The Coon Dog
18-06-2008, 06:18 PM
Jim Sewell - 1983-86 - 76 games & 62 goals.
http://i4.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b2/28/cc33_1.JPG
Firstly thanks to Scraggers who is a new member of WOOF, he was able to point me in the right direction to chat with Jim, who was fantastic to talk with.
TCD: Hi Jim & thank you for chatting with me.
JS: You’re welcome.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up on a farm just out of Geraldton, which is about 420kn north of Perth, but attended boarding school in Perth. After school I returned to the farm & played locally with my brothers.
You played for East Fremantle, how did you get there?
I was residentially zoned & when I was 21 I decided to come down & have a crack at it.
You played for quite a while at East Fremantle, who were some of your coaches?
In my fist year I was coached by John Todd, then Alan Joyce for 2 seasons, then a local WA boy Brad Smith who took us to a flag in 1979, the Ken Smith & lastly Ron Alexander who had returned from Victoria after playing with Fitzroy.
It took a while then for you to make your way to Victoria.
Yes, at the end of 1977 I signed a form 4 with Carlton, so I was tied to them & even went on an overseas trip with them. Around that time there was a bit of instability there with Ian Harris & Jezza so I wanted a guarantee that if I came across & things didn’t work out after 3 years they’d clear me back. Carlton wouldn’t agree to that.
I then went into a business & purchased a squash court, so I wasn’t about to leave to come to Victoria.
Around the end of 1982 I was looking for a fresh challenge & had agreed to go to Geelong, but that didn’t work out.
So how did you get to Footscray?
Wally Maskell who was involved with Claremont mentioned to Shane O’Sullivan that I was in a bit of a bind. Fortunately Shane knew me from his days at Carlton, so he got on the phone, followed by Bluey Hampshire.
The form 4 you signed still tied you to Carlton, didn’t it?
Yes, so I had to obtain a clearance from Carlton. Footscray swapped Bruce Reid for me.
You realise the long term ramifications of that don’t you?
No.
Bruce fell 14 games short of playing 100 games for the club & his son ended up at Collingwood as a first round draft pick.
Oh, could have had him as a father son then.
Correct, now you were at the club at a time when there was a huge amount of change player wise.
Yes, the first game of the 1983 season we played Geelong out at Waverley & there were 10 or 11 of us making our VFL debuts. We recruited quite a few West Australians as well as boys from the country.
Early on at Footscray you played in the backline.
Yes, that was a shock as I’d played 99% of my football before that at centre half forward, full forward or ruck rover. Fortunately I mentioned to the Chairman of Selectors Wayne Walsh that I was a forward & he just looked at me & said, ‘so you can play forward?’ After that I played forward.
Who were some of the better players you played with?
• Doug Hawkins – the most skillful player I have ever seen. As a forward, there was nothing better than getting a yard on your opponent if Doug had the ball, didn’t matter which foot either.
• Rick Kennedy – one of the nicest blokes you would ever meet off the field, but on it, he had white line fever. Had some great years at full back in 1884/85
• Peter Foster – he was strong, struggled a bit early but he was terrific for us. Cleared the ball so often from defence.
• Michael McLean – like Hawk, Magic had wonderful skills & was just so balanced.
What about opposition players?
• Robert Flower – another like Hawk who had sublime skills.
• Ross Glendinning – really admired him, particularly his year in 1983 where he won the Brownlow Medal.
• Leigh Matthews – those tree trunk legs of his meant he always kept his feet. Even for his size he was a telling full forward.
• Jason Dunstall – just had wonderful hands.
• Simon Madden – one of the best I saw & a top bloke too.
When did you retire?
At the end of the 1986 season. I had missed a number of games with a back injury. I had always battled bulging discs & fortunately they usually flared in the off season. Mick had a chat & said opportunities would be limited with a number of youngsters coming through.
What did you do after you retired?
Again, Shane O’Sullivan contacted me. He had been appointed General Manager of the newly formed Brisbane Bears Football Club on the Gold Coast & wanted to know if I’d like to get involved in football administration. I was the Football Manager, but was virtually involved with everything, including joining the match committee, securing players, appointing a coach (Peter Knights), organizing travel arrangements, player appearances & promotions & so on.
Now, one of those players who would have been in demand would have been Warwick Capper. What was he really like?
Surprisingly, nothing like what I imagined. I had to take him to various places & got to know him quite well, he’s a nice bloke, different from the persona he creates for the media.
Things soured up there?
Yes, with 7 games to go in 1989 Peter Knights was sacked. I didn’t agree with it, so I resigned & returned to WA.
Did you get involved with footy back in Perth?
I had lots of calls from club’s wanting me to, but I only got involved coaching junior teams my son was involved with.
I was a partner for 3 years in a bottle shop/pub with Tony Buhagiar, then bought a Bedshed franchise for 5 years & for the past 10 years have been running my Angus & Robertson bookshop in Rockingham, about 30 minutes south of Perth.
Do you still watch the footy?
Yes, I have a family membership with the Fremantle Dockers & get to most of the home games, though I do keep an eye out on the Western Bulldogs. Even if I hadn’t played for the club, I’d watch them, they play such an exciting brand of football. It’s a credit to Rocket how he’s got them playing.
Your family all Dockers?
No, I have 3 children, my eldest daughter follows the Bulldogs, my son supports Adelaide & my youngest daughter follows the Bulldogs/Dockers.
Why Adelaide?
He met Tony McGuinness when we were in Adelaide & he had the AFL shop at the time & gave him some Crows goodies.
Can the Bulldogs go all the way this year?
I can’t see why not.
