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AFL LEGEND BARASSI GOES FOOTYWILD


13th July, 2010

“It was a great thrill to meet a legend of this game from Australia and to get my first leather football is just too good to be true”, said Monwabisi Mabikane, best player Nyanga Bluebirds

 

Australian Football League (AFL) Hall of Fame legend Ron Barassi was in South Africa for the biggest ticket in town, the World Cup, but he’s also found time to check out the growth of his native code, Australian Football, whilst he was here.

 
Barassi will be forever remembered as one the most determined players and most inspirational and influential coaches ever, having played 254 games for Melbourne and Carlton and coached Carlton (1965-71), North Melbourne (1973-80), Melbourne (1981-85) and Sydney Swans (1993-95) in a stellar career spanning over 50 years.
 
Barassi was a Premiership player on 6 occasions from 1955-1964, is a member of the AFL’s Team of The Century and was named All Australian 3 times – has was inducted to the AFL’s Hall of Fame Legends category as one of only 12 original members in 1996. 
 
Amazingly Barassi appeared in 17 Grand Finals as a player and coach for 10 wins. He was also inducted as the 26th legend of Australian Sport in 2006 entering the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as both an athlete and a coach.
 
Put simply, there isn’t much that this man has not done for the game of Australian Football, a code invented 152 years ago in Melbourne, as a sport that cricketers could play in the off-season to keep fit.
 
Barassi met with some of AFL South Africa’s North West Province staff, players and volunteers in Rustenburg, who were out in force to support the Australian Socceroos ahead of their clash with Ghana, then met with Under 14 footyWILD players in Cape Town’s Khayelistha township on Sunday, passing on a few tips to the younger players.
 
“How many football codes are there in the world?” asked Barassi of the eager young fans.
 
Answers of 4, 5 and then 6 bobbed up with the young group identifying soccer, rugby union, rugby league, American football and Australian Football without too much trouble, but struggling a little with the lesser known Gaelic Football from Ireland, as the sixth code.
 
Barassi was quick to point out that it didn’t really matter what you played as long as you were playing something, a sentiment echoed by the team at AFL South Africa.
 
“Listen to your coach .... and make sure you practise and practise some more with this funny shaped ball ... and you will get better” said Barassi.
 
He then awarded 13 year old Monwabisi Mabikane from the Nyanga Bluebirds as best player at the 6 team Carnival, presenting him with a personally signed Sherrin though we suspect this piece of memorabilia will spend more time getting kicked around than it will on display!
 
“It was a great thrill to meet a legend of this game from Australia and to get my first leather football is just too good to be true”, said Monwabisi Mabikane
 
Barassi loved the fact that the game even has its own name in Africa ... “footyWILD – the new game that roars hey? ..... I like it” said one of the codes all time greats and a perfect gentleman to boot.
 

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