“This is the best recruit I have seen in a long time . . .by gee is he a good player . . . Alex Jesaulenko, what a player.”
THESE are the words of an unknown commentator, heard over flickering black and white television footage of the opening quarter of the 4th Round match between Melbourne and Carlton – Saturday, May 6 – in what doubled as Jesaulenko’s breakout game.
Turning out for the Blues in only his fourth senior appearance, ‘Jezza’ had just booted his second goal within a matter of seconds of eachother – both of them on the seasoned Melbourne footballer ‘Tassie’ Johnson, a three-time Premiership player with the Redlegs when he earned as his opponent the kid from Eastlake.
The commentator’s shrill cries of commendation for Jesaulenko’s genius was a portent of things to come, with many a Carlton-supporting kid convincing their mothers to stitch the numbers “2” and “5”onto the backs of their woollen Dark Navy jumpers.
Those kids, now into their 60s, still remember with affection Jezza’s genius – amongst them Mark Cloney - thesedays Dr Mark Cloney, Adjunct Associate Professor at the La Trobe Business School.
When Dr Cloney learned through Jesaulenko’s daughter Kate that the great man had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he felt compelled to pen what is effectively a love letter to his boyhood hero.
“I attach a short note about why I barrack for Carlton and the role ‘Jezza’ played in shaping that decision, which may be comforting to our members and supporters,” Dr Cloney wrote.
“I’d be happy for you to public this if you think it will benefit him and out supporters at this difficult time.”
The following is Dr Cloney’s love letter to Jezza – and if you feel compelled to follow suit, the Club encourages you to pen your own such short story, whether in tribute to Jesaulenko or any other Carlton player, or indeed the ground or the club itself – for publication within this forum.
Interested in submitting your own story? Click here to send it through to our Club Historian
Why I love Jezza and the Carlton Football Club
By Dr Mark Cloney
I WAS about 10 years of age in 1969 and was still undecided on which team I’d barrack for in the VFL.
I was practically raised at the local footy club, the West Ivanhoe Football Club, where my older brothers and half the neighbourhood were engaged as players, coaches, trainers, and/or supporters.
The VFL seemed somewhat distant to me then, something you watched on the telly - but local footy was so real and it was our community’s pulse in many ways.
One day my best mate asked, “who do you barrack for?”, and I said, “West Ivanhoe!”. He said: “no, in the VFL?”.
I said I like this side and this player and kept naming more and more teams. He said: “no, you have to pick one”. I had several influential siblings, neighbours, cousins, and mates who were trying to win me over to support their Club at that time. Clubs most in the running were: Essendon (three or four older siblings and a local parish priest with a few parish trips to games at Windy Hill); Geelong (my Dad and a neighbour who knitted me my first Geelong footy jumper at five years old); and, ashamed to say, Collingwood (a few more siblings, neighbours and Collingwood legend Peter McKenna even took over ownership of the local grocery store).
We were also in the Collingwood recruiting zone in those days, so my mates and I attended several footy clinics at Victoria Park over the years and a few Collingwood players lived locally and popped into our local primary school. I also had a soft spot for South Melbourne (influence: another older sister’s husband) but while they kept winning Brownlow Medals (Skilton and Bedford) they kept losing games. They were off the list.
Things changed when I was 11 in the playground at St Bernadette’s Primary School doing kick to kick at recess time.
I jumped up to take a mark and, as it turns out, managed to take the grab over one of the tallest boys in school.
It must have been a good one, my school mates were impressed, and one yelled out, “that’s a ‘Jezza’!”.
The tall boy wasn’t as impressed. After I kicked it, and got a few pats on the back and head, he, with a sweep of his leg and solid push to the chest, sat me on my arse. As I fell the words, “I’ll give you a Jezza, you little prick”, still ring in my ears today. Later that day, I learned he was a Collingwood supporter.
They were also off my list.
I went home that day and told anyone that would listen about the screamer I took at school – but as the youngest in a big household the notoriety didn’t last long. In fact, my next two older brothers (14 and 16ish) suggested they’d also sit me on my arse if I tried that crap on them.
They proceeded to push me on the couch, pile the cushions and jump on top as they catapulted themselves through the air – with more than a touch of World Championship Wrestling thrown in. Don’t feel bad, it all evened out over the years.
I got my own back many times – including with flour and water bombs delivered from atop the house roof ninja-style when they arrived home late at night. They were Essendon and Collingwood supporters respectively. So now the Bombers were also off the list.
However, fate had already intervened. One of my older sisters had married a retired West Ivanhoe FC legend defender and, as it happens, a big Carlton supporter.
When he next called in at home, I told him what I did at school – ‘the screamer’.
Now he was very impressed and said: ‘yeah, that’s Alex Jesaulenko - champion mate!”. I asked if he would take me and point out Jezza next time he went to a game. “No worries, mate, it’s at Princes Park, I’ll pick you up this Saturday 11 o’clock”, he said.
It was Round 4, 1970 and Carlton was at home to North Melbourne (one of my best mates was a North supporter, so I was desperate for the bragging rights when next at school).
