A Long time in the making

by PAUL DAFFEY

SPECTATORS at the Northern Territory Football League match between St Mary's and Wanderers at Darwin's Marrara Oval last weekend took in the unusual sight of the Green Machine, as St Mary's is known, taking the field without a member of the Long family.

longs

Patrick, Jack and Michael Long after the historic 1000th Long game.

The absence of the Long brothers was especially noteworthy after celebrations the previous week in honour of the famous family.

Former Essendon midfielder Michael Long, the sixth of the seven brothers to wear the green guernsey, had come out of retirement the previous Saturday to join his youngest sibling, Patrick, on the field against traditional rival Darwin, the club known as the Buffaloes. By playing against the Buffaloes, Michael and Patrick took the Long brothers' cumulative tally of senior games with St Mary's to 1000.

Michael began in the midfield. He showed his appreciation of a downpour that brought relief from the late-afternoon heat by making a handful of breaks from centre bounces. Late in the game, he moved forward and created several scoring opportunities.

He was credited with three goals, though there was some suggestion he kicked only two. Wearing the No. 8 guernsey in which he had begun his St Mary's career, it is believed he was credited with a goal kicked by Brian Stanislaus, the former Sydney forward, who waived the right to his No. 8 guernsey and wore No. 9 for the day.

In any case, Long kicked the final goal of the match, sealing a 24-point win for the Saints. He was then chaired from the ground, as was Patrick, a wingman better known as PJ, and their father, Jack.

Michael, whose job as chairman of the AFL Indigenous Australian Foundation requires much travel from his Melbourne base, is unlikely to play again, but Patrick is expected to see out the season after recovering from a groin injury that sidelined him yesterday.

Jack Long played many games for St Mary's, though the exact number is unknown because details of the first decade of his career were destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Vic Ludwig, St Mary's president for more than 40 years, described him as a rugged footballer, "a real tough hombre".

Ludwig said Jack's dedication to the game was such that after a teenaged Michael told him he wanted to play basketball rather than football, the unimpressed father placed Michael's belongings on the verandah of their Darwin home, with a basketball significant among the pile. When Michael arrived home from school, Jack told him he could live in the family home only if he played football.

Thereafter, Michael stuck to the path that had been laid out when his eldest brothers, Steven, a strong-marking full-forward, and Brian, a midfield enforcer, made their senior debuts during the 1980-81 season. Six years later, in 1986-87,

Michael played in a St Mary's premiership with his five older brothers. In 1989-90, when Michael's Essendon commitments had taken precedence over St Mary's, his six brothers played in a flag together.

The seven Long brothers played alongside each other only once, in the 1988-89 preliminary final, which St Mary's lost to Darwin. On the day of the 1000-games milestone, they were all together for the celebrations, in which the club wore its mid-1970s guernseys - light green with a gold sash - for one match in honour of Jack.

Jack Long and his sons were presented with the traditional guernseys that have made way for dark green jumpers with gold monograms. Jack's daughters, Kathy and Sue, both of whom are married to prominent former St Mary's footballers, were also presented with guernseys, as was Bill Brock, their uncle. Brock is the brother of Agnes Long, the mother of the Long clan who died of breast cancer in 1983.

To top off a memorable day, several speeches were made in her honour. Jack, a man normally given to few words, spoke, as did Michael, who was seen to shed a few tears, and John Taylor, a Geelong man who coached St Mary's during most of its extraordinary premiership run over the past two decades.

Proceeds from the night - about $5000 - went to the Breast Cancer Foundation.

This article first appeared in the Sunday Age on 16 November 2003.

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