Dukes of depth - Saturday 4 March 2000
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Why do certain players change clubs more than cavemen at
war? Answers are simple. To set themselves up financially
for life given that the career of an elite athlete in a body
contact sport is about 15 per cent of their life span. So
what do they do with the other 85 per cent?
Also we forget sometimes that footballers love playing footy so they want to prolong their involvement. The camaraderie of the sheds, the pungent smell of liniment, blokes talking it up, the coach's addresses. Adulation from the volunteers around a club. Hero worship from supporters. Ex players often have trouble adjusting to life as Fred Ordinary. Let's look closely at the career of Trent Nichols. He wanted to play football as long as possible, hence his journeyman status. Trent was Richmond's second round pick in 1986, the first year of the national draft. Nichols had forged a reputation with Tassie club Sandy Bay as a lively player who loved a goal. His years at Tigerland were productive at a time the yellow and black yacht sailed close to the wind financially. Nichols made his debut in 1988. During 1990 he played all 22 games. Averaged 16 kicks and 6 handpasses and a goal every week. Trent Nichols was runner up in the Richmond best and fairest and ninth in the Brownlow. A total of 68 matches. He may have been surfing on his own wash but at the end of the season he was surprisingly traded to West Coast in exchange for draft selection 51. The Eagles needed some pace around the ground and a fella that could crumb a goal. He was given the number 8 jumper vacated by former all Australian captain and Eagles skipper Steve Malaxos. Somehow Trent Nichols struggled. He got sucked into the vacuum cleaner of expectation. The T man made only 4 appearances in his one year. He was then drafted by the Kangaroos in 1994. You had the feeling that because of the Roos' squad of quick running players along with Allison as a crumbing goal kicker, opportunities for Trent could be as plentiful as water in the Sahara. There was a suspicion Nichols could be an insurance policy against injury or suspension. Nichols was determined to make up for lost weekends. For example, in Round 2 of 1994 against Footscray, he booted four classic goals. Two shots from 40 and two reads from packs. The following week, Nichols hammered through three goals and gave two away against Geelong. Three snags and a hand in two more despite a North loss to Brisbane in round 7. Ten games later, Nichols three majestic majors against Melbourne. The Trent Nichols form flowed over to the following year. In the Ansett Cup game against Essendon he snapped two goals that showed he still had the artistry. Nichols performed well against the Crows in Round 1. He might have had his shorts pulled down in a tackle but he still had the composure to shoot truly. Minutes later he took a gutsy mark and rammed through a goal from 45 on a 45. And against Collingwood in the depths of winter, three goals again. But competition for senior spots had the intensity of a Ginger Baker drum solo. Trent Nichols might not have had many senior opportunities in 1996, a premiership year for the Arden Streeters. However he revealed his character by winning the 1996 Gardiner Medal. The football roundabout did the full revolution when Nichols was drafted back to Punt Road in 1996. He performed well in the Ansett Cup match against the Roos. He got a goal himself and set up four others through holding on to the ball just long enough to draw opponents. Senior selection was elusive at Richmond though owing to lots of young fast players. The Trent Nichols swansong was winning the 1998 Gardiner. He joined a select band. The fourth dual Gardiner Medallists, that included Libba. Trent Nichols 107 games in 11 seasons at three clubs not counting his second stint at Richmond wearing the ill starred number 26 jumper. Nichols rode that scenic railway of football. |
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