There arent as many opportunities to High Five the crowd these days but Ronnie Burns is still very passionate and excited about his football.
Into his third year as Berwicks captain-coach, the 35-year-old still has his electric pace, too, which made him such a hero at Geelong and for a time in Adelaide, too.
He says playing in a country competition reminds him of his beginnings in Darwin before first coming to Melbourne.
I enjoy grassroots footy. Its where we started as kids. To see the faces of the kids all chasing the ball at training and in the games is fantastic. They love it, just like I did at the same age.
Berwick hasnt won many games so far this year, but Burns says the club is building and offering valuable community support to a legion of sports-mad kids in one of Victorias fastest-increasing population centres.
Our future is with our juniors and with the junior football clubs teams we have 24 in all, including the girls. Its very satisfying, he said.
The club is also helping to initiate things like a Michael Tuck statue to stand in the main street. Michael and the entire Tuck family are great role models for football and this is where it all started for them.
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Good enough to last 10 years at AFL level including several where he
topped Geelongs goalkicking as a fleet-of-foot moving target, Burns
says his body doesnt allow him to do much of the razzle-dazzle which
brought crowds to their feet and after one memorable goal at Skilled
Stadium in the 90s saw him run 50 metres around the boundary edge
High Fiving the crowd, a la the great American golfer Hale Irwin. My mind is telling me to hang up my boots and focus on other commitments, he says. My body has gone through the rigours of AFL level and it has taken its toll. But the kids get a buzz when Im out there playing, so I like to get out there even if Im not quite right. Playing back here after time in Darwin and with Brad Sholl at Port Fairy has been good for me. Ive really embraced it and the town has embraced me. I enjoy giving something back to football because it has given me so much. A hamstring injury sidelined him for a month leading into yesterdays Casey-Cardinia clash against neighbours Doveton. |
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It has been hard work to get going but we know once we get on a roll we can take some stopping, he said.
Burns says hes steadier than in the past and has a good job working with the youth in the Dandenong area. He has also just married a polish girl, Eva, who knows little about the game but is keen to learn and already is offering her team selection tips most Thursdays before training!
Burns also has embraced his media work on indigenous television via The Markgrook Footy Show working alongside musician and community activist Grant Hansen and ex-AFL/VFL players in Gilbert McAdam, Alan Thorpe and Derek Kickett.
He remains in contact with old Geelong players including Sholl and David Mensch along with his ex-Adelaide teammates, in particular Peter Burgoyne and Graham Johncock.
He thought the AFLs recent celebrations for indigenous players was a great concept and very special for everyone involved.
I did some calling of the game on radio and that was great fun too, he said.
Hopefully the indigenous round can become a regular occurrence on each AFL fixture. Its great that they have embraced it.
By Ken Piesse
Article first appeared The Sunday Herald Sun, June 8, 2008
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