Rebirth in Yellow and Black
Wearing the Number 2 jumper in which Roy Wright won two Brownlow medals, Stewart burned from the start of 1971 and rapidly gained favouritism to win another Brownlow Medal. Meanwhile, Barrot lasted two games with the Saints, was dropped and then cleared to Carlton by mid-season. There, he played a handful of games for the Tigers' old rivals, but had a physical confrontation with coach Ron Barassi at half time in the last round of the season. Barrot walked away from VFL football forever, just days before Stewart was voted the game's fourth triple Brownlow medallist and the first player to win the award at two clubs. He starred in Richmond's semi final victory over Collingwood, which set up a tantalising clash with St Kilda in the preliminary final, with Richmond hot favourite to win and advance to the Grand Final. On a very wet day, the Saints gained some vengeance for the deal by keeping Stewart relatively quiet and winning the game by five goals.
Stewart was hampered by injury during the 1972 finals, and was not fully fit for the Grand Final against Carlton. The Tigers selected him on the bench, but when he came on at half time, the game was effectively lost as Richmond trailed by 45 points. He picked up nine kicks in the second half as his team struggled in vain to bridge the gap. Better fortune attended the 1973 finals campaign. Again playing with injury, Stewart was a stand out in the three finals leading up to the Grand Final, a rematch with Carlton. In a dominant win for the Tigers, Stewart was at his best with eighteen possessions. After injuring his leg in the third term, Stewart was moved to half forward where, noticeably limping, he booted two clever goals to keep Richmond on track for their eighth premiership. Now, Stewart had won Brownlow medals and premierships at both clubs, a unique feat in VFL/AFL history.
However, following his 200th game in mid-1974, Stewart announced his retirement from the game, much to the chagrin of the Richmond supporters, who presented a signed petition in an attempt to get him to reverse the decision. One of his last games was the infamous "Battle of Windy Hill" match against Essendon on 18 May, when Stewart kept a cool head among the brawling and booted a match-winning five goals. The Tigers were powerful enough to go on to another premiership without him. Then Stewart decided to come back for 1975, but he managed only five games before injury again forced him to quit, aged 31.
Read more about this topic: Ian Stewart (Australian Rules Footballer)
Famous quotes containing the words rebirth, yellow and/or black:
“We are constantly thinking of the great war ... which saved the Union ... but it was a war that did a great deal more than that. It created in this country what had never existed before—a national consciousness. It was not the salvation of the Union, it was the rebirth of the Union.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“My time has come.
There are twenty people in my belly,
there is a magnitude of wings,
there are forty eyes shooting like arrows,
and they will all be born.
All be born in the yellow wind.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay,
Gone are my friends from the cotton fields away,
Gone from the earth to a better land I know,
I hear their gentle voices calling “Old Black Joe.””
—Stephen Collins Foster (1826–1864)