We arrived at Princes Park about 2pm; 15 minutes before the first bounce. The ground was only about a 30-minute drive from my house, but true to my brothers-in-law’s word I was picked up at 11 am and we headed straight for Ryan’s Hotel in Ivanhoe for pre-game drinks and general socialising.
This was a big social ritual in Victoria - meeting mates in a pub prior to the game and arranging shared lifts to various grounds depending on who turned up and who they barracked for. With six games on all at the same time, someone was bound to be going to your ground, and the train station was just up the road if you lucked out. So, we had three others in the car that day with nicknames like “Lollies”, “Turk” and “Crash”.
To be honest, apart from my brother-in-law, I can’t exactly remember who was in the car that day, but these names featured most weeks over the coming years on this Saturday ritual as did “Slim”, “Doc”, “The Dude” and “The Whale”!
Although about 6ft 1nch and 90-plus Kilos today, in 1970 I was skinny and short for my age. So, the boys looked after me by drinking half the cans in the slab they had brought to the game (allowed in those days) and made a stand for me with the empties. Very thoughtful of them I thought.
However, by quarter time with about 25,000 at the game I couldn’t really get a good look at the action. So, my brother-in-law took me down to the fence and asked two older ladies, regular Carlton supporters, if I could sit between them and watch the game.
They’d been sitting there for years, and rumour had it they only left to attend bingo and the occasional family function, like the birth of their children and getting married etc. - very committed types! My brother-in-law explained that it was my first Carlton game and I wanted to see who Jezza was. They didn’t hesitate to accommodate me and routinely offered me hot drinks, sandwiches, and lollies from their Mary Poppins type of bag they shared. I swear it just kept magically providing food, clothing, pens, drinks, etc. throughout the game.
One of the ladies lent over and said Jezza was in our forward line today. As she said this the ball was kicked deep into our forward line right into the pocket where we were sitting. As the pack got set under the ball this Carlton figure with number 25 on his back appeared from nowhere and took a screamer over the pack.
As he rose most of the crowd rose to their feet in unison as if we were part of the same ride. It was like a frozen moment in time. As the pack fell and spread across the ground, very cat-like, the Carlton player put his left hand on the ground to steady himself and took off running on an arc toward goals with the ball under his right arm.
While others were still getting back up off the ground, he steadied, kicked, goal! As this happened the same lady hugged me and said, very proudly, “that’s our Jezza!”.
That was the moment I knew I was a Carlton supporter for life and that Jezza would be my favourite player.
Of course, we won the game by three goals and Jezza went on to kick 5.3 that day and 115 goals for that season. Just as importantly, Carlton would go on to win the 1970 Grand Final over Collingwood. A great year for Jezza and Carlton supporters (new and old).
That night at the dinner table, I declared I was a Carlton supporter - much to the amusement of most of my siblings who proceeded to remind me that I would be the only one in the house who barracks for Carlton and how bad they would make life for me going forward.
When the berating got too raucous, my Mother called for silence. Mum was a quiet, reserved, private person who was more of a listener than talker, so this was a bit out of character. We always stopped if Mum raised her voice. She proceeded to say I can barrack for whoever I choose and that I will not be the only Carlton supporter in this family because she barracked for Carlton!
She had a real glint in her eye as she reminisced about our family’s move to Melbourne from country Victoria in the mid-1940s (with the first four of their eventual 11 children) to stay in Weston Street, Brunswick, with her mother, brothers and sisters. It was here that she went regularly to Carlton games with her younger brother, sisters and their friends.
Her youngest sister would also marry a neighbour whose family were all passionate Blues followers. Mum recounted well ‘The Bloodbath’ Grand Final of 1945 and the exploits of Carlton legends like Bob Chitty, Jack Howell, Bert Deacon, Ern Henfry, Ken Baxter and later Ken Hands and Ron Barassi – some of her favourites. The cat was well and truly out of the bag now!
When I think back now, I think that Mum saw the glint in my eye as an excited 11-year-old talking about his first big day at the footy and how I’d discovered my team to follow and my own hero in Alex Jesaulenko. Like a child’s belief in Santa Claus, I think she didn’t want others to spoil this and wanted me to enjoy it a little longer - just as she had all those years earlier.
Of course, that mark I took all those years ago in the playground wasn’t anything like the heights I saw Jezza regularly soar to over his distinguished career. But the childhood memory and chain of events it triggered remain priceless!
Well, it’s been over 50 years following the mighty Blues now so thanks Jezza, peace be with you and your family mate, thanks Carlton, and thanks Mum.
Go Blues.
- Mark
Carlton’s 1979 Premiership players Jim Buckley, Wayne Harmes and Alex Marcou are amongst those to have pledged their support to their former captain-coach by joining Alex Jesaulenko’s daughter Kate - an Ambassador for Fight Parkinson’s 'A Walk in the Park 2022' - in a fundraising walk commencing at Federation Square on the morning of Sunday 27 March.
Those wishing to register to walk with Team Jesaulenko are urged to click on the following link, while those preferring to make a donation can click here.
