Mervyn Keane (pronounced: "cane") (born 29 July 1953), commonly known as Merv Keane, is a former Australian rules football player and coach who played in the VFL between 1972 and 1984 for the Richmond Football Club. Predominantly a back pocket or half-back flanker, Keane later showed his versatility by frequently playing as a ruck-rover. He was generally regarded as one of the most underrated players in the VFL, and did not poll a

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

vote in his first ten seasons. Although Keane was in Richmond’s country zone, he mistakenly trained with

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

before joining the Tigers. Despite some trouble settling in, Keane became a vital member of the Tigers’ 1973 premiership side and his solid defensive work was vital for the club as it declined in the period following the resignation of

Tom Hafey Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

at the end of the 1976 season. In 1980, Keane moved from defence to fill an on-ball position made vacant by Kevin Bartlett’s permanent move to the forward line and his drive from this position was a valuable part of perhaps the most potent attacking team in League history with over 3,000 points scored. In the Grand Final Keane had 27 possessions and kicked two fine goals, but his 1981 season was wiped out by a serious knee injury requiring a reconstruction. Nonetheless, back in defence, Keane was effective as ever in 1982, and he was still playing very well when he was approached by

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as th ...

club Sturt as a playing coach to replace John Halbert. Keane coached the Double Blues for four consecutive seasons (retiring as a player after 1985) before the committee controversially sacked himLysikatos; ''True blue''; pp. 302-303 after a season in which he had taken the club from ninth to fifth, feeling he had not done enough to sustain the traditions the club had developed under Jack Oatey. Most historians argue that Sturt did not recover from Keane’s sacking until under

Phil Carman Phillip Carman (born 4 September 1950 in Edenhope, Victoria) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Norwood in the SANFL and , , and in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1970s and 1980s. A flamboyant player who ...

following an 0-22 season in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

. Keane then served as an assistant to his old teammate Kevin Sheedy at

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

for a few of years during the early 1990s, before taking the reins at TAC Cup side the Western Jets. At the Jets, Keane played a key role in the development of such players as Brad JohnsonSee Johnson, Brad and Weston, James; ''Johnno: Bulldog Through & Through''; before being appointed to coach a Williamstown club that had finished with a winless record in the same season Sturt did in the SANFL. Keane rebuilt the club, if not to the same extent his former employers were by Carman, and coached

Caulfield Grammarians Football Club Caulfield Grammarians Football Club, is an Australian rules football club based in Caulfield East, Victoria. The club, composed of Caulfield Grammar School alumni is, along with Old Melburnians, the (equal) second oldest consecutively compe ...

in 2003 and 2004 before returning to assist Sheedy in his last days at Essendon.

References

* Hogan P: ''The Tigers Of Old'', Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996 *
Richmond Football Club - Hall of Fame

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Mervyn 1953 births Living people Richmond Football Club players Richmond Football Club Premiership players Sturt Football Club players Sturt Football Club coaches Williamstown Football Club coaches Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Three-time VFL/AFL Premiership players