Category: Heritage,

WHO IS THE NEXT JOCK McHALE?

(Trigger Warning: In this piece of writing I make the bold assumption that  AFL and AFLW football are equally important. Anyone with a fragile ego who disagrees is advised that they might get upset if they continue reading.)

I can only see two viable modern day candidates to be the next Jock McHale.

Both are senior coaches.

Amazingly, both are currently coaching at the same club.

Since I cannot decide which one has the biggest chance of surpassing Jock McHale in terms of career echeivement, I am going to rely on the outdated principle of ladies first to describe my assessment of  the AFLW coch before the AFL coach.

A. DARREN CROCKER

If I am not mistaken, there is only one club in VFL/AFL/AFLW/VFLW history (which began in 1897) to have won both seniors and reserves premierships in consecutive years. North Melbourne Football club in 2024-2025. Collingwood did not win a single reserves premiership in any of the years in which Jock McHale coached successive premierships.

So in the most successful club over a two year period category, CROCK IS AHEAD OF JOCK.

In the category of winning premierships in a row at AFL/VFL/AFLW level Jock has a fourpeat and a twopeat whereas Crock, at this stage, only has one twopeat.

But if the very strong North Melbourne AFLW side wins the next two AFLW flags and if Crock is the senior coach in both victories, then Crock will be the only coach in VFL/AFL/AFLW history to equal Jock McHale’s fourpeat.

Not everyone will be quick to give Crock the credit for an acheivement equal to Jock’s.

But I will.

As a man who was a Registered Midwife in the state of Victoria for 3 decades, I state unequivocally that I believe that the only fields of endeavour I can see in which the human rights of men and women are different are A. carrying life in the womb B. giving birth to that life and C. breast feeding babies.

As footballers, men and women have just as much right to recognition for equal achievement. To me it would be patently sexist to say that an AFLW fourpeat in 2024-2027 would not be the equivalent or perhaps even better than Jock’s fourpeat in 1927-1930. (Jock won in a twelve team competition which included three expansion teams, whereas Crock beats out seventeen longer established opposing teams every time he wins a flag.)

B. ALASTAIR CLARKSON

I have already proved on this blog that Alastair Clarkson’s premiership winning achievement’s make him the equal second best coach in AFL/VFL history.

The scores under my new system (click above link for details) for evaluating the success levels of coaches across different eras of AFL/VFL/AFLW history are:

The GOAT is Jock with 84 points.

In equal second are The Red Fox, Norm Smith, and Clarko tied on 66 points.

If Clarko can pull off a flag with his fast improving young side before the Tassie team starts playing, he goes one point behind Jock.

If Clarko wins his fifth flag when Tassie is playing in the AFL, Clarko ties with Jock McHale to be men’s footy’s GOAT at senior coaching.

Will Kane Cornes comment on this on The Agenda Setters before Eddie Maguire enters the debate?

If Kane is first and backs Clarko, will Eddy back Jock the following night on Footy Classified or admit that Kane makes lots of good points?

It is beyond the scope of this small blog of an old marginalised man to host any major part at all of that debate.

But is not beyond the footy community as a whole.

Especially the Grand Final Breakfast.

I hope I am not wrong.

Geoff Fox, May 27, 2026, Melbourne, Australia

IS CLARKO A BETTER COACH THAN THE RED FOX? (I’m backing Clarko.)

This is a list of the men who have coached the most premiership winning teams in VFL/AFL history:

8 – Jock McHale

6 – Norm Smith

5 – Jack Worrall, Checker Hughes

4 – Dick Reynolds, Tom Hafey, Ron Barassi, Allan Jeans, David Parkin, Kevin Sheedy, Leigh Mathews, Alastair Clarkson

According to the above list, Jock McHale is the most successful coach ever and Norn Smith is second best.

This is unfair to modern coaches because it is much harder to win a flag in an 18 team competition than it was to win a flag in the 10 team competititon of 1917 and 1919 (McHale’s first two flags) and the 12 team competition of the rest of McHale’s victories and all of Norm Smith’s victories.

I address this unfairness by allocating one point per non premiership winning team in the competition in each season in which a coach won a premiership.

Under this scoring system the top three coaches of all time are:

84 – Jock McHale

66 – Norm Smith, Alastair Clarkson

This raises two very important questions:

Is Alastair Clarkson already a better coach than Norm Smith was?