Thanks for your time Jim.
You’re welcome.
.
http://i4.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b2/28/cc33_1.JPG
Firstly thanks to Scraggers who is a new member of WOOF, he was able to point me in the right direction to chat with Jim, who was fantastic to talk with.
TCD: Hi Jim & thank you for chatting with me.
JS: You’re welcome.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up on a farm just out of Geraldton, which is about 420kn north of Perth, but attended boarding school in Perth. After school I returned to the farm & played locally with my brothers.
You played for East Fremantle, how did you get there?
I was residentially zoned & when I was 21 I decided to come down & have a crack at it.
You played for quite a while at East Fremantle, who were some of your coaches?
In my fist year I was coached by John Todd, then Alan Joyce for 2 seasons, then a local WA boy Brad Smith who took us to a flag in 1979, the Ken Smith & lastly Ron Alexander who had returned from Victoria after playing with Fitzroy.
It took a while then for you to make your way to Victoria.
Yes, at the end of 1977 I signed a form 4 with Carlton, so I was tied to them & even went on an overseas trip with them. Around that time there was a bit of instability there with Ian Harris & Jezza so I wanted a guarantee that if I came across & things didn’t work out after 3 years they’d clear me back. Carlton wouldn’t agree to that.
I then went into a business & purchased a squash court, so I wasn’t about to leave to come to Victoria.
Around the end of 1982 I was looking for a fresh challenge & had agreed to go to Geelong, but that didn’t work out.
So how did you get to Footscray?
Wally Maskell who was involved with Claremont mentioned to Shane O’Sullivan that I was in a bit of a bind. Fortunately Shane knew me from his days at Carlton, so he got on the phone, followed by Bluey Hampshire.
The form 4 you signed still tied you to Carlton, didn’t it?
Yes, so I had to obtain a clearance from Carlton. Footscray swapped Bruce Reid for me.
You realise the long term ramifications of that don’t you?
No.
Bruce fell 14 games short of playing 100 games for the club & his son ended up at Collingwood as a first round draft pick.
Oh, could have had him as a father son then.
Correct, now you were at the club at a time when there was a huge amount of change player wise.
Yes, the first game of the 1983 season we played Geelong out at Waverley & there were 10 or 11 of us making our VFL debuts. We recruited quite a few West Australians as well as boys from the country.
Early on at Footscray you played in the backline.
Yes, that was a shock as I’d played 99% of my football before that at centre half forward, full forward or ruck rover. Fortunately I mentioned to the Chairman of Selectors Wayne Walsh that I was a forward & he just looked at me & said, ‘so you can play forward?’ After that I played forward.
Who were some of the better players you played with?
• Doug Hawkins – the most skillful player I have ever seen. As a forward, there was nothing better than getting a yard on your opponent if Doug had the ball, didn’t matter which foot either.
• Rick Kennedy – one of the nicest blokes you would ever meet off the field, but on it, he had white line fever. Had some great years at full back in 1884/85
• Peter Foster – he was strong, struggled a bit early but he was terrific for us. Cleared the ball so often from defence.
• Michael McLean – like Hawk, Magic had wonderful skills & was just so balanced.
What about opposition players?
• Robert Flower – another like Hawk who had sublime skills.
• Ross Glendinning – really admired him, particularly his year in 1983 where he won the Brownlow Medal.
• Leigh Matthews – those tree trunk legs of his meant he always kept his feet. Even for his size he was a telling full forward.
• Jason Dunstall – just had wonderful hands.
• Simon Madden – one of the best I saw & a top bloke too.
When did you retire?
At the end of the 1986 season. I had missed a number of games with a back injury. I had always battled bulging discs & fortunately they usually flared in the off season. Mick had a chat & said opportunities would be limited with a number of youngsters coming through.
What did you do after you retired?
Again, Shane O’Sullivan contacted me. He had been appointed General Manager of the newly formed Brisbane Bears Football Club on the Gold Coast & wanted to know if I’d like to get involved in football administration. I was the Football Manager, but was virtually involved with everything, including joining the match committee, securing players, appointing a coach (Peter Knights), organizing travel arrangements, player appearances & promotions & so on.
Now, one of those players who would have been in demand would have been Warwick Capper. What was he really like?
Surprisingly, nothing like what I imagined. I had to take him to various places & got to know him quite well, he’s a nice bloke, different from the persona he creates for the media.
Things soured up there?
Yes, with 7 games to go in 1989 Peter Knights was sacked. I didn’t agree with it, so I resigned & returned to WA.
Did you get involved with footy back in Perth?
I had lots of calls from club’s wanting me to, but I only got involved coaching junior teams my son was involved with.
I was a partner for 3 years in a bottle shop/pub with Tony Buhagiar, then bought a Bedshed franchise for 5 years & for the past 10 years have been running my Angus & Robertson bookshop in Rockingham, about 30 minutes south of Perth.
Do you still watch the footy?
Yes, I have a family membership with the Fremantle Dockers & get to most of the home games, though I do keep an eye out on the Western Bulldogs. Even if I hadn’t played for the club, I’d watch them, they play such an exciting brand of football. It’s a credit to Rocket how he’s got them playing.
Your family all Dockers?
No, I have 3 children, my eldest daughter follows the Bulldogs, my son supports Adelaide & my youngest daughter follows the Bulldogs/Dockers.
Why Adelaide?
He met Tony McGuinness when we were in Adelaide & he had the AFL shop at the time & gave him some Crows goodies.
Can the Bulldogs go all the way this year?
I can’t see why not.
Thanks for your time Jim.
You’re welcome.
.