One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: Moi on August 15, 2005, 07:52:13 PM
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Ox on FoxFooty says he'll annouce it tomorrw.
Been a good solid year from Mark i reckon.
Good luck to him!
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Best of luck to Mark for the future :).
His decision to go into the draft and play on after the Hawks didn't want him has been vindicated as coming to Richmond allowed him to decide when he wanted to retire and he's been a good servant for us this year not only on the field against Jonathan Brown and Tredrea but in also helping educating Will Thursfield about playing in the backline. As he came cheap with a late pick it's been a win-win for himself and the Tigers.
This probably means Staff will retire also as you would of thought out of the two Graham was the one more likely to go on one more year.
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Been really solid.
Thanks big feller.
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I thought they just said he'll make his mind up tomorrow and announce whether he'll play another year or retire.
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Graham to sign off
16 August 2005
Herald Sun
Michael Stevens
RICHMOND veteran Mark Graham is expected to announce his retirement today.
The announcement will end a celebrated career for the former Hawthorn defender, who played 223 games in 12 seasons at Glenferrie.
Graham, 32, was delisted by Hawthorn at the end of last season, but has been a handy pick-up for the Tigers, playing in 19 of 20 games this season.
Tiger officials last night would not confirm Graham's impending decision.
Football manager Paul Armstrong said Graham would speak to coach Terry Wallace today.
"It might be a bit presumptuous to say he is retiring," Armstrong said. "He'll have a talk with Terry tomorrow and make a decision about his future one way or the other after that."
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,16271295%255E19771,00.html
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:-\
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if graham does retire i believe stafford will play on. he has had a bad luck yr with injuries and i believe has alot to offer still.
graham, what can we say, most were shocked when terry drafted him and really he has not set a foot wrong all yr, i hope he playes on as his experience is invaluable. if he decides to retire , i hope he stays close to the club in some kinda coaching mentoring role
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Yes I agree with you X. For once, the club didn't do another Hudson. Graham has been an asset to the team. I personally hope he sticks around for another year.
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Graham to bow out in style
10:45:50 AM Tue 16 August, 2005
Sportal for afl.com.au
Veteran Richmond defender Mark Graham has announced his retirement from AFL football and according to a statement released by the club, will play his last game for the Tigers against Hawthorn at Telstra Dome on Sunday.
And it will be an emotional farewell for Graham, who has played 19 games for the Tigers this year in his first season for the club after 223 games with the hawks between 1993 and 2004.
The 32 year old was selected by the Tigers with the 65th selection overall at the 2004 NAB AFL Draft, after being let go by new Hawk coach Alastair Clarkson as a youth policy took shape at Glenferrie Oval.
It was a bold move by the Tigers, but it has paid off, with Graham adding nous, determination and experience to the backline.
After starting with the Hawks as a tall, skinny wingman, Graham eventually moved to the backline and between the retirement of Chris Langford in 1997 and the emergence of Jonathan Hay in 2000, was usually assigned the opposition's best forward and it was a role he carried out with aplomb.
One of the most popular Hawks of his time - among both players and supporters, he finished runner-up to Joel Smith in the club's best and fairest award in 2001 - the year the Hawks finished just a kick from a grand final.
http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=222865
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Disappointed to see him retiring - I reckon he still had alot to offer the young blokes especially his apprentice ;) Will Thursfield.
Been excellent this season playing the various roles he's been given.
And a top bloke as well
Thanks Heebie on a job well done at the RFC :thumbsup ;)
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Has been ok for us this year but I think he is doing the right thing in retiring. I think Stafford should definitely follow suit.
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Im wrapt with the way he backed into packs in the name of the RFC.
I'll remember him as a Tiger player.
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He could make a good recruit development officer
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Honest player....tried hard. And worked hard. Cant deny anyone who is like that and has a decent bit of football brain about him.
Well done Graham.
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I'm sad he's going - I think he's done a great job. I only hope he felt comfortable and at home at Punt Road. I know of some players (and coaches) coming from other clubs and they talk alot about their former club and the ties they had there and you wonder whether they never really settled in properly at Richmond.
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No regrets as Graham bows out
5:41:23 PM Tue 16 August, 2005
Scott Spits
Sportal for afl.com.au
Veteran defender Mark Graham has retired from AFL football with the 32-year-old to enjoy the honour of playing his final match against the club where he made his name - Hawthorn.
It will be an emotional farewell for Graham at Telstra Dome this Sunday, after playing 19 games for the Tigers this year in his first season for the club after 223 games with the Hawks between 1993 and 2004.
"I'm going to leave the game with no regrets, and to actually finish this week playing against my old team Hawthorn … is something pretty special," Graham said at Punt Road on Tuesday.
After being somewhat controversially delisted by the Hawks when the new coaching brigade swept a broom through Glenferrie Oval last season, Graham went about contacting coaches at other Melbourne-based clubs before new Richmond coach Terry Wallace gave him a final chance.
Graham said there was no underlying sadness that he couldn't finish as a one-club player, and the former Hawk enters retirement 'not going to die wondering' about the right time to end his career.
"I love playing football, whether it be for the Hawthorn Football Club or the Richmond Football Club. The game of football is just fantastic.
"Allan Jeans said to me no player wants to finish their career asking themselves 'what if?' I'm lucky I'm not going to ask myself 'what if' because I know I've got the absolute most out of myself - probably an extra 230 games more."
Graham's apprenticeship at Hawthorn began in 1989 when he played under 17s for the Hawks, moving on to play senior footy as a tall, skinny wingman.
He eventually moved to the backline between the retirement of Chris Langford in 1997 and the emergence of Jonathan Hay in 2000, and was usually assigned the opposition's best forward - a role he carried out with aplomb.
One of the most popular Hawks of his time among both players and supporters, he finished runner-up to Joel Smith in the club's best and fairest award in 200, the year the Hawks finished just a kick from a grand final.
Graham paid special thanks to Hawthorn coaches Ken Judge and Peter Schwab who showed tremendous faith in the key defender.
"One of the greatest accolades you can get is what your coach thinks of you week in, week out. I reckon for the majority of my career I was always playing on the key forwards. One week it would be a Carey, Ablett, Kernahan.
"It was quite mind-boggling at times, but to have your coach think about you in that light is something I should be proud of."
Graham lists his main highlights as an early match when he played on Stephen Kernahan, the 2001 finals series when the Hawks narrowly missed the grand final, the 'merger' match against Melbourne in 1996, along with his extra AFL season at Richmond.
"My second game was against Stephen Kernahan at Waverley in 1994. Peter Knights had pretty much said 'I'm going to put you on him and see how you go'," Graham reflected.
"I reckon Stephen Kernahan ran about 15k that day. By the end of the day I was just absolutely spent. I think I'd thrown up about five or six times on the field, cramp in every muscle known that I've got.
"At the end of the game he pretty much picked me up off the ground - they'd pumped us by about 87 points - and I'll never forget this, and he said to me - 'It gets easier. You'll have a good career'."
Graham is in no doubt the time is right to retire, citing mental and physical fatigue. Only a few weeks ago he admits he struggled to keep up with teammates on a run around The Tan. Importantly, Graham leaves the game on his own terms.
"It was pretty much time to pull the pin. This game is so brutal and so unforgiving, it doesn't care how old you are, how big and strong you are, what you look like. It will just eat you up and spit you out if you can't do the work.
"You've just got to be able to do the work. You've got to be fit, you've got to do the pre-season, you can't cut corners because it's so physical, it's so fast moving."
Graham would love to remain in football, and believes he has a particular flair to work with young players.
"One of the things I've always enjoyed about my career is that it hasn't always been about me. It's always been about your teammates.
"If you can get the best out of your teammates, it's going to make your job a bit easier because everyone's going to improve.
"I really do have a bit of a passion for helping out the young guys. I reckon I've got a bit of skill there in helping to fast-track young players to become senior players quicker."
While Graham would love to enjoy a victory against his former club this Sunday, he says he has no problem about his departure from Glenferrie last year.
"I feel very comfortable about it," he said.
"I've got some great friends at Hawthorn and they're still there. I have got closure. It will be even more closure if we sing the theme song this week!"
His career as a key defender has coincided with the careers of some of the greatest modern-day forwards, and listing his toughest opponents takes time. Graham freely admits he's had particular difficulty against Matthew Lloyd, being ' touched up a few times' by the champion Bomber.
However, one of the more memorable moments on the field occurred when he once played on Chris Tarrant, with the pair exchanging words during the match.
"I said to him 'mate, you're lucky you're playing today'. They were not going to play him because he'd mucked up or something," Graham remembered.
"He turned around and said 'mate, you're lucky you're playing every week'. It was quite funny. I thought 'well done Chris, you got me there'."
http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=222996
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Tigers inspired me: Graham
5:18:06 PM Tue 16 August, 2005
Scott Spits
Sportal for afl.com.au
Mark Graham has thoroughly enjoyed his one and only season at Richmond, the retiring defender rating his year at Punt Road as one of the highlights of his AFL career.
The 32-year-old said being drafted by the Tigers for one final AFL season after being delisted by his former club Hawthorn had given him a new zest for the game.
"That's probably the advantage of moving clubs late in your career. If you stay at one club your whole career, you get to know people intimately, the same routine," Graham said.
"But coming to a new club, you meet new people, you make new friends, new environment, a different sort of training … It really did spark me up and reinvigorate me."
"The best thing about it is getting on the track and training with new guys, pumping them up … I've really enjoyed it. It's been fantastic."
After 223 matches for the Hawks between 1993 and 2004, Graham was delisted by the Hawks as a new coaching brigade made its mark at Glenferrie.
Graham contacted coaches from other Melbourne-based AFL clubs, before being given another chance by new Richmond coach Terry Wallace.
Along with the 2001 finals series with the Hawks, playing on Stephen Kernahan in one of his early AFL matches and playing in the 'merger' match against Melbourne in 1996, Graham genuinely rates his one season at Richmond as a special highlight.
"I do really mean this from the bottom of my heart, probably the biggest highlight has been this season. To be able to play football for the Richmond Football Club and to meet the guys that I have this year and to be coached by Terry … and to learn a lot more about football and to learn about myself and to make some new friends.
"To play for the Richmond Football Club is a huge, huge honour."
Graham will play his final match against his former club Hawthorn at Telstra Dome this Sunday, with his daughter wearing a Hawthorn jumper and his son a Richmond guernsey when he runs through the banner for the last time.
http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=223003
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"To play for the Richmond Football Club is a huge, huge honour."
:bow :bow well said Heebie.
As a very wise OER poster said to me last evening when we were discussing Mark Graham - what a pity it was only 1 season.
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I hope he continues his association with the club.
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Top bloke. :thumbsup
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Top bloke. :thumbsup
Certainly is Ox - I spoke to him at length at the members night the other week and that was the first thing I thought of "what a top bloke".
I think it would good if they kept him around to help young Cubs - they have a lot of respect for him :thumbsup
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Mark Graham was on Sport 927 today. Here's the audio:
http://sport927.com.au/gateway/Daily_Audio/Sound%20Grabs/MG_170805.asx
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Tiger's happy ending
20 August 2005
Herald Sun
Jordan Chong
SINCE announcing his retirement this week, Richmond's Mark Graham hasn't had time to feel sad about the end to his AFL career.
Graham has been accommodating requests from friends and family wanting tickets to tomorrow's match between the Tigers and Hawthorn at Telstra Dome, his 243rd and last AFL game.
"I've had to organise about 70 tickets this week for friends and family," Graham said yesterday.
"There were plenty of cousins that I haven't seen and heard from for a while, they all wanted to watch me play in one last game.
"It's fantastic the support I've got, I'm very lucky."
When he runs through the banner, the former Hawk and now-Richmond defender will pay tribute to both clubs, with one-year-old daughter Grace in a Hawthorn jumper and son Thomas, 5, sporting Richmond's famous gold sash.
"It's going to be quite fun. To have the kids run out with you is something quite special."
Graham, 32, made his debut with the Hawks in 1993, playing 223 games and, while the bond is strong, he said he will follow both clubs after he hangs up the boots.
