MACCA'S CuP – rOuNd 4 - sanfl

Barrie Robran
interesting stories behind
the choice of numbers,
in former great John Platten (44)
and current skipper Paul
Thomas (16).
One had it thrust upon him,
while the other fought hard to
honour a former mentor, who
was a courageous leader of
the club.
“As a youngster I wore number
seven, except if I was captain
with Elizabeth juniors, where I’d
wear one,” Platten said.
“In 1981 I was just up in the
seniors and with just one
Reserves game under my belt I
made my League debut and
Merv Starkey (long-serving
equipment steward) just threw
me a jumper, which was number
44 and I stayed with it.
“I wasn’t going to give it away,
whatever they gave me, even
100, I would have stuck with it. I
was a fan of number seven in my
basketball days but 44 was my
footy number to stay.”
For Thomas it was a different
journey. His father Jamie playing
153 League games in number 59,
which would have been the
logical choice for Thomas junior,
but a young Matthew Slade had
already started his illustrious
career at Elizabeth with it.
The number allocated in
Thomo’s first venture in the
seniors with the Reserves in
2000 was 40, and when Daniel
Hulm announced his retirement
after leading the Bulldogs to
their first flag, the number 16
became available.
“When I first started with the
seniors we had mentors and
Hulm was mine, so it was natural
for me to want his number,
especially after a footy trip when
he took me under his wing,” the
current club captain said.
“But then he died in England
before the 2001 season started,
and there was a lot of feeling
number 16 should be retired in
his honour. But I wrote a
passionate plea on the club
website and I believe it changed
their views.
“At the time it was important to
me to get 16 but at the end of
the day it’s just another number.
“I do believe the number you
play your first League game is
the one to keep for the rest of
your career. The most important
number for me though is 154 –
one more game than dad.”
Number 13 is often regarded
as unlucky, with some buildings
going from the 12th floor to the
14th because of the
superstitious nature of the
numeral.
But in footy terms, 13 is a much
sought-after number, seen as
being a badge of honour,
although it is said some players
are tempting fate by wearing it.
Glenelg favourite Josh
Willoughby took an unusual
route to having number 13
on his back, based more on it
being an odd number than
anything else.
“My favourite number was three
and when I was in Sydney I
wore seven, as I was always
interested in odd numbers for
some reason,” the industrious
Tiger said.
“For me, 13 was the next best
number available.
“For a superstitious person, I
suppose it goes against the grain
a bit to have 13. I like my pregame
routines, which have been
the same for four seasons, the
same breakfast, a coffee before
every game.
“As a kid, I used to go to the
Crows games, and uncle Tim
(Ferrett), who wore number 13
for Brighton, bought me a
guernsey with that number, in
spite of me really wanting
number six for Tony Modra.
“I remember Scott Lee, who
wore 13, came up to me one day
and I told him he was my
favourite player, what else could
I say? But he was one of the best
back pocket players so I wasn’t
too unhappy and I love wearing
it now.”
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