27 April 2003 Herald Sun
By KEN PIESSE
WHEN Mark Chaffey lived in Alabama looking at a career in baseball, he soon realised he was missing home and, in particular, football too much to stay long-term in the United States.
Reward for the hard work: Mark Chaffey shows his delight at kicking a goal against St Kilda on Monday.
The hard work element didn't bother him - Chaffey has always strived to better himself.
Eventually he realised, however, his chances of making a big-time sporting career were far greater in Melbourne, so back he came.
"So many people there were playing baseball," said Chaffey, now 25. "My chances of making it to the top in football were greater here than staying there and making a go of it at baseball.
"I had a great time but realised how much I was missing playing football. I felt I could make it back here. I always wanted to be a sportsman."
Chosen in the 1996 national draft alongside Darren Gaspar and Steven McKee, now with Collingwood, Chaffey has made up for lost time, last year playing his 100th game and being among the top 12 players at the club for a third consecutive year.
He has an ambition this year to make top six status and play in some more finals after one win and two losses in the 2001 playoffs.
Chat to Richmond's director of football, Greg Miller, about Chaffey and his eyes light up.
"He's a kid who wants to be a player," Miller said. "Sometimes he works too hard and we have to send him home. Even then he has been known to sneak back and do some extra weights."
Miller said he had known few players in a lifetime of football who had been prepared to finish a match truly exhausted like Chaffey.
"Schimma (Wayne Schimmelbusch) would do it regularly at North Melbourne and people like Robert Harvey, who used to run non-stop on the ball, also did. Anthony Stevens and John Blakey rarely left anything in the tank. And Mark is right up there with them," he said.
Chaffey said players rarely earned a second opportunity in football and while he was young and fit enough, he wanted to give it his absolute best.
"I'd like to think that all the (Richmond) players do," he said.
"We have a real work ethic with our training and preparation, and hopefully that has helped in our early results."
With three wins out of four approaching yesterday's game against the Hawks, Chaffey said nothing in football was achieved easily.
Teams which were successful might have more skill and luck than some, but unless they were prepared to consistently work hard, their success would be fleeting.
Chaffey's work ethic makes him one of the club's young leaders and eventually he hopes it will help him to force his way regularly into the midfield.
Playing in defence, he said the changing nature of the game now saw defenders running almost as far as the pivotal players.
"I'm not a tall defender, so my opposition half-forwards tend to be small guys who are fast and fit," he said.
"They're also the first to be dragged. They change every 10 to 15 minutes and go hammer and tong while they are out there.
"Playing on a back flank you need to be aerobically fit as the fresh legs keep coming at you. You tend to cover a lot of distance, so basically you're playing as a midfielder."
At Caulfield Grammar, Chaffey may have been in the football and cricket teams, but he said he was only an average athlete and never anything but middle-of-the-road in cross country and long distance events.
The opportunity to play at Richmond, however, so fired his imagination that in the past four or five years he had become a fitness addict, matching the best on the famous tan track run in South Yarra and pumping iron for hours in the gymnasium.
THursday is the designated day-off for everyone at Richmond but Chaffey booked a massage, did a few laps in the club's new indoor pool and lifted weights for almost an hour.
"I want to improve some deficiencies and swimming is definitely one of them," he said.
His best time around the tan track, which includes the formidable Anderson St hill, is 13 minutes, 30 seconds, placing him among Richmond's top six, captain Wayne Campbell leading the way with 13 minutes, five seconds.
Miller said Chaffey led by example and, along with people like import Kane Johnson from Adelaide, was among the middle-tier Tigers who are greatly admired by the new arrivals.
"I tried to work really hard on the training track especially during the summer months," Chaffey said.
"The previous year I couldn't do as much because of a groin injury which severely disrupted training and forced me to miss the first two rounds. It meant I didn't get all my match fitness back until well into the season.
"This year I made sure I was in the top running group and one of the fittest in the club. I'm certainly running a lot better than this time last year."
Despite a hiccup or two, Chaffey said Richmond had a far more even set of contributors this year and was good enough to play off again, after sliding to third last in 2002.
"We've got a lot more players contributing every week. Last year that contribution came from only seven or eight and many others went missing. You can't consistently win games like that," he said.
The form of West Australian Mark Coughlan and import midfielder Johnson had given coach Danny Frawley more options in midfield. Greg Tivendale has also returned to some of his best form after previous purple patches.
"There's a lot of unity there, too," Chaffey said. "We've got a really good mix of young and experienced guys and are all very close. We're working hard, trying to improve and win as many matches as we can."
He said Timbale's, a little cafe in Richmond, had become a home-away-from-home for many on the list, up to 20 players gathering after training to relax and talk.
"We've been going there for two years now and just about take over all the couches and bean-bags upstairs," he said.
While a full-time footballer right now, Chaffey has an ambition to be his own boss and take on a small business course, as long as it doesn't conflict with his football commitments.
He said he believed the Tigers had earned the right to be in one of next weekend's glamour games against Port Adelaide.
While Richmond has not travelled particularly well of late, never before, in his time anyway, has the club possessed as formidable a midfield. Any win in Adelaide is almost worth two wins, so the team will be going all-out to shock.
