Champs Mackie, Lonergan announce their retirements
There’s no one I respect more, says Scott
IT was 11 years ago to the day on Saturday that Tom Lonergan’s life was changed forever at Simonds Stadium.
The now infamous incident when he backed back with the flight of the ball and was collected by Melbourne forward Brad Miller has been replayed on countless occasions and the tale retold by Lonergan more often than he would like to share.
But despite the passing of time, it is still clearly as fresh in his mind as if it had just happened.
For when GWS forward Toby Greene copped a knee in the back from Brandan Parfitt in a marking contest late in the first quarter, it was Lonergan who went to him to ensure he took all necessary precautions before he played on.
“I know he got one that looked like it was right in his kidney, so I just said to him ‘mate, make sure you check your piss,’ because you don’t want to be pissing blood,” Lonergan said.
“I was worried for him a little bit (because) he looked like he got hit right in the spot and he looked pretty sore. You worry for guys when they get hit like that.
“Although we’re ruthless competitors on the field we still have that compassion for your teammates and opposition players because we all put our bodies on the line and risk serious injury when we go out to play
“So when you see a guy like that who does put his body on the line you want to make sure he’s OK.”
It speaks to the type of person Lonergan is that despite everything riding on the match – and everything he was going through on a personal level that would play out after the game – he was able to take the time to check on the
of an opponent. actions are an example of why g coach Chris Scott rates him as he best people in football he has d the pleasure of working de, and after the 44-point win e Giants, the 33-year-old joined ate Andrew Mackie in revealing s would be the pair’s last season. football journeys of Lonergan ckie have been so different and r bond as premiership players nds can never be broken.
Both are laidback guys who enjoy the banter of the locker room, and Scott conceded it was difficult to find the right words to pay tribute to his champion defenders.
“I can say this hand on heart, there is no one in the game I respect more than those two,” Scott said.
“Put aside the quality of their football – which was at an extremely high level over a long period of time – but as people, if you were saying to first, second or third-year players at a footy club we want you to be like someone, you would say those guys.
“They give to the team, they help their teammates, and they sacrifice their own interests if it is necessary for the betterment of not just the team itself but the football club in general.
“They represent everything that we want to be as Geelong people and even that is not speaking in glowing enough terms.”
Saturday night just happened to be Lonergan’s 200th match since that near fatal knock that resulted in his kidney being removed.
It was also the 184th time in his 207game career that he has played in the same side as Mackie, with the majority of those in winning teams.
In typical fashion the announcement was made with the club and the team’s interests in mind, but in a way that also allowed them to say thanks to their loyal fans.
“Mack and I have been chatting about it for the last week and knew this was probably the right time to go out,” Lonergan said.
“We wanted to do it at a really lowkey time and obviously it was a big game for us, we had to lock down a top two position and hopefully get the home final so we didn’t want to make it about us during the week.
“We just wanted to worry about getting the win and then doing this (media) sort of stuff afterwards.”
Like so many of the retiring greats of 2017, it will be sad to see them go. But their tale is not quite complete. September is calling, and you get the feeling both Lonergan and Mackie have still got some happy life-changing moments or two left to play out yet.