Brian Kekovich
Encyclopedia
Brian Kekovich is a former Australian rules football
er in the VFL/AFL
, who played for two seasons with the Carlton Football Club
.
A strong, dominant, talented, and courageous player, who was able to play hard and well through extreme pain, and always alert to the position of his team-mates, his otherwise long and productive VFL career was brought to a sudden end when he was forced to retire after suffering a severe back injury.
.
His youngest brother, Michael, recruited from Trinity Grammar, who was showing great promise at North Melbourne at the age of 16, played for the North Melbourne First XVIII on Thursday, 10 September 1970 against Footscray, in the first round of the 1970 VFL night premiership. North Melbourne lost 6.7 (43) to 14.13 (97).
Michael also played in the North Melbourne Second XVIII team that lost the 1970 preliminary final to Melbourne, and he kicked one goal in a losing team.
Michael was killed, aged 17, when he was hit by a motor-car whilst on a training run in High Street Doncaster (near Curnola Avenue) on Saturday evening 26 June 1971.
in the Ovens & Murray Football League
, Kekovich was originally signed with Richmond. He was signed up to play with Carlton immediately Richmond's hold on him had lapsed. In his first Carlton pre-season practice match for 1967 he played at full-forward against Wes Lofts
. The Melbourne newspapers were calling him "Carlton's second top recruit" for 1967 (i.e., second to Alex Jesaulenko
).
A very strong and reliable mark, and a long and accurate left-foot kick, Kekovich made his debut (as did Alex Jesaulenko
) for Carlton in Round 1, 1967.
He was a fine team player, who always played a strong and reliable team game. He was an excellent mark, and he had no hesitation passing the ball to a team-mate who was in a better position.
In one of the club's 1968 pre-season practice matches, Kekovich, playing at full-forward, had been held to only two goals by Ron Stone up to three-quarter time; in the last quarter Kekovich dominated and scored another five goals to make his total seven goals for the match.
In 1968, Carlton won every match in which Kekovich took the field, and lost each of the five matches he missed: round 2 (full-forward Peter Smith
, 3 goals), round 3 (full-forward Peter Smith, 1 goal), round 14 (full-forward Peter Smith, 0 goals), round 15 (full-forward Alex Jesaulenko
, 3 goals), and round 16 (full-forward Bill Bennett
, 2 goals).
He kicked a total of 95 career goals; he kicked 6 goals in a match twice, 5 goals four times, and 4 goals six times. He was Carlton's leading goal-kicker in 1967 and 1968, kicking 36 goals and 59 goals respectively.
votes during the 1968 season; and he was a very significant contributor to Carlton's three point 1968 Grand Final
victory over Essendon: 7.14 (56) to 8.5 (53).
He played at full forward. In extremely blustery conditions, and in a torrid match, he scored four of his team's seven goals. At one point, as he was going for a mark, he was "lined up" at the same moment by two of Essendon's toughest defenders, Alex Epis (who was playing his last VFL game, and had been instructed by the Essendon coach John Coleman to "belt" Kekovich) and Neil Evans
. Neither Epis nor Evans knew that his team-mate was running at Kekovich and, as Kekovich noticed both approaching, he used all of his evasive skills to get out of their road. Evans smashed into Epis and knocked him out; and Kekovich remained unscathed.
Kekovich's four goals were scored before half-time, and it seemed that he was carrying an injury for the second half of the match. He was one of Carlton's best players, and he had made a very strong contribution to their win.
Des Tuddenham
, reporting for The Age, wrote: "I saw one of Brian Kekovich's kicks for goal, aimed at the left hand post, swing over to the other behind post and then come back and go through for a goal, so the wind was certainly unpredictable".
Premiers, Sturt Football Club
, he sought treatment for a severe back injury, and was advised to retire from the game immediately, or risk becoming permanently paralysed.
He had kept the severity and nature of his back ailment to himself, and the Carlton officials were not aware that the courageous and highly motivated Kekovich was secretly receiving extensive treatment, including acupuncture, each week, at his own expense.
