Sunburnt Country Photography - Jason Kimberley

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Rituals of the Game

When Melbourne photographer Jason Kimberley was offered a commission by The AFL Hall of Fame and Sensation to shoot the AFL teams and players for a dedicated gallery within the new complex, it was an easy decision to make.

Although perhaps best known for his iconic images of Australia and the outback from his two exhibitions (and book) Australia Exposed and most recently Dead Cars and Rusty Barrels – football is also a subject close to Jason’s heart. Born to be a Swans supporter, there was no escaping footy for Jason whose father Craig was president of South Melbourne in the mid 70’s.

When approached by the AFL Hall of Fame and Sensation, the brief was to get the very heart of our great game and to see what it is to be: a footballer, a fan, a boot studder, a trainer, a coach, in the cheer squad, at the game, in the rooms or charging down the race.

To see AFL as you have never seen it before, to better understand what it is to be behind the scenes on match day or on the ground as the players run out.

“As a photographer to be commissioned to shoot something you love is a rare opportunity”, comments Jason. “This challenge was an absolute joy! The clubs were sensational in opening their doors to me for this special project, the contrasting match preparations and the individual nature of the clubs and the people behind them is a story in itself.”

To view the complete article from Australian Football Quarterly 2004, go to Publications or click here.

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The man who cleans, manipulates, stretches, washes, polishes, repairs, patches, scrubs, sends and is responsible for all boots at the football club. Most boots have some sort of customisation or special adjustment made for each player that is seen to by the boot studder. Many players have a favourite pair for match day only that are much loved and proudly cared for by… that’s right, the boot studder! Some players have as many as twelve pairs of boots.

The Boot Studder

Playing with pain is a quality that is held in high regard by all AFL coaches. Many players will have ‘a niggle’ here and there during the season which does not prevent them playing but does hinder them. ‘Pain is only temporary, it goes away’ is the refrain from the coach as he calls for one last effort at three quarter time. The team wins a hard fought battle. To be in the rooms after one of these victories is the personification of pleasure and pain endured by the players, there are ice packs on almost every leg, groin, hip, elbow and ankle. It can be a very tough day in the office.

Victory

It is somewhat surprising to see the dilapidated condition of some clubs old home grounds where most of them still train and administer the club – rusted fences, condemned grandstands, overgrown terraces and rotten wooden benches. This mural of Albert Collier adorned the social club wall along with other club legends such as Len Thompson, but with time and the need to add further facilities the social club became the gym. Curiously, someone decided to put the stereo and water fountain right on top of the famous Brownlow medallist and triple Copeland winner.

Last days of Vic Park

There is something heroic about the big sticks stretching forever skywards. They are a part of football culture – Leigh Matthews broke one, Andrew Dunkley bent one, Malcolm Blight mistook a small one for a big one, some commentators and supporters even want to make them taller. They become the complete focus of our attention as our team has a shot for a goal. We curse the big sticks when out team hit them and cheer the big sticks when the other mob hits them, we scream with joy when our team kicks the footy between the big sticks. Some notable exclamations that accompany a goal – ‘It’s a Sausage Roll’, ‘Yeeeees’, ‘Straight through the hey diddle diddle’, ‘It’s a Coffee Scroll’ and an old favourite ‘He’s dobbed it.’

Between the big sticks

Early memories of going to the footy include the getting of the tickets, getting into the ground. Mum or Dad would find themselves at the window trying to ask about kids prices, family packages and the like while the kids just wanted to see where the tickets where kept, how they were dispensed and when they could get their hands on them.

One adult, two kids

Don’t we all love a speccy. Alex Jesaulenko was so good at them for a time in the seventies that a speccy was known as a ‘jezza’. It is the one moment when we think we can deify gravity and become our heroes just for a second, we even commentate on the way up our mate’s back! Everyone was always on the lookout for a younger brother or that smaller kid from over the road when the footy came out. In the shadows of the M.C.G foot bridge cries of ‘put it up’ rang out in the park as this big brother soared to take this beauty. Bring back the speccy!

The speccy

Is there a more amusing sight in football than when the goal umpire theatrically raises the scorecard to his face to write down a score? You can take away the white coats and funny hats but you can’t take away the humour and theatre.

