collapsed earlier this year, leaving the footy club with barely a dollar to its name, most of the players simply packed their bags and left.
Silvan promptly tumbled down the ladder, and its executive is now seeking a move to division 4 of the metropolitan Eastern Football League as it tries to stay afloat.
Things could not be more different at Woori Yallock. Not only is the club's long-term future looking rosy, but on Tuesday midfielder Patrick Sharp won the league best-and-fairest for the second time.
Sharp was best on ground last Sunday, as the Tigers defeated Monbulk to win through to their fourth grand final since Monkhorst took over as coach.
Many of Sharp's kicks ended up deep in Woori Yallock's forward line, where Damian Monkhorst turned back the clock by booting seven goals, and young Ben chipped in with three.
"In the early part of the year I was playing in the ruck for most of the game," Damian said. "But in the second part of the year the old legs are a bit weary so I've parked myself in the goal square. A fast-leading full-forward!"
Damian remains a wild-looking figure on the field, with his missing teeth and huge frame putting fear into the heart of many an opponent, yet Ben, an apprentice builder, cuts an entirely different figure.
On Thursday night, Ben's blond tips were gleaming under the lights, as he strutted on to the oval for training wearing a singlet, despite the cold night and persistent drizzle.
"He loves showing off his muscles," chuckled one supporter.
It is hard to imagine Damian ever being called a pretty boy, but Ben was certainly playing up to such a reputation.
"I was quite handsome when I was young, so the missus said," joked his dad. "I just changed a fair bit over the course."
Ben, however, is renowned as a fearless competitor on the field, just like his old man. And both will need to produce their best today if Woori Yallock is to stand a chance.
Having inflicted Upwey-Tecoma's only loss for the season, the Tigers are quietly confident. That the grand final is being played at Woori Yallock is an added bonus.
The expectation that this really will be Monkhorst's last game is sure to boost the big contingent cheering for the Woori Yallock Tigers (in a quirk, Upwey-Tecoma's nickname is the Tigers as well). James Manson has even pledged to bring along a few of his Collingwood premiership teammates.
Win or lose, it shapes as a celebration of one of footy's great characters.
Article first appeared The Sunday Age,
| Next > |
|---|
