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The
Navy Australian football legends gather for a team photo:
(back row L-R) Adam Harris, Chris Ploughman, Darren Murray,
Ian Wheeler, Tony Cocks, Bill McBride; (middle row L-R)
Jamie McGinley, Doug Cornish, Colin Bambrook, Geoff Ledger,
Kevin JJ Smyth, Graeme Crispin, Chris Luscombe, Michael
Olyksen, Andrew Smail (son of Jim Smail); (front row L-R)
Ken McKeown, Dave Matters.
Photo by Michael Weaver.
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Former
St Kilda premiership player Kevin ‘Cowboy’ Neale
gives his views on the state of the AFL during the dinner.
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Auctioneer
and RANAFA legend Tony Cocks (left) spots a bidder for a
signed Hawthorn jumper, with Mark Pepper and John Thiele.
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RANAFA
legend also nearing the end of a 30-year Naval career, Bill
McBride (front centre), had plenty of eager ears among current
Navy team members while recounting the ‘good old days’.
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By Michael
Weaver
The
Royal Australian Navy Australian Football Association (RANAFA)
bestowed ‘legend’ status on 20 of its finest former
players at a dinner in Canberra on March 21 prior to the ADF national
championships.
More
than 100 former and current players attended, with tales of old
spurring on new players in the Navy side’s quest for its
first national title since 1986.
Fittingly,
the first inductee to the Navy Legends Hall of Fame was LCDR Jim
Smail, after whom the cup for the winning Service at the ADF national
titles is named.
Jim’s
son Andrew accepted the honour and read a letter from his father
telling how thrilled he was to see such an event occur.
“I
will always treasure the spirit of the Navy team, whether winning
or losing,” said Andrew from the letter.
A
rousing “Hail for the Smail” was the reply from the
audience.
Each
of the inductees had to have contributed at least five years with
RANAFA to qualify for legend status, with all speaking passionately
about their times in Navy footy.
“You
can serve for years at sea, but it’s the people you meet
during those two weeks of inter-service footy that are treasured
the most,” was a sentiment echoed by many.
An
affiliation was also formed with the famous Hawthorn Football
Club, which held its own legends dinner on the same night in Melbourne,
the club CEO Jim Dicker sending a video message to the RAN function.
A
fully signed Hawthorn jumper was later auctioned off for the princely
sum of $1500. However, highlighting the spirit of Navy footy,
a fully signed Navy Legends jumper was then auctioned, fetching
$2100 from 1986 team captain Ken ‘Alfa’ McKeown.
