The gaze back into the past came in the shape of Danny Dickfos, who is undoubtedly one of the best home grown players that Queensland has produced.
I’m still helping out my old club the Sandgate Hawks wherever I can, and took the senior team for a training session the other night.
Danny is helping the club out by pulling on the boots again after having been a bit of a cult hero at the Gabba, and managed I think what is a club record 260 games with the Zillmere Eagles.
I don’t know how many of you remember Danny from the late 1990s but he was a sensational player for the Lions in his short three or four year stint at the club.
I played alongside Danny in an AFLQ grand final with Zillmere where he almost singlehandedly won us the game, and he is still killing them at this level from all reports.
He only made his comeback part of the way through the season, but he will be teaching the young kids in the team plenty.
It has been great to see the team performing so well this season after a couple of tough years and they are right in the hunt for a top five spot in the Pineapple Hotel Cup, which is the next division down from the main State League competition.
Would you believe Bryce from the Biggest Loser is there amongst the team as well, who I might add are a really good bunch of guys.
The present was not nearly as pleasurable, trying to combat big Dean Cox from West Coast last weekend.
I remember only a few years ago where some commentators were predicting big ruckmen were relics of the past.
Cox is a throwback to the past – in the mould of Jim Stynes and the likes. Even our coach was saying he can do things that some of the ruck legends of the game couldn’t.
He is a sensational runner and has great skills. And he’s playing with a sore foot, having to kick mostly on his left.
I played alongside him the Dream Team in the Hall of Fame Tribute game back in May and found him to be a fantastic guy. He’s just a really nice, down-to-earth bloke who loves his footy.
Certainly Dean is one player who would deserve a Brownlow if it came his way.
I had the good fortune to catch a plane with new Melbourne president Jim Stynes the other week, and he was like the prototype to Cox, getting a heap of possession and kicking goals as a ruckman.
Cox is at the same level, although the ruckmen don’t seem to get that many Brownlow votes any more like when Jim won his medal.
Jim was telling me that after he won his Brownlow, he started getting tagged by midfielders rather than opposing ruckman each week, which he said took some adjusting.
The future was a happier picture, watching our new guy Bradd Dalziell get 32 possessions in his debut game.
It showed what he is capable of, and given he is a hard worker with great running ability – he beat Blacky’s long-standing beep test record not long after he arrived at the club – then there is plenty for him and our supporters to look forward to.
Bradd has worked really hard on what the coaches have been asking of him, and he is a really quiet guy who just goes about his business.
Hopefully he can have another really good game along with the rest of the midfield against Richmond on Saturday night.
The second last time we played them they absolutely belted us and it’s a game I’m not going to forget for a long time.
Last time around was a draw down there but we didn’t play very well and still almost got away with it.
They have had the wood over us for a few years, but it’s one of those things where more often than not we’ve had a few injury problems when we’ve been drawn against them.
They are a big challenge for us because they are playing good footy at the moment.
There’s an awful lot resting on this game and the next one, with us in particular having a chance to set ourselves up for a finals crack.
