By sports editor Russell Bennett
It seems only fitting that the last game Don Anderson saw his beloved Longwarry boys play in was their drought-breaking 2019 premiership win over Ellinbank at Yarragon.
It snapped the end of an incredible premiership drought that spanned 51 years, back to a 1968 side that included future Hawthorn icon Peter Knights, and Don as team manager.
Don passed away recently, aged 90, and having spent roughly six decades at Longwarry.
His footy story took him to a range of other clubs – Noble Park, Oakleigh in the VFA, Langwarrin, Narre-Hallam, and Cora Lynn – but his heart always brought him back home.
In fact, the reason he left was to give his children the best possible opportunities in both work and education.
Born in 1931, Don was made a Longwarry life member before he’d even turned 40.
And while the former back pocket reached the 300 game mark, many of those were in the reserves.
It was off the playing field that he had his biggest impact, as two of his sons – Mark and Shane – club icon Ken White, president Steve Tuite, and past president Annie Van der Heyden told the Gazette in the inner sanctum of the Crows’ nest on Saturday morning.
Don played his last game in his late 30s, and was already inducted into club lore as a life member by 1969.
During his playing days, he also served stints as club secretary and president, and would even prove pivotal in the move to sign transformative 1968 premiership coach, former St Kilda player Eric Guy.
Steve explained that it was only up until the past few years that Don no longer had an active involvement at committee level for Longwarry.
He was still cutting the grass at the ground on his trusty tractor into his 80s.
Longwarry was more than just his spiritual home – it was his heart and soul as well.
Don, along with Mark, started the Longwarry Heritage Truck Display – held at the ground each year – and he even instigated a scrap metal collection scheme when the prices were particularly high, encouraging locals from all around to get involved – with the proceeds, tens of thousands of dollars’ worth, going directly to the footy club.
As Steve explained, Don was often reluctant to even ask the club to cover the price of his tractor fuel.
After Longwarry entered the Ellinbank league, Shane went to test himself by playing at Beaconsfield. But Don stayed at Longwarry, instead of watching Shane elsewhere.
And about 15 years ago, Don was living in Tatura near Shepparton but still refused to miss seeing the Crows in action – so he’d come down and stay with Shane, and never missed a game over that four-year period.
Don coached at various levels away from Longwarry over the years, and those clubs benefited from his incredible club-first, selfless, hardworking spirit too.
At Oakleigh, he’d have Mark in the stands calling games into a tape recorder so the pair could accurately keep player statistics; and at Langwarrin he was involved in helping build the clubrooms.
And at both of those stops – as well as at Noble Park – Don’s eldest son John was playing.
Of course, Don’s career spanning decades in the game had more than its share of lighter moments.
“There was this day at Waverley and he was there at half-time for Oakleigh (coaching the reserves), and the boys were getting a hiding,” Mark explained.
“He was giving them a massive spray, and I was just standing inside the door with the stats from the first half.
“He was going so hard his false teeth fell out, hit the concrete floor in front of him, and smashed.
“Not one of the boys even blinked an eyelid, but as they all ran back out on to the ground they were laughing their heads off.”
Mark also recalled some of the legendary footy trips away Don was a central figure in – such as the one to Lakes Entrance, where three of his players threw him into the water only to have to jump in to rescue him when they realised he couldn’t swim.
He’d get his own back at stages too, though, like the time he forewarned the Oakleigh police that he would be bringing two of his misbehaving players down to the cells to be locked up while he returned to conduct training.
Almost fittingly, as a testament to his influence, one of those players later went on to become a police officer.
“It wasn’t about playing footy as much as it was about bringing everyone closer together,” Mark explained.
Where Don was concerned, it was about culture – and he was integral to the culture of every club he was involved in.
One of the lasting images of Longwarry footy club history is that of Don proudly holding the 2019 senior EDFL premiership cup with Neville ‘Stoney’ Stone.
It encompasses everything the Crows hold dear – a legacy of family, mateship, and togetherness.
In fact, at one stage in 2007, Don watched on as his daughter Lynne, Mark, Shane, and five grandchildren took part throughout one day in May in clashes against Cora Lynn – on both sides of the tribal divide, from the juniors through to the seniors.
Shane explained Don would have had his doubts that Longwarry could break the drought in his lifetime – given the long line of finals heartbreaks since 1968 – and Mark added that: “After every finals defeat he’d say ‘that’s another finals series gone’, but he’d always look for the positives and give his take on what was needed to go one better the next year”.
Steve said he’s just so thrilled that, in his time as president, he was able to not only see the 2019 premiership, but be there as Don held the cup.
“It’s just a shame that, through missing last season due to Covid, he didn’t get the chance to see us raise the flag,” he said.
