Snap Shot Guthrie numerology and a football crime better left unsolved

Snap Shot is a weekly column taking a look at the lighter side of football.

Cam and Zach Guthrie’s parents, Suzanne and Andrew, are avid followers of their four sons’ football careers, whether they are playing VFL, AFL, or getting a kick for the Sunbury twos.

They spent time in quarantine at Howard Springs in the Northern Territory to see Cam play in his first grand final in Queensland last season, and on Saturday they made a quick dash over Bass Strait to be at Blundstone Arena when the Cats took on North Melbourne in Hobart.

Cam Guthrie is on the verge of his 200th AFL game.Credit:Getty Images

They were rewarded for their effort, too, with Cam and Zach both starring for the Cats in a day of football their mum Suzanne ranked as among her best ever. The pair also polled eight coaches votes each to round off the occasion.

Now, that is all well and good, but Brownlow night will decide the debