Hyde and seekBy Adam McNicol
afl.com.au
Sat 10 Mar, 2012
Former Tiger Chris Hyde in action for the Albury Tigers - photo by Matthew Smithwick, The Border MailIN THE seven seasons that Chris Hyde spent on Richmond's list, the club did not qualify for the finals.
A couple of ninth-placed finishes, in 2006 and 2008, were the best results that the Tigers managed during Hyde's time at Punt Road.
More often than not they were far closer to the bottom of the ladder, taking home the wooden spoon in his third season and again in his sixth.
Delisted by Richmond at the end of the '08 campaign, Hyde still plays for a team known as the Tigers.
But his latest club is far different to the success-starved AFL outfit he left behind.
The Albury Tigers are a powerhouse in the Ovens and Murray Football League, a competition that includes clubs based in north-east Victoria and southern New South Wales.
And since Hyde joined them for the 2009 season, the Tigers have won the premiership each year.
"It's been pretty good up here, there's no doubt about that," said the 29-year-old, who was a key contributor in the midfield in all three Grand Finals, each of which was against Yarrawonga.
"We've lost only three games in three years, and in 2009 we went through undefeated."
Hyde grew up 140kms further down the Murray River at Barooga. He began playing football for the local club, then graduated to the Murray Bushrangers in his mid-teens.
His pace and evasive skills (Matthew Richardson later called him the best baulker he'd ever played with) caught the eye of Richmond, which selected him with pick 68 in the 2001 NAB AFL Draft.
In 2004 and 2006 he played in all of the Tigers' 22 matches, but he was in and out of the team in his other five seasons.
Upon leaving Richmond, Hyde moved to Tumut in the New South Wales high country to take up a job as a game manager for Game Council of NSW.
"I was like a fishing inspector, but I worked with the hunters," Hyde explained.
"The sort of game that people hunt up in the mountains are deer, rabbits and foxes. We would check that they had a NSW game licence.
"We would also do inspections of forests and provide advice to other organisations about the suitability of certain forests for hunting.
"I really like the outdoors. I like my fishing and hunting. My grandparents lived on a farm and I think that's where I picked those things up from."
Tumut is 200kms from Albury, but Hyde decided to play football for the Tigers after getting in contact with their coach Paul Spargo.
Spargo, who played 81 games for North Melbourne during the 1980s and early '90s, spent a brief period as an assistant coach at Richmond while Hyde was there.
These days Hyde lives in Albury and works as a return-to-work co-ordinator for the Joss Group, a construction and distribution company that has offices throughout New South Wales.
On the footy field, he has been a very consistent performer no matter where he's been living, twice finishing runner-up in the OMFL best and fairest, the Morris Medal.
These days, renowned as a midfielder with an ability to hit the scoreboard, he kicked 46 goals in 20 games last year.
"I try and average about three goals per game, which I think is about right for a midfielder/half-forward," Hyde said.
"It didn't end up being that high last year, but I definitely enjoy kicking a goal."
The Albury football community will be out in force on Saturday afternoon when the AFL comes to town.
Although the clash between Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast might seem an odd one to be held at the Lavington Sports Ground on Albury's northern fringe, the region is part of the Giants' recruiting zone.
As happened last year, when GWS played North Melbourne before a crowd of around 6,000 in Lavington, a number of kids from southern New South Wales are likely to be running around.
Anthony Miles (North Albury), Sam Schultz (Culcairn) and Tim Segrave (Corowa-Rutherglen) are among the local boys on the Giants' list.
Once the AFL circus has moved out of town, the OMFL will again become the focus of local footy fans.
"They love their footy up here," Hyde said. "And the local footy is definitely of a very good standard.
"The professionalism on and off the field is pretty high these days. We train three nights a week and I don't see many other clubs doing much different."
Many people with their ear to the ground are tipping Yarrawonga to end their run of Grand Final losses, thanks to the addition of star recruit Brendan Fevola.
But the Tigers are confident they have the talent and desire to make it four on the trot.
"We've lost two from our Grand Final side," Hyde said. "One guy is travelling overseas and another has gone to the Northern Territory to be a cowboy.
"But we've gained a few guys, so we'll be in a good position again."
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