Ando’s Shout: Tony Jewell opens up on his painting passion
A self-confessed battling footballer and lunatic coach, there is more to Richmond premiership player and coach Tony Jewell than meets the eye.
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Richmond premiership player and coach Tony Jewell readily admits his CV is hardly that of an amateur artist of talent.
“I was a plumber, battling footballer and lunatic coach, so you don’t usually acquaint that trifecta with painting, but it’s something I’ve loved in some form all my life,” Jewell, 77, said this week from his Sorrento home.
“Back at school my teacher said I should have done an art course, but when I told dad, he came home three weeks later to tell me I would be starting as an apprentice plumber. Thanks Dad.”
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Jewell played 80 games with Richmond from 1964-70, including the Tigers’ classic 1967 Grand Final win over Geelong, and later coached the club to an emphatic 1980 premiership triumph over Collingwood. But a love of art has always been bubbling.
“I love the 19th century works of English landscape painter John Constable through to French post-impressionist Paul Gauguin and the genius who was and is Pablo Picasso, yet people remember me for fighting Percy Jones out at Waverley or trying to tear my hair out when coaching,” Jewell said.
“I look forward to painting every day and I’m glad I’ve been given some sort of gift because I never get bored. Whether people like my work or not is obviously up to them because art is so subjective.
“Do I ever sell paintings? Yes, although I’ve given away more than I’ve sold. But an ex-Footscray player named Ron Jacks is setting up a market down here so I might sell a few there.”
ONE-HANDED HOLE IN ONE
Holes in one on the tricky Par 3 7th at Timboon are hard enough to come by at the best of times, let alone if you are playing with just your right arm.
Meet Terry O’Connor, 68, a one-time highly promising 400m-800m runner who suffered an acquired brain injury when playing in the Hampden Football League 45 years ago, hence his inability to play two-handed.
But like everything else in O’Connor’s life he just goy on with it, from teaching debating teams at Timboon to umpiring cricket on weekends. The son of the late Leo O’Connor of Gammalite fame (harness racing champion), Terry overcame a lurking dam and notorious greenside bunker to bring the house down last weekend with his first ace.
PAYZE JOINS 400 CLUB
Shaun Payze created history yesterday in becoming just the second man to play 400 VAFA games (joining Peter Brabender from Old Paradians) and he only waited 580 days to do so.
Payze, 41, played his 399th game on September 7, 2019, in a losing final for his beloved Pirates (Peninsula Old Boys) and obviously missed 2020 due to COVID.
He began his VAFA career with the Pirates in 1998 and has only played in the reserves once when his coach back in his debut season thought he needed a rest after “getting ahead of himself”.
He has since kicked 1006 goals but more important to him yesterday was watching his 16-year-old son, Bailey, make is debut for the Pirates’ under-19s.
Spare a thought for the English primary school student who found himself in trouble during his religious studies that featured a Bible knowledge test.
When asked “who assisted Jesus with cross”, the lad confidently answered Kevin De Bruyne, prompting his teacher to demand an immediate meeting.
The youngster figured superstar Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne would be the most likely to supply his gifted teammate and forward Gabriel Fernando de Jesus with a cross, when in fact he should have answered Simon of Cyrene who was forced by the Romans to carry the crucifixion cross for Jesus of Nazareth.
FAMILY REPUTATION ON THE LINE
As proud as he is of his name, Australian boxer Jason Whateley knows his path towards world championship glory would be that much easier if he was Jason Tszyu.
It’s the lot of every current Australian boxer, and Whateley knows all he can do is keep knocking opponents over as he has been doing regularly in his undefeated seven-fight cruiserweight career.
He plans on continuing that pattern next Saturday at the Geelong Arena on Wildfighter Round 5 when he faces Aaron Russell for the IBF Pan Pacific title. Russell has his family’s honour to avenge after Whateley ko’d his brother, Daniel, in December, 2019.
HOT
DAVID CULBERT
Any budding young broadcaster should listen to his Stawell Gift call.
TAYLOR WALKER
A so-called washed-up spud has totally reinvigorated his fine career.
NOT
GREG NORMAN
The naked gift that just keeps giving, typically around US Masters time.
JEFF HORN
Please Jeff, don’t do it
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