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 During
the 1980s as, in
terms of its status,
influence and economic
authority, the VFL
rapidly developed
into a 'league apart',
concepts such as
loyalty and commitment
on the part of players
began increasingly
to be viewed as
either anachronistic
or absurd. This
was particularly
so in relation to
the competitions,
notably the SANFL
and WAFL, which
were developing
into little more
than breeding grounds
for VFL talent.
Whereas in the 1960s,
players like Craig
Bradley, Rob Wiley,
John Platten, Simon
Beasley and the
like would have
happily played out
their careers in
their home states,
comfortable in the
knowledge that they
were playing football
of elite standard
in the company of
some of the finest
players in the land,
by the early '80s
it was apparent
that Melbourne was
the game's indisputable
'Mecca', in terms
both of playing
standards and overall
significance. Champion
players who opted
to stay at home
in defiance of what
was becoming an
almost irresistible
pull eastwards were
very much the exception
rather than the
rule.
In South Australia,
the absolute quintessence
of this kind of
exception was manifest
in Norwood's hyper-aggressive
and formidably talented
centreman Garry
McIntosh. Not even
the admission to
the expanded VFL
competition - re-named
'the Australian
Football League'
in 1990 - of a local
club, the Adelaide
Crows, could persuade
'Macca' to compromise
his principles.
As Mike Coward eloquently
observed, McIntosh
is an anachronism,
given that he was
a product of the
avaricious and uncaring
1980s. While his
unremittingly hard
and distinctive
style of play is
well suited to the
1990s, his football
philosophy belongs
to another time.
He is not driven
by the prospect
of fame and fortune
but by a deep and
abiding love for
his club. He is
a loyalist who will
not be compromised;
cannot be bought,
as Neil Craig once
observed. As the
man who led Norwood
into the 1990s he
symbolised solidarity;
the unshakeable
cornerstone of the
playing staff at
an uncertain time
in the evolution
of the game in South
Australia.
McIntosh, who made
his league debut
for the Redlegs
in 1982, and went
on to amass a club
record 371 games
over the course
of the next seventeen
seasons, ultimately
became synonymous
with Norwood, there
was nevertheless
an element of paradox
about the inextricable
association which
developed between
the working class,
plain speaking,
belligerently unkempt
former Hope Valley
junior and the arch
'blue-bloods' of
the Parade.
If he looked somewhat
out of place alongside
the well-groomed
likes of Michael
Aish, Danny Jenkins,
Phil Gallagher and
Tom Warhurst, Macca's
impact on the team
was every bit as
pronounced, and
was apparent right
from the start.
In his debut season
he was a key contributor
- indeed, in the
view of many observers,
the best player
afield - as the
Redlegs overwhelmed
Glenelg on grand
final day to the
tune of 62 points.
Two years later
he was again conspicuous
as Norwood overcame
its arch nemesis
Port Adelaide by
9 points after battling
its way through
to the decisive
match of the season
from the elimination
final.
As staunchly committed
to South Australia
as he was to the
Redlegs - somewhat
ironically, given
that his father
was a New South
Welshman - McIntosh
was often at his
best in interstate
matches, of which
he would undoubtedly
have played many
more than his final
tally of 12 had
the state of origin
selectors not elected,
with dubious logic,
to discount SANFL-based
players from consideration
following the arrival
on the scene of
the Crows. One reason
for suggesting that
the state selectors'
logic was 'dubious'
was that, during
the mid-1990s, Garry
McIntosh produced
probably the finest
football of his
career, on a par
with virtually anything
on show in the AFL
at the time. Magarey
Medallist in 1994
and '95, he would
undoubtedly have
derived much greater
satisfaction from
leading his beloved
Redlegs to a comprehensive
premiership triumph
in 1997 over the
team that had dominated
the SANFL for much
of the preceding
decade, Port Adelaide.
After retiring as
a player in 1998,
McIntosh fulfilled
another ambition
when he replaced
Neville Roberts
as senior coach
of the club in 2002.
When, two years
later, it was announced,
following the team's
worst run for over
thirty years, that
his contract would
not be renewed,
he demonstrated
trademark loyalty
and maturity by
agreeing to remain
in post until the
end of the season.
Over twenty years
after Garry McIntosh
made his senior
playing debut with
the Redlegs, the
football landscape
has altered substantially
and irrevocably,
in some cases for
the better, in others
emphatically not.
One way in which
the game has irreversibly
deteriorated is
that it is extremely
doubtful if it will
ever again permit
a player of the
principles, attitude
and qualities of
Garry McIntosh to
emerge, let alone
to flourish and
entertain for the
better part of two
decades.
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