AFL greats gather in Beechworth to honour St Kilda great Kevin ‘Cowboy’ Neale as he battles Alzheimers
A key figure in St Kilda’s only flag, Kevin Neale is facing a frustrating health fight. A group of surviving 1966 premiership heroes gathered to honour the man they call ‘Cowboy’ and tell stories of the Saints’ greatest moment.
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The venue was a small pub in country Victoria and a million miles from the MCG. Yet tucked away in a private room a celebrated group of mostly septuagenarians relived a day that has bound them together for more than half a century.
Ten of St Kilda’s 17 surviving premiership players from 1966 had gathered in the Hibernian Hotel in Beechworth to honour Kevin “Cowboy” Neale as he battles the early stages of Alzheimers.
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Brownlow medallists Ian Stewart and Ross Smith, fullback Bob Murray, centre half-back Ian Synman, wingmen Jimmy Read and Jeff Moran, half-forward Barry Breen, full-forward Neale, ruckman Brian Mynott and ruck-rover Daryl Griffiths were among the guests who came from all over Victoria and New South Wales for the lunch.
Former AFL CEO and Saints wingman Ross Oakley also attended with good mate and former Herald Sun chief football writer Mike Sheahan.
Gifted forward George Young — who topped the club’s goalkicking in 1975, ’76, ’77 and ’78 – flew in from Perth as did tough-as-nails defender Russell Reynolds.
Breen, whose mongrel behind sealed the Saints’ first — and only — flag, organised the get-together … Neale quick to remind everyone that had he not kicked 5.6 in the Saints’ total of 10.14 (74), Breen’s point would have meant stuff-all.
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Joining these famous Saints were Hawthorn legend Peter Hudson, who had his head caved in by Neale in the 1971 Grand Final and his Hawk teammate Mike Porter, who boasted of taking out St Kilda big man Carl Ditterich in the brutal decider. Sitting beside Porter, “Big Carl” said he hardly felt a thing despite Porter admitting he’d cop a 16-match ban if he did the same thing in this day and age.
Hudson had his lights put out in the first term of the ’71 Grand Final by probably the shortest, most powerful right-hand punch in league history (Barry Hall on Brent Staker was his left hand).
Hudson needed four goals to break Bob Pratt’s goalkicking record of 150 goals. The Saints needed to silence Hudson … so “Cowboy” obliged.
Hudson has no memory of the game but his three goals tied Pratt and the Hawks won the flag.
Neale remembers being angry that Hudson was awarded a free kick … until umpire Peter Sheales said the infringement was incurred because back pocket Wayne Judson had pushed Hudson in the back. Obviously Sheales didn’t see Hudson’s right ear hanging by a thread.
Porter asked Breen how the Saints lost the ’71 Grand Final after leading by 20 points at three-quarter-time. “It wasn’t my fault,” Breen said. “I kicked four.”
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“Well, whose fault was it?” asked the persistent Porter.
“This prick,” Breen laughed and tapped Gary Colling on the shoulder. The Saints defender had kept opponent Bob Keddie basically kickless for three quarters only to see him snag three goals in the last term as the Hawks surged to a seven-point victory.
One of the other stories which had everyone in hysterics was the day coach Allan Jeans told Neale, Reynolds and Barry Lawrence that Carlton’s Robert Walls must not walk off the ground at halftime after he had coat-hangered Saints’ defender Jimmy O’Dea during the first quarter at Princes Park in Round 16, 1975.
The trio hardly needed encouragement to flatten an opponent. So as Walls ran back with the flight of the ball to take a mark, the three Saints put on the afterburners and charged towards Walls.
Neale and Reynolds braced for contact and, as they did, the flash of a red, white and black guernsey flew past them. Lawrence had beaten them to Walls by an inch … and as the Carlton star was carried off the ground on a stretcher with his wrist flapping, policeman Jeans thought he might be charged with manslaughter!
Neale giggled at the memory. “Tubby (Lawrence) looked down at Wallsy and said, ‘That’s better’.”
Walls said recently that he was always nervous playing against St Kilda “because if Cowboy didn’t get you, Carl did”.
Although Neale faces a frustrating health battle, on this beautiful afternoon in the charming town of Beechworth, he revelled in the stories of his former teammates who he marched out to battle with 256 times. I was lucky to have run out with the burly No.18
18 once in 1975.
Their bond will never be broken.
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