Crocs 'general' reaches elusive 300-game milestone
BILL FEENEY could become the Northern Territory's greatest ever games record holder if his plan to play beyond this season comes to fruition.
Feeney will tomorrow become just the third person in 92 years of Northern Territory football to play 300 senior games when the Southern Districts utility leads the Crocs out to play Nightcliff at Marrara Oval in Darwin. The solidly built 33-year-old Feeney will join NT greats Michael Athanasiou (324) and Mark Motlop (305) in the exclusive 300-club.
No-one plans to play 300 games when they begin in football, as Feeney did with the senior Crocs in 1990 as a 15-year-old, and if you ask any footballer about looming key milestones the response you get is almost always the same: 'It just snuck up on me'. That holds true for Feeney, a two-time Southern Districts premiership player and a person universally respected in Top End football.
"To be only the second Aboriginal player to reach 300 games is pretty rare," Feeney told
AboriginalFootball this week. "I've been asked several times about how many more games or seasons I can play. It all depends on the body. It could be another season, a season-and-a-half (before I finish). I'll finish this season off and depending on team structure will start looking at next year. I'll just see how I go in the off-season.
"I'm not the oldest player out there and there's no point in stopping what you like doing. It's not just about playing; it's the people you meet when you play, the club itself, everything that goes with playing footy. It's the only game I know where people can come from all over the place to play."
One man who trod the path Feeney is now taking is Nightcliff coach, Mark Motlop, who played alongside and coached him in Districts' 1997/98 premiership, and the other Aboriginal man in the NT 300-club. Ironically, Motlop will be finding ways to reduce Feeney's output in tomorrow night's game, and he'll have the services of WAFL stalwart Allistair Pickett and former AFL star forward Jeff Farmer to do so.
"When you get to about 200 games, fair dinkum, you're knocking on the door for 300," Motlop said. "When you get close to it, you think you could go another season, then that becomes the driver. It's like the last green mile but it can only come if you work a bit harder for it and then it becomes a mental battle.
"From the first game he played, he was always a fit lad. He's obviously trained well and has played well enough to keep his place in the side. History shows that if you prepare well, it eliminates the potential for injury. Mick Athanasiou never missed training and Bill must be similar. The most important thing is having that work ethic."
Working hard is Feeney's bread and butter. He's the solid midfielder/general type who epitomises the working class of Southern Districts. But it was the seemingly endless treadmill of training, football, training that saw Feeney almost give the game away entirely.
How a change of clubs saved Feeney's career
IT WAS around 2000 that Bill Feeney's enjoyment of football began to disappear. He had rode the highs of playing in the Crocs' first premiership and pushed through the lows that followed. An offer to follow his mate Brian Hood to Nightcliff was taken up and Feeney credits that move to saving his career.
"Brian Hood became president of Nightcliff and 'Majo' (Michael McLean) was coach so I just jumped at the opportunity," Feeney said. "I was starting to get a bit disillusioned with footy and I needed a change. It was hard to leave Districts but if I didn’t make the move then I may have not gotten here."
Feeney, who has worn his dad's number 22 throughout his career, even as a junior, spent six seasons at the Tigers and had played in the 2001/02 and 2003/04 grand finals, neither of them providing any success. But the move had its desired result: A fresh outlook on life and football.
"The Nightcliff Football Club were fantastic to me. They got me up and going when I needed it," Feeney said. "They hadn’t been in a grand final for a while and it was good for me to be part of that; it was exciting."
Feeney's time at Nightcliff drew to a close in 2006 and he returned to his original club. Premiership success came instantly when Southern Districts outclassed Waratah to claim the '06/07 flag.
"It's where I started, it's where I grew up and I wanted to finish my footy back there," Feeney said. "It's my third (season) back and it is great to be back. To win the premiership was great. For a while there we'd watch it all over again and then we'd pull out the tape of the '97/98 grand final and watch that. We'd laugh when we saw how skinny some of us were but you enjoy reliving it because up here it is very hard to win a premiership."
Feeney has played in five grand finals throughout his career -- and has two premiership medals -- with Southern Districts in 1996/97, 1997/98 and 2006/07, and with Nightcliff in 2001/02 and 2003/04.
He has represented the Northern Territory several times in the 1990s. He was named best-on-ground against Collingwood and was reported against Richmond. The charge was later dismissed. Feeney was in the NT team that played SANFL club North Adelaide in 2005 and ran out twice against Essendon. Feeney also claimed Port Adelaide Football Club's under-19s best-and-fairest award.
Changing football landscape
NINETEEN years is a fair chunk of time in senior football. That represents more than half of Bill Feeney’s life. And how times have changed. When Feeney played his first senior match in 1990, Territory football's reputation as a tough league with grizzly veterans ready to knock your block off if you shirked a contest had spread far and wide.
"I was only talking about this with (former Collingwood and Sydney player) Robbie Ah Mat about blokes we used to play against," Feeney recalled. "Formidable players like Mick Athanasiou, and Mick Williams, who'd bash you just for looking at him but an absolute gentleman off the field.
"But because of rule changes, the game has changed. It was hard when I first started. Now they give out vouchers for the hairdressers. I took some of those but I only got the straight-back-and-sides!"
Feeney said his biggest fans are his parents, Lynette and Bill snr.
"Mum and Dad have been there the whole time," he said. "Mum never missed a game -- only recently she missed one -- right through from juniors. They're my number one fans and number one critics. They'll let me know about it."
Like the first time he got reported.
"That was because of 'Dusty' Miller," he said. "He must've upset me but I got away with it because I said couldn't reach his head. I virtually had to jump to hit him. I've only missed four games due to suspension ... but I got away with a couple."
Players Feeney rates highly are as diverse as they come.
"Mick Williams," he said, "and Noel Long was a very good player. Lincoln Withers (Waratah), Jared Illet, Devan Perrry (St Mary's) ... even when I was playing against Southern Districts (Nichols Medal winners) Bryce Jarmin and Jason Cockatoo ... it goes on."
And of himself?
"Oh, I’ve never been asked this before. Not too bad, I suppose. A humble bloke, modest. A pretty fair player who was hard at it and gave as much as he could give out. I was pretty good at using the ball but hopeless at scoring goals. I reckon out of 300 games I’ve only kicked about 100 goals."
Long-time Southern Districts clubman Allan Smith said Feeney is a hard but fair footballer.
"The hallmark of Bill's game is that he never shirked an issue and was always hard at the ball," Smith said. "He's direct and uncompromising. He may not be over-endowed with pace but he reads the play well and has a good football brain. He's a very down-to-earth person and a no-frills player. I'm very pleased to see him get his 300 games."
Smith is unsure if Feeney will play on.
"He's quite capable but he's got to want to do it," he said. "He's worked pretty hard this year to reach his 300th and I'm sure if he had the desire to do it he could."
Family from all over will be heading to Darwin today to share in Feeney's special day. And it will be a big day in Territory football.
"It's only once where you’ll ever play your 300th game," Feeney said.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Friday, January 16, 2009
Last Modified on 16/01/2009 22:17