In 1969 he finally revealed that he had been badly injured when he had been kicked on the top of his right hip during a match against Fitzroy in 1968.
He played his first game for the 1969 season, with Carlton Reserves, against Essendon on 31 May 1969 (round 9). He “showed outstanding form” and kicked four goals in the match; and "he reported no ill-effects from the back injury … which he had suffered towards the end of last season". Carlton were hoping that he would soon be restored to the senior team, because, in his absence, "the Carlton selectors [were] known to be unwilling to waste the brilliance of Alex Jesaulenko at full-forward".
He played on 16 June (round 10) against North Melbourne, once again he scored four goals. He played against Fitzroy on 21 June (round 11), scoring one goal.
On Thursday, 26 June 1969, Kekovich applied for a clearance from Carlton to North Melbourne, on the grounds that he wanted to play with his brother Sam. He "trained lightly" on that Thursday evening, and "did not speak to the match committee about a clearance".
Carlton refused his request on the basis that, if he was indeed fit to play senior VFL football, Carlton needed him in their team. The match committee that had considered his request, had also sought the advice of the club doctor about the nature of his back injury. The club doctor "told them that at no time this season had Kekovich been fully fit".
On these grounds, the Carlton selectors did not consider him for the weekend's Reserves Grade match, and said that "[Kekovich] would no be considered until the doctor had given him a fitness clearance".
Carlton then waited to be fully informed in relation to the true extent of Kekovich's injury, his fitness levels, and their estimation of the likelihood of such an outstanding, talented footballer ever being able to return to top level VFL football once again and, hopefully, play a dominant part in Carlton's on-going future.
He did not play again for the Carlton Reserve grade team in 1969.
In February 1970, the Carlton secretary, Bert Deacon
, apparently now in possession of the medical report from the Carlton doctor, announced that Kekovich, who had been training quite intensely in the preceding few months had been cleared, on "compassionate grounds", to North Melbourne, so that he could be with his two brothers.
Once he had transferred to North Melbourne he seemed to be training well and to be in good shape. In a March pre-season training match against Wangaratta Rovers
, playing at full-forward, "Kekovich led well and kicked accurately, finishing with eight goals".
However, by the time that the 1970 home-and-away season started, his back injuries were limiting his capacity to train; and, having bravely played four Second XVIII games for North Melbourne, he was dropped from the North Melbourne training list in May 1970.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er in the VFL/AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, who played for two seasons with the Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
.
A strong, dominant, talented, and courageous player, who was able to play hard and well through extreme pain, and always alert to the position of his team-mates, his otherwise long and productive VFL career was brought to a sudden end when he was forced to retire after suffering a severe back injury.
The Kekovich brothers
Brian is the older brother of former and player Sam KekovichSam Kekovich
Sam Kekovich is an Australian media personality, sports commentator and former Australian rules football player.He is well known for his controversial behaviour, both on and off the field, and most recently for his series of satirical advertisements as the spokesman for Meat and Livestock...
.
His youngest brother, Michael, recruited from Trinity Grammar, who was showing great promise at North Melbourne at the age of 16, played for the North Melbourne First XVIII on Thursday, 10 September 1970 against Footscray, in the first round of the 1970 VFL night premiership. North Melbourne lost 6.7 (43) to 14.13 (97).
Michael also played in the North Melbourne Second XVIII team that lost the 1970 preliminary final to Melbourne, and he kicked one goal in a losing team.
Michael was killed, aged 17, when he was hit by a motor-car whilst on a training run in High Street Doncaster (near Curnola Avenue) on Saturday evening 26 June 1971.
Carlton
Recruited from Myrtleford Football ClubMyrtleford Football Club
The Myrtleford Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is an Australian Rules Football club playing in the Ovens & Murray Football League .The club is based in the town of Myrtleford, in north east Victoria on the Ovens River....
in the Ovens & Murray Football League
Ovens & Murray Football League
The Ovens and Murray Football League, often referred to locally as the O&M, is a semi-professional Australian rules football league based around ten clubs in north-eastern Victoria and the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, and affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League...
