Mervyn Neagle (7 March 195823 August 2012) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who represented and in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL) during the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life

Neagle grew up in

Dimboola Dimboola is a town in the Shire of Hindmarsh in the Wimmera region of western Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 334 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. History Situated on the Wimmera River, Dimboola was previously known as 'Nine Creek ...

, a country town in western Victoria. There he formed a lifelong friendship with future teammate

Tim Watson Timothy Michael Watson (born 13 July 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After retiring from the game, he has continued working in the Australian footb ...

. They played junior football and basketball, and shared a paper round.

Football career

Essendon

Neagle joined , in 1976, preceding Watson who joined the club the following year as a 15-year-old. Both players made their senior debuts in 1977. Neagle finished second in the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

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 ...

and equal fifth in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Neagle was selected to play for Essendon in the

1983 VFL Grand Final The 1983 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1983. It was the 87th annual Grand Fi ...

. He also played in the

1984 VFL Grand Final The 1984 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1984. It was the 88th annual grand final o ...

, where Essendon won their first premiership in 19 years. Neagle kicked the last goal of the match. Neagle missed the 1985 premiership. He played in the second semi-final win over , but was a late withdrawal on Grand Final day due to a leg injury.

Sydney Swans

At the end of the season Neagle transferred from Essendon to Sydney, where he played in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

until his retirement. Neagle was offered a rural coaching position in 1989, but chose to remain as a player with Sydney. In all, he played five seasons for Sydney before retiring at the end of the

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

Post AFL career

After retiring from AFL football, Neagle played and coached at a number of clubs around Australia, including: * Merbein Football Club * Sale in Victoria * Mount Barker Football Club in the Great Southern Football League *Balranald Football Club in the

Central Murray Football League The Central Murray Football Netball League (CMFNL) is a major country Australian rules football and netball competition based in northern Victoria and southwest New South Wales in Australia. History The league was formed in 1997, combining all e ...

. In 2009 he coached St Mary's to the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

premiership. He also coached

North Albury Football Club The North Albury Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Hoppers'', is an Australian rules football and netball club playing in the Ovens & Murray Football League (O&MFL). They are incorporated as part of the North Albury Sports Club licensed c ...

and

Mangoplah Mangoplah is a town approximately south of Wagga Wagga in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, Mangoplah had a population of 309. The name of the town is believed to mean "Kooris singing" in the Wiradjuri ab ...

-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes, New South Wales in 1997 and 1998, while in 2012 before his death Neagle coached Walla Walla Football Netball Club in the

Hume Football League The Hume Australian Football Netball League (HFNL), often shortened to Hume Football League, is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing twelve clubs based in the South West Slopes and southern Riverina regions of New South ...

Personal life

Neagle worked as a truck driver and was the father of former Essendon player

Jay Neagle Jay Neagle (born 17 January 1988) is an Australian rules footballer formerly with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). The son of former Bomber Merv Neagle, Jay was drafted under the father–son rule at the ...

, who was drafted under the father-son rule at the end of the 2005 AFL season.

Death

Neagle died when the trailer of the

B-double A road train, land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a trucking vehicle used to move road freight more efficiently than semi-trailer trucks. It consists of two or more trailers or semi-trailers hauled by a prime mover. History Early ...

truck he was driving flipped over and crushed the cabin at

Tharbogang Tharbogang is a village and rural locality in the Riverina region of southwest New South Wales, Australia. The village is in the City of Griffith local government area and on the Kidman Way, north west of the centre of Griffith and west of the ...

, near

Griffith, New South Wales Griffith is a major regional city in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area that is located in the north-western part of the Riverina region of New South Wales, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith ...

. Neagle's death at 54 years of age prompted a flow of tributes from former teammates and associates. Coach Kevin Sheedy recalled that Neagle:

...was not only a brilliant footballer but was also a real character. Merv was a very tenacious, hard-running player and his courage and toughness were typical of Essendon teams of that era. He had great physicality for a wingman and was a terrific kick for goal on the run. He also gave a lot back to country football after he retired, and along with Tim Watson was one of the finest players to come out of Dimboola. Merv has left us all too soon but has left those who knew him with many great memories.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neagle, Merv 1958 births 2012 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Essendon Football Club players Essendon Football Club Premiership players Sydney Swans players Dimboola Football Club players Sale Football Club players Sale Football Club coaches Road incident deaths in New South Wales One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players