Score check

The new stadium at Docklands showcases everything that is great about modern football. You can get a seat, you can actually see the game, the toilets have a roof, even the ground has a roof, the skills seem sharper, the ball goes further and straighter in the still environment and most importantly you can still grab half a dozen donuts for the kids on the way out.

The modern game

All Clubs have a boxing ring. It is mostly home made by the players and support staff. The canvas is stained, the ropes are taut and the air is dank. The boxing ring is the place to sharpen reflexes and build general body strength. There is something romantic, in a bloody kind of way, about watching two men get into the ring and belt each other as if their lives depended on it. Mainly players spar with the resident boxing coach.

In the ring

The Pill, The Nut, The Tooty, The T.W, The Cherry, The Agat, The Pigskin (actually made from kangaroo hide), The Tommy, The Air Conveyance, The Ball… has any object ever had more nicknames? The first footy was always a thrill, it was often just a pair of Dad’s socks rolled inside themselves that could be happily booted around the house. Then came the nerf footy. The advertisers spruiked, ‘It won’t break anything, great for indoors.’ While they didn’t ‘break’ anything directly they did have a nasty habit of knocking over Mum’s vase’s, which subsequently smashed on the floor. Hot on the heels of the nerf sensation were Tuddy’s rubber guts rainbow footys (very easy on the bare foot), this was followed by your first real footy… a leather one. This was the good one, only to be used by those who knew what they where doing. There were often tears when it bounced onto the road and got it’s first scratch.

The footy

The gym is a strangely lonely and quiet place, there is so much to look at and absorb but there is surprisingly little banter amongst the players. There is some small talk but the players are so dedicated to getting it right that an examination room type silence descends during workout sessions. Weights coaches, fitness advisers, assistant coaches, dieticians and sports scientists are all in the gym supervising and directing at different times. Everything has a set routine, everything is recorded, nothing here is left to chance, it is serious. Those with injuries will spend hours every day working on their particular ailment to give themselves the best possible chance to get back on track.

In the gym

To find the true meaning of the word passionate you need look no further than your cheer squad. The characters that inhabit the area behind the goals are a dedicated bunch – travelling interstate (often by bus), making the banner each week, holding it up in the rain and wind. Oh the wind, who hasn’t felt the joy of watching the opposition banner rip in half before the players run through? All the week’s work is gone in a second and the other mob can only laugh. It’s tough in the cheer squad where any win is a good win.

Cheer squad

After missing several weeks to injury, Nathan Buckley returned to the Collingwood team for a match at the M.C.G. It was a terrible day – wet, cold and windy. After a strong start Buckley was called to the bench to rest. As he walked the boundary with the trainer one was moved to think – how ironic, here was this hero, on the biggest stage, with the Great Southern Stand as the backdrop yet no one even noticed him as the ball surged along the outer wing.

The hero - Nathan Buckley

The wireless, the radio, the tranny and now those modern earplugs, headphones and the like. The radio broadcast has given us some of our greatest characters in the game. Who could ever forget the late great Jack Dyer’s famous utterances, ‘His arms reached up like giant testicles’ and ‘He keeps going where the ball aint’, to say nothing of an unnamed commentator who once remarked ‘Scores are level, both sides with equal opportunity of winning the game.’ No matter how swish the telly coverage becomes there is always a place for the wireless.

The wireless

The rub down now goes by the modern name of massage. Previously a massage was something that you got at a particular shop with a dim red light out front, then in the mid eighties my late mother-in-law Helen Mary Sawyer fought the Victorian Government to have laws changed to make massage parlours come clean and call themselves what they where, brothels. I digress. The modern massage is carried out by trained professionals who rub, prod, push and stretch every muscle to maintain the players in top working order.

The rub down

The ability and desire to lift heavy things has always been surrounded with a certain mystique. Why lift? It looks so difficult. However, if you are an AFL footballer it is one of your tools in the battle for survival of the fittest. Those players who follow a dedicated weights program can build themselves up to be the strongest and the most powerful, increasing their ability to perform those superhuman feats during the game which can be the difference between winning and losing. All the clubs have a list of records in the weights room showing who can lift what.

On the weights

Football can be a lonely game when the ball is up the other end with only your opponent to keep you company. As a kid you would ask your opponent if his team was any good, translation… ‘will the ball ever come down here again?’. In the old VFL there used to be much questioning of family lineage and some polite inquiry as to the history and occupation of an opponents sister and mother.

