By Peter Ryan
Snap Shot is a weekly column taking a look at the lighter side of football.
Melbourne Cup-winning trainer and former Demons player Robert Hickmott always had in his mind the idea of training a horse for a bunch of past players from Melbourne carrying the name of club legend Jim Stynes and colours denoting the 1991 Brownlow medallist’s Irish heritage.
When he secured a Dundeel/Gunawati colt for $230,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sales he jumped on the phone to Rod Grinter, the president of the club’s past players’ association who played 134 games for Melbourne, and asked whether he might rustle up some interest among former teammates.
A Demons scarf adorns the statue of Jim Stynes outside the MCG. Credit: Getty Images
As soon as the call went out the book started to fill with two groups, Mental Demons 1 and Mental Demons 2, filled with past players who took tiny shares to be part of a horse honouring their great mate who died in March 2012.
Former players such as Peter Giles, Jason Norrish, Jim Stynes’ brother Brian, Greg Hutchison, Stephen Powell, John Ahern, Paul Hopgood and Andrew Ford joined in the fun as did former club presidents Bill Guest and Don McLardy and esteemed former journalist Mike Sheahan.
Realising that Big Jim had already been taken, they thought of other names before Grinter suggested Big Jimma.
“When I was playing with Jim we didn’t call him Big Jim, we called him Big Jimma,” Grinter said.
What Big Jimma’s jockey is set to wear.
So with the name Big Jimma settled, the bills paid and the Whatsapp group set up all is needed is for the horse to show some talent.
And this Saturday the time arrives when Big Jimma heads to Flemington for his first start in the opening race on the program.
Nominated for the same race in a sign of AFL’s hold on Victoria are horses named Perovic (after former Saints and Carlton great Val Perovic), Wirrpanda (after former Eagles great David Wirrpanda) and first-start winner Capper Thirtynine (after former Sydney and Brisbane high-flier Warwick Capper).
It is appropriate that in Hickmott’s last game for Melbourne, John “Horse” Longmire booted 14 goals for North Melbourne.
Big Jimma’s jockey will wear colours sporting a shamrock and the Demons’ red and blue.
“We are all pumped about it and very excited it will do well. It is a colt. Hopefully, it will do well, win a few races for us and become a massive stud,” Grinter joked.
#nofreekickTomPowell
On Monday, North Melbourne midfielder Tom Powell hit a one-year anniversary.
Twelve months and 20 games have passed since the in-and-under Powell has received a free kick.
That’s correct. It’s now over a year since he heard ‘your free kick Tom’, assuming he has an umpire who actually recognises the fresh-faced Kangaroo.
A year has now passed since North Melbourne’s Tom Powell received a free kick.Credit: Getty Images
The 21-year-old has given away seven free kicks in that period but failed to get any assistance at all from the umpires. The most recent free kick he earned was against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium in round 11, 2022.
Poor old Powell has earned fewer free kicks (12) in his 40 games than teammates Will Phillips (14 free kicks in 23 games), Callum Coleman-Jones (22 in 22) and Paul Curtis (17 in 25).
By contrast, the Eagles’ shining light this season, Oscar Allen, has earned 14 free kicks this year without conceding one.
And you can guess who the umpires love in his first season, with the Lions’ Will Ashcroft - a fine player - given 17 free kicks and giving away just two in his first 11 games.
Snap Shot is watching. Will the trend change?
The mask wearers
Richmond’s Dylan Grimes did it in 2019. Why not Geelong’s Sam De Koning?
Geelong’s Sam De Koning playing in round 11. Credit: Getty Images
On the coach’s whiteboard
Before you go, here are ...
Five key things Snap Shot believes a football club director is allowed to say, quietly, to the club president in the rooms post-match after a disappointing loss:
- I kept yelling out ‘pick up your man’
- Do we have a goal kicking coach?
- I’m more of a Leo Sayer man myself.
- When does AFLW start?
- I’ll call you tomorrow
They said...
“Eggs come from cows.” - No.1 draft pick Aaron Cadman on the bus to Geelong in the Giants’ video ‘Rogue Questions’.
But they forgot to say...
“Oh, chickens” ... until skipper Toby Greene pointed out to Cadman that he might need a rethink.