By Danny Russell
Geelong great Michael Turner was a stickler for lists.
While the fleet-footed No.9 was dominating the wing for the Cats across a 245-game career, he would borrow a tube of lipstick at the start of a season and scribble five dot points on his bedroom mirror.
Geelong legend Mick Turner had an exceptional eye for picking AFL talent.Credit: Jason South
They were his goals for the year, and they drove him to become a club great.
He was regularly named in the Victorian side, was made an All-Australian in 1979 and later earned a starting position in Geelong’s team of the century alongside his father and fellow wingman, Leo.
In recent years, when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he started another set of lists. These were designed to help save his life.
“True to what he had done as a young footballer, he’d outline his little steps in trying to recover from the cancer,” friend and former teammate Kevin Sheehan said.
“He’d have his seven or eight steps written down and would text me back with what he had done and gone through - in the lead up to an operation and post operation - and what his next steps were.
“He was just so organised. And he probably communicated that to any person he was close to.”
Sadly, Turner lost his battle with cancer on Monday in the Lorne Community Hospital surrounded by family and friends. He was diagnosed with the disease in February 2023 and initially given six months to live.
He is survived by wife Karen and sons Levi and Che, their partners Brooke and Grace, and his beloved grandchildren Frankie, Ziggy, Raff and Arlo.
Turner discovered more than 100 champion AFL players.Credit: Jason South
“It is very sad,” Sheehan said. “We thought he could beat it – it’s a bloody terrible disease, the pancreatic version of it – but in the finish he said to us, ‘It’s going to get me’.
“After being a believer the whole way through that he could beat it, it was just pretty sad to get that note.”
Turner died three weeks after his 70th birthday and just days after the AFL Commission passed a special resolution to make him an AFL life member.
“The AFL received submissions from a number of club and senior football figures asking that he be recognised for his contribution to the game, and he was made aware of the honour before he passed,” AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said.
Turner breaks away from Carlton’s Tom Alvin at VFL Park in 1987.
Sheehan remembers Turner, his former flatmate during their playing days at Geelong, as a “marvellous talent” and an AFL great during the 1970s and 1980s.
“His speed was elite, and he had that ability to float through the air and take grabs over the top,” he said.
“We might not have played in too many finals back in those days but, gee, he showcased his ability in the state games. He and Robbie Flower controlled the wings for Victoria through that period.”
The flamboyant and fiery Turner was named the best player in his first game for the Cats against St Kilda in round four of the 1974 season and by the end of his career in 1988 he had kicked 285 goals. He also captained the club between 1984 and 1986.
Geelong’s Cameron Ling was one of eight Falcons from the Turner era to captain an AFL club.Credit: Wayne Taylor
As illustrious as his playing career was for the Cats, which included the goal of the year in 1980 against Richmond at the MCG, Turner became best known as a mentor of young talent.
He was appointed regional manager of the Geelong Falcons in 1995 and during his 25-year tenure, AFL clubs drafted 134 teenagers from his “football factory”, including Gary Ablett jnr, Luke Hodge, Cameron Ling, Patrick Dangerfield, Jonathan Brown, Matthew Scarlett, Travis Boak and Charlie Curnow.
Of those, eight captained their club and 21 became premiership players.
“I suppose there have been countless brilliant players over the years, but his contribution at the talent pathway level has been unforgettable,” Sheehan said.
Kevin Sheehan remembers good friend Mick Turner as a wingman with elite speed.Credit: AFL Photos
“His football life experiences and his primary school teaching background gave him the perfect platform for that unique role. It is a great legacy.”
Geelong team of the century teammate Garry “Buddha” Hocking first met Turner when he arrived at Kardinia Park (now GMHBA Stadium) as a raw teenager from the country town of Cobram in 1987.
“Mick was a strong personality and, because he was captain of the club, he was demanding of high standards,” Hocking recalled on Tuesday.
“He always wanted to be competitive and win, so I got that in my face early.”
But Hocking came to fully appreciate Turner’s nurturing qualities after an unsuccessful stint as Peel Thunder coach, when he felt his coaching career was at the cross roads.
“He said, ‘I have got a job here for you’ and during the four years that I had at the Geelong Falcons he took me under his wing and showed me the system and what was expected and the standards, and why the Falcons were so successful,” Hocking said.
“He taught me to dot the ‘i’s’ and cross the ‘t’s’ and that helped me get back in the system.”
Luke Hodge with his Norm Smith and premiership medals after the 2008 grand final.Credit: John Donegan
Hocking said Turner loved his players and his staff and continued to follow their careers, regardless of if they ended up in the AFL, VFL or local football.
“Even when I was at Port Adelaide, and the Pies more recently, I would get a random text saying, ‘Keep up the good work, son. Pies are going well’ or ‘Port’s doing a great job. Say g’day to Boaky’,” Hocking said.
“He was just non-stop trying to follow your career and I reckon everybody would probably feel like me – if you were in doubt, or you needed someone, or you were struggling, he was there for you.”
Four-time Hawthorn premiership player and three-time flag-winning skipper Luke Hodge said Turner was protective of his Falcons players but never afraid to let them know when they were doing the wrong thing, especially “a young lad from Colac who enjoyed the social scene”.
“He wasn’t afraid to pull you into a room and just sort of mention that you need to be switched on with what you do with footy,” Hodge, who retired in 2019, said on Tuesday.
“He always kept an eye out for you on the field, but also off the field as well. He was more than happy to give you his advice, considering how successful he was as a player for Geelong.”
Jonathan Brown was another AFL great who came through Turner’s Geelong Falcons’ system.Credit: Getty Images
Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown joined the Falcons from Warrnambool in the late 1990s and remembers Turner giving them a spray soon after he had played his first game because the club boss was not happy with the way certain players were performing.
But Brown said it was Turner’s way of challenging them, and he soon became their greatest supporter.
“For a lot of us young blokes, he was a central figure in helping us live out our dreams,” Brown said.
The Geelong Football Club released a statement saying: “While his on-field performance was profound, Mick had a greater influence off it and will be remembered for impacting the lives of many in the greater Geelong community.”
The Falcons said: “MT9’s legacy will live long in the walls of Highton Reserve and in all the faces who have come through the club.”
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