Geoff McClure
SPORTING LIFE - The Age
March 15, 2007
For Perc, T.J. it's on again, 27 years laterALMOST 27 years have passed since the infamous Waverley Park qualifying final dust-up between opposing coaches, Carlton's Peter "Percy" Jones and Richmond's Tony Jewell — so long ago each of the combatants' hair has gone from grey then to white now — but it's about to be "on again", albeit this time with a tad less bitterness. To coincide with the Tigers and Blues clashing in this year's opening AFL round, Richmond's first Tommy Hafey Club lunch for the season has been scheduled for the Friday before, on March 30, and will adopt the theme of the great rivalry between the proud two clubs.
And on top of the guest list is Jones, the former Blues ruckman who coached the club for just one year and Jewell, the Tigers' coach from 1979 to '81, who between them made headlines back in 1980 when an exchange of words quickly became a push and shove and almost ended in blows. "I'm actually looking forward to it because I finally might find out what the hell it was all about," Jewell joked yesterday. "All I remember is Percy having a go at Rudi Webster (the Tigers' motivator who was previously at Carlton) and me coming in between them. That Graeme Landy had knocked out Ken Sheldon in the first quarter might have had something to to do with it too but really, it all remains a bit of a haze. Let's hope this luncheon get-together finally sheds some light on it."
'He wouldn't hit me in front of 80,000 people, would he?'JONES' memory of the incident is more vivid. "Eight years earlier, Rudi was so much a Carlton person that he stood in the middle of the MCG on grand final day holding up the Carlton premiership cup and this day when I walked out onto the Waverley ground, the first bloke I saw in the Tiger huddle was him," said Jones. "I was so angry as we came off that I said something unkind to him so TJ intervened, saying, 'What did you call him?' and headed for me. I thought, 'Gee, he wouldn't hit me in front of 80,000 people, would he?' Fortunately he didn't."
Other big names from bygone eras who have agreed to relive some golden days at the lunch include Carlton's John Elliott, Ron Barassi and Mark Maclure, and Richmond's Ian Wilson and Billy Barrot (and, of course, Hafey) and Ricky McLean and Chris Bond who played for both clubs. Fingers crossed it doesn't end up in one big bunfight.
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