It was an incident which went down in football infamy. Now, after 42 years, David Rhys-Jones and Peter Smith reunite to remember the day the South Melbourne star punched a runner.
AFL: Future Hall of Famers Jack Riewoldt and Tom Hawkins exchanged guernseys after Richmond sprung a surprise over the Cats at the MCG.
The pair were the headline acts in a spiteful round 18, 1981, clash between Melbourne and South Melbourne at the MCG, when Rhys-Jones was charged with striking Smith, alleging the Melbourne runner had grabbed his testicles.
Rhys-Jones, 60, was a fiery 19-year-old wingman at the time, a boy from Oakleigh Districts who seemed to have more time than most with the ball in his hands.
Smith, 75, was Ron Barassi’s Melbourne runner, the pair having shared a close bond given Smith’s father was legendary coach Norm Smith, a mentor to Barassi.
Smith played 23 games with Melbourne and 15 for Carlton before he kicked 121 goals with VFA club Coburg in 1974.
David Rhys-Jones reunites with Peter Smith, son of Norm Smith, more than four decades after punching Peter in an altercation. Picture: Mark Stewart.
The genesis for their infamous meeting took place in the second quarter, when Melbourne’s Brent Crosswell clipped Rhys-Jones with his knee, sending the blond into “la-la land”.
Later in the game Rhys-Jones, always one who believed one bad turn deserved two in return, saw his chance and after resisting a strong urge to kick Crosswell, belted the volatile Demon in the head.
That prompted Crosswell’s teammate Peter “Cracker” Keenan to display rare speed before he placed Rhys-Jones in an uncompromising headlock.
The interview with Rhys-Jones is part of his annual 15 for 15 Challenge which acts as a fundraiser for those who suffer from Prader-Willi Syndrome, as David and Cherie’s son, Cooper, 19, does. (Find out more at pwsavic.org.au).
David Rhys-Jones: “I had a pretty good first quarter on a wing, then Brent Crosswell hit me with his knee on the side of the head while I was on my hands and knees. Later on he went for a mark and I thought I would kick him. I ended up just tapping him, The next thing ‘Crackers’ had me in a headlock and was also kindly trying to remove some mud from one of my eyes. Then someone grabbed me by my orchestra stalls (testicles) and when I got to my feet. I decided Peter looked the most guilty so I belted him.
David Rhys-Jones strikes Melbourne runner Peter Smith during the melee.
“After the game our president Graeme John came to the rooms and told me I would be leaving the ground in an ambulance. Graeme said he had got off something similar in Western Australia when he pleaded concussion. Next thing I’m sitting in hospital with nothing wrong with me. They wouldn’t let me go for four hours, then they said I should stay overnight.
“I said ‘bugger that’ and I headed out to meet my teammates at The Underground (nightclub). The problem was The Sunday Press had come into hospital and taken a pic of me supposedly half dead, whereas The Sunday Observer had got into the rooms after the game and had a shot of me having a fag.
David Rhys-Jones [L] and Graham Teasdale arrive at the tribunal.
“Six years later I was at the same ground receiving the Norm Smith Medal (best on ground in the 1987 VFL grand final). You have to laugh at the irony. When Robert Walls came to Carlton as coach in 1986, Wes Lofts came to me and said: ‘You know he’s best mates with Peter Smith, the bloke you whacked?’
“I thought, ‘Geez, I haven’t got off to a good start here’. But it was good to catch up with Peter again, and if he said he didn’t do it, then that’s good enough for me.”
Peter Smith (Melbourne 23 games, Carlton 15): “Coming back for Ron (Barassi) as a runner at Melbourne was the worst mistake I ever made, because I ran into you (laughter). I was trying to get ‘Crackers’ (Peter Keenan) off you (Rhys-Jones). Crackers launched himself from about four yards away. I was also trying to keep an eye on ‘Jacko’ (Melbourne’s flamboyant full-forward Mark Jackson). I heard you saying you belted me because you thought I looked the most guilty. Fair go Rhys, all I was trying to do was get off the ground.
David Rhys-Jones and Peter Smith share a laugh. Picture: Mark Stewart
“After the game I hadn’t realised the furore surrounding what had happened. The press came into the rooms and asked Ron Barassi about allegations his runner has squirrel gripped Rhys. I said, ‘It’s bullshit’. The next morning the story was all over the papers. I then went to the tribunal where Melbourne official and lawyer Dick Seddon got involved, saying the Smith name must be protected.
“I always thought you saying you had been grabbed in a delicate area was said as a tribunal defence, but meeting you I realise it did happen. I’m just glad you realise it wasn’t me who did it. It was a good punch but I wasn’t too hurt. I sort of did a forward roll and then ran back to the bench. I’m glad to see David again after all these years.”