They've got a paddock

An important and demanding position in any football club. The trainer is to the players what the farrier is to the highly strung stallion. He must get it just right, not too tight, not top loose, not too much much tape or too little, the trainer must remember every players preferred combination of tape, tension and angles of application. If the trainer gets it slightly wrong the players will only be too happy to quickly remind him to get on the job and stop mucking around.

The trainer

The function of the boot has changed over the years, once seen as an ankle support and closely resembling army boots with studs in them. The modern boot is streamlined, low cut, lightweight and multi coloured. Gone are the days of two or three brands dominating the market, now you can expect to see exotic boots with even more exotic names from all over the world. It used to be only lairs like Brereton, Newman and Carman would dare to wear a flashy white or yellow boot. Now it is commonplace for half the team to wear something flash on their feet.

Boots

Training at Glenferrie after an Auskick clinic saw a handful of kids dash around to the players warm up area and start offering advice to any player who would listen. It reminds one of the wonderful fearless line of questioning that kids take when talking to footballers, (either that or they are totally dumbstruck). It was after a game in Carlton in the early nineties when a kid, about seven years of age, approached the now minister of sports, Justin ‘Harry’ Madden. Madden bent down politely from his great height for what he thought was to be a regular autograph signing, the kid then launched into him with the following spray – ‘Hey Big Harry, Big Harry! Your kicks are to short, your handballs are pathetic, you fumble your marks and your hitouts are lousy!’ To which Madden replied ‘Who told you that?’ ‘My Dad’ yelled the kid in Madden’s face as he dashed off.

What are you blokes doing?

When the team breaks through the banner hopes and nervous expectations of victory in the game are at a high for the players and fans alike. Are there any late changes? Is the big fella out there? Who do you rekon will go to the bench? For some players running through the banner is a duty to the cheer squad, some players avoid it altogether and run around the side whilst others attack it with glee. When James Hird dashed through this banner he was enjoying a sensational run of form in which it seemed no one could hold him, not even the banner.

The Hero - James Hird

There is a surprising amount of graffiti surrounding the player’s entrance to some clubs. This is where the dedicated fans hand around, pens and autograph books in the hand, waiting for the players to come out. During this wait many use the wall either side of the players entrance as a canvas to pour out their emotions, this is nowhere more apparent than at Victoria Park. Whilst many were declarations of adoration for players ‘I love TAZZ’, ‘Brodie Holland is hot’ some were particularly heartfelt ‘Bobby Rose R.I.P a Collingwood legend’. Down low, obscured behind an old hinge is Mick Malthouse’s famous quote (misquoted) while coach. Perhaps if this graffiti correctly scrawled, ‘The Ox is slow, but the earth is patient’, fans would have a better chance of understanding the message.

Graffiti

Hanging over the fence and banging on the advertising hoardings has always been the domain of kids when the opposition team kicks a goal. This kid’s favourite player has just kicked the footy to the opposition. His expression – mouth agape and hand upturned to the heavens, is all of ours.

The kid

It can take an entire afternoon to create and only to appear – the piles of empires left behind at the end of the game. These piles used to be tinnies that had to be drunk quickly on arrival to build a good platform from where to watch the footy, often the gentlemen of a group would take it upon themselves to have a few quick ones early to help their lady friends get a good start on their platform. It was a disaster for the vertically challenged when tinnies were replaced by the aluminium can, they were great to collect but terrible to stand on.

The aftermath

Surely one of the greatest moments in Australian Rules Football is when the crown goes up as one to celebrate a brave act, a goal or the appearance of a hero. There was a Carlton versus Collingwood semi final at the M.C.G in the late seventies. Phil Carman had started on the bench, he was called into action at the eighteen minute mark of the second quarter. Fabulous Phil dashed across the half forward line bumping into the Carlton defenders to the applause of the faithful, in an instant as the ball was kicked in his direction, the crowd quite literally leaped to its feet as one to see Fab Phil mark above the pack, go back and kick… a point.

Up as one

This is wonderful. What dedication! In a school exercise book the fanatic records the venue, the date, and every score for each team. He then extends the scoreline across the page with precision of an accountant for each score. He has done it the same way for twenty years.

The Fanatic

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