The Coon Dog
27-10-2008, 06:33 PM
Jim Edmond
Footscray 1977-1985, 154 games, 226 goals.
Sydney 1986, 17 games, 19 goals.
Brisbane 1987-1988, 17 games, 42 goals.
http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/TheCoonDog/Other%20stuff/images.jpg
TCD: Hi Jim & thank you so much for your time.
JE: My pleasure.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Glasgow, Scotland & my parents immigrated to Australia when I was 5.
Where did your parents settle?
Initially Sale for 2 years, then we moved to Bairnsdale when I was 7.
So, who did you get into Aussie Rules?
At school, it was all the kids played, then when I was 9 or 10 I played with Bairnsdale Sports. It was run by Brian Royal’s Dad, Billy. We all trained together during the week, then on the weekends we were split into 4 teams, North, East, South & West.
Who did you barrack for as a kid?
Carlton.
Why Carlton?
My brother Bob is 10 years older than me. He was a terrific weightlifter & good enough at football that Carlton signed him.
Why Carlton, when Gippsland was Footscray’s zone?
He was recruited before zoning.
How did he go at Carlton?
He played 3 games there in 1967 & 7 games in 1968, but his real love was weightlifting.
How did he go at that?
He represented Australia in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games & finished 7th. In the Commonwealth Games he won silver medals in 1978 at Edmonton & 1982 at Brisbane. He also held the super heavyweight record for 10 years.
So, how did you get to Footscray?
When I was 15 I played for the reserves at Bairnsdale & was playing for the seniors when I was 16 & 17. Footscray invited me down a few times during the 1976 season. I was doing my HSC, but came down 5 or 6 times & played for the reserves. There were a few of us including Jeff Geischen who came down & were put up at the Palms Motel in Geelong Road, next to the RSL.
Can you remember your first game?
Yes, we played Melbourne & won (116-95). For some reason the club decided to ease me into VFL football & I played on Ross Brewer, who kicked 2 goals. I hadn’t played in defence before & after that game didn’t go down there again.
I have to ask. What did you say to Gubby Allan that day we played Collingwood?
That was just a great game. Collingwood were leading by a few points & Gubby got the ball in the back pocket & I stupidly pushed him over & gave away a free kick. I was cursing myself as I thought I’d cost us the game.
For some reason Gubby did the unthinkable & kicked across goals to his fullback, Greg Phillips. It was unheard of in those days. Anyhow the ball just stayed up in the air & allowed Simon Beasley to mark over the top of him, straight in front of goals.
I told Gubby he was mad & should retire.
Really?
Well, there was an expletive in there somewhere. I’ve seen Gubby many times since & he’s a top bloke.
Jim, one memory I do have of you is a passage of play in the Semi Final in 1985. Doug Hawkins picked the ball up on the wing & hit you lace out with a pass that travelled through a swag of North Melbourne players. It didn’t get very high off the ground at all, just a wonderful kick. Do you recall it?
Yes, but then again when Doug got the ball my eyes lit up, he just was a beautiful kick. That pass wasn’t unusual.
Tell me about 1985.
We had a wonderful team that year. The age group was just right as many of us were in our mid 20’s.
We had great players on all lines, particularly the forward line. You just knew that there were a heap of blokes who could kick goals. Beaser was the full forward & he kicked a ton. Lally & Chocco each kicked 40 plus goals. Jim Sewell, myself & Super played across half forward.
There were matchwinners in their own right through the midfield & on ballers, players like Purser, Wallis, Shorty Daniels & Budgie, guys on the wing like Hawk & Magic McLean.
The backline were somewhat unheralded with guys like Peter Foster, Rick Kennedy holding up the key posts & Brian Cordy, Fruity Ford, Brad Hardie & Mark Kellett just bringing the ball forward at will.
We had a great team, but were just undone by some individual brilliance by Leigh Matthews, who kicked 2 goals & had a hand in another 2.
As club captain, it certainly came as a shock to see you leave & play at Sydney the following year. What happened there?
I never really played for money; it was just the love of the game. I wasn’t on big money at Footscray & at the end of the 1985 season I asked for a modest increase in salary. When I say modest, I mean just that, modest.
