SOMETHING I have always found extraordinary in sport is how one incident can define a player’s entire career – and that’s all they are ever remembered for.

For the lucky the ones, it is something great they did on the field that won themselves or their team a premiership, championship, medal or title.

Steven Bradbury will never be remembered for anything else but the moment everyone in his final hit the deck and he strolled to victory to take out Australia’s first ever Winter Olympic gold medal. Trevor Chappell will always be remembered for the moment he bowled that underarm delivery against New Zealand. No matter how successful his boxing career becomes, John Hopoate will always be remembered for jabbing his fingers into an opponent’s backside.

And it’s not just sportspeople who this affects. I dare say if you mention the name Darrell Hair to cricket followers, someone will immediately mention him calling Muttiah Muralitharan for chucking.

There are hundreds of other stories through the history of sport. John Landy stopping mid-race to pick up a fallen runner, then putting the foot down to make up the time he lost and still win the race. And who will ever forget ‘Eric the Eel’ swimming in the 2000 Sydney Olympics?

 I would like to now touch on some of the moments that will be etched into the minds of AFL supporters forever – And I’m not talking about Jezza’s mark or Paul Salmon and Gary Ablett kicking 10 and 14 goals respectively. I’m looking at incidents that, good or bad, will be the only thing some players are remembered for.

Firstly, I’d like to start with Wayne Harmes. Straight away you know where I’m heading with this. Harmes will forever be remembered for that dive to save the ball going out of bounds and punching the ball back to the goal square so Ken Sheldon could kick a goal, winning the 1979 premiership for Carlton in the process. Every footy fan from all generations can picture that play, yet many, particularly in my generation, would not realise Harmes also won the Norm Smith Medal that same day, went on to win two more flags with the Blues, play 169 games at the highest level and represented his state twice. A career any player would be very, very proud of.

The next player on my list made a name for himself in the ’89 grand final. Everyone can attest to cringing as Mark Yeates made a bee-line for Dermott Brereton off the square at the opening bounce, crunching Dermie and changing the scenery of the whole game. Yeates played 154 games for Geelong over 10 seasons and was an excellent contributor over that time.

When I mention the name Mark McGough, the mind ticks back to Anzac Day 2002. A 17-year-old McGough won the very prestigious Anzac Day Medal for best on ground. In wet conditions he picked up 24 possessions, leading Collingwood to a 33-point victory over Essendon. McGough went on to play 46 games with the Magpies and St Kilda, and as much as he was an absolute ball magnet – once racking up 45 possessions in a VFL game – he will always be remembered for his Anzac Day feat.

Dale Kickett played 181 games with Fitzroy, West Coast, St Kilda, Essendon and Fremantle but it’s when playing for the latter that he made a name for himself. The Western Derby of 2001 (renamed the ‘Demolition Derby’) saw both teams take the field in a very aggressive manner. It was Kickett though that took it to the next level. He lost his head throwing hay-maker after hay-maker at the Eagles players, striking several of them in the head and face. In the end he would be suspended for nine matches. Kickett was the first-ever player to play 100 games with Fremantle, played State of Origin football and won the 1997 Fremantle best and fairest award, yet mention his name and the mind straight away reverts back to that day in 2001.

The last player I want to mention will probably only be familiar to one team of supporters – Carlton. Mention the name Ted Hopkins to AFL supporters and many will ask, “who?” Ask a Carlton supporter and you will be given the run down on the saviour of 1970. With Collingwood 44 points up at half-time of the Grand Final, Ron Barassi brought on Hopkins into a forward pocket. That would end up being a match-winning move with Hopkins snaring four second-half goals and being chaired off the ground by his teammates as the Blues defeated the Magpies by 10 points. Hopkins would only play 29 games in total between 1968 and 1971, but reached the pinnacle of a footballer’s career – a premiership - in which he was a major contributor.

One moment is sometimes all it takes to define a player’s career. I think all current day players are praying they’re remembered for a Wayne Harmes moment!

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL.