By Peter Blucher
Tippett joins 2×50 Club
Kurt Tippett became just the 10th member of the Queensland 2×50 Club on Sunday.
The 28-year-old Gold Coast forward/ruckman became the 10th Queenslander to play 50 games for two different AFL clubs when he posted his half-century for the Sydney Swans.
He did so in fine style, kicking four goals to go with 16 possessions, 21 hit-outs and four tackles and rank among his side’s best in a 10-goal win over Carlton at Etihad Stadium.
His 50th game for Sydney has come after he played 104 games for the Adelaide Crows from 2008-12.
Tippett joins a 50×2 Club that is headed by recently-retired triple Hawthorn premiership player David Hale, who played 108 games for the Hawks after 129 games for North Melbourne.
Now on the coaching staff at Fremantle, Gold Coaster Hale is the only Queenslander to have played 100 games for two AFL clubs.
The full membership list of the Queensland 2×50 Club is:-
Jason Akermanis – 248 Brisbane, 77 Western Bulldogs
Clint Bizzell – 75 Geelong, 88 Melbourne
Che Cockatoo-Collins – 85 Essendon, 75 Port Adelaide
David Hale – 129 North Melbourne, 108 Hawthorn
Jarrod Harbrow – 70 Western Bulldogs, 95 Gold Coast
Ben Hudson – 55 Adelaide, 88 Western Bulldogs
Dean McRae – 81 North Melbourne, 60 Sydney
Mal Michael – 61 Collingwood, 140 Brisbane
Andrew Raines – 56 Richmond, 67 Brisbane.
Kurt Tippett – 104 Adelaide, 50 Sydney
Six other Queenslanders presently at their second AFL club are in with a chance of joining this group, having played more than 50 games for their first club. They are:-
Dayne Beams – 126 Collingwood, 16 Brisbane
Tom Bell – 51 Carlton, 2 Brisbane
Charlie Dixon – 65 Gold Coast, 2 Port Adelaide
Shaun Hampson – 63 Carlton, 17 Richmond
Zac Smith – 65 Gold Coast, 2 Geelong
Jesse White – 71 Sydney, 36 Collingwood
Ben Hudson, a member of the 2×50 Club, has another Club all of his own. He is the only Queenslander to have played for four AFL clubs.
Now on the coaching staff at the Brisbane Lions, the former Mt.Gravatt AFLQ premiership team member was drafted originally by Adelaide (55 games). He produced his best football at the Western Bulldogs (88) before two short stints in the twilight of his playing days at Brisbane (18) and Collingwood (7).
Another five Queenslanders, including 2×50 Club members Mal Michael and Andrew Raines, have played at three AFL clubs. They are:-
Trent Knobel – 13 Brisbane, 41 St.Kilda, 21 Richmond
Mal Michael – 61 Collingwood, 140 Brisbane, 37 Essendon
Richard Murrie – 68 Footscray, 43 Geelong, 8 Richmond
Andrew Raines – 56 Richmond, 67 Brisbane, 6 Gold Coast.
Trevor Spencer – 31 Essendon, 3 Melbourne, 10 Geelong
Tippett has proved himself the ‘dux’ of the Queensland Class of 2006, which was made up primarily of players from the star-studded State U18 side that won the national division two championship under Brisbane Lions triple premiership player Craig McRae that year.
It was captained by Albert Proud, with Ricky Petterd and Brent Renouf vice-captains.
A bargain pick-up at No.32 in the 2006 National Draft, Tippett was the eighth of a record 10 Queenslanders taken on that day before a further four went the following month in the Rookie Draft, and three players who had been bottom-age emergencies for the 2006 State U18 side were drafted in 2007.
A decade on only four members of the Class of ’06 are still on senior playing lists in the AFL.
Tippett’s 154 AFL games sees him at the top of the list ahead of St.Kilda’s David Armitage, who was the first Queenslander drafted that year. He went to St.Kilda at No.9 and has played 130 AFL games.
Jesse White, the last of the 10 national draftees from Queensland that year after going at No.79 to Sydney, has played 107 games for Sydney and Collingwood, while Shaun Hampson, taken at No.17 by Carlton, has played 80 games for Carlton and Richmond.
Queenslanders taken in the 2006 National Draft were-
No.9 – David Armitage (130 games – St.Kilda)
No.17 – Shaun Hampson (80 games – Carlton & Richmond)
No.21 – Gavin Urquhart (41 games – North Melb)
No.22 – Albert Proud (29 games – Brisbane)
No.23 – Brad Howard (2 games – St.Kilda)
No.24 – Brent Renouf (68 games – Hawthorn & Port Adel)
No.30 – Ricky Petterd (84 games – Melbourne & Richmond)
No.32 – Kurt Tippett (154 games – Adelaide & Sydney)
No.69 – Ben Warren (29 games – North Melb).
No.79 – Jesse White (102 games – Sydney & Collingwood)
Rookies Scott Clouston (2 games at Brisbane), Daniel Drufer (1 game at Brisbane), Gavin Grose (0 games at Port Adelaide) and Haydn Kiel (0 games at Brisbane and Hawthorn) were also State U18 teammates of Tippett and Co.
The 2006 State U18 emergencies subsequently drafted were Rhys Magin (4 games at Essendon), Adam Spackman (0 games at Brisbane) and Sam Reid (24 games – Western Bulldogs & GWS Giants).
Reid is hoping to make a return to the AFL playing ranks this season, having won a 2016 rookie spot at the Giants after retiring from the AFL in 2013. He was captain of the Giants’ NEAFL side in 2014-15 before deciding that at 26 he still has what it takes to plat at the top level.
Tippett’s half century was, by comparison, a minor milestone next to the 300th game of fellow All Saints graduate Nick Riewoldt, who was the headline act among Queenslanders in Round 2 of the AFL season.
Although disappointed not to mark the occasion with a win over the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, Riewoldt did celebrate with 23 possessions, two goals and 14 marks.
Numerically, the Gold Coast’s Alex Sexton was the other standout.
Having never had 20 possessions in a game in his first 37 AFL games, and averaging 9.4 possessions per game through that four-year period, the Redland junior followed his career-best Round 1 haul of 23 against Essendon with another career-best of 25 in the Suns’ breakout win over Fremantle in Perth.
Adam Oxley had 21 possessions for Collingwood in his first game of the year, while Dayne Zorko collected 24 possessions and kicked two goals in his first outing of the year for Brisbane, having missed Round 1 through suspension.
A total of 20 Queenslanders played in Round 2 after Oxley, Zorko and Brisbane’s Daniel Merrett made their first appearance of the year, but Brendan Whitecross missed the final selection cut at Hawthorn and his long-awaited return to senior football.
