Former Geelong and Collingwood star Travis Varcoe on the defining chat with Mark Thompson, Pies trade and electric 2011 grand final
Travis Varcoe opted to finish his career at Collingwood, and it wasn’t an easy call. He sheds light on that, his defining chat with former coach Mark Thompson and his Cats Hall of Fame honour.
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One of the most memorable and career-defining moments for Travis Varcoe unfolded in Mark Thompson’s office.
Thompson was renowned for knowing exactly what to say at the right time, and it was no different at the beginning of 2007.
Varcoe had been part of Geelong’s VFL grand final loss in his first season in 2006 but was yet to debut at AFL level.
The Cats had taken a punt on the quick and clever South Australian with pick 15 in the 2005 draft, with his 18th year curtailed by a foot injury.
“I was sort of there abouts, I sort of don’t know where I’m heading and Bomber (Thompson) pulls me into his office and says, ‘what are you playing for? What makes you tick?’” Varcoe recalls.
The answer for the Narungga, Ngarrindjiri and Nyawigi man was his family and his First Nations community.
“At the end of the conversation he was like, if you were to go home tomorrow, do you reckon they’d still be proud of ya?’, and I said ‘of course I would’,” Varcoe said.
‘Everyone has done everything for you to this point, why don’t you do something for yourself?’
“It actually changed my outlook on football and my footballing life and career and I just never looked back. That was a pivotal message me for me to just go and play the game, you have a lot to offer the team, just go out and have fun and everyone is going to be proud no matter what.
“I never really looked back after that and obviously didn’t get everything right but he had enough faith in me to put me out there and give something to the team. It just really took me into a level of thinking more so than playing.”
That advice helped him release the shackles across a decorated career for Geelong and Collingwood, playing 230 games, kicking 171 goals and winning two premierships.
You can add Geelong Hall of Famer to that list of accomplishments, with Varcoe to be inducted into the Hall of Fame dinner on Saturday June 22.
When he got the call from Geelong chief executive Steve Hocking he wasn’t sure it was serious.
“I thought ‘Hock’ (Steven Hocking) was actually playing a prank or something,” Varcoe said with a laugh.
“You don’t start out with those things in mind, you just want to play one game. I still find it hard to believe given I was pretty lucky to be at a club at the right time. “
And despite being a senior regular during his time at the Cats, his spot never felt secure.
“Training was actually the hardest part of my week. Doing match sim and you’re playing on the likes of Milburn and Enright, Josh Hunt, James Kelly. They are not just teammates, they are actually All-Australian guys that you’ve got to train against,” Varcoe said.
“You never really comfortable and if you didn’t get it right at training, there was always someone waiting in the wings to take that role. It just made the training standard so much more high.”
THAT GRAND FINAL DISPLAY
The smooth-moving goalkicker didn’t miss out on the next two premierships, and his most memorable performance in the eyes of Cats fans is undoubtedly his three-goal haul in the 2011 grand final.
In his 100th game, Varcoe set the Cats alight by kicking the first two goals of the grand final and then cleverly roved a pack to extend Geelong’s lead in the last.
That third goal was one of his favourites across his career, but it wasn’t just the moment that made it special.
“Yes it is one of the most satisfying goals I’ve picked but I probably more enjoy the aspect of the repetition and everything,” Varcoe said.
“What people don’t actually generally see is the hours and hours that you actually put in.
“(VFL coach) Leigh Tudor was a pretty big influence on me and Ronny Watt to shape me, not just as a player but as a person and to get you to a stage where you can contribute to the AFL squad.
“Ken Hinkley was super influential, just the finer details and stuff he is one that really refined my craft. That was years and years and years of just repetition.”
TRADE MOVE
Varcoe set out to be a Cat for life, but at the end of 2014 the list looked to be going in a different direction.
With young players in similar roles competing for his spot, Varcoe saw an opportunity at Collingwood.
He was traded in a rare three-club player move where Varcoe became a Pie, Mitch Clark joined Geelong, and Heritier Lumumba moved to Melbourne.
“It was always hard, to have a club take a chance on you ultimately I just wanted to be a one-club player. There was no bad blood in it, I just no longer fitted in with the direction that the club was going in and I felt like I still had a little bit more to offer,” Varcoe said.
“It was a hard decision because Geelong is the place, I went there as a young boy and you get immersed in the culture and the community.
“I also wanted to continue my career and I was a good fit for Collingwood.
“I think it was just a natural parting of the seas but if I could have had my perfect world, I never would have left Geelong.”
Varcoe went on to play a further 92 games for Collingwood and came close to winning a third premiership 2018 grand final before announcing his retirement at the end of 2020.
LIFE AFTER FOOTY
Watt was at the Cats in a variety of roles, including as a player development manager, while Varcoe was there.
“He came with undoubted talent and a silky mover, so quick but a really cool head for a young fella,” Watt said.
“He became a great player and played significant roles in premierships and crucial moments. He always had a thirst for learning the game and understanding it, even as a young fella, and he didn’t get too flustered.
“He had his moments where he had to really dig in and grow as an individual and he did that remarkably well.
Watt, who is now a development manager with the AFL Coaches Association, has kept in touch with Varcoe since he retired.
Varcoe spent three seasons with the Western Bulldogs as a development coach and now coaches Altona in the Western Region Football League.
He now works at an alternative school for disengaged youth in Preston, where 41 per cent of students identify as First Nations people.
But Varcoe is set to join Watt at the end of the year to further his coaching skills on a tour in America.
“To see where he is now, the football career he has had but he is just going along so well as a young man now. He coached for 3-4 years at the Bulldogs and now he is out of the football system,” Watt said.
“He is still looking at developing and becoming a better coach, he is coaching at Altona now and doing a really good job.”
Tickets for the 2024 Geelong Cats Hall of Fame Dinner are on sale now. Head to geelongcats.com.au/experience/events for more information.
Originally published as Former Geelong and Collingwood star Travis Varcoe on the defining chat with Mark Thompson, Pies trade and electric 2011 grand final
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