Is the talented young list at North Melbourne good enough to make their beloved leader catch up with current GOAT Jock McHale or even go ahead of him in the coming years.

I’m backing Clarko.

Who wants to help?

Geoff Fox, 21st May, 2026, Melbourne, Australia

(I do not know if a bloke as old as I am – 68, turning 69 on Saturday – can become a True Blue Roo, but I want to ……..)

For Clarko And The Boys – LEARNING FROM THE GIRLS – (And From Ned)

A chance meeting last week with North Melbourne Kangaroo’s Irish AFLW players lead to me creating this today for the ‘Roos men’s team using the Scottish Gaelic origins of North Melbourne’s theme song:

A small fragment of the mostly lost movie The Story Of The Kelly Gang (which was the first feature film in the world) with a new soundtrack sung and put together by me. The first words in this song are from Harry Lauder’s smash hit of 1911 “Just a wee deoch an doris”. The North Melbourne football club theme song uses the melody of Lauder’s hit. I want to hear a better singer than I am perform this.

At the moment the North Melbourne women are the best team in the AFLW competition, whereas the men are beginning to climb the ladder after consecutive wooden spoons in 2021 and 2022.

What can the guys learn from the girls and from Ned?

Geoff Fox , October 17, 2025. West Footscray, Australia

The McGarity’s – 3 Generations Of Sport And Freedom From Braybrook To Braybrook

“Don’t it always seems to go/You don’t know what you’ve got till its gone.” – Joni Mitchell

Terry McGarity and his wife Josephine, both born in 1946, are an Irish-Italian couple from refugee families who found freedom and prosperity in Australia.

Terry started his sporting career with Braybrook under tens in the mid ’50’s.

He coached successfully in three sports:

2 Stawell Gift winners.

Football and cricket premierships for Spotswood. (But for Terry, as for me, the greatest premiership ever is the Western Bulldogs astonishing triumph in 2016.)

Terry coached three years of finals appearances with Footscray under 19s.

He coached his son Beau to victory in the 3200 metres at Stawell.

In 2025, Beau’s son Liam is fullback for Braybrook.

Back where it all started

Family and tradition are the glue that make freedom possible.

Sport protects these values.

Thats why Australia needs true sport more than ever.

Geoff Fox, July, 2025, Western Suburbs, Melbourme

Robert Herbert Skilton – Lest We Forget – For Freedom’s Sake

Robert Herbert Skilton (a.k.a. Bobby Skilton senior) played 150 games in nine seasons at Port Melbourne Football Club (PMFC) and in 1929 became captain of Port 3 games into his final season at the club.

He lead the local player dominated Borughs (a.k.a. Port Melbourne) to second place against a much richer, more physical Northcote line-up with bigger, stronger, more experienced Ayers. Port set their hopes on winning with youth and pace

The Argus newspaper wrote that “many cowardly kicks and punches were exchanged in the course of a disagreeable game.” The Age reported that “there were some spiteful exchanges as Northcote’s tactics wore Port down.”

PMFC historian Terry Keenan writes in his book “Unduly Rough Play” that the Boroughs held the view “that Northcote’s tactics were ‘very questionable’ and did ‘everything it is possible to do on a football field. Any Port player doing well became a maked man.” (p 80)

Perhaps his time at Port Melbourne gave Bobby Skilton Snr the toughness he needed to survive the Burma Railway.

His son Bobby Skilton junior is a triple Brownlow medallist and AFL legend.

Terry Keenan writes that Skilton senior was “a model clubman as well as an excellent player being secretary of the social club for a number of years and a leading light at club social activities because of his musical talents.” (p 83 Unduly Rough Play)

I see some parallels between the two Bobby Skiltons and the two Ron Barassis. Ron senior was a premiership player who died in 1941 at the siege of Tobruk.

Perhaps future Port versus Casey Demons games could be for a Skilton-Barassi Cup.

Lest We Forget those who went before us and fought against tyranny.

Geoff Fox, July 10, 2025, Melbourne, Australia

The Family Club – Joy And Care

Yesterday Box Hill Hawks VFLW player Gabby Collingwood positioned herself perfectly goalside of a pack to capitalise on her teammates’ fantastic inside work and kick a great goal.

