How good was....Terry Wallace? And why the nickname "Plough"?

Terry Wallace is one of my favourite Dogs coaches, but I know bugger all about his playing career.

I know he couldn't coach us past a prelim, but he managed to get us up for wins against the odds so many times during the H&A season.

Was he any good as a player? What position did he play and what current player is most like him?

And what's with the name Plough?

Beast of a player - I only really remember a few games at WO where he seemed built for muddy conditions (hence the nickname Plough).
I know his coaching stint with us didn't end well but I have a soft spot for him. He did go a long way to changing the culture of the place during his time with us. Pretty sure his kids are doggies fans too.

He certainly had a 'me first' approach as a player which wasn't as noticeable across the playing group then like it is now
He left Hawthorn because they played him as a HBF in a final which sort of confirms he liked things on his terms.
I can remember him wearing spurs attached to his boots around the club and he purchased a sun bed to maintain the tan
Left Richmond after one season because Maurice Rioli was going to be the prime midfielder
Very imaged focused

As a footballer though he was a great midfielder albeit with limited kicking skills. Hard working, a bit slow and tireless hence the Plough nickname. He knew his limitations and played within them

Innovative coach who challenged the status quo. Loved recruiting players with pace and kicking skills which ironically he didn't poses those qualities as a footballer.

He played a leading role in the demise of Alan Joyce rallying the players and I'd like him to fess up on his departure from us regarding the Sydney job. He seems determined not to spill the beans on that

I talked to him at the East meets West function three or four years ago and he's always up for a talk

Terry was a tough inside mid who had a great career at both the Hawks and us. At the Hawks he played in three premierships and I think he also represented the Vics in state footy. At the Bulldogs he won two best and fairest awards before going on to coaching.

As for who he is similar to in modern footy, I would say a Josh Kennedy type. Ploughs style of footy is almost lost as it has been umpired out of existence. Players are now afraid of giving a free kick when they dive on the ball, and you can bet Plough was always at the bottom of the pack.

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Originally Posted by GVGjr

He certainly had a 'me first' approach as a player which wasn't as noticeable across the playing group then like it is now
He left Hawthorn because they played him as a HBF in a final which sort of confirms he liked things on his terms.
I can remember him wearing spurs attached to his boots around the club and he purchased a sun bed to maintain the tan
Left Richmond after one season because Maurice Rioli was going to be the prime midfielder
Very imaged focused

As a footballer though he was a great midfielder albeit with limited kicking skills. Hard working, a bit slow and tireless hence the Plough nickname. He knew his limitations and played within them

Innovative coach who challenged the status quo. Loved recruiting players with pace and kicking skills which ironically he didn't poses those qualities as a footballer.

He played a leading role in the demise of Alan Joyce rallying the players and I'd like him to fess up on his departure from us regarding the Sydney job. He seems determined not to spill the beans on that

I talked to him at the East meets West function three or four years ago and he's always up for a talk

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Oh yeah? Says who?

https://i.ibb.co/XLXTY7s/Screen-Shot...9-47-13-AM.png

Renaissance-man stylings aside, he was the Oxford definition of a 'ball magnet'.

In 1985 we played Hawthorn in driving rain at Whitten oval and Steve McPherson kicked the winning goal with a couple of minutes to go. Plough was still at Hawthorn and as far as he was concerned Hawthorn were going to win or he was going to die trying. He threw himself onto the ball, he was at the bottom of every pack-he was a man on a mission.

On time he was laying on the ground, he drew the ball in and about half a dozen Footscray players fell onto his back, at the time it was an obvious free kick but the umpire (I think he was well aware he was in front of a rabid Footscray crowd) just signaled for a ball up. Terry looked up at him and punched the ground 3 or 4 times. If it weren't so wet I would swear their were tears of frustration in his eyes. I've never usually seen a player who wanted the ball as much as Plough wanted it but that day he was manic.

There used to be footage on YouTube but it's no longer there.

Terry just loves footy. I sort of know his right hand man, a bloke called Oberon Pirak because I am great mates with Oberon's daughter. Anyway one day not long after Footscray started playing VFL at Whitten oval I was picking my through the crowd on the member's stand wing (It was pretty thick on that side) and Terry is standing there watching his son umpire the game. As I walked past I said giddaye when Terry caught my arm pointed to the crowd ans said "how long has this been going on." Being a bit of a smart arse I said "120 years give or take. I'm surprised you'd forgotten"


Another time Margie and I were doing a assignment that required us to interview somebody in the public. Plough was still coaching us but made time for us to interview him. Some of the questions were fairly personal but he answered them all honestly and without fluster. The tutor remarked that we had vivid imaginations and we said "no. We spoke to Terry Wallace" Tutor said "this was an exercise in imagination and speculation. You were expected to make it all up. Having said that, wow just wow. But do try and pay attention"

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Originally Posted by Rocket Science

Oh yeah? Says who?

https://i.ibb.co/XLXTY7s/Screen-Shot...9-47-13-AM.png

Renaissance-man stylings aside, he was the Oxford definition of a 'ball magnet'.

