| Robert Flower | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Robert Alan Flower | ||
| Nickname | Tulip | ||
| Born | (1955-08-05)5 August 1955 Melbourne | ||
| Died | 2 October 2014(2014-10-02) (aged 59) | ||
| Original team | Murrumbeena | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1973–1987 | Melbourne | 272 (315) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1987. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
Club 3xMelbourneleading Goalkicker: 1979, 1983, 1987
Overall 15 x Victorian representative. Victorian captain 1983
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Robert Alan Flower (5 August 1955 – 2 October 2014) was anAustralian rules footballer withMelbourne Football Club. His first game was againstGeelong in 1973 and he captained the team from 1981 until his final game in 1987. He held the record for the number of games for his club, 272, until overtaken byDavid Neitz in 2006.
In a radio interview in July 2006 conducted by theCoodabeen Champions, Flower stated that the club secretaryJim Cardwell rang to offer him the number 2 guernsey before his first senior game, an unofficial statement that the club saw great potential in the seventeen-year-old.
Known as "Tulip", he was a wingman for most of his career[1] and was characterised by his ability to create space for himself and kick and handpass the ball with extraordinary accuracy. He possessed speed, sure-footedness and unrivalled tactical awareness.
In the documentaryRed & Blue: The History of the Melbourne Football Club (1939–2005),Ian Ridley said of Flower, "Taking into account poise, ability, skill and marking, kicking, handballing...it doesn't matter what you refer to, but Robert Flower is the greatest footballer that I have seen in my life."[2]
InKen Piesse'sThe Complete Guide to Australian Football, Flower's player summary quotesBrent Crosswell: "...beat Flower and you could just about retire from League Football because anything else smacked of anti-climax."Wayne Schimmelbusch in the same publication said: "I paid more attention to Robert Flower than any other opponent."
Jim Main and Russell Holmesby mention Flower's thin physique and low playing weight—68 kilograms. It was assumed early in his career that he could not succeed because of his "wiry" frame. He sustained injuries that kept him from appearing in another 52 games, but he still played 272 out of a possible 324 games, and he was never omitted from the senior side when available.[citation needed]
Towards the end of the1986 season, as Flower completed his 14th season without playing in a final, the Melbourne Football Club placed newspaper advertisements requesting donations from the public to enable the club to recruit a high-profile player under the headline "Please give Robbie one last chance to play in a final".[3] Despite raising less money than expected,[4] Melbourne did reach the1987 finals after a dramatic final round.[5]
His final three games were the only time Flower played in the finals. His last game was againstHawthorn in the preliminary final. Although Melbourne had led for the entire match, a free kick and a15-metre penalty infamously awarded after the final siren—via aJim Stynes infraction—saw Hawthorn'sGary Buckenara kick the winning goal.[5] Flower recalls in his autobiographyRobbie that he started to run from the ground and paused to see the ball go through the goal and then went to the dressing rooms where he threw a can of drink against the wall in anger. Flower was injured in the game, and his ability to play in the grand final, had Melbourne won, was not certain.[6]
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 | ||||
| 1973 | Melbourne | 2 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 181 | 43 | 224 | 63 | — | 0.3 | 0.5 | 13.9 | 3.3 | 17.2 | 4.8 | — |
| 1974 | Melbourne | 2 | 18 | 22 | 14 | 196 | 68 | 264 | 67 | — | 1.2 | 0.8 | 10.9 | 3.8 | 14.7 | 3.7 | — |
| 1975 | Melbourne | 2 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 277 | 58 | 335 | 77 | — | 0.7 | 0.8 | 14.6 | 3.1 | 17.6 | 4.1 | — |
| 1976 | Melbourne | 2 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 248 | 123 | 371 | 103 | — | 0.9 | 1.0 | 13.1 | 6.5 | 19.5 | 5.4 | — |
| 1977 | Melbourne | 2 | 20 | 23 | 11 | 254 | 141 | 395 | 98 | — | 1.2 | 0.6 | 12.7 | 7.1 | 19.8 | 4.9 | — |
| 1978 | Melbourne | 2 | 22 | 18 | 21 | 304 | 113 | 417 | 114 | — | 0.8 | 1.0 | 13.8 | 5.1 | 19.0 | 5.2 | — |
| 1979 | Melbourne | 2 | 21 | 33 | 29 | 285 | 196 | 481 | 103 | — | 1.6 | 1.4 | 13.6 | 9.3 | 22.9 | 4.9 | — |
| 1980 | Melbourne | 2 | 22 | 21 | 26 | 275 | 217 | 492 | 127 | — | 1.0 | 1.2 | 12.5 | 9.9 | 22.4 | 5.8 | — |
| 1981 | Melbourne | 2 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 182 | 124 | 306 | 68 | — | 0.3 | 0.2 | 11.4 | 7.8 | 19.1 | 4.3 | — |
| 1982 | Melbourne | 2 | 21 | 25 | 26 | 264 | 188 | 452 | 117 | — | 1.2 | 1.2 | 12.6 | 9.0 | 21.5 | 5.6 | — |
| 1983 | Melbourne | 2 | 20 | 40 | 24 | 267 | 147 | 414 | 116 | — | 2.0 | 1.2 | 13.4 | 7.4 | 20.7 | 5.8 | — |
| 1984 | Melbourne | 2 | 21 | 28 | 18 | 229 | 162 | 391 | 102 | — | 1.3 | 0.9 | 10.9 | 7.7 | 18.6 | 4.9 | — |
| 1985 | Melbourne | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 17 | 47 | 11 | — | 1.0 | 0.7 | 10.0 | 5.7 | 15.7 | 3.7 | — |
| 1986 | Melbourne | 2 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 152 | 78 | 230 | 64 | — | 0.9 | 0.7 | 9.5 | 4.9 | 14.4 | 4.0 | — |
| 1987 | Melbourne | 2 | 20 | 47 | 31 | 215 | 60 | 275 | 91 | 25 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 10.8 | 3.0 | 13.8 | 4.6 | 1.3 |
| Career | 272 | 315 | 256 | 3359 | 1735 | 5094 | 1321 | 25 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 12.4 | 6.4 | 18.8 | 4.9 | 1.3 | ||
After retiring as a player, Flower was inducted in theAustralian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and was named on the wing inMelbourne's Team of the Century. He later served on the Melbourne board until he resigned after being diagnosed withcardiomyopathy in 2004.[8] He had subsequently been diagnosed withprostate cancer in 2001.[9]
His younger brotherTom Flower played 26 games for Melbourne over three seasons in the late 1970s. Robert's son, Brad, was considered a possiblefather–son selection in 2003 after playing forSandringham Football Club,[10] but he was overlooked and was never recruited to an AFL team.
Flower died on 2 October 2014 after a brief illness.[6]
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