Steve Bird was a tough nut half-back flanker who had his fair share of success in country footy, but his Aussie rules journey was shaped at a young age by his love for the Hawthorn Football Club.
On Wednesday, at the Echuca Regional Health Charity Golf Day and sportsman’s night, Mr Bird ticked one rather significant item off his bucket list — spending the afternoon and evening in the company of goalkicking legend Jason Dunstall, known as ‘the Chief’.
“I used to steal the Chief’s socks when I was a kid, from the changerooms at Waverley,” Steve said.
Mr Bird’s father played under-19s football with Hawthorn and was a friend of the club official who manned the door of the changerooms. Hence the pair regularly got to rub shoulders with their heroes after the frequent Hawks wins of the 1980s and 1990s.
Mr Bird grew up in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs before arriving in Echuca-Moama as an 11-year-old.
“Dad decided he wanted a tree change and went from running a building company in Melbourne to running a dairy farm in Echuca,’’ he said.
The union of Mr Bird with his childhood hero, Dunstall, was the brainchild of Moama Bowling Club chief operating officer Liam Fleming.
Mr Fleming, who also played in the bowling club team, combined with marketing manager George Santos to plot a reunion between the pair by paying $3000 to the ERH charity to secure Dunstall’s services for the ambrose event.
And it almost paid dividends, the team finishing equal second. The other member of the team was Club Tweed chief executive Gerard Robinson, a close friend of Mr Fleming and Mr Bird, who is in town with his club’s Bowls Premier League franchise.
Mr Fleming said Mr Bird had given a lot to the community and it was a way of saying thanks.
“He is involved with Horizon and the work they do with the Biggest Blokes’ Lunch and postie run, he is on the junior committee of the football club and coaches cricket,” he said.
Mr Bird’s wife, Belinda Jones-Bird, was converted from a strong family connection with Collingwood to become an avid Hawthorn supporter in 1995.
“We started dating in 1994. I took her to a football game and she was sold,’’ Mr Bird said.
He has been to every Hawthorn grand final since 1989, which includes six premierships (1989, 1991, 2008 and the three-peat from 2013 to 2015).
But he said Dunstall remained his favourite, and any wonder; 1254 goals from 269 games and a list of footballing honours to match any player in the game.
Dunstall has become a regular at Rich River Golf Club, through his strong friendship with fellow Hawthorn multi-premiership player Gary Buckenara.
As for Mr Bird’s footballing achievements, he was playing coach of Pyramid Hill in the Loddon Valley league in the early 2000s.
“We finished sixth in my first year and third in my last year. They hadn’t won a game before that,” he said.
Mr Bird and his wife shared dinner with the Hawthorn legend at the sportsman’s night, a second component of the joint fundraising initiative — in aid of the cancer and wellness centre at Echuca Regional Health — of Rich River Golf Club and the Committee for Echuca Moama.
The highlight of the day for Mr Bird came when he, fittingly, finished off a birdie after a Dunstall drive and approach shot to the short par four 15th on the west course.
Dunstall’s drive went through the green before he chipped close enough for Mr Bird to complete the putt.
More photos and stories on pages 14 to 17 of today’s Riv.