Raines a double for his dad, but prefers going solo
By Chloe Saltau
The Age
April 27, 2006
WHEN you look and move so much like your father that the similarities are a fountain of fascination to everyone who sees you play, it is important to make your own way.
So Andrew Raines, as much a chip off the old block as any of the AFL's sons of footballing fathers, has made sure he is very much in charge of his own destiny. Before the season began, he approached Richmond coach Terry Wallace and asked to be allowed to let his game grow in the back line.
And although his father, Richmond premiership player and triple best-and-fairest winner Geoff, has not surprisingly had the biggest influence on his footballing life, 20-year-old Andrew has made a conscious effort to seek advice from other places as he carves out an impressive career with the Tigers.
The younger Raines has struck a firm friendship since moving to Melbourne from the Gold Coast with Oberon Pirak, the long-time father figure to teammate Nathan Brown.
"I've met some really good people in Melbourne and obviously some old friends of Dad. Oberon Pirak has been very good to me. I go out to dinner with him once a week and I sort of rely on him outside my father," Raines explained.
"I don't like always talking to Dad about stuff; it's good to get other people's thoughts and issues about the game, and he's been fantastic to me."
Since his pow-wow with Wallace, Raines has played on the Western Bulldogs' floating half-forward Robert Murphy, St Kilda's crumbing goalsneak Stephen Milne, soaring Eagle Ashley Sampi and rangy Lion Jarred Brennan, and conceded only five goals for the year. Yesterday he was awarded a Rising Star nomination for his trouble.
Wallace said: "When it comes to the crunch and the ball's there to be won, no one's going in harder and winning it any better than what he is at the moment."
Both player and coach laughed when the topic of the physical similarities between father and son was raised — it is an old joke at Tigerland. But the likenesses, including the crouching style and penetrating kick, are striking.
"I went on record (and) said he mightn't have the class of his old man but he might be a little bit tougher than his old man. I caught up with Geoff the other day and he wasn't too happy with those comments. I think there'd be a bit of a war around the kitchen table with that one," Wallace said.
The coach has always encouraged the sons of Michael Bowden, Alan Richardson, Michael Roach and Geoff Raines to be themselves, but even he could not help thinking of Andrew when he saw a photo of Geoff clad in a Brisbane Bears guernsey recently.
"You can't help the comparisons. I've never taken that much notice of them but I must say when I opened up the Footy Record and it had the shot of Geoff in his Brisbane uniform I actually thought it was Andrew and they'd put a jumper over the top of it," Wallace said. "They are very, very similar not only in looks but in style of play, their gait, the way they run."
Andrew, too, sees bits of his game when he sees tapes of his dad, or remembers snippets of the matches he saw when Geoff was at Brisbane between 1987 and 89.
"I remember him up at Carrara in his last few years with the Bears. I was only little and I used to sneak out of the creche and go watch him play. They're slight memories, not a lot," Raines said.
"I've watched a lot of videos, too, so that's helped me because he is obviously a similar player to me … I remember him as a centreman, a class act sort of player. Very quick, good skills."
The settled role in defence is part of a deliberate plan to turn him into a centreman. "It's important to play a variety of positions these days. It's sort of a starting point for your career … until you fill out in size and you can start mixing it in the midfield," he said.
And, while he seeks different opinions, Raines still cherishes his father's advice.
"He's always said if you're mentally switched on and giving it your best shot the rest will take care of itself."
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