The word freedom contains two syllables. The first syllable “free” points to joy spontaneity and creativity. The second syllable the suffix “-dom” means a state or condition. Being in a state or condition requires stability.

So the word freedom incorporates the idea of discipline.

Gabby and her Hawk teammates symbolize both.

Geoff Fox, July 7, 2025, Melbourne, Australia

On this day 80 years ago my father was involved in the last major battle of World War Two, the second Battle Of Balikpapan, in which 229 Australians died.

Lest We Forget: Freedom matters. Freedom works.

GAME ON – UNDERSTANDING AUSTRALIA

In Alice Springs in 1989, an Englishwoman seeing Australian Rules Football for the first time on television said to me, “There are no rules.”

I said to her “You cannot understand Australia without understanding this game.”

But I couldn’t explain why.

I still can’t.

It’s something to do with freedom.

Geoff Fox, 7th April, 2025, Footscray, Australia

The Ronald Dale Barassi Trophy

Ronald Dale Barassi was a very important Australian Rules footballer at 4 Australian Football League (AFL) clubs.

He played in six premiership winning sides for Melbourne and captained two of them.

He lifted Carlton from their lowest ever finish at the time to a premiership in four years and in 1970 won a second premiership in a grand final in which his halftime instruction of “Handball. Handball. Handball.” was a key moment in the development of the faster modern game.

He coached North Melbourne to their first two premierships.

When the Sydney football club looked like going out of existence, he changed the direction, image and mindset of the club in a 3 year stint as coach which was the foundation for Sydney’s consistent success in the modern era.

I fully support the idea of awarding a Ron Barassi medal to the captain of the AFL premiers every year.

But the truly unique greatness of the man is his importance at four clubs.

I propose that as soon as possible a Ronald Dale Barassi Trophy be awarded every year to the best performed club in AFL clashes between Melbourne, Carlton, North Melbourne and Sydney. The winner would be the club which averages the most victories in games played between them including finals. In the event of a tie it would be decided by percentage.

Geoff Fox, Melbourne, Australia, February 9, 2025

Open Letter To Mark Williams: For Heritage And Freedom

Dear  Mark,

you and your dad now stand together in a grassroots arts display at a national heritage site in the fourth biggest country in the world, the Republic Of Indonesia. The site, Air Kaca, is sacred to the memory of General Douglas MacArthur, sometimes known as The Saviour Of Australia.

I find it absolutely amazing, Mark, that 75 years after your dad started his senior coaching career at Port Adelaide, you are still a vital development coach at Melbourne Football Club, the oldest professional football club of any code of football in the world

This amazes me almost almost as much as the fact your dad achieved everything he achieved in football, after starting his senior career at the age of 24, because for five years he sacrificed playing sport to join the fight against European fascism and Japanese imperialism in WW2.

Mark, please consider supporting my suggestion that Melbourne and Port Adelaide compete next year for the Williams-Barassi Cup on Sunday the 15th June at Adelaide Oval in honour of the footy giants, your father, Foster Neil Williams, and Ronald Dale Barassi. (In future when the two teams clash in Melbourne, it could be possibly called the Barassi-Williams Cup.)

I think this suggestion works now because of the astonishing fact that you are still coaching, 75 years after your dad started his legendary coaching career with the original Magpies, Port Adelaide, in 1950.

The story of Ron Barassi and his dad makes the two names, Williams and Barassi, a fitting pair.

In 1940, Ronald Senior was a premiership player for Melbourne Football Club, but lost his life at the WW2 Seige Of Tobruk less than a year later. Ronald Junior went on to become a legend of the game as captain of Melbourne and dual premietship coach of both Carlton and North Melbourne.

The world can still learn from patriotic champions like Fos Williams and both Barassis.

Can you help, Mark?

Geoff Fox, an old man finding his way in a world that forgets too many heroes of days gone by.

15th December, 2024, Melbourne, Australia

Ronald James Barassi

Ronald James Barassi, the father of the legendary Ronald Dale Barassi, was 19th man in the 1940 Melbourne premiership side.

A few days after that teams 39 point triumph over Richmond in the 1940 VFL grand final. Ronald James set sail with the AIF for North Africa.

A year later he died at Tobruk.

He gave his life for freedom.

Geoff Fox, 20/07/2014