Mininera and District: Richmond star David Astbury returns to Tatyoon

Tatyoon is a long way from a packed MCG, but former Tigers premiership star David Astbury is heading home to play in 2023.

David Johnston

4 min read

April 17, 2023 - 10:42AM

The Weekly Times

David Astbury first played for Tatyoon before becoming a three-time Richmond premiership player. After retiring from the AFL at the end of 2021, he is heading home. Find out what is motivating his return to where it all started.

DJ: The burning question first. How many games will you play for Tatyoon this season?

DA: “I’ve got three trips overseas this year for work. I’ve also got a few ailments, which I established over a 12-year career which I need to be conscious of as well. Tatyoon has been great, but it is a ‘when I can’ arrangement”. I hope it means I get a few games in. I’m not exactly sure what ones they will be either. I will definitely play less than 10.”

DJ: Enough to qualify for finals?

DA: “I’ve said to the club all along ‘I will play when I can’. The reality is football has been my life for a long time, but at this stage of my career it no longer can be. I love getting back to Tatyoon as much as I can. I will play enough to qualify, but if they feel it’s in the best interests of the club not to play me in finals that is something I would respect.”

David Astbury with the AFL premiership cup after the Tigers’ win over Adelaide. Picture: Nicole Garmston

DJ: Tigerland back to Tatyoon. How did it all come about?

DA:“The community of Tatyoon has always made me feel welcome and have always supported and endorsed me unconditionally. There are so many people back there that I love and respect. I was only ever going to play for one football club if it wasn’t going to be Richmond.”

DJ: Is another former Tiger lining up for Tatyoon this season?

DA: “I’ve recruited a friend of mine to come and play as well, Andrew Browne. We played together at Richmond for three years. The last two seasons of his career were cut short by Covid and he had a bit of a hollow feeling about that. He’s a tremendous clubman and he’s going to be really good for the community and obviously going to be a really big on-field pillar of the team. I imagine he will play at least 10 games.”

DJ: Tell us about how Tatyoon Football-Netball Club is travelling?

DA:“They’ve got an enormous amount of kids playing Auskick and junior footy, which is considered something that is dying out or struggling elsewhere. But because the community is so strong and because their volunteer base is so expansive, the people who are there do it with such humility. The kids get the chance to thrive and people get the opportunity to connect. I was one of those kids and people put a lot of time, effort and investment in me. I wouldn’t have had the career that I had in an on-field sense if it wasn’t for the people of Tatyoon.”

Editor Karen McIntyre, Colin Eales (Penshurst), David Astbury (Tatyoon), Jim Jenkinson (Glenthompson) and author Kel Murray at the launch of “Mighty Mininera League” book last year. Picture: Supplied

DJ: What are some of your earliest memories of playing at Tatyoon?

DA:“My earliest memories definitely go well beyond the times that I was old enough to play. I had a really special connection to a lot of the local families that were connected to the club. I remember watching my three uncles play and just looking at them and idolising them and one day being good enough to play senior footy at Tatyoon.”

DJ: They sound like they were good players.

DA: “Yes they were. My uncle Scott, in particular, who wore the No. 31, which is the jumper I’m going to wear at Tatyoon. He won five best and fairests and became a pillar of the community and is still there.”

David Astbury returned home to the family farm near Tatyoon during the 2020 Covid postponement of the AFL season. Picture: Michael Dodge

DJ: Have they been a successful club?

DA: “Yes they have. The seniors lost the grand final to Ararat Eagles last year. To their credit the Eagles have done an incredible job to put together a really strong club. Tatyoon has won a number of premierships over the past 15 years and the A grade, B grade and C grade netballers all won the premiership last year.”

DJ: Did you finish your AFL thinking there was nothing left in the tank?

DA:“Definitely. A number of people thought my retirement was premature. But I didn’t see it that way at all. If anything I am humbled by that notion. It means I wasn’t really declining too hard I guess. I was curious about the next phase of my life. I’d obviously had a number of injuries and wasn’t really sure how that was going to play out. My relationship with Richmond couldn’t have been any better and I didn’t want to play too long and have nothing to compromise that.”

Triple Richmond premiership player David Astbury with the Hockeyroos women's hockey team in New Zealand in 2022. Picture: Supplied

DJ: You’ve launched into the next phase of life working in high performance sporting environments. Explain what you do?

DA: “The best representation is my work with the Hockeyroos. I was fortunate enough to go on a camp with them to New Zealand last year with a lady named Emma Murray, who has run the performance mindfulness at Richmond for a number of years. We were over there for a bit over a week and the girls and the wider program really connected with the work we were doing. I help them profile what their strengths are so they get a deeper understanding of why they are elite. But then we go to a level that is more specific and something they can connect to in performance.”

TATYOON

Tatyoon has been in existence for 98 years and had to wait 22 years before winning its first premiership in the Mininera and District Football League in 1946.

After another flag in 1952, the Hawks went into a long drought before winning its next premiership two decades later.

Its most successful period was in the mid 2000s when it won a hat-trick of flags in 2006, 2007 and 2008 including a winning streak of 36 matches in those years.

In total, the Hawks have won 11 flags and lost last year’s grand final to Ararat Eagles.

David Astbury is the only Tatyoon player to reach AFL level.