Michael Tuck
Encyclopedia
Michael Tuck is a seven time premiership winning player, Australian rules football
er with the Hawthorn Football Club
in the Victorian Football League
(VFL) / Australian Football League
(AFL), where he is the games record holder.
, in Melbourne
's outer south-eastern suburbs, Tuck joined Hawthorn in 1972 from the country zone club of the same name, and remained at the club for his entire career. Tuck initially played as a full forward and the understudy to the great Peter Hudson
, kicking 63 goals in the reserves in 1971. He made his senior debut against Richmond in the eighth round the following year and kicked goals with his first three kicks in senior football, but after that he failed completely and was very soon dropped from the senior side.
and Leigh Matthews
Tuck came to form a following combination feared by every other VFL club and a crucial role in Hawthorn's 1976 and 1978 premierships. After a lapse as Hawthorn mined its rich country zone for new talent, Tuck played a critical role in Hawthorn's seven successive grand finals between 1983 and 1989. In the last four years of his career Tuck was moved from the ball to the less demanding role of a running half-back flanker, but he still continued to gain huge numbers of possessions right up to the end of his career.
Tuck never won Hawthorn's best-and-fairest, but was runner-up on six occasions, and there was a good deal of controversy in 1982 and 1983 when he failed to poll a single vote in the Brownlow Medal
, which led to votes for each match being made publicly available for the first time ever in 1984.
Fittingly, his last game was in Hawthorn
's premiership win in the Grand Final
over West Coast
.
His son, Shane Tuck
, plays in the AFL
for Richmond
. Another son, Travis Tuck
, was drafted in 2005 under the father/son rule by Hawthorn, debuting in 2007.On Tuesday 31 August 2010 Travis was suspended for 12 weeks after becoming AFL's first player to record a 3rd strike under the controversial drug code.
The medal presented to the best afield in the preseason cup final was named after the him in 1992, as was a grandstand at Glenferrie Oval
. He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame
in 1996.
games records which may possibly never be beaten. These are:
He retired as the tenth oldest player ever; he was 38 years and 95 days old when he retired.
as the "Norm Smith Medal
".
He is the brother-in-law of Geelong great Gary Ablett, Sr., having married Fay Ablett.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er with the Hawthorn Football Club
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
in the Victorian Football League
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
(VFL) / Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL), where he is the games record holder.
Early career (1972 - 1973)
Raised in BerwickBerwick, Victoria
Berwick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Casey. At the 2006 Census, Berwick had a population of 36,420....
, in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
's outer south-eastern suburbs, Tuck joined Hawthorn in 1972 from the country zone club of the same name, and remained at the club for his entire career. Tuck initially played as a full forward and the understudy to the great Peter Hudson
Peter Hudson
Peter John Hudson AM is a former Australian Rules Football player, considered one of the greatest full-forwards in the game's history....
, kicking 63 goals in the reserves in 1971. He made his senior debut against Richmond in the eighth round the following year and kicked goals with his first three kicks in senior football, but after that he failed completely and was very soon dropped from the senior side.
Rising career (1974 - 1985)
In the following years Tuck was tried as a winger and defender before in 1974 finding his true niche as a ruck-rover and firmly establishing himself in the Hawthorn senior side. With Don ScottDon Scott (footballer)
Don Scott is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League. Scott was a fearless ruckman and premiership captain for Hawthorn Football Club....
and Leigh Matthews
Leigh Matthews
Leigh Raymond "Lethal Leigh" Matthews AM is a former player and coach of Australian rules football. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League from 1969 to 1985, coached Collingwood from 1986–1995, and coached the Brisbane Lions from 1999 to 2008...
Tuck came to form a following combination feared by every other VFL club and a crucial role in Hawthorn's 1976 and 1978 premierships. After a lapse as Hawthorn mined its rich country zone for new talent, Tuck played a critical role in Hawthorn's seven successive grand finals between 1983 and 1989. In the last four years of his career Tuck was moved from the ball to the less demanding role of a running half-back flanker, but he still continued to gain huge numbers of possessions right up to the end of his career.
Captaincy (1986 - 1991)
Tuck was the natural successor to the Hawthorn captaincy in 1986 after Leigh Matthews' retirement. He captained them from that year until his retirement in 1991 at the age of 38. He played in a total of seven VFL/AFL premierships with Hawthorn, captaining the club in four of them.Tuck never won Hawthorn's best-and-fairest, but was runner-up on six occasions, and there was a good deal of controversy in 1982 and 1983 when he failed to poll a single vote in the Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
, which led to votes for each match being made publicly available for the first time ever in 1984.
Fittingly, his last game was in Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
's premiership win in the Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
over West Coast
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
.
Legacy
Tuck was a skinny ruck-rover with great stamina as evidenced by the length of his career. To date, Tuck is the VFL/AFL games record holder, with 426 games, but his durability is not only reflected in the number of senior games he played, but in having played fifty games in the reserves before becoming a regular senior player. Tuck did poll 120 Brownlow votes for his career, but never got anywhere near winning the award.His son, Shane Tuck
Shane Tuck
Shane Tuck is an Australian Rules footballer and the son of Hawthorn legend and VFL/AFL games record holder Michael Tuck. He is the nephew of Geelong great Gary Ablett Sr and former Hawthorn players Kevin & Geoff Ablett...
, plays in the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
for Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
. Another son, Travis Tuck
Travis Tuck
Travis Tuck is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Hawks in the Australian Football League . Tuck was selected with a Father-Son selection in the 2005 AFL Draft...
, was drafted in 2005 under the father/son rule by Hawthorn, debuting in 2007.On Tuesday 31 August 2010 Travis was suspended for 12 weeks after becoming AFL's first player to record a 3rd strike under the controversial drug code.
The medal presented to the best afield in the preseason cup final was named after the him in 1992, as was a grandstand at Glenferrie Oval
Glenferrie Oval
Glenferrie Oval is an Australian rules football stadium located in Hawthorn, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.It is the historic home of and is synonymous with the Hawthorn Football Club, who played there from 1903 and as a VFL/AFL club from 1925–1973, and retained the ground as an...
. He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame
Australian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established...
in 1996.
Records
Michael Tuck holds a number of VFL/AFLAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
games records which may possibly never be beaten. These are:
- Most senior games: 426 for Hawthorn
- Most finals games: 39
- Most grand finals played in: 11
- Most premiership wins: 7
He retired as the tenth oldest player ever; he was 38 years and 95 days old when he retired.
Trivia
During the post-match presentations following the 2005 NAB Cup Grand Final, Tuck accidentally announced the medal named in his honourMichael Tuck Medal
Since 1992, the Michael Tuck Medal has been awarded to the best-and-fairest player in the AFL Pre-season Cup Final. It is named after Michael Tuck, the current AFL games record holder who played 426 senior matches for the Hawthorn Hawks between 1972 and 1991....
as the "Norm Smith Medal
Norm Smith Medal
The Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
".
He is the brother-in-law of Geelong great Gary Ablett, Sr., having married Fay Ablett.