THE CALTHORPE CONUNDRUM

1994 State of Origin SA v Victoria, Football Park (Crowd 51,515)

"A match regarded as one of the greatest games ever played of Australian Football."

South Australia 11.9. (75) Defeated Victoria 10.13. (73)

EJ Whitten Medal – David Calthorpe (Victoria)

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he doesn’t exist. 

This 'perception' that some of us humans are banished to a place called Hell as an afterlife location where evil souls and unrepentant sinners are subject to punitive suffering, is in fact a very scary reality for many people and a belief system that cannot be changed.

In a sporting sense, and the general community more broadly, perceptions, or misconceptions more appropriately, are often a fickle beast, regularly unfair and inaccurate, and in many cases a reality for some that are also impossible to ever change.

Enter a breath of fresh air - former Essendon Premiership superstar and Brisbane Lions/North Melbourne utility, David Calthorpe.

If truth be told, dealing with inaccurate perceptions is nothing new for David Calthorpe – he essentially dealt with them successfully and put them to the sword throughout his entire, highly decorated 114 game career with three superlative football clubs, all of whom were at the absolute peak of their powers throughout the same period.

Growing up in East Keilor, it was inevitable Calthorpe would be an integral member of the 1993 Premiership Baby Bombers, learning his craft and forging his own stellar individual career alongside local teammates and close friends of a similar age in Joe Misiti, Mark Mercuri, Steven Alessio, Dustin Fletcher and Ricky Olarenshaw.

This group in particular would take the AFL by storm at a very young age (all under 21 in 1993) both individually and collectively, dominating the now defunct Under 19 competition, VFL reserves and ultimately at senior level in the AFL.

But unlike some of his perhaps more high profile teammates mentioned above, David Calthorpe had a classic conundrum – dealing with the external perception, unfairly at times I might add, of being considered slow, overweight, aerobically inferior and not your stock standard junior AFL prototype who would survive and excel at senior level.

“There was always a misconception throughout my entire career that I was overweight and couldn’t run,” Calthorpe says candidly.

“The external noise couldn’t help but bother me at times because in reality it was completely unsubstantiated and in-fact just incorrect – I was the fittest bloke at Essendon and ended up being exactly the same at North Melbourne,” he adds. 

David Calthorpe was a brilliant AFL Footballer, a great clubman and teammate, and living proof that despite external perceptions, anything in life is possible for those who dare to dream.

Fiercely determined, super competitive and highly adaptable, Calthorpe was as hard as a cat’s head with supreme persistence, innate self-belief, and an absolute refusal to fail.

Furthermore, these so called 'perceptions' held by many outside the Essendon inner sanctum in fact could not be further from the truth. Calthorpe was always one of the fittest athletes at all three clubs for whom he played, with an outstanding work ethic and approach to his training that would de-bunk any such perceptions to the contrary, time, after time, after time.

Adding to the intrigue of this story is to consider David Calthorpe’s coaches throughout his illustrious playing career.

Debuting in 1992, he would of course play the majority of his career under the maestro Kevin Sheedy, winning a premiership in just his second year on an AFL list with the Bombers in 1993.

"The football world in general were very naive in thinking Calthorpe was just a little midget who couldn't kick," Sheedy says.

"Opposition clubs focussed on Hird, Mercuri and Lloyd - but David Calthorpe was a great player in his own right - and the state game you've mentioned here in 1994 was clear evidence of how good he could be," he adds.

In 1999, he would move to Brisbane under AFL legend Leigh Matthews, just as the Lions were on the verge of absolute greatness and total domination, the club playing in four of the next six grand finals and delivering three historic premierships within the same period.

And in the millennium year of 2000, Calthorpe in the twilight of his career would play one final season at North Melbourne under dual premiership coach Dennis Pagan – the Kangaroos of course coming off a Premiership the previous year in 1999 in one of the most dominant seasons in history.

“It was an absolute privilege to play under three of the undisputed greats in Sheeds (Kevin Sheedy), Lethal (Leigh Matthews) and Dennis Pagan,” Calthorpe says.

“All three had their own individual style and methods but their knowledge of the game, leadership qualities and ability to get the best out of their players was just phenomenal, and set me up to then have five great years in the footy department at Essendon,’ he adds.

So which of David Calthorpe’s 114 game career would he Totally Recall as his absolute finest?

The 1993 Premiership is an obvious career highlight (his importance in quelling the influence of Craig Bradley was as significant as it is underrated), as are Calthorpe’s individual career game highs of 30 disposals (three times), 23 kicks, 13 handballs, 12 marks, 9 contested possessions, 8 clearances and 5 tackles.

But it would the 1994 State of Origin between Victoria and South Australia in front of a capacity crowd at Football Park that would act as centre stage for one of the best games of football ever played, and more specifically one of David Calthorpe’s greatest ever performances.

Both States were flushed with superstars – South Australia comprising the Jarman Brothers Darren and Andrew, Tony Modra, Stephen Kernahan, John Platten, Mark Riccuito, Gavin Wanganeen, Shaun Rehn, Nigel Smart, Chris McDermott and Ben Hart.

Victoria on the other hand were equally as talented, boasting Gary Ablett Senior, Gary Lyon, Gavin Brown, Nathan Burke, Garry Hocking, Mark Mercuri, Mark Harvey, Stephen Tingay, Stephen Silvagni, Chris Langford and the late Jim Stynes. 

It was a classic arm wrestle all night, Modra and Ablett simply brilliant going head to head up front for their respective states while the midfield match ups were of the highest ilk, with David Calthorpe leading the way for Victoria in amazingly just his first State of Origin appearance – and clearly the most dominant player on the ground on the night.

“It was just an unbelievable game of footy to be a part of,” Calthorpe says.

“To be surrounded by such superstars on each side – many who I’d idolised myself as a young kid growing up, to then be out there playing with them and to contribute on the night was obviously one of the absolute highlights of my career.”

Sit back and enjoy the last couple of minutes from one of the best ever State of Origin matches (click on share in the right corner then the actual link itself for it to work).

David Calthorpe is a brilliant success story – underrated in many respects given the adversity he faced and external misconceptions he inevitably consistently overcame throughout an illustrious career at three outstanding football clubs. 

Thank you for Totally Recalling one of the greatest games you ever played.

Aaron Lord