TASMANIAN TEAM OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Interchange Bench

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Interchange - Colin Robertson (Cooee, Wynyard, Hawthorn, Burnie)

Best remembered for the Norm Smith Medal he won during Hawthorn's 1983 VFL grand final demolition of Essendon Colin Robertson was a dashing player in 2 states who was equally at home on the ball, on a wing, or in defence. In the 1983 grand final his brief was to curb the effectiveness of key Bomber on baller Tim Watson, a task he performed in exemplary fashion, whilst still managing to exert a significant impact offensively.

Robertson joined Hawthorn from Wynyard in 1980 after the Hawks won a 6 club chase to procure him. He quickly settled in at Glenferrie becoming, from 1981 onwards, a significant contributor to the hard running style of football which was being developed by coach Allan Jeans, and which would ultimately enable the Hawks to establish one of the most awesome - and enduring - football dynasties of all time.

Such high standards made competition for senior places at Hawthorn probably stiffer than it had been at any other VFL club up to that point, and after the 1984 grand final - in which he performed serviceably to contribute 2 goals to Hawthorn's losing tally of 12.9 - Robertson found it increasingly difficult to perform consistently at the required level. Admittedly, grand final day 1985 did see him earn a 2nd premiership medallion in a side including players of the calibre of Peter Knights, Rodney Eade, Michael Byrne, James Morrissey, Greg Dear and Steve Malaxos, but the sad fact was that this was just a reserves flag which, in the context of the Hawthorn senior side's 78 point capitulation to Essendon later the same day, meant very little.

Colin Robertson finished his senior football career by captaining Burnie Hawks during that club's first 3 seasons in the TFL statewide competition.

Everyone deserves to be remembered and extolled for his or her greatest achievements, however, and there is no doubt whatsoever that Colin Robertson at his best was very very good indeed, and worthy of his inclusion in this team.

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Interchange - Alastair Lynch (Hobart, Fitzroy, Brisbane)

Alastair Lynch was one of the most consistent and dominating key forwards of the last decade and a half.  However, his career was not devoid of difficulty.  In 1995 for example he was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and spent the vast majority of the season on the sidelines.  That he not only recovered, but went on to become, if anything, an even better player than before, starring in Brisbane's historic 2001 grand final defeat of Essendon, and 'leading from the front' as co-captain (with Michael Voss) between 1997 and 2000, is testimony to his determination and courage.  A quick lead, Lynch was also one of the AFL's finest exponents of what some purists regard as a dying art - the contested mark.  In his later years his kicking for goal also improved and by the end of his career he had snared 663 goals in 306 games over seventeen seasons. He continued to perform with distinction throughout Brisbane's ultimately successful quest for a trifecta of premiership honours between 2001 and 2003, and only in his final league season of 2004 were there any real signs that the rigours of the game were becoming a tad too much for his aging body.

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Interchange - Tim Evans (Geelong & Port Adelaide)

After playing junior football in Tasmania's North West Football Union with Penguin Tim Evans was lured to the mainland by Geelong in 1971.  In 4 seasons with the Cats, playing mainly on the half back line, he notched up 59 games, and impressed with his strong marking and robust ground skills.  However, it was only after transferring to Port Adelaide in 1975 that his career truly began to blossom.  Transferred to the goalfront by coach John Cahill when regular spearhead Randall Gerlach was indisposed, Evans proved a revelation, going on to become one of the greatest goalkickers in Australian football history.  In 248 games for the Magpies between 1975 and 1986 Evans accumulated 1041 goals, topping the League list on 6 occasions, and Port's no fewer than 10 times.  Seldom spectacular, Evans was the archetypal 'goal machine'.  As the late John Wood, writing in 'Magpie News' in August 1986 at the time of Evans' retirement put it, "He was an ideal amalgam of finesse and raw strength.  If the players ahead of him delivered it, Tim was a certainty to mark it.  If they blasted it in high he (more often than not with two flying against him) was a fifty-fifty go.  Either way you could get your pen ready to mark down another one."

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Interchange - Brendon Gale (Penguin, Burnie, Richmond)

A vigorous and hard-working ruckman/forward, Brendon Gale performed consistently for Richmond throughout the 1990s and into the early years of the new decade.  He was equally effective leading the ruck or holding down a key forward position, his aerial prowess and physical strength making him a match for almost any opponent.  Never the most spectacular of players - a fact which doubtless prevented his entering the discussions all that often when Brownlow votes were allocated - his impact on games was nevertheless often considerable.  Brother Michael also appeared for the Tigers.

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Interchange - Daryn Cresswell (Glenorchy, North Hobart, Sydney)

A typically hardy, courageous and resilient Tasmanian, Daryn Cresswell played initially with Glenorchy and North Hobart before being drafted by Sydney, for whom he made his AFL debut in 1992.  Tough, resilient and hard working, but also highly skilled, he was one of the Swans most consistent performers over the ensuing decade.  Moreover, he knew how to get the ball and use it effectively, regularly topping the Swans' stats tables in both kicks and handballs (and, needless to say, in overall possessions, too).  Named in the 1997 AFL All Australian side, he was Sydney's club champion in 1994, and finished in the top three in five of the next six seasons.  Cresswell played a total of 243 AFL games in twelve seasons, with his last game coming in the losing preliminary final of 2003 against Brisbane.  The significance of his impact with the Swans was recognised in 2003 with his inclusion in the club's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'.

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Interchange - Garry Lyon (Melbourne)

Since winning its last premiership in 1964 the Melbourne Football Club has been home to many great players, but few if any as noteworthy or influential as Devonport-born Garry Lyon.

Statistically, and in terms of honours and awards, Lyon's career was impressive enough, but the qualities which elevated him among many of his peers into the arena of the truly great were mostly intangible.  During the fraught times of the mid 1990s, when the club's continued existence as an autonomous entity was often under threat, it was Garry Lyon who somehow epitomised the fight for survival, indeed the Melbourne Football Club's very essence.

In a frequently injury impeded career spanning 14 seasons and 226 games Garry Lyon booted 426 goals and was twice voted Melbourne's club champion.  Tall (193 cm), hefty (101kg) and powerful, Lyon was a potent force on the Demons' forward line throughout his career, even towards the end when he needed to rely more on intelligence and brute force than on the perhaps surprising turn of pace he possessed during his early years.

Selected in 3 consecutive AFL All Australian teams during his peak years of 1993 to 1995, Lyon was also a natural leader, both on and off the field, and captained the Demons between 1991 and 1997.  In 1994 he was chosen as skipper of Victoria for a state of origin game against South Australia.  Twice Melbourne's leading goal kicker, Lyon probably provided team mates with at least as many goals as he procured himself.

A chronic back injury limited Lyon's appearances during his later years and he was finally forced to retire in 1999.

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