"While I've only spent a small amount of time at the Richmond Football Club, I feel like I've been there my whole life as well. I'm very lucky to have two clubs that I can hold dearly to my heart."
He said playing his final game against his former club in Melbourne with wife Roz, two children, family and friends in the crowd was a great way to go out.
"To finish my career like this is quite a story in itself.
"It's perfect, bar going out on a premiership," he said.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,16317212%255E19771,00.html
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Graham blasts Hawks for cruel chop
21 August 2005
Sunday Herald Sun
Glenn McFarlane
RETIRING Tiger Mark Graham yesterday launched a broadside against Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson on the eve of his final AFL match.
Graham will play his 243rd and last match today against his former side, Hawthorn, but he reserved a lashing for Clarkson for the manner in which he was dumped by the Hawks at the end of last season.
"The way it ended last year, I would have been quite bitter (had I not played on at Richmond)," Graham said on SEN 1116 yesterday.
"Just to be called in by a guy you don't know and be delisted . . . I had spent 15 years there, and there was no `thanks for coming'. I thought `no, stuff that'. I'm not going to cop that.
"(When) someone comes to the club who has never played there and tells a 15-year servant who has been a life member that he has been chopped – I don't think there is any loyalty at the footy club any more."
Graham, 32, said he was most disappointed that Clarkson – a person he had not had any connection with – was the man who dumped him.
He claimed it would have been better for former teammate and current Hawthorn board member Jason Dunstall to tell him of his fate.
"I have known Jason Dunstall for a long time and we had been teammates together and friends and all that sort of stuff," Graham said.
"If he had been in the meeting that would have been fantastic because Jason would have been there and Alistair would have been there, and we could have had a chat for 10 or 15 minutes.
"In the end, I was in and out in 10 seconds."
Graham said he felt as if loyalty had been discarded in his time in football.
"It's too much of a business now. I think there is no loyalty left in football," he said. "That's just the way sport is getting around the world. It's all about the money now."
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,16328916%255E19771,00.html
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Graham's career ends on a high
By Lyall Johnson
The Age
August 22, 2005
AN EMOTIONAL Mark Graham yesterday farewelled AFL football as the Tigers staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Hawthorn, the club where he had spent 12 years.
The defender, who moved to Richmond for one last dip at the end of last year after being delisted by the Hawks, finished his career on 243 games.
In a wonderful tribute, the Hawthorn players stayed out on the ground with the Richmond side after the game to farewell their former teammate.
"Mate, I'm very emotional; it's starting to hit me now, so I'll be a blubbering mess in a couple of hours' time," Graham said in the rooms after the game.
"(Nathan) Brown spoke for me earlier in the week and said that I put myself out there when I could have played the majority of the year in the twos because I'm never a walk-up start to get a game, and, I suppose, if you can play with passion and have fun while you're doing it, that's what's important."
Early in the game the Tigers looked like they would not be able to give the defender a proper send-off and Graham felt a number of the players might have been caught up in the emotion of it all.
"But once you start playing and getting into it a bit and getting hurt a bit and getting into the rhythm of the game … by the last quarter the boys never took a backward step, they put their head over the ball, they started kicking torps and getting it long and deep. And it came down the last minute. You never give up in this game and it was great."
Coach Terry Wallace said Graham had been a great servant of the club in his short time there and done great things in helping some of the younger players. "He's been terrific but I think the timing was right," he said. "We sat down and had a good chat about where he was and how it all went.
"He's had a fantastic year, he has taught a few of our young boys about the passion of footy, and how to really have a crack at things and how to really play with a real spirit about it, he's taught them a bit about back-line play.
"I think Mark wanted to finish on top. He had a really difficult situation thrown up to him at the end of last year and it was nice that could finish it on a reasonably high note."
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2005/08/21/1124562753061.html
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Nice send off. Graham looked like he was about to cry when he was talking to Wayne Schwass. Hope we can do the same for Cambo next week.
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It almost feels as though he is a tiger through and through.
He displayed great leadership, professionalism and courage in 20 games for us.
Its a shame he couldnt play a little longer.
I wish him all th ebest in retirment and hope he stays to help the young guys
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A wonderful story in this commercial driven day and age