If I were to ask you who the best brother combination in footy history were, how far do you go back to find them?
I am sure there will be some who don’t have a heap of experience when it comes to the game that mount a case for Josh and Nick Daicos right now, and in five or six years, there might be others who throw the names of Will and Levi Ashcroft into the mix, but there are plenty of others who need to be considered before these blokes even get a look in.
Off the top of my head, I immediately think of the Krakouers, the Jarmans, the Maddens, and the Abletts. These are my vintage, but I am aware enough to understand that just because that is what I am familiar with, does not mean that they’re the pinnacle.
No, not at all.
We neglect history a little too often. I have been guilty of it because I don’t like to yap on about players I did not get to witness live. Yet, it is difficult to broach a subject like this and not look back almost 100 years to the feats of Gordon and Syd Coventry of the Magpies.
Hell, Gordon held the record for most goals in the league until Tony Lockett finally surpassed him in 1999. That’s the lazy 62-year record for the bloke.
His brother, Sid, managed to play 227 games, win a Brownlow, and captain the Magpies to four-straight flags.
They’d take a bit of beating.
And with that, let’s have a look at HB’s favourite ten brother pairings, and yes, there’ll likely be a bit of recency, or at least the last 50 years, recency bias in this article.
THE COVENTRY BROTHERS
Usually, when you have one dominant brother, the other kind of pales into insignificance. That’s the vase with Gary Junior and Nathan Ablett, and Michael and Brett Voss, amongst others.
This is not the case with the Coventry Brothers.
As mentioned above, Gordon had 1299 goals to his name, whilst Syd was the leader of one of the best teams of all time. Whilst I am sure there was a little sibling rivalry, with one at full forward and one in the ruck, the Pies had a perfect one-two punch in these two.
THE COLLIER BROTHERS
We’re going back in time, again. This is the only pair of brothers to both win Brownlow Medals.
Not only did they win the medals, they won them in consecutive years, with Albert winning in 1929, and Harry winning in 1930.
With ten flags between them, they are Collingwood royalty… even if Harry did make a comeback to play with Fitzroy in 1941-42.
12 flags between them… not bloody bad!
THE MADDEN BROTHERS
They started on the same team, but with Simon the number one ruck, Justin was eventually forced to look elsewhere for more opportunity.
With Paul Salmon joining the team for the 1983 season, Justin saw the writing on the wall and made the move to Carlton, to become their number one ruck.
Simon finished his career with 378 games for the Bombers, and 578 goals, whilst Justin added 332 games at both Essendon and Carlton.
Also, not that people will rate this, but combined, they finished second in the Brownlow twice. Justin in 1985, and Simon in 1988 (and third in 1983).
THE KRAKOUER BROTHERS
Personal bias… screw it.
They never seem to be mentioned when the AFL does this type of article. Not up at the top of the list, anyway. It might be because they never won a flag in the then-VFL, but in terms of talent and impact, few combinations were better. I was a kid when they debuted for North, but missed their WAFL careers – this is something I may try to correct with the magic of vintage games on youtube, if they’re available.
I have not often felt an entire crowd respond with awe the way I did when Jimmy and Phil combined at Arden Street. They set the place alight.
Jim would go on to finish his career with a brief stint at St Kilda, whilst Phil ended up at the Dogs, but the “Krakouer Magic” they produced for North was something I will always hold dear.
THE JARMAN BROTHERS
This is a bit of recency bias from me, as I have been delving into SANFL archives and watching them in action together for both North Adelaide and South Australia.
They’re a complicated duo. Darren was originally drafted by Melbourne in 1986, but he chose to stay with North Adelaide. After three years, Brisbane tried to claim him. Again, he stayed with North. Then the Crows were formed, but there was angst with Neil Kerley, so Darren moved to Hawthorn, whilst Andrew played out the remainder of his career with the Crows.
If anything, Darren’s brilliance has probably made Andrew somewhat underrated, as he was a maestro by hand.
THE MATERA BROTHERS
These blokes never get a guernsey in these lists – they tend to get mentioned in the “and these pairings were also good” sections, but they are such a diverse pairing.
Peter was a superstar – a game changer, and blessed with a burst of speed that blew opponents off the park.
Shorter and more akin to snag a bag of goals, Phil is one of the more underrated small forwards the game has seen, amassing 389 goals from 179 games for the Eagles.
THE CORNES BROTHERS
Seeing Kane get wrapped up might rankle some, but Graham’s boys had stellar AFL careers, with Chad close to the best defender in the game at one point, and Kane alternating between being a top tier midfielder, and the best run-with player in the competition.
Between them, they amassed 558 games, four All-Australian selections, and four best and fairest awards at Port.
THE DANIHER BROTHERS
There were plenty of them, with Terry the standout, but I remember y dad telling me that Neale was the best of them, if not for that damn knee injury that ruined his career.
Terry owned the 1985 Leigh Matthews Medal as the MVP, and there was one instance where all four brothers famously played in the same game.
In that contest, Terry had 15 touches and a goal playing Centre Half Forward, Neale slotted into the forward pocket and snagged 3.4, Antony played at Centre Half Back and notched 27 touches and 12 marks, whilst Chris played on-ball and picked up 24 disposals.
A nice day out for the family…
THE ABLETTS
Nah, not Junior and Nathan – I am talking about Senior and his brother, Geoff.
Whilst Senior’s record is the stuff of legend, Geoff’s career has flown under the radar. He won two flags as part of the Hawks in 1976 and 1978, as his powerful run and carry, and penetrating kicking gave the Hawthorn forwards plenty to work with. He finished up at St Kilda, after two years with Richmond.
As for Senior… well, he evidently had some good bloodlines, which he passed down to his own kids. One of them opted to put them to great use.
THE MATTHEWS BROTHERS / THE NANKERVIS BROTHERS
I didn’t want to leave either of these pairings out.
The Geelong duo both captained the club, and have five best and fairest awards between them.
As for the Hawthorn duo, well… Lethal carries that combination, obviously, but Kelvin played 155 games at over a goal per game, and played in the Hawks’ 1976 flag
So, who didn’t I get to?
I didn’t have time to cover the Burgoyne brothers, and I feel terrible about it. I wanted both them and the Cornes boys in, and in the end, I chose between the pair. The achievements of the Cornes brothers seemed, to me, to carry more weight than the combined might of the Burgoynes… but I am happy to take the loss if you feel differently. I would have liked them in, as well.
The Selwoods were also right on the cusp, as well. As I am a hug fan of Joel, I feel dirty not having them in there.
The Roccas? 1163 goals between them… far out. Get Sav into the Hall of Fame, by the way. Bloke kicked 700+.
The Jakovich Brothers… I would have liked to see Allen play a little while longer at a high level, but it is difficult to fault Glen.
I also left out the Hanson Brothers, mainly because they’re fictitious, and also because they played ice hockey, but they may just be the best brother combination in the history of brothers.
Also, Mario and Luigi are good brothers.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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