| Robert DiPierdomenico | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 "Dipper" coaching the Peres Team for Peace in the 2008 International Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Berto DiPierdomenico | ||
| Nickname | Dipper | ||
| Born | (1958-05-05)5 May 1958 (age 67) Hawthorn, Victoria | ||
| Original team | North Kew (Vic) | ||
| Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 93 kg (205 lb) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1975–1991 | Hawthorn | 240 (130) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| Victoria | ? (?) | ||
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1991. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Berto "Robert"DiPierdomenico (born 5 May 1958) is a retiredAustralian rules footballer who representedHawthorn in theAustralian Football League (AFL) from the 1970s to the 1990s. Popularly known by his nickname "Dipper", DiPierdomenico is one of the most successfulItalian Australians to play Australian football, and his contribution to the game was recognised by selection in theVFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century.
DiPierdomenico was born in Hawthorn to parents Stefano and Antonietta, who had emigrated to Australia fromAbbateggio,Italy. DiPierdomenico's parents were married by proxy, meaning they were married over the phone.[1]
A hyperactive child who had a stutter, Dipper attended numerous schools in Hawthorn and neighbouring areas, includingKew High School, where he met his future wife Cheryl Bayley, Swinburne Tech, where his headmaster was his future Hawthorn coach,John Kennedy Senior, andHawthorn West Primary School.[2]
DiPierdomenico began playing football in his early teens for local clubs East Hawthorn and North Kew before signing for VFL club Hawthorn as an eighteen-year-old. As a youngster, DiPierdomenico played cricket and would bowl left arm over the wrist.
Beginning his career with theHawthorn Football Club in 1975, DiPierdomenico started slowly, playing 99 reserve-grade games as he flitted between first team and reserve-grade football. He kick-started his career in 1978, culminating in a best-on-ground performance in the1978 VFL Grand Final.[3]
DiPierdomenico was initially assigned guernsey number #53, but subsequently wore number #9. Typically, he was considered one of Hawthorn's best players.
He was known for his toughness (which led to many trips to the Tribunal), and the moustachioed Dipper was one of the much-loved, and most media-covered characters in theVFL during the 1980s. DiPierdomenico won theBrownlow Medal, in 1986 tying withGreg Williams, who was playing forSydney at the time.[4] During that season, DiPierdomenico was considered very fortunate to have avoided the VFL tribunal, and consequent ineligibility for the Brownlow.[citation needed] Later in the week, he would win his third Premiership medallion as the Hawks defeated Carlton by 42 points.[5]
Late in the first quarter of the1989 VFL Grand Final, DiPierdomenico was running backwards to take a mark when he was met solidly from behind byGeelong starGary Ablett. The force of the collision broke several of DiPierdomenico's ribs and punctured one of his lungs.[6] Despite the pain, and being unaware of the extent of the damage, DiPierdomenico continued to play until the final siren, and Hawthorn won by a goal in one of the most famous grand finals of all time.[6] He collapsed shortly after the game and was rushed to the casualty ward ofSt. Vincent's Hospital, where doctors found out that DiPierdomenico had punctured a lung.[6] He recounted the gravity of the situation years later:
"By this time I'd been shifted into intensive care. The doctor came in and said if they didn't gag me I was gone... So there you are. I had eight days in hospital to think about what might have happened. To tell you the truth, it scared me."[7]
DiPierdomenico went on to play 240 games and kick 130 goals with the Hawks, retiring in 1991, and participating in five day and four night premierships during one of the most successful eras that a VFL/AFL club has ever achieved.
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 1975 | Hawthorn | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | — |
| 1976 | Hawthorn | 38 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1977 | Hawthorn | 38 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978 | Hawthorn | 9 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 179 | 75 | 254 | 32 | — | 0.0 | 0.1 | 8.5 | 3.6 | 12.1 | 1.5 | — |
| 1979 | Hawthorn | 9 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 170 | 87 | 257 | 49 | — | 0.1 | 0.1 | 11.3 | 5.8 | 17.1 | 3.3 | — |
| 1980 | Hawthorn | 9 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 191 | 96 | 287 | 43 | — | 0.1 | 0.1 | 11.9 | 6.0 | 17.9 | 2.7 | — |
| 1981 | Hawthorn | 9 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 127 | 45 | 172 | 36 | — | 0.4 | 0.3 | 10.6 | 3.8 | 14.3 | 3.0 | — |
| 1982 | Hawthorn | 9 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 67 | 37 | 104 | 23 | — | 0.3 | 0.2 | 7.4 | 4.1 | 11.6 | 2.6 | — |
| 1983 | Hawthorn | 9 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 205 | 89 | 294 | 68 | — | 0.4 | 0.8 | 12.1 | 5.2 | 17.3 | 4.0 | — |
| 1984 | Hawthorn | 9 | 24 | 23 | 30 | 335 | 166 | 501 | 112 | — | 1.0 | 1.3 | 14.0 | 6.9 | 20.9 | 4.7 | — |
| 1985 | Hawthorn | 9 | 17 | 12 | 20 | 227 | 97 | 324 | 62 | — | 0.7 | 1.2 | 13.4 | 5.7 | 19.1 | 3.6 | — |
| 1986 | Hawthorn | 9 | 25 | 23 | 17 | 360 | 211 | 571 | 101 | — | 0.9 | 0.7 | 14.4 | 8.4 | 22.8 | 4.0 | — |
| 1987 | Hawthorn | 9 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 317 | 201 | 518 | 120 | 67 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 13.2 | 8.4 | 21.6 | 5.0 | 2.8 |
| 1988 | Hawthorn | 9 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 351 | 112 | 463 | 89 | 66 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 16.7 | 5.3 | 22.0 | 4.2 | 3.1 |
| 1989 | Hawthorn | 9 | 24 | 19 | 18 | 353 | 142 | 495 | 96 | 70 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 14.7 | 5.9 | 20.6 | 4.0 | 2.9 |
| 1990 | Hawthorn | 9 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 180 | 76 | 256 | 61 | 18 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 13.8 | 5.8 | 19.7 | 4.7 | 1.4 |
| 1991 | Hawthorn | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 4.0 | 15.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Career[8] | 240 | 130 | 152 | 3077 | 1438 | 4515 | 892 | 223 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 12.8 | 6.0 | 18.8 | 3.7 | 2.7 | ||
After DiPierdomenico retired, he became a popular media personality as aboundary rider with theSeven Network. After Seven lost the rights to broadcast AFL in 2001, DiPierdomenico continued his tradition as a boundary rider on radio station3AW. DiPierdomenico also worked atSky News Australia as their AFL expert in the mid-2000s.
In the 1990s, DiPierdomenico made an appearance, along withDermott Brereton andAdrian Barich, in a charityrugby league match and scored a try, and in comedic fashion dived over the line in a fashion similar toSuperman to celebrate.
In 2010, he was stood down from his role in theAuskick junior development program after making a racist remark regardingGavin Wanganeen.[9]
DiPierdomenico made a cameo in the TV seriesNeighbours in 1999, and he appeared on the Channel 9 weight-loss showExcess Baggage in 2012. Since 2019, he has been hosting the TV seriesDipper's Backyard BBQ Wars.
Dipierdemenico appeared in adverts for department store Dimmeys in the 1990s.
Dipper was the 7th person evicted on the seventh series ofI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2021. He is the first celebrity to bowl a strike in a sushi-eating challenge.
DiPierdomenico is an advocate forincontinence awareness, taking a brave step to publicly bring attention to the taboo subject.[10][11]
