Dukes of depth - Saturday 15 April 2000
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Hey isn't link a popular word? I mean you've got City Link and CentreLink
and TradeLink and ThriftyLink. But the most important link of all is that
between Adelaide and Hawthorn. Hawks' premiership player Darren Jarman
returned to the city of spires and starred in the Crows' Grand Final wins
of '97 and '98. Also that highly skilled and gutsy performer Tony Hall was
a member of the Hawthorn premiership teams in 1988 and 1991. He was picked
up by the Crows in 1994 and took over the number 9 jumper from Bruce
Lindner.
The Adelaide to Hawthorn link was in the shape of a fella that never got too many accolades. He arrived at Glenferrie not by helicopter but probably in a modest Mitsubishi built at the Tonsley Park factory opposite the South Adelaide Football Club Social Club. The player in question was Randall Bone. He had a solid foundation with the South Panthers as a matter of fact the club Hawk legend Don Scott once coached for 6 weeks. The Bone man was a big raw ruckman that joined the Crows for their foundation year of 1991. He played his first senior game in 1992 wearing the stratospheric number 51 guernsey. His locker would have been right next door to Sean Rehn's. The two giants down that end of the rooms might have tilted the earth a fraction off its axis. Randall was 194 centimetres and close to 100 kilograms. Coach Graham Cornes used Bone as a human battering ram to create a safe path for the likes of Tony McGuinness and Greg Anderson. The jumbo sized guy wasn't the most highly skilled footballer in the League but he had ticker to burn. A heartbeat that would register on the Richter Scale. For example in the 1993 Round 20 game against Melbourne at Football Park, Jim Stynes and Randall Bone both with eyes only for the ball crashed into each other at a marking contest. It was like a head on collision of two semis on a straight road. Jimmy copped a blood nose that looked as though a tap had been turned on and red water was flowing at full pressure. Randall B was KOd. He was squeegeed off the grass and deposited on a stretcher. He played no further part in that game. Bone spent 1994 making a contribution at South Adelaide. It was crystal clear he wasn't going to fit into a speed orientated Crows outfit. Career over after 12 senior starts at Adelaide between 1992 and 1993. It was something of a wild turkey surprise that Randall was traded to Hawthorn in '94. He was given the number 16 jumper worn by such Hawk stars as Andrew Gowers, Terry Wallace and Norm Bussell. It made sense RB at Hawthorn. The team needed a bit of height. And physicality has always been appreciated at Linda Crescent. Bone indicated he could step up for big occasions. During the 1995 Round 12 Friday night game against Essendon at the MCG, Randall took three towering marks and booted two long goals. Unfortunately the Hawks went down by 18 points. Two rounds later a tussle with the Eagles at Waverley. Bone put some skills on show. He took a sensational one hander mark halfway through the last term. He had the composure to slam through a set shot goal from 55. But it was not enough to prevent a loss 8.8 to 14.13 The incredible form of Salmon from 1996 at Glenferrie suggested the hieroglyphics were on the wall of the brown and gold pyramid for Randall Bone. The big Fish had mobility and athleticism that Randall couldn't compete with. He was retained on the list in case the number 4 broke down from spending all day on the ball for 22 weeks. But Fish never faltered. All fillet meant no bones. Randall played 28 senior games from 1992 to 1998. He chalked up around 120 in the Twos. Bone was a link with old fashioned loyalty. |
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