By KEN PIESSE
WHEN Mark Chaffey lived in Alabama looking at a career in baseball, he soon realised he was missing home and, in particular, football too much to stay long-term in the United States.
Reward for the hard work: Mark Chaffey shows his delight at kicking a goal against St Kilda on Monday.
The hard work element didn't bother him - Chaffey has always strived to better himself.
Eventually he realised, however, his chances of making a big-time sporting career were far greater in Melbourne, so back he came.
"So many people there were playing baseball," said Chaffey, now 25. "My chances of making it to the top in football were greater here than staying there and making a go of it at baseball.
"I had a great time but realised how much I was missing playing football. I felt I could make it back here. I always wanted to be a sportsman."
Chosen in the 1996 national draft alongside Darren Gaspar and Steven McKee, now with Collingwood, Chaffey has made up for lost time, last year playing his 100th game and being among the top 12 players at the club for a third consecutive year.
He has an ambition this year to make top six status and play in some more finals after one win and two losses in the 2001 playoffs.
Chat to Richmond's director of football, Greg Miller, about Chaffey and his eyes light up.
"He's a kid who wants to be a player," Miller said. "Sometimes he works too hard and we have to send him home. Even then he has been known to sneak back and do some extra weights."
Miller said he had known few players in a lifetime of football who had been prepared to finish a match truly exhausted like Chaffey.
"Schimma (Wayne Schimmelbusch) would do it regularly at North Melbourne and people like Robert Harvey, who used to run non-stop on the ball, also did. Anthony Stevens and John Blakey rarely left anything in the tank. And Mark is right up there with them," he said.
Chaffey said players rarely earned a second opportunity in football and while he was young and fit enough, he wanted to give it his absolute best.
"I'd like to think that all the (Richmond) players do," he said.
"We have a real work ethic with our training and preparation, and hopefully that has helped in our early results."
With three wins out of four approaching yesterday's game against the Hawks, Chaffey said nothing in football was achieved easily.
Teams which were successful might have more skill and luck than some, but unless they were prepared to consistently work hard, their success would be fleeting.
Chaffey's work ethic makes him one of the club's young leaders and eventually he hopes it will help him to force his way regularly into the midfield.
Playing in defence, he said the changing nature of the game now saw defenders running almost as far as the pivotal players.
"I'm not a tall defender, so my opposition half-forwards tend to be small guys who are fast and fit," he said.
"They're also the first to be dragged. They change every 10 to 15 minutes and go hammer and tong while they are out there.
"Playing on a back flank you need to be aerobically fit as the fresh legs keep coming at you. You tend to cover a lot of distance, so basically you're playing as a midfielder."
At Caulfield Grammar, Chaffey may have been in the football and cricket teams, but he said he was only an average athlete and never anything but middle-of-the-road in cross country and long distance events.
The opportunity to play at Richmond, however, so fired his imagination that in the past four or five years he had become a fitness addict, matching the best on the famous tan track run in South Yarra and pumping iron for hours in the gymnasium.
THursday is the designated day-off for everyone at Richmond but Chaffey booked a massage, did a few laps in the club's new indoor pool and lifted weights for almost an hour.
"I want to improve some deficiencies and swimming is definitely one of them," he said.
His best time around the tan track, which includes the formidable Anderson St hill, is 13 minutes, 30 seconds, placing him among Richmond's top six, captain Wayne Campbell leading the way with 13 minutes, five seconds.
Miller said Chaffey led by example and, along with people like import Kane Johnson from Adelaide, was among the middle-tier Tigers who are greatly admired by the new arrivals.
"I tried to work really hard on the training track especially during the summer months," Chaffey said.
"The previous year I couldn't do as much because of a groin injury which severely disrupted training and forced me to miss the first two rounds. It meant I didn't get all my match fitness back until well into the season.
"This year I made sure I was in the top running group and one of the fittest in the club. I'm certainly running a lot better than this time last year."
Despite a hiccup or two, Chaffey said Richmond had a far more even set of contributors this year and was good enough to play off again, after sliding to third last in 2002.
"We've got a lot more players contributing every week. Last year that contribution came from only seven or eight and many others went missing. You can't consistently win games like that," he said.
The form of West Australian Mark Coughlan and import midfielder Johnson had given coach Danny Frawley more options in midfield. Greg Tivendale has also returned to some of his best form after previous purple patches.
"There's a lot of unity there, too," Chaffey said. "We've got a really good mix of young and experienced guys and are all very close. We're working hard, trying to improve and win as many matches as we can."
He said Timbale's, a little cafe in Richmond, had become a home-away-from-home for many on the list, up to 20 players gathering after training to relax and talk.
"We've been going there for two years now and just about take over all the couches and bean-bags upstairs," he said.
While a full-time footballer right now, Chaffey has an ambition to be his own boss and take on a small business course, as long as it doesn't conflict with his football commitments.
He said he believed the Tigers had earned the right to be in one of next weekend's glamour games against Port Adelaide.
While Richmond has not travelled particularly well of late, never before, in his time anyway, has the club possessed as formidable a midfield. Any win in Adelaide is almost worth two wins, so the team will be going all-out to shock.
.