, Kekovich was originally signed with Richmond. He was signed up to play with Carlton immediately Richmond's hold on him had lapsed. In his first Carlton pre-season practice match for 1967 he played at full-forward against Wes Lofts
Wes Lofts
Wes Lofts is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League during the 1960s.A key defender, Lofts represented the Victorian interstate team in both 1963 and 1967...
. The Melbourne newspapers were calling him "Carlton's second top recruit" for 1967 (i.e., second to Alex Jesaulenko
Alex Jesaulenko
Alex 'Jezza' Jesaulenko MBE is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He is regarded as one of the game's greatest-ever players and is an official Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame...
).
A very strong and reliable mark, and a long and accurate left-foot kick, Kekovich made his debut (as did Alex Jesaulenko
Alex Jesaulenko
Alex 'Jezza' Jesaulenko MBE is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He is regarded as one of the game's greatest-ever players and is an official Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame...
) for Carlton in Round 1, 1967.
Battle for Clearance
When Carlton applied for a clearance for Kekovich in March 1967, Myrtleford refused to clear him, but granted him six match permits. Despite his second request for a clearance, Myrtleford demanded that he return to Myrtleford immediately he had played the six matches. Kekovich threatened to remain in Melbourne, and stay out of football altogether if Myrtleford did not clear him. He was cleared at the last moment by Myrtleford, just in time for him to play in round seven (and, therefore, not miss a match).Career
He played 34 senior games for Carlton (17 games in 1967, and 17 in 1968).He was a fine team player, who always played a strong and reliable team game. He was an excellent mark, and he had no hesitation passing the ball to a team-mate who was in a better position.
In one of the club's 1968 pre-season practice matches, Kekovich, playing at full-forward, had been held to only two goals by Ron Stone up to three-quarter time; in the last quarter Kekovich dominated and scored another five goals to make his total seven goals for the match.
In 1968, Carlton won every match in which Kekovich took the field, and lost each of the five matches he missed: round 2 (full-forward Peter Smith
Peter V. Smith
Peter Victor Smith is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne and Carlton in the Victorian Football League ....
, 3 goals), round 3 (full-forward Peter Smith, 1 goal), round 14 (full-forward Peter Smith, 0 goals), round 15 (full-forward Alex Jesaulenko
Alex Jesaulenko
Alex 'Jezza' Jesaulenko MBE is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He is regarded as one of the game's greatest-ever players and is an official Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame...
, 3 goals), and round 16 (full-forward Bill Bennett
Bill Bennett (footballer)
William Bennett is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the VFL during the 1960s.A forward from the Victorian town of Maffra, Bennett played 11 games with Carlton which included the 1968 Grand Final...
, 2 goals).
He kicked a total of 95 career goals; he kicked 6 goals in a match twice, 5 goals four times, and 4 goals six times. He was Carlton's leading goal-kicker in 1967 and 1968, kicking 36 goals and 59 goals respectively.
Last senior match
He received four Brownlow MedalBrownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
votes during the 1968 season; and he was a very significant contributor to Carlton's three point 1968 Grand Final
1968 VFL Grand Final
The 1968 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1968. It was the 72nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...
victory over Essendon: 7.14 (56) to 8.5 (53).
He played at full forward. In extremely blustery conditions, and in a torrid match, he scored four of his team's seven goals. At one point, as he was going for a mark, he was "lined up" at the same moment by two of Essendon's toughest defenders, Alex Epis (who was playing his last VFL game, and had been instructed by the Essendon coach John Coleman to "belt" Kekovich) and Neil Evans
Neil Evans (footballer)
Neil Evans is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League .Evans, who spent his early football years with both Essendon Baptists St John's juniors and University High School Old Boys, played his football as a ruckman...
. Neither Epis nor Evans knew that his team-mate was running at Kekovich and, as Kekovich noticed both approaching, he used all of his evasive skills to get out of their road. Evans smashed into Epis and knocked him out; and Kekovich remained unscathed.
Kekovich's four goals were scored before half-time, and it seemed that he was carrying an injury for the second half of the match. He was one of Carlton's best players, and he had made a very strong contribution to their win.
Des Tuddenham
Des Tuddenham
Desmond Vincent Tuddenham is a former Australian rules footballer who played during the 1960s and 1970s. He was a half forward flanker....
, reporting for The Age, wrote: "I saw one of Brian Kekovich's kicks for goal, aimed at the left hand post, swing over to the other behind post and then come back and go through for a goal, so the wind was certainly unpredictable".
Back Injury
Unable to play in Carlton's match in Adelaide, on the Saturday following the VFL Grand Final, against the 1968 SAFLSouth Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
Premiers, Sturt Football Club
Sturt Football Club
Sturt Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League. The club is best known for its period of dominance from 1966–76 under legendary coach Jack Oatey, during which it revolutionised the style of play by emphasising teamwork and accurate ball...
, he sought treatment for a severe back injury, and was advised to retire from the game immediately, or risk becoming permanently paralysed.
He had kept the severity and nature of his back ailment to himself, and the Carlton officials were not aware that the courageous and highly motivated Kekovich was secretly receiving extensive treatment, including acupuncture, each week, at his own expense.
In 1969 he finally revealed that he had been badly injured when he had been kicked on the top of his right hip during a match against Fitzroy in 1968.
Carlton Reserves
Still hoping that he could return to playing senior football with Carlton, he rested, received treatment, and began training as soon as he was able to do so.He played his first game for the 1969 season, with Carlton Reserves, against Essendon on 31 May 1969 (round 9). He “showed outstanding form” and kicked four goals in the match; and "he reported no ill-effects from the back injury … which he had suffered towards the end of last season". Carlton were hoping that he would soon be restored to the senior team, because, in his absence, "the Carlton selectors [were] known to be unwilling to waste the brilliance of Alex Jesaulenko at full-forward".
He played on 16 June (round 10) against North Melbourne, once again he scored four goals. He played against Fitzroy on 21 June (round 11), scoring one goal.
On Thursday, 26 June 1969, Kekovich applied for a clearance from Carlton to North Melbourne, on the grounds that he wanted to play with his brother Sam. He "trained lightly" on that Thursday evening, and "did not speak to the match committee about a clearance".
Carlton refused his request on the basis that, if he was indeed fit to play senior VFL football, Carlton needed him in their team. The match committee that had considered his request, had also sought the advice of the club doctor about the nature of his back injury. The club doctor "told them that at no time this season had Kekovich been fully fit".
On these grounds, the Carlton selectors did not consider him for the weekend's Reserves Grade match, and said that "[Kekovich] would no be considered until the doctor had given him a fitness clearance".
Carlton then waited to be fully informed in relation to the true extent of Kekovich's injury, his fitness levels, and their estimation of the likelihood of such an outstanding, talented footballer ever being able to return to top level VFL football once again and, hopefully, play a dominant part in Carlton's on-going future.
He did not play again for the Carlton Reserve grade team in 1969.
North Melbourne
In 1970, the courageous Kekovich (still only 24) sought, and was granted a clearance from Carlton to North Melbourne.In February 1970, the Carlton secretary, Bert Deacon
Bert Deacon
Bert Deacon was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League . He is remembered for being Carlton's first ever Brownlow Medal winner....
, apparently now in possession of the medical report from the Carlton doctor, announced that Kekovich, who had been training quite intensely in the preceding few months had been cleared, on "compassionate grounds", to North Melbourne, so that he could be with his two brothers.
Once he had transferred to North Melbourne he seemed to be training well and to be in good shape. In a March pre-season training match against Wangaratta Rovers
Wangaratta Rovers Football Club
The Wangaratta Rovers, officially known as the Wangaratta Rovers Football & Netball Club are an Australian rules football club based in Wangaratta, Victoria. They play in the Ovens & Murray Football League, which they joined in 1950. Their nickname is the Hawks. Their home ground is WJ Findlay Oval...
, playing at full-forward, "Kekovich led well and kicked accurately, finishing with eight goals".
However, by the time that the 1970 home-and-away season started, his back injuries were limiting his capacity to train; and, having bravely played four Second XVIII games for North Melbourne, he was dropped from the North Melbourne training list in May 1970.