Oh we're from Tigerland
Stories of being Richmond
LUKE MCNIECE, 48, MENORA, PERTH
All-time favourite player:
Kevin Bartlett: “The 1980 Grand Final sticks in my mind, that passage of play in the last quarter where he turned Stan Magro inside out. I don’t mind the fact that he didn’t handball much because he used to kick a few goals.”
Current favourite player:Dustin Martin:
“He’s just so strong and cool under pressure. When he finishes his career he’ll be known for that trademark palm-off. He’s fantastic to watch.”
“Being Richmond is a good conversation starter in Perth,” says Luke McNiece, a Tiger with a family history steeped in old Struggletown. He moved west long ago and, through a tragedy at his local junior football club, understands the game’s social significance. It can be about life and death, and about a shared grief and healing.
Luke was born in Richmond in 1967, a premiership year, the only son of a father from North Richmond who laboured at the nearby Joe White Maltings silos on Victoria Parade, supplying malt to the Collingwood breweries. “Dad’s from a family of ten,” he says. “Only one of his siblings broke ranks. She was the black sheep, becoming a Magpie.”
The family moved to Perth in 1976, leaving behind Melbourne’s old football rituals and rivalries, although Luke and his father flew back in 1980, on the promise of a game against the Pies. “It was the Grand Final, and we didn’t have tickets. Dad ended up getting a ticket for standing room, and I had cousins who were in the cheer squad.”
Where there’s a will, there’s always a way, and in simpler times a 13-year-old Luke found a loophole into the MCG. “My cousins sneaked a pass-out to me. I ended up sitting in the second row in the cheer squad at the city end. It was a great memory.”
Left to right - An 8-year-old Luke McNiece photographed in front of his dad's Falcon, after playing one of his first game's for Lalor Thomastown Community Youth Club; Circa 1971, at kindergarten, in his first wool-knit footy jumper, with the number of Richmond's then vice-captain, Royce Hart, on his back.
Nowadays, ensconced in Perth and with two young adult boys of his own, Luke’s perspective on football differs to that of most other Tigers. Partly it’s his whereabouts; on the other side of the Nullarbor, at an end of the world, with a two-hour time difference. Last Saturday night’s Dreamtime game for him, for instance, started at dusk. And with the Dockers also playing, there was no free-to-air telecast.
“It’s the only reason I have Foxtel,” he says. “It’s a different experience being Richmond here. You really savour the times they come to Perth. It’s such a treat to watch them live.”
But Luke’s view on football is different also because of an irrevocable change three years ago. When president of his local junior football club, the Coolbinia Bombers, he found himself at the heart of a deep and abiding sadness. A 17-year-old footballer, the captain of their Year 12 team, on a Saturday night before the second-last round of the season, suicided.
“He was the last kid you’d expect to have self-esteem and mental health issues,” says Luke, still raw from the experience. “He seemed to have it all. He was a great footballer. He was an award-winning dancer. He was a gymnast. He was popular with all his friends. He was a really nice, young kid and a real leader.”
The upheaval brought a community together. It started with a group counselling session on the Tuesday night training session after his death, and the last-round game that was moved to Coolbinia’s home oval as a gesture of respect. “If our boys won they would have made the finals, but they ended up losing to the top team by a few goals,” says Luke.
“The Thornlie boys didn’t sing their song after the game. They allowed us to sing ours.”
Teenage Tiger: Luke (centre of centre row, wearing Cotch's number) as a raw-boned 16-year-old in 1983, in a Claremont Tigers combined side alongside future AFL players Bluey McKenna, Ben Allan, Tony Begovich and Andrew McGovern.
From adversity has come advocacy. As president of the club, and with the support of the East Perth Junior Football District council, two seasons ago Luke helped initiate a One Life round, promoting mental illness and suicide awareness. From the East Perth ‘Royals’ – home of a football roll-call that includes ‘Polly’ Farmer, Ross Glendinning and Mal Brown – the themed round this season has been adopted with great success by the WAFL competition.
“Suicide is one of the largest killers of young men,” says Luke. “It’s just so tragic. But if we can save one life through these initiatives, it’s a fantastic result.”
This Friday night, Luke will be at the football with his two boys, aged 20 and 19, watching other young men in their physical prime run around Subiaco Oval. It will be a moment of togetherness; of reflection; of gratitude; and hopefully also of joy – especially in seeing “our mate from Pinjarra on the wing”.
“When your kids are born they’re just handed the colours,” says Luke. “It happened with our boys. But ultimately they had a choice, and their support for Richmond is something I’m really proud of.”
“I look back and think that by the time I was their age I’d seen five premierships,” he says. “They’ve seen three finals series, and they can’t remember a final they’ve won.”
The football this Friday night is, of course, nothing compared to a young man’s tragic death and a path through grief Luke has taken with others. But in the game and its anticipation he also sees hope; a shared experience that is life affirming. We are Richmond. We are as one. We are friends among strangers. We all want the best for our boys.
For Luke McNiece, for these past three seasons, life, football and Richmond have become something else; something with deeper meanings. “I’ve certainly got a different perspective on life and footy and I’m a different parent,” he says. “What’s happened has helped me understand the importance of football clubs in the community.”
Go Tiges! Go the Coolbinia Bombers!
For help or information visit beyondblue.org.au, call Suicide Helpline Victoria on 1300 651 251, or Lifeline on 131 114.
If you would like to nominate a Richmond fan who has a story to tell about their barracking please email Dugald Jellie with details: dugaldjellie@gmail.com
