‘Bundy’ Barry’s journey from Frankston to Footscray filled with success
IT’S a moment Anthony “Bundy” Barry will cherish forever.
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IT’S a moment Anthony “Bundy” Barry will cherish forever.
There he was, at Etihad Stadium, with ball in hand, when the final siren sounded to secure Footscray the VFL premiership on Sunday.
Barry stood still, held the footy above his head and let out a joyous roar before being mobbed by his ecstatic Doggies teammates.
It was a stellar moment in an amazing football journey for the 30-year-old father of two.
Barry knows all about winning flags. He played in five of them with Peninsula league powerhouse, the Frankston YCW Stonecats — captaining three of them.
For Bundy, premierships have rained Stonecats and Dogs in recent years.
He considers himself “pretty lucky” — especially to be part of this wave of Bulldogs success.
“It’s all a bit surreal. For us to win and the AFL boys getting into the granny as well, yeah, it’s a pretty good feeling and a good place to be at the moment,” Barry said.
“It’s starting to slowly sink in, that I’m a VFL premiership player, which is pretty handy, especially being a bit of an older fella, mate.”
A phone call out of the blue from a Doggies recruiting officer three years ago changed the direction of Barry’s footy career.
A suburban star with Frankston YCW, a Bulldogs recruiter called to ask if he was interested in “coming down for a run” with the new Footscray VFL side, which was awash with young talent but in need of experienced players.
Barry, whose dedication to fitness and training are renowned at YCW, had some deep thinking to do. He was 27 at the time and about to become a dad.
“We were about to have our first child,’’ he said.
“My missus Courtney and I were like, ‘should I do it or not?’ She said, ‘you will regret it if you don’t do it so we will make it work. Get down there’.
“It ended up going really well. I loved it down there. I love the professionalism and everything, the training and the people and, yeah, I’ve never wanted to leave.”
He added: “You get a bit stagnant (at suburban level). I’ve always liked to push myself to get the best out of myself, playing-wise. Being at YC for so long I needed something different.”
Barry had played in the VFL before – he managed six games with the Frankston Dolphins in 2005-06 under Brett Lovett.
He joined Footscray in 2014, playing four games, and last season he made six appearances for the Doggies. This year, Barry played 15 games with Footscray – and he was named in the best players in the grand final win.
He’s not finished yet.
“I want to do one more there (at Footscray),’’ he said.
“It’s hard to leave when everything is going so well. We’ve got such good young kids down there and really good people. I think I still have a little bit left to get out of my body before I call it a day, or go back to YC full time.”
Barry’s mates at Frankston YCW were rapt for him, many cheering him on from the stands on Sunday. YCW past president John Coburn said all at the Stonecats were proud of him.
“He deserves what he gets, he works so hard at it,’’ Coburn said.
“That’s the key to him, it’s the result of pure work and things fall his way. He’s a real good story.’’
A dedicated dad, Barry said carrying his two-year-old son Logan onto the stage to collect his premiership medallion on Sunday was very special.
And to finish with the ball in hand at the siren?
“What are the chances? It was a great feeling, an awesome experience,” he said.
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