David HardingDevine exits with dignity
June 2nd 2010 14:41
Sourced: The Mercury Voice of Tasmania
NORTH Hobart champion Robbie Devine's retirement was perhaps the most dignified and selfless I have seen.
THE recent retirement of North Hobart champion Robbie Devine was perhaps the most dignified and selfless mid-season finish I have seen.
Very few players are objective enough about their standing in the overall scheme of things to accept a sudden end with such logic and respect for their peers and club.
Coach Clint Brown wanted a different forward structure and Devine took this squarely on the chin. He then made Brown's restructure as smooth as possible by effectively endorsing and then clearing the way for the changes.
After 14 years of senior football, Devine nine times leading goal kicker, club best and fairest winner, premiership player can rest well satisfied with his enormous contribution to North Hobart.
It would have been easy for him to play another four games in the reserves and become the club's game record-holder. But this huge individual honour was not on Devine's radar.
When asked about the record, his simple answer was, "It's only a number".
In Devine's announcement to the playing group on Thursday night he said it was an honour to play just one game, let alone 265, for the club he has supported and barracked all his life. To him, the North Hobart Football Club is a lot more important than Robbie Devine.
Footballers are historically poor at being totally objective about themselves.
How common is it to see players react badly to the inevitability of clubs tapping them on the shoulders?
Hawthorn's Michael Tuck, Gary Ayres and Dermott Brereton abandoned the family club principle when they couldn't accept the reality of forced retirement or pay cuts.
They selfishly criticised the club and left embittered. The Hawks took years to recover.
Interestingly, Ayres while coaching Geelong was happy to apply the "time and tide waits for no man" principle to a fading Gary Ablett Sr, but not to himself a few years earlier.
The Gary Ablett Jr saga is also interesting. It seems increasingly likely he will head to the Gold Coast for a $2 million first season. And why wouldn't he?
Geelong coach Mark Thompson is becoming clearly agitated by the ongoing speculation with his destabilising comments while Ablett is handling it with great dignity.
THE recent retirement of North Hobart champion Robbie Devine was perhaps the most dignified and selfless mid-season finish I have seen.
Very few players are objective enough about their standing in the overall scheme of things to accept a sudden end with such logic and respect for their peers and club.
Coach Clint Brown wanted a different forward structure and Devine took this squarely on the chin. He then made Brown's restructure as smooth as possible by effectively endorsing and then clearing the way for the changes.
After 14 years of senior football, Devine nine times leading goal kicker, club best and fairest winner, premiership player can rest well satisfied with his enormous contribution to North Hobart.
It would have been easy for him to play another four games in the reserves and become the club's game record-holder. But this huge individual honour was not on Devine's radar.
When asked about the record, his simple answer was, "It's only a number".
In Devine's announcement to the playing group on Thursday night he said it was an honour to play just one game, let alone 265, for the club he has supported and barracked all his life. To him, the North Hobart Football Club is a lot more important than Robbie Devine.
Footballers are historically poor at being totally objective about themselves.
How common is it to see players react badly to the inevitability of clubs tapping them on the shoulders?
Hawthorn's Michael Tuck, Gary Ayres and Dermott Brereton abandoned the family club principle when they couldn't accept the reality of forced retirement or pay cuts.
They selfishly criticised the club and left embittered. The Hawks took years to recover.
Interestingly, Ayres while coaching Geelong was happy to apply the "time and tide waits for no man" principle to a fading Gary Ablett Sr, but not to himself a few years earlier.
The Gary Ablett Jr saga is also interesting. It seems increasingly likely he will head to the Gold Coast for a $2 million first season. And why wouldn't he?
Geelong coach Mark Thompson is becoming clearly agitated by the ongoing speculation with his destabilising comments while Ablett is handling it with great dignity.
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