Almost thirty four years had passed since the last time David Rhys-Jones and Brent Crosswell had met off the footy field. Last week it was in the luxury of Garry Baker’s RockWall restaurant in Hobart’s Salamanca Place. Thirty four years ago it was on a Monday night at the VFL tribunal.
The then 19 year old Rhys-Jones was facing five charges from the recent clash at the MCG between his South Melbourne Swans and the Melbourne Demons. Luckily Rhys managed to avoid any sanction for the first four charges and decided to plead guilty to his last charge. The last charge happened to be for striking Peter Smith, yes that Peter Smith, 33 games for Carlton and former team-mate of Brent Crosswell, also the son of legendary Melbourne coach, Norm Smith. Who is of course the VFL legend for whom the Norm Smith medal is named, which David Rhys-Jones won in the 1987 Carlton premiership. Footy can weave some intricate webs at times.
Rhys, struck Peter in the aftermath of a tussle with Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan, where Rhys told the tribunal that Peter Smith tried to break up the two wrestling footballers using extenuating circumstances. In fact the two circumstances which were extenuated were so painful they resulted in the subsequent strike to the noggin. The tribunal decided to give Rhys four weeks on the sidelines and his 1981 season was over. Needless to say, Rhys decided never to plead guilty again at the tribunal.
Brent Crosswell was up for ‘charging’ Rhys-Jones earlier in the game. In an act of symmetry the tribunal also dealt Tiger a four week suspension and the end of his 1981 VFL season. Brent was towards the end of his career and it looked like this suspension may spell the end. But as fate would have it Tiger would go around again for two more seasons continuing the great proton and electron dance of repulsion and attraction he and Ron Barrassi had been doing for thirteen years.