Tom Hafey - Battling Back Pocket

Battling Back Pocket

Although Hafey was born and bred in Richmond, he played football in the suburb of East Malvern, starting with their under 19 team and graduating to the senior side in 1950. He spent three years with the club, winning the best and fairest in 1952. As a result, he was invited to train at Richmond. At the time, the Tigers were in some turmoil. The legendary Jack Dyer had quit as coach. In an effort to reinvigorate the team after a number of mediocre seasons, Richmond recruited some highly considered young players, including Ron Branton, Frank Dunin and Brian Davie. However, the unheralded local Hafey was the rookie who exceeded expectations in his first season, playing twelve of the eighteen matches and booting twelve goals.

The following season was less productive for Hafey – he managed just five games due to a bout of hepatitis, spending most of the year in bed and returning to the reserves for the finals. Now a regular in the back pocket, Hafey played in that position when the reserves captured the premiership by defeating Melbourne in the Grand Final. He was named as one of the Tigers' best, and this performance helped to gain him regular senior selection in 1955–1956. In these two years, he managed 28 games without becoming a household name.

After the appointment of Alan McDonald as coach, Hafey's fortunes waned, and was often relegated to the bench. He believed that the Tiger selectors now preferred Ken Ward to play in the back pocket. The Tigers had slipped to the bottom reaches of the ladder and as a regular place in the team looked out of the question, Hafey left VFL football at the end of 1958, aged 27. The average life span of an AFL player is just under five seasons – Hafey had lasted six. 15 of his 67 games had been started on the bench. Hafey made the transition to the local Richmond Amateurs, where he played in their 1959 premiership team.