Tony Buhagiar credits John Todd’s tough love as he get set to enter WA Football Hall of Fame

East Fremantle, Essendon and Footscray rover Tony Buhagiar attributes his elevation to the West Australian Football Hall of Fame to team success rather than individual achievements. “I didn’t win a best and fairest, but there weren’t many years where I didn’t play in finals,” Buhagiar told The West Australian. “You play footy to play in finals. I was very lucky to have played in quite a few.” Buhagiar will be inducted into the WA Football Hall of Fame at Monday night’s Sandover Medal count at Crown Perth, along with Aaron Sandilands, Stan Magro and Dale Kickett. Buhagiar, at 166cm, was a pioneer of his day. Regarded as too short to have an impact at the elite level, he says he was taught to survive in footy by his first senior coach, the late John Todd, who guided the Sharks to a drought-breaking premiership in 1974 in Buhagiar’s second season at WAFL level. “He was ruthless and he was really hard on kids,” Buhagiar said. “His whole theory was I am going to be really tough for all the young guys and if you are not prepared to cop it, and if you are not prepared to go through the discipline, then I don’t want you at the club. “He’d weed ’em out in no time. “Toddy was a really good coach. It was great for me to cop him first up. I honestly am very grateful he was so hard on me early days, it just gave you some discipline and showed you that was what was required to play at that level.” Buhagiar played 138 games with East Fremantle and rates his second flag with the Sharks, their 1979 derby victory over South Fremantle in front of a record Subiaco Oval crowd of 52,781, as the most memorable. He also played in losing grand finals in 1977 and 1986 and at Essendon in the then VFL in 1983. “It was massive. There were 52,000 that day and they had the old caravans around the ground where you buy your hot dogs and burgers and there would have been 50 people standing on those vans to be able to watch the game,” he said. He described the game as “ferocious” with Mal Brown coaching Souths and Brad Smith steering East Fremantle. “The whole plan was to smash me and Peaky (Brian Peake). Stephen Michael would have cleaned me up four or five times,” he said. He says a massive brawl in the third quarter when Dale Reeves KOd East Fremantle’s Wayne Cormack - rumour has it he was after Peake, who wore No 7, but instead got Cormack, who had the No. 17 on his back. “That actually stirred us up beautifully,” Buhagiar recalled. “We came in at three quarter time and there was no way we were going to lose. We were fired up. In the first five, 10 minutes of the final quarter we put the game beyond doubt. Their tactics definitely did not work. “It was totally behind play. No one knew what was going on. The cameras never found it. Then there was this massive brawl. South Fremantle were the better side that year. We finished fourth. They won the second semi final. That was my 100th game. It was a big occasion for me.” Buhagiar was named in the All- Australian team that year with the State-of-Origin carnival played the week after the grand final, his performance helping him win a contract with Essendon. He opted to remain in WA for the 1980 season as he didn’t think he was ready and had a “bad knee” and shifted to Windy Hill in 1981 in Kevin Sheedy’s first season as coach. “Sheedy wasn’t that keen,” Buhagiar said. “He didn’t know much about me. I remember ringing him and saying ‘I am keen to come’. And he said ‘Oh come and do the pre-season and we’ll see if you are any good, but you are a bit small’,” Buhagiar said. He completed the full pre-season and quickly cemented a spot in the Baby Bombers side. “We copped a really tough pre-season. We lost I think four of our first five games and then won 15 straight. My time at Essendon I really enjoyed but it was more because I was in such a good side,” he said. His 83 games with Essendon included a record 83-point grand final loss to Hawthorn in 1983. “We got smashed. Not just a little bit. The ultimate is to play in a grand final, but I remember at quarter-time going in and saying, ‘This isn’t really very good fun’,” he said. “You knew at quarter time we had no chance of winning. And Timmy Watson was knocked out by Colin Robertson, who didn’t even get reported and ended up winning the Norm Smith Medal.” Buhagiar missed out in the Bombers’ revenge flag win over Hawthorn the following September, regarded as stiff after he’d picked up 23 disposals and kicked a goal in Essendon’s 133-point preliminary final win over Collingwood. “In all fairness I got an injury in round 10. Justin Madden trod on my foot and I had a stress fracture. I missed about eight games. Worked my way back into the side, but Darren Williams and Alan Ezard had cemented themselves as the rovers. It was a tough one,” he said. “I played in the game against Collingwood and Sheeds said to me ‘If it rains and it’s wet, you’re in, if it’s not, you’re out’. And there was not a drop of rain. So I missed out. “That was the biggest disappointment of my career, but I have no regrets about playing for Essendon or being under Kevin Sheedy.” Buhagiar had packed his bags for a return to Perth at the end of that season, but he received a surprise phone call from Footscray’s head of football Shane O’Sullivan. “I was coming home to Perth. I saw there was no hope for me. My knee was stuffed. I did it when I was 19 and my knee was always a problem from a very early age,” he said. His first reaction was to reject the offer as the Bulldogs were coached by Mick Malthouse, who he’d had some rough encounters with on the field. “But Mick Malthouse rang me and said ‘Let’s put my playing career aside. I am now a coach and I would love it if you came over’, so I thought ‘Why not?’” he said. “I only had a one year but it was a great year for Footscray. Played in three finals and the preliminary final. But I knew I was gone at the end of the year.” After chalking up 25 games with the Bulldogs, Buhagiar spent one last season with East Fremantle, reaching the grand final but losing to Subiaco. “That was it. My time was up,” Buhagiar said. Buhagiar said he marvelled at the talent of today’s small forwards and pointed out Hawthorn’s Nick Watson (170cm) had him by four centimetres. “You are what you are. There is nothing much you can do about it. In my day, there were a couple around the same size but not many. I wouldn’t get a game today,” he said.