Mickan’s Miracle in 1984

By DION HAYMAN

Mark Mickan goaled after the siren to sink Norwood at Richmond Oval in the midst of a remarkable 1984 season.

His kick from 40 metres was made easier after the Redlegs conceded a 15-metre penalty. Mickan’s feat came just eight days after young Panther Darren Harris had launched a 60-metre bomb after the bell to beat Port.

West Adelaide’s premiership defence suffered a rocky start in 1984 with injuries accumulating quickly, headlined by Bruce Lindner’s broken leg in the fourth round that ended his season. Norwood had significant problems of its own by the time it headed to Richmond on the Queen’s birthday holiday Monday with just four wins from 10 games.

That was one more than the Bloods, who were on a three-game losing streak. It left the reigning premiers two wins outside the top five. Another home defeat was not an option.

Both sides were littered with premiership players belying their clubs’ plights. Norwood made the early running and peppered the goals with four minor scores before Craig Kelly, playing at full forward, kicked the first major. Michael Aish was acting captain for the absent Danny Jenkins, forming a deadly on-ball trio with Garry McIntosh and Keith Thomas.

Wingman Duncan Fosdike was prolific along with pacy rover Mark Dougall who was playing only his third but ultimately final game for the Legs.

West’s Grantley Fielke (34 possessions) and Ian Borchard won plenty of ball, while Roger Luders finished with 7.6 and might have booted 10 but for a fine job by Rohan Helyar, who quelled his fire in the second half. Mickan battled alone all day against Norwood’s three-pronged ruck department of Craig Balme, Neil Button and Neil Hein.

Hein took a number of significant marks in defence while Button rotated forward as a foil for Neville Roberts.

The lead chopped and changed throughout the afternoon but it was West in front in time-on until Roberts cleverly outbodied Tony Burgess to mark and boot his fourth goal at the 24-minute-mark. A miss at the southern end left West three points adrift as Bruce Winter kicked out towards the grandstand side with just seconds left to play.

Mickan worked Hein underneath the ball with just the slightest arm into his back, taking a clean mark that his frustrated opponent immediately ripped from his hands.

Whether it was that action or the arrival of Craig Kelly as a second man on the mark that triggered the 15-metre penalty is not clear but West almost certainly wouldn’t have won without it. Within a second of the extra yardage being awarded, the siren sounded.

Tom Warhurst took over duties on the mark with the seasons of both clubs potentially on the line. Fans poured onto the ground, many gathered behind the goal.

“I remember saying to myself, ‘run straight, drop it straight and kick it straight’,” Mickan recalled.

From just a gentle angle and on the preferred side for a left-footer, the lanky ruckman appeared to give the ball an extra thump to ensure the distance wasn’t a factor. It flirted with the left-hand post before straightening and never gave Norwood’s defenders on the goal-line a chance.

“Well I didn’t drop it straight but it went through anyway,” he said.

Within seconds, he was swamped by up to 30 team-mates and fans, lying underneath an anthill of adulation as the home crowd rejoiced. But rather than glory and triumph, Mickan recalls he was overcome by another emotion.

“I felt pretty relieved actually as much as anything,” he said. “I hadn’t had a really good game but I had a good moment. It’s a fond memory.”

It’s the stuff of which legends are made and, fittingly, Mickan was last year elevated to legend status by West Adelaide.

“It was an incredible honour,” the 63-year-old said. He joined Grantley Fielke as the club’s only living legends, alongside Richard Head, Bruce McGregor, Brian Faehse, Doug Thomas and Neil Kerley.

Mickan played 139 games for the Bloods in between stints with the Brisbane Bears and Adelaide, winning four best and fairests and captaining the club in 1986.

His legacy at Richmond was crystallised in 2015 when, as coach, he ended the Bloods’ 32-year premiership drought – some kind of cosmic compensation for the one he missed as a player in 1983.

Mickan injured his left knee against Woodville in the 20th round, ruling him out of the ’83 finals and the Bloods’ dominant premiership side.

“It was a difficult time for sure,” he said. “I was very happy we won. I remember missing the grand final was disappointing but I always thought we had such a good side we’d be around the mark for a long time. It wasn’t the case but there were reasons why. Some people left, we had a few injuries and the same side was never together again.”

These days, Mickan’s involvement in football is restricted to watching 16-year-old son Fletcher umpire and play with St Michael’s.

He spends much of the rest of his time devoted to monitoring his health after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2016.

“I’m managing all right,” he said. “I had a successful brain operation in 2019 and that’s helped me a lot. I exercise as much as I can. It hasn’t been ideal but we’ve managed with good support from family and doctors.”

He can’t be sure what triggered his condition but conceded head injuries sustained from playing the game may have contributed.

“I’ve got all three possible explanations for Parkinson’s covered. One is genetics – my dad had it, my brother’s got it, my dad’s sister had it and my first cousin’s got it. Another possible explanation is poisonous sprays – we lived on a fruit block growing up in Renmark and we were exposed to a lot of pesticides. And footy is another possible explanation. I broke my jaw training one day for the Crows and I think I got a fair old concussion out of that. And there were various times I remember being hit on the head in play and feeling a bit dazed afterwards.”

Ultimately, Mickan’s heroics in 1984 proved in vain. West never did recapture its scintillating 1983 form, finishing with 10 wins, three behind fifth-placed Norwood, which became the first side to win the flag from the elimination final. “They had the last laugh that year.”

WEST      2.3  7.10  12.16  14.20  (104)

NORWOOD  4.5  8.5  13.7  15.11  (101)

BEST – West: Fielke, Borchard, Luders, Kantilaftas, Lamb, Herbert.

Norwood: McIntosh, Aish, Fosdike, Thomas, Helyar, Roberts.

SCORERS – West: Luders 7.6, Borchard 3.1, Fielke 1.2, Grosser, Falting 1.1, Mickan 1.0, Smith 0.5, Herbert 0.2, Burton 0.1, rushed 0.1.

Norwood: Roberts 4.0, Aish 3.1, Thomas  2.0, Kelly 1.3, Dougall 1.2, Marano, Fosdike 1.1, McIntosh, Button 1.0, Payne 0.1, rushed 0.2.

UMPIRES – Mark Mackie, Neville Thorp.

CROWD – 6107 at Richmond Oval.