Injury ends
Carey reign
By Mike
Sheahan
June 24,
2004
Herald Sun
WAYNE CAREY, the greatest player of the modern era, has retired.
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Stuart Rackham
Media and Public Relations
Director
Dallas Magpies Australian Rules Rules Football
Club, Inc.
Phone: (214) 477-3277
E-mail: stuart.rackham@brinker.com
The strapping youngster from
Wagga who forged a place in history with the Kangaroos will announce his
retirement in Adelaide this morning. The neck injury he suffered
playing for Adelaide against West Coast in Perth recently has brought forward a
decision set for the end of the season.
It is
believed he had been told nerve damage suffered in Perth was more serious than
first thought and would have kept him out of the remaining nine rounds.
Carey, 33,
retires after 272 games and 727 goals in 15 years.
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He leaves the game as the best player
since Leigh Matthews retired in 1985 and maybe even the best ever. His
reputation suffered in Adelaide, but the man known as the King bounced back in
the Showdown of May 8, stringing together several games that ensured he would
go into retirement with his pride intact.
Carey's
announcement will come just 48 hours after Adelaide coach Gary Ayres stepped
down.
Carey joined
the Crows in 2003 after an affair with then teammate Anthony Stevens' wife,
Kelli, ended his time at Arden St.
He is officially
the greatest player in North Melbourne's history and captain of its Team of the
Century. He also is a four-time best-and-fairest winner and a dual premiership
captain (1996, '99). His future is uncertain, but he is under contract to Fox
Footy and indicated earlier this year he would pursue a media career after his
retirement.
Carlton
coach Denis Pagan, who coached Carey for the bulk of his time with the Roos,
told the Herald Sun last night the man he so often referred to as "the
champ" was personified by courage, intimidation, strength and talent. Only
the order of those qualities is at issue. Carey's long-time manager
Ricky Nixon said he changed the face of football forever in terms of contracts,
marketing and endorsements.
Carey is
believed to be the first player to earn $1 million a year from the game. No one
denied him the spoils. His ability to change the course of a game was
unprecedented, and he loved nothing more than strutting the big stage. It is
staggering to think a man who played the bulk of his career at centre
half-forward could kick more than 700 goals, a feat achieved by only 15 other
players in history.
He kicked
seven or more goals in a game 13 times.
His critics say
he was only fair in three Grand Finals. His supporters say he was the most
influential player in the 1996 premiership win, and injured against Carlton in
1999, when he was held to two goals by Stephen Silvagni. What is beyond dispute
is his ability to dominate a game with pack marks and long goals. He was the
modern-day Ted Whitten, and that just about says it all.
THE DALLAS MAGPIES LOOK TO TAKE FLIGHT AGAINST
SWANSBEGIN QUEST FOR 2004 MAAFL CHAMPIONSHIPTRAVEL TO CHICAGO TO
CONTINUE MAAFL DOMINANC
The Dallas Magpies Australian Rules Rules Football
Club, looking to maintain its unblemished
record, hits the road for the first time this season for a crucial Mid-American Australian Rules
Football League match against the Chicago Swans on June 5. seeks to avenge repeat its only league
loss from last yeardominance over the Chicago Swans when itthey begins travel to Chicago for their first road game of the 2004
Mid-American Australian Football League season on JuneMay 15th against the defending champion St. Louis
Blues.
The game between the league
rivals will begin at 2 p.m. at Crowley Park
in Richardson.
Dallas leads the all-time series 3-1.
Herald Sun Last year, the Magpies, in its first year in the MAAFL,
and Blues and,were locked in a tight
struggle all - season for the
league crown. Both teams finished with matching 4-1
records, but the Blues took the crown on percentage
points, thanks mainly to a thorough drubbing of an undermanned and wounded Magpies
squad to win the
league crown on percentage points.
Figure 1: celebrate
last year’s victory over the Swansin
front of the score board after last years victory
The Swans will be seeking revenge against the
‘Pies. In their last meeting oOn April .ust26, 2003, the visiting -Magpies were
trampled by a St. Louis stampedea thorough the of the season. The Blues, showing no
mercy, running up the score for
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ed a 68-point home
win, propelling themselves to the a first place tie with St.
Louis in the MAAFL championship. Thus and an automatic
at-large berth in
Division I of the United States
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Australian Football League National
Championship.
Figure 2 : Magpies fly high.
The bitter league defeat marked only one chapter in
a growing rivalry between the two teams.
The Dallas-St. Louis rivalry was further stoked on
May 17 when the teams met again in a non-league match on a neutral field during
the Kansas City Classic tournament. St. Louis, which before the game took
pleasure in exercising the bragging rights won earlier in the season, fell to
the Magpies, which snuck away with an 8-point come-from-behind victory.
A 65-yard drop punt, kicked through the goal posts by
captain Stuart Rackham with less than 30 seconds to go, stole the match and
propelled Dallas to an at-large berth in the Division 1 USAFL Nationals. The
win also earned Dallas the No. 5 seed in the country, while St. Louis dropped
to No. 8. The USAFL rankings committee had spoken, and St. Louis wasn’t pleased
with the perception that it was not the top team in Mid America. With St. Louis
and Dallas being the only two members of the MAAFL to make the Division 1
tournament, it was not a surprise when the teams were split at the national
tournament, with Dallas in Group A and St. Louis landing in Group B. Neither
Dallas nor St. Louis won their respective group to move on to the National
Championship game, which meant the season’s rubber match was not meant to
be.
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The MAAFL kickoff match will be a
crucial game for both squads as they try to get a leg up in the 2004 league
race and the coveted automatic Division I bid. are sis stheiritsfor the league opener in the opening round of the MAAFLo handed Chicago a 93-point
drubbing.ere they were comfortably beaten by a very strong
Atlanta team.While tT, meanwhile,began the season by ingedof ,9-point ll in Round 1
This time the Magpies have the home
field advantage, the series edge since they have had the
edge in the Magpies/Swans rivalry, leading the lifetime series 4-2, and that coupled with
the disappointment of being runners-up for the 2003 MAAFL championship should give
the Magpies an edge in this heated rivalry.
/Results
About the Dallas Magpies:
The Dallas Magpies are a
501(c)3 non-profit organization, dedicated to fostering national and
international amateur sports competition as well as promoting a cultural
exchange between Americans and Australians. The Magpies participate in the Mid
American Australian Football League, a division of the United States Australian
Football League, and also have a player,
Brandon Blankenship, competing on the U.S. National team in i
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internationalI competition.
The team is active in promoting the Australian national sport and Australian
culture through clinics at area schools and by sponsoring events such as the
annual Australia Day and ANZAC Day celebrations in the Metroplex.
For more details on organizing
a school clinic, playing footy with the team or supporting the Dallas Magpies
Australian Football Club, visit www.dallasfooty.com or e-mail the
recruiting department (recruiting@dallasfooty.com).
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