I didn’t believe it would be a problem actually. Unfortunately the club refused to budge. At this stage Geoffrey Eddelston became aware of the impasse & started to ring me, offering to fly me to Sydney for a chat. I wasn’t interested as I expected that things would be sorted out at Footscray.
Anyhow, one day Eddelston rings up & offers me 3 times the salary I was currently on. I still didn’t fly up there, but went back to the club & explained what was on offer elsewhere.
To my disappointment at the time an article appeared in the papers claiming I was using Sydney as a bargaining tool.
We didn’t have managers in those days & players negotiated their own contracts. Looking back I can see fault on both parts. I’m sure if we had our time again, both I & the club would have handled things differently.
At the time I was disappointed as I was prepared to remain at Footscray for about a third of the Sydney offer. I don’t think too many people really understood that to be honest.
This didn’t sour your love of the club?
No, I still love the club. I believe in live for the day & move on. I did that pretty quickly & in 1998 I jumped at the chance to return as the Football Director, which I did for 6 years.
You only played with Sydney for 1 season, before heading north to play with Brisbane, what happened there.
The salary cap was brought in. Both myself & Merv Neagle were injured & one of us was going to get the chop. Unfortunately it was me.
Who were some of the better players you played with?
• Andrew Purser – Polly was extremely mobile & always had a red hot go.
• Doug Hawkins – A terrific player with wonderful skills on both sides of his body.
• Kelvin Templeton – Just an out & out superstar!
• Brian Royal – From memory he played for Victoria in his debut season. A great goal kicker & he worked extremely hard.
Opposition players who caught your eye?
• Leigh Matthews – An all round match winner.
• Bruce Doull – He was hard to play on & was always there. Good timing & great balance.
• Trevor Barker – He was known for doing all the flashy things, but he could do everything else too & was a terrific tackler.
• Gary Ablett – I recall one game; we had half the team in Geelong’s forward line trying to stop him.
Do you still take an interest in the Bulldogs today?
Yes, very much so. I’m fortunate I’ve got some wonderful friends that I have made through my time in football & it’s great catching up with them at the footy.
Thanks’ for your time Jock.
My pleasure.
Footscray 1977-1985, 154 games, 226 goals.
Sydney 1986, 17 games, 19 goals.
Brisbane 1987-1988, 17 games, 42 goals.
http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/TheCoonDog/Other%20stuff/images.jpg
TCD: Hi Jim & thank you so much for your time.
JE: My pleasure.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Glasgow, Scotland & my parents immigrated to Australia when I was 5.
Where did your parents settle?
Initially Sale for 2 years, then we moved to Bairnsdale when I was 7.
So, who did you get into Aussie Rules?
At school, it was all the kids played, then when I was 9 or 10 I played with Bairnsdale Sports. It was run by Brian Royal’s Dad, Billy. We all trained together during the week, then on the weekends we were split into 4 teams, North, East, South & West.
Who did you barrack for as a kid?
Carlton.
Why Carlton?
My brother Bob is 10 years older than me. He was a terrific weightlifter & good enough at football that Carlton signed him.
Why Carlton, when Gippsland was Footscray’s zone?
He was recruited before zoning.
How did he go at Carlton?
He played 3 games there in 1967 & 7 games in 1968, but his real love was weightlifting.
How did he go at that?
He represented Australia in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games & finished 7th. In the Commonwealth Games he won silver medals in 1978 at Edmonton & 1982 at Brisbane. He also held the super heavyweight record for 10 years.
So, how did you get to Footscray?
When I was 15 I played for the reserves at Bairnsdale & was playing for the seniors when I was 16 & 17. Footscray invited me down a few times during the 1976 season. I was doing my HSC, but came down 5 or 6 times & played for the reserves. There were a few of us including Jeff Geischen who came down & were put up at the Palms Motel in Geelong Road, next to the RSL.
Can you remember your first game?
Yes, we played Melbourne & won (116-95). For some reason the club decided to ease me into VFL football & I played on Ross Brewer, who kicked 2 goals. I hadn’t played in defence before & after that game didn’t go down there again.
I have to ask. What did you say to Gubby Allan that day we played Collingwood?
That was just a great game. Collingwood were leading by a few points & Gubby got the ball in the back pocket & I stupidly pushed him over & gave away a free kick. I was cursing myself as I thought I’d cost us the game.
For some reason Gubby did the unthinkable & kicked across goals to his fullback, Greg Phillips. It was unheard of in those days. Anyhow the ball just stayed up in the air & allowed Simon Beasley to mark over the top of him, straight in front of goals.
I told Gubby he was mad & should retire.
Really?
Well, there was an expletive in there somewhere. I’ve seen Gubby many times since & he’s a top bloke.
Jim, one memory I do have of you is a passage of play in the Semi Final in 1985. Doug Hawkins picked the ball up on the wing & hit you lace out with a pass that travelled through a swag of North Melbourne players. It didn’t get very high off the ground at all, just a wonderful kick. Do you recall it?
Yes, but then again when Doug got the ball my eyes lit up, he just was a beautiful kick. That pass wasn’t unusual.
Tell me about 1985.
We had a wonderful team that year. The age group was just right as many of us were in our mid 20’s.
We had great players on all lines, particularly the forward line. You just knew that there were a heap of blokes who could kick goals. Beaser was the full forward & he kicked a ton. Lally & Chocco each kicked 40 plus goals. Jim Sewell, myself & Super played across half forward.
There were matchwinners in their own right through the midfield & on ballers, players like Purser, Wallis, Shorty Daniels & Budgie, guys on the wing like Hawk & Magic McLean.
The backline were somewhat unheralded with guys like Peter Foster, Rick Kennedy holding up the key posts & Brian Cordy, Fruity Ford, Brad Hardie & Mark Kellett just bringing the ball forward at will.
We had a great team, but were just undone by some individual brilliance by Leigh Matthews, who kicked 2 goals & had a hand in another 2.
As club captain, it certainly came as a shock to see you leave & play at Sydney the following year. What happened there?
I never really played for money; it was just the love of the game. I wasn’t on big money at Footscray & at the end of the 1985 season I asked for a modest increase in salary. When I say modest, I mean just that, modest.
I didn’t believe it would be a problem actually. Unfortunately the club refused to budge. At this stage Geoffrey Eddelston became aware of the impasse & started to ring me, offering to fly me to Sydney for a chat. I wasn’t interested as I expected that things would be sorted out at Footscray.
Anyhow, one day Eddelston rings up & offers me 3 times the salary I was currently on. I still didn’t fly up there, but went back to the club & explained what was on offer elsewhere.
To my disappointment at the time an article appeared in the papers claiming I was using Sydney as a bargaining tool.
We didn’t have managers in those days & players negotiated their own contracts. Looking back I can see fault on both parts. I’m sure if we had our time again, both I & the club would have handled things differently.
At the time I was disappointed as I was prepared to remain at Footscray for about a third of the Sydney offer. I don’t think too many people really understood that to be honest.
This didn’t sour your love of the club?
No, I still love the club. I believe in live for the day & move on. I did that pretty quickly & in 1998 I jumped at the chance to return as the Football Director, which I did for 6 years.
You only played with Sydney for 1 season, before heading north to play with Brisbane, what happened there.
The salary cap was brought in. Both myself & Merv Neagle were injured & one of us was going to get the chop. Unfortunately it was me.
Who were some of the better players you played with?
• Andrew Purser – Polly was extremely mobile & always had a red hot go.
• Doug Hawkins – A terrific player with wonderful skills on both sides of his body.
• Kelvin Templeton – Just an out & out superstar!
• Brian Royal – From memory he played for Victoria in his debut season. A great goal kicker & he worked extremely hard.
Opposition players who caught your eye?
• Leigh Matthews – An all round match winner.
• Bruce Doull – He was hard to play on & was always there. Good timing & great balance.
• Trevor Barker – He was known for doing all the flashy things, but he could do everything else too & was a terrific tackler.
• Gary Ablett – I recall one game; we had half the team in Geelong’s forward line trying to stop him.
Do you still take an interest in the Bulldogs today?
Yes, very much so. I’m fortunate I’ve got some wonderful friends that I have made through my time in football & it’s great catching up with them at the footy.
Thanks’ for your time Jock.
My pleasure.