Where Are They Now?: The Collards(Part One)
Posted Nov 10, 2009 - 7:08 AM
by Ron Head
The beginning of Brad Collard’s career at South Fremantle was anything but promising.
“You’ve got no skills, mate, you’d be better off somewhere else,†were the jarring words from coach Mal Brown on one of the Quairading recruit’s first training nights at Fremantle Oval.
“It was a bit of a rocket at the time,†recalled Brad when he spoke with Footygoss recently. “But with a lot of hard work and perseverence, I was able to convince him otherwise, and to his credit he changed his opinion.â€
Much to the dismay of his father, Cliff snr, who played league football with East Perth in the late sixties, Brad and brothers Cliff and Derek were always going to play at South Fremantle.
Growing up deep in the Perth Football club’s territory, that ambition wasn’t going to prove an easy task, especially as the three boys all showed promise. As juniors, it was Derek and Cliff, rather than Brad, who won the awards. All were selected in Perth District combined sides. Local schoolteacher, Gary Taylor, was a friend of former South president Terry Dean, and he kept a close eye on the young brothers.
The family moved to Fremantle, but, being tied to Perth, the boys had to reside there for eighteen months before becoming eligible to play with the Bulldogs. While Derek made the Teal Cup side, Brad went to Kwinana, where he played with the seniors. “Kwinana coach, Tony Morley, was a great mentor,†Collard said. “ He told me what to expect at League level, the areas of my game that needed improvement, and impressed on me the importance of hard work.â€
In 1983 Collard lined up with the rampaging South Fremantle colts team, coached by Don Haddow, as a rover, and was part of the side’s second premiership which made it two in a row, a sequence that would blow out to five before it ended.
After his initial admonishment from league coach Mal Brown, Collard made his debut midway through the 1984 season, against Swan Districts. “That opened my eyes,†he recalled. “I was playing on blokes like Bill Skwirowski and Tom Mullooly, and they were all tough customers.â€
At the end of the season he was named best first year player for South.
Reunited with his colts coach when Haddow was appointed coach in 1985, Brad was used mainly as an on baller and rover, where he was a serviceable player without being a standout, a knee injury in a match at Perth Oval sending him to the sidelines for a considerable period.
It was during Stan Magro’s reign as coach in 1987 that he was moved to a wing, a position that suited his competitive style of play. His leadership qualities were recognised when he was appointed captain, a position he relinquished with the return to the club of Maurice Rioli in 1988, but again held from1990 to 1992.
A team oriented player, Brad Collard was a tough competitor who never liked being beaten. By his own admission, he wasn’t the most gifted of footballers, but he was one who made the most of what he had. At 175 cms and 75 kgs, he was of short, stocky build, a reliable mark, and had good disposal, which he used to good effect as a linkman with the Bulldogs.
Brad and his brothers never tasted Premiership glory at league level, but on two occasions against Claremont in 89 and East Fremantle in 92 they got close but fell agonisingly short on that special day in September.
The premiership losses were major disappointments for Brad , however playing his one and only state game in 1990 against South Australia in Adelaide with brother Cliff was a compensation.In a close encounter won by the home side, both were among their State’s best players, Cliff starring in a back pocket, and Brad taking the honours over former Adelaide Crows player Simon Tregenza.
The form continued the following year, when Brad won the W J Hughes Medal as fairest and best for South Fremantle. In 1992 Brad went to Darwin during the off season and played with Maurice Rioli-coached Waratahs, where he played six games and was then selected for the Northern Territory side that played Hawthorn.Â
Collard trained with the West Coast Eagles in the early nineties. “I put myself to the sword, and trained my guts out,â€he said. But his age plus a perceived knee problem were hurdles too big, and he wasn’t successful in gaining a berth in the squad.
After an injury-interrupted 1994 season, followed by an attempted pre season the following year, Brad called it quits. The thirty year old had represented South Fremantle on 202 occasions, and his State once. He was a life member of the club, an honour that was later to be reciprocated by the WAFL.
Brad Collard finally celebrated a premiership as an assistant coach to John Todd in 1997, continuing in the role in 1998, and was again in the coaching team under John Dimmer when the Bulldogs took the 2005 flag. He also was at Perth in a similar capacity during Stan Magro’s reign as coach.
Brad nominated West Perth defender Wayne Dayman, who we tragically lost some years ago, as his toughest opponent. “They were all hard, but Wayne is one who sticks in mind,â€he said. Noel Carter and Maurice Rioli were his picks as the best he’d played with. “I learnt a lot from both Noel and Maurice in my early years,â€he added.
He paid homage to his Dad, Cliff snr, who followed him and helped throughout his career, despite misgivings about the Bloodstained Angels jumper.
Collard’s experience, football knowledge, and people skills are now being utilised by the highly acclaimed Clontarf Foundation , where he is Director of the Gilmore College Football Academy at Gilmore College in Kwinana.Â
“The Clontarf Football Academies operate in partnership with the Colleges and football is the vehicle that we use to attract young Indigenous men to school. Once we have them within our program at College we expect all students to continue to work hard with their school work and work hard within our Football Academies, which runs along similar values to that of a football club,†Collard said. Brad is supported at Gilmore College by South Fremantle games record holder, Marty Atkins. “Mentoring and modelling with all the boys at College is the crucial component to our work from day to day.†Brad went on to say: “Our work is very challenging, however it is very rewarding as over time we have seen many positive changes in lots of our students and it is very rewarding when this occurs.†  Â
Brad enjoys the home life with wife Jennifer and their four girls, following their sporting careers with great interest . He likes a round of golf when he can catch up with a few ex teammates, and is often to be seen on the outer at Fremantle Oval whenever there is a South home game.
Brad Collard was a great servant of the South Fremantle Football Club, during a testing period for the club.He is now involved in an exceedingly worthwhile venture that will not only produce some star footballers for all clubs, but is also giving many of those young men opportunities in life that they would otherwise not had an opportunity to enjoy.
