PORT ADELAIDE EDITORIAL – ROUND 3 2019 v BRISBANE – GABBA
TOM ROCKLIFF
Ask most football historians about the 2009 Pre-Season Draft and they’ll tell you it was all about Ben Cousins. About how Richmond threw a career lifeline to the fallen West Coast captain and Brownlow Medallist, selecting him with the sixth and final pick.
Football historians with a Port Adelaide leaning will tell you it was the draft via which the Power’s 2004 premiership star Josh Carr returned to Alberton after a stint with Fremantle via selection #2, and Melbourne historians will point to the choice of the exciting Liam Jurrah at #1.
But ask a football historian with a Brisbane focus and they will identify one of the club’s biggest draft coups, and how they secured a 154-game dual club champion, All-Australian and two-year club captain with pick #5.
Tom Rockliff re-wrote the club record books, posting a possession average of 26.5 which stands above even the great midfielders of the triple premiership side of the early 2000s. Like Michael Voss, Simon Black, Nigel Lappin, Luke Power and Jason Akermanis.
Overlooked by every club in the 2008 National Draft despite being the leading goal-kicker in the old TAC Cup in 2008 as a medium-sized forward and winning the Murray Bushrangers B&F, Rockliff was a Brisbane favorite from 2009 to 2017.
Not any more.
On Saturday night Rockliff will return to the Gabba for the first time as an intruder.
Having played against his former side for the first time at Adelaide Oval in Round 3 last year, when Port won by five points, he’ll take on the Lions on their own turf for the first time
Rockliff, secured by Port as a restricted free agent and the leading possession-winner in the AFL this season through the first two rounds, won’t be short of familiar faces among the Lions camp.
He has close ties to no less than 24 players on the 2019 Brisbane list.
Among them, only Daniel Rich preceded him at the Gabba. And only then by 17 days.
Rich was pick #7 in the 2008 National Draft on 29 November 2008 and on 16 December the error of Rockliff’s initial rejection was put right via pick #5 in the Pre-Season Draft.
Rich played his 18th game in Rockliff’s AFL debut in Round 18 2009 and was a constant throughout Rockliff’s time at the club.
Thereafter, Rockliff played in the AFL debut of Ryan Lester, Dayne Zorko, Darcy Gardiner, Nick Robertson, Lewis Taylor, Dan McStay, Tom Cutler, Eric Hipwood, Ben Keays, Archie Smith, Alex Witherden, Hugh McCluggage, Jarrod Berry, Cedric Cox, Jacob Allison and Sam Skinner and only missed the first games of Harris Andrews and Rhys Mathieson through injury.
He also played in the first Lions game of imports Mitch Robinson, Allen Christensen, Stef Martin, Ryan Bastinac and Josh Walker. And he captained them all.
And if the Round 1 reception from Brisbane fans for West Coast former Lions Jack Redden and Elliot Yeo is any pointer Rockliff can expect to be loudly booed every time he is involved in the play on Saturday night.
Rockliff will have recent history between the clubs on his side. Under coach Ken Hinkley Port have won their last give games against Brisbane, and seven of their last eight, losing only in Round 7 2015 at the Gabba.
