Park Avenue’s Robert Sweeney retires after playing hockey for 53 years
Five decades in the making, a Rockhampton hockey legend has celebrated the final game of his career with a fitting farewell to a dearly missed mate. Read his inspiring story.
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Man first walked on the moon mere months before Robert Sweeney first picked up a hockey stick.
Now, more than five decades later, the Rockhampton hockey legend is preparing to put away that stick for the last time.
For the best part of his life, Robert’s winter weekend routine involved hockey.
The journey which started for a then eager five-year-old in the Rockhampton junior ranks has come to an end for the experienced campaigner.
Robert has called time on his career after playing for 53 continuous years, 51 of them with his beloved Park Avenue Hockey Club.
In the two years he was not in Rockhampton - 2021 and 2022 - he played with Norths in Brisbane.
In a perfectly scripted final chapter, the 59-year-old captained the Park Avenue A3 men to grand final victory.
“The body’s telling me to give it up; it doesn’t recover as well after a game these days,” he said.
“It’s been 53 years straight so I’ve clocked up a pretty good innings.”
Robert revealed the sudden passing of his teammate and great friend Steve Condon this month also figured in his decision.
“Live life,” he said, as he lamented all the things that he and Steve and their wives had planned to do together in future, including an overseas holiday in 2024.
“It was good to go out on a winning note and do it for my good mate, Condo.”
Not that he regrets one minute of the time he devoted to hockey, something he said was “in his blood”.
The Sweeney name is synonymous with Park Avenue and collectively, members of the family have played with the club for about 200 years.
Robert notched up plenty of notable achievements but has no hesitation when asked for his proudest moment.
“Watching my daughter play for Queensland the first time in 2015 with my mum Marie,” he said.
“Renee played right inside, the same position that mum played for Queensland, albeit 67 years apart with Renee in the under-13s and mum the open women at age 18.”
Robert represented Rockhampton through the junior and senior ranks, and played for Queensland Country in 1988 and Queensland Masters in 2021 and 2022.
He said he loved sharing the “big moments” with his teammates.
Among them were being part of Park Avenue A-grade men’s grand final wins in 1985 to 1988, 1991 (shared with Souths) and 1992.
Being named Player of the Final when Rockhampton won the Masters state championships at home in 2010 also rates pretty highly.
Robert’s contribution came not only with a stick in hand.
He coached for more than 30 years and was a hard-working administrator.
In 1986, at age 22, he became the youngest president of Park Avenue, a position he would hold on and off 12 times.
He was awarded life membership of the club in 1996.
Robert witnessed plenty of changes in the game in his 50-plus years, the most significant for him the introduction of synthetic playing surfaces (turf) and the scrapping of the offside rule.
Not surprisingly, he considers Kookaburras and Olympic legends Mark Knowles and Jamie Dwyer the best Rockhampton has produced.
He nominates Mark’s uncle Reg Knowles as his toughest opponent, saying they enjoyed a spirited rivalry when Park Avenue and Souths were the powerhouses of the A-grade competition.
As Robert hangs up the boots, he takes with him so many special memories.
“I have met a lot of good people and it’s a great family sport,” he said.
“I love seeing the juniors develop into good players and good people, and I love to think that I’ve been able to share some of my experience with them along the way..
“It’s important to keep the newbies coming through. There is so much more competition from other sports these days as compared to 50 years ago.
“I would still like to be involved in the continuing development of Park Avenue and the game in general.
“Hockey has been good to me.”
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