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Why are you posting pictures of James Reyne?

Named a pub after him.

Sensational inside mid. Was slow but could get out of trouble with a quick side step or dummy, was very smart in tight. Looked a class above at his best. Two Crimmins and two Suttons speak volumes.

Enjoyed watching him pull on the red, white and blue jumper - was a favourite of mine in our midfield in those days.

Didn't Wallace nick name himself 'Plough'?

Was a fantastic player and initially an innovative & dynamic coach. Got lost along along the way. Perhaps his ego got the better of him.

Hall of Fame: Terry Wallace, the plough who never let up

IT WAS a big deal when Fitzroy secured ruck/forward Gerry McCarthy from Hawthorn a few weeks before the 1978 season.

Media reports suggested he was sold to the Lions solely for cash.

You had to read the fine print to learn that unknown Camberwell midfielder Terry Wallace, residentially zoned to the Lions but not at all rated by them, was also part of the deal.

Fast forward 40 years. That self-described "set of steak knives" is now a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

From his debut game in round one of that season, he was the fourth wheel of one of the greatest following divisions in the history of the game - Don Scott, Michael Tuck and Leigh Matthews - and he was comfortable from the start.

"I'd had enough knockbacks in junior footy through to not getting the opportunity with Fitzroy, but I was still confident enough to back myself," he said.

"Mind you, it was a pretty daunting task to stand in the centre of the ground alongside Scott, Tuck and Matthews."

He was primarily a run-with player that season, but every week he grew with confidence. He played all 25 games and his best was the last - the Grand Final.

Yet after a disastrous 1980 season in which he was waylaid by a series of knee injuries, he was at the crossroads.

It was the arrival of Allan Jeans as Hawthorn coach in 1981 that turned Wallace into one of the best midfielders in the competition for the next six years.

"When 'Yab' arrived, I was at my absolute most fervent and he was looking for a ruthless edge with the players he wanted in the side. He saw me working my backside off," he said.

"He gave me an opportunity and I blossomed under that."

In an era when players were still part-time, Wallace's fitness regimen was ahead of his time. He did extra weights, running and recovery sessions.

"I was fitter and stronger than most of the blokes I was playing on. The inside-mid role suited me to a tee," he said.

It also helps explain where the 'Plough' nickname came from. "We were training in the mud at Glenferrie Oval one Tuesday night and I was ploughing in and ploughing in for the ball. Russell Greene called out, 'Look at him. He's a plough.' And it stuck."

Best and fairests, premierships and All-Australian honours regularly came his way. Wallace was aware of his shortcomings from the start and worked around them.

"My talents weren't the natural parts of the game. Great ball use? No. Overhead marking? Not particularly. Speed? Also, not particularly. But there were so many other areas I could be elite at," he said.

"One touch? Yes. Endurance? Elite. Body? Yes. I was self-built so I could play the roles I wanted to play. I knew I would never be as good in some other areas."

Wallace left the Hawks after their 1986 flag, having fallen out with Jeans.

He spent an injury-riddled season with Richmond, which he calls "an unmitigated disaster" before finishing his career with four excellent seasons at Footscray.

He suffered a serious facial injury after an incident with Melbourne's Rod Grinter in just his second game for the Bulldogs, and when he fronted up and played the next week, he earned the immediate respect of his new teammates and supporters.

"They knew I was fair dinkum and there for the right reasons," he said.

Wallace later coached the Western Bulldogs and Richmond and is now a respected analyst with SEN 1116. He is as obsessive about football as ever.

"I still have every footy card I ever owned, and I still watch nine games of footy every weekend," he said.

"I have always been absolutely fanatical about the game, so to be given an honour like this is just unbelievable."

Clubs Hawthorn, Richmond, Western Bulldogs
Born December 13, 1958
Recruited from Camberwell
Playing career 1978-91
Games 254
Goals 123
Player honours Hawthorn best and fairest 1981, 1983; Western Bulldogs best and fairest 1988, 1989; All-Australian 1982, 1983, 1988; Hawthorn premiership team 1978, 1983, 1986; Victorian representative (7 games, 5 goals); AFL life member
Coaching record Western Bulldogs 1996-2002 (148 games, 79 wins, 67 losses, 2 draws); Richmond 2005-09 (99 games, 37 wins, 60 losses, 2 draws); All-Australian coach 1998

It's funny the tricks the mind can play. My first memory of Terry is him kicking the last goal in the 1978 Grand Final. It put the Hawks 3 goals in front and sealed the game for them. But when I check AFLtables it says that he didn't kick a goal in the 1978 Grand Final even though I can see him do it in my mind's eye.

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Originally Posted by Twodogs

It's funny the tricks the mind can play. My first memory of Terry is him kicking the last goal in the 1978 Grand Final. It put the Hawks 3 goals in front and sealed the game for them. But when I check AFLtables it says that he didn't kick a goal in the 1978 Grand Final even though I can see him do it in my mind's eye.

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You are getting old, the mind is slipping :D