FEBEY'S FINEST

1989 Elimination Final, Melbourne versus Collingwood, VFL Park

Melbourne 17.9 (111)  defeated Collingwood 13.10 (88)  

Goals Melbourne: Bennett 4, Wilson 3, Campbell, Healy, Jackson 2, Newport, Viney, Spalding, Yeats  

Collingwood: Starcevich 3, Kelly, Banks, Brown, Cloke, Crosisca, Daicos, Hrysoulakis, Robertson, Shaw

Best Melbourne: Febey, Wilson, Stynes, Johnson,

Collingwood: Starcevich, Shaw, Wright

Forgive me for being a fraction self-indulgent in acting as the precursor to the story of Steve Febey.

But in 150 games of AFL football, by law of averages alone you’re likely to play each team in the competition roughly seven or eight times if not more, fixture dependent.

It’s also a large enough sample size to develop trends for those teams you play well against consistently and those against whom you inevitably struggle - and as sure as the day is long, every player is acutely aware of both.

In my case for example, for reasons still unknown to me I would struggle against Richmond, Essendon and the Sydney Swans - with Sydney I kinda get it, as they would employ exactly the same defensive method every time I played them, but with Richmond and Essendon I was often allowed plenty of latitude and yet still never really fired a shot against either of those two sides.

There were certain teams on the other hand, against whom I had a much healthier record throughout my career - Melbourne clearly being the best of them.

When you play well against a certain side you want to play against them every week for obvious reasons, and yet despite the Demons being my own best performed team against, I unbelievably only played them six times in my career, but would average the most disposals, kick the most goals (on average) and poll the most Brownlow votes of any other side in the competition.

So why am I banging on about all of this ?

Because if I played Melbourne six times and performed relatively well more often than not, I also would have played on - correction, I would have finished on - Steve Febey in no less than four or even five of those games.

And I reckon if anyone was bored enough to break down my games against the Demons they would find that I would play ok early on a variety of Melbourne opponents, but I would literally not get a kick in the second half or late in the game, when playing on Steve Febey.

Steve Febey was a brilliant player for the Melbourne Football Club.

His 258 games for the Demons were filled with amazing consistency, polish, reliability, versatility and pure class.

In fourteen seasons Febey would be the only player to play in both Melbourne Grand Finals in recent history (1988/2000) and would represent his home state of Tasmania in State of Origin but also Victoria and The Allies in separate years - being the only player in history to have represented all three.

He was a highly skilled midfielder with an astute football brain, who could also play key roles in defence as a shutdown defender or creative half back flanker.

While they are renowned as being a conservative football club, Melbourne’s form as a collective throughout a large portion of Febey’s career was as erratic and volatile as any other side in the AFL.

They would make Grand Finals one year and finish bottom four the next.

They would bounce back to play in Preliminary finals but then fall hard again the following season

And yet while volatility and inconsistency would plague the club for the best part of a decade, Steve Febey was a pillar of strength and relibiility the entire time, and one of the most durable, dependable and consistent players in Melbourne's illustrious history.

258 Games, 40 Goals, four times Top 3 Best and Fairest, State of Origin Representative, two Grand Finals, 1989 Pre-Season Premiership and the fifth greatest servant in the history of the Melbourne Football Club, with only David Nietz, Robert Flower, Adam Yze, and Jim Stynes playing more games for the Demons - Febey and Stynes sharing the best winning average by the way, at 51%.

He also played 17 finals, placing him eighth of all time in Melbourne’s prestigious history.

So which off Steve Febey’s 258 games would he TOTALLY RECALL as the greatest he ever played?

For an experienced player who topped 30 disposals eight times in his career with a personal best of 39, there were plenty to choose from.

His 200th game against Port Adelaide in 1998 is a sentimental favourite of the Melbourne veteran, Febey collecting 30 disposals in a significant milestone match that resulted in a 52 point demolition of the Power at the Demons’ expense.

But it would be the 1989 Elimination Final in only Febey’s second year, that he would TOTALLY RECALL as one of the greatest games he ever played.

Melbourne and Collingwood finished fourth and fifth respectively in what I consider the greatest finals series in the history of the game, with the two heavyweights of that year in Hawthorn and Geelong playing a classic Grand Final that is forever etched in history.

But in the '89 Elimination Final, the Pies would jump Melbourne early and have a healthy lead at half time, before a nine goal third quarter rampage by the Demons would turn a deficit at the half into a 23 point lead at the final change - a lead they would hold to the final siren in a classic win for the club.

Febey was clearly the best player on the ground and his stats on the day were equally as compelling;

21 Kicks (game high), 5 Marks, 6 Handballs, 27 Disposals (game high), 14 Contested Possessions, 3 Free Kicks, 5 Clearances.

Outstanding.

It was a young but classic Steve Febey performance that would hold him in good stead and give him instant credibility as a proven finals performer from that point on throughout his entire career.

“It’s hard to recall - it was so long ago,” Febey laughs.

“My 200th game against Port was probably my favourite game that I played both individually and collectively.”

“But I guess purely from an individual perspective, the Elimination final against Collingwood in my second year (1989) is one that perhaps comes to mind,” he adds.

I’ve become accustomed to AFL greats playing down their own performance in big games, and Steve Febey is no exception, but his performance should be recognised and celebrated just like every other player in the competition who delivers in big games and when it matters most for their respective clubs.

Steve Febey was a brilliant, reliable, consistent stalwart for the Melbourne Football Club, and remains one the toughest defensive opponents I ever encountered - who could read me like a book even when I was on song, and proceed to shut me, and many others far more talented than I ever was, down accordingly.

Thank You “Febes” for TOTALLY RECALLING one of the greatest games you ever played.

Aaron Lord