Joe Radojevic kicked lots of goals and earned lasting fame in the old VFA
Joe Radojevic kicked many goals as a sharpshooter for Geelong West in the VFA during the 1970s. But he still wonders why the Geelong Cats suddenly dumped him after such a promising season in the seconds.
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The text message came through on the day it was reported that moves were underway to establish a VFA hall of fame.
“Don’t forget Smokin’ Joe Radojevic!’’ was the call from an old association supporter in response to mention of Fred Cook, “Frosty’’ Miller and Gerry Callahan as being contenders for the first group of inductees.
No one who followed the VFA through the 1970s could forget Joe Radojevic.
Port Melbourne’s “Fabulous Fred’’ might have kicked more goals and won more awards and enjoyed a higher public profile, but Radojevic’s goalkicking feats for Geelong West brought him lasting acclaim.
“No 19 for Geelong West!’’ a Victorian cricket official roared on Thursday at mention of Radojevic’s name.
Speaking at his Ballarat home, where he takes it easy in retirement after a long career as a schoolteacher, Radojevic, 65, said it was nice to be remembered.
“Some people have got great memories,’’ he said. “It’s such a long time ago.’’
He gets asked about his football often.
It reflects the popularity of the VFA and his prolific goalkicking for the Roosters, as well as his distinctive surname (his father, also Joe, had migrated from Croatia in the early 1950s).
“It certainly was popular. It was unbelievable, a great time, a great period of my life, playing at Geelong West,’’ he said.
“There was something about the VFA. There was something magical about it.’’
And there was something thrilling about Radojevic as he piled up the goals in the days when supporters could attend VFA games knowing they would invariably see big scores as well as plenty of biffo. Every team seemed to have a spearhead as well as a few hardheads who liked a scrap as much as a stat.
Radojevic counted as one of the best full forwards of the era: from 158 matches he booted 723 goals, putting him ninth on the VFA/VFL list.
He wasn’t a big man – in the old measurement he stood six foot – but his leading and marking brought him opportunities and he made the most of them; his kicking for goal was exceptional.
Radojevic took pride in his accuracy.
There was no secret to it: his kicking action was uncomplicated, his approach never inflated.
“I see some of these guys today and I think, what the hell are you doing,’’ he said.
“You just get balanced — you only need half-a-dozen steps to get yourself balanced — and you don’t have to kick the leather off the ball. It only has to pass through the goals. Some of these blokes think they have to kick it 30m past the goals.’’
Radojevic was always mindful that a good finish rewarded teammates who “busted a gut’’ to get the ball to him. He felt he was letting them down if he missed.
Radojevic started playing football late, but he rose remarkably quickly.
Even though he virtually lived next door to the St Peter’s Under 18’s ground, he played soccer, like his father.
One day in 1972 St Peter’s was short and asked him to fill in. He kicked five goals and won a pair of socks.
“I was rapt,’’ he said. Four weeks later he was in the senior team and kicking good tallies.
Soon Geelong came calling, asking him to “a practice run’’. It led to him joining the Cats in 1973.
He booted 68 goals in the seconds but there was no senior call-up, despite Geelong having lost the great Doug Wade to North Melbourne. David Clarke topped the goalkicking that year with 45.
“They tried quite a few blokes at full forward but unfortunately I wasn’t one of them,’’ Radojevic said.
Still, he completed the pre-season for 1974 and was entitled to think the club viewed him as an excellent prospect.
There was a list announcement after the last training session. He was stung to be overlooked even for the supplementary squad.
“I wasn’t on it, and no one had been to see me. I took my bag and walked out,’’ Radojevic said. “And that was it.’’
Billy Goggin phoned him the next day and invited him to Geelong West.
He had seen the Roosters win the 1972 grand final in Division 2, getting a feel for the club and competition.
He liked what he saw. A few other players from the Geelong seconds joined him in making the move to the VFA.
Radojevic broke his wrist early in the 1974 season and missed most of it.
In 1975 he broke full backs’ spirits. It was a stunning first full season for the left-footer: he topped the Division 1 goalkicking with 119, nosing out Cook, and kicked four in the grand final as the Roosters defeated Dandenong, the team drawing on the considerable talents of John Friend, Ivan Russell, Tony Gilmore, Greg Wells, Peter Stephens, David Manson, Alan “Dizzy’’ Lynch, Warwick Yates and a young Terry Bright.
Radojevic remembers the support the Roosters had — he still marvels at the fact that VFL club Geelong had 13,000 spectators to a home match and the following day Geelong West drew 12,000 — and the togetherness of the players.
“It was just a terrific place to be,’’ he said.
“When I got there, all the administrators, they were great blokes, hard working. There were lots of families and they went to all the away games. A terrific atmosphere. And the players … in the whole time I was at Geelong West, it was a pleasure to be amongst them. You looked forward to going to training to catch up with them. Yeah, a really good place to be.’’
He is sure the bus trips to away games every second week made the players close, a few beers on the way home dulling the disappointment of defeat but more commonly adding to victory celebrations.
It made for some late Sunday nights – and slow Monday mornings.
After his dazzling performances in 1975, Geelong dropped in on Radojevic. Recruiter Bill McMaster asked him back to the Cats.
But he was still annoyed with the snub from two years earlier and said no, he was happy at Geelong West. That’s where he stayed until 1984, a period that took in narrow grand final losses in 1979 to Coburg and 1983 to Preston.
Radojevic still thinks both matches could easily have been won. He played his part for the Roosters, kicking four goals against the Burgers and five against the Bullants.
He also clashed with Gary Pitt in the 1979 decider.
“Oh there’s one (a fight) at the other end up here!’’ Phil Gibbs shouted as he called the match for Channel 0. “Radojevic and Pitt into it again! Look at this! Well they’re having a real go, these two!’’
In the days of one umpire, Radojevic said all full-forwards steeled themselves for some tough treatment.
“There were some pretty rugged backmen at that time,’’ he said. “They’d knee you in the back, they’d belt you and by the time the umpire got there he’d see nothing.’’
After finishing up with the Roosters, Radojevic returned to St Peter’s, where he coached for three years.
When Geelong West fell into financial trouble and out of the VFA, it merged with St Peter’s.
Radojevic moved to Ballarat to teach, but never played football again. “Too cold. I trained with Redan a couple of nights but it was miserable,’’ he said. “I thought, ‘I’ve had enough’.’’
By then he’d done more than enough to earn enduring fame in the game.
Soon it might even be worthy of hall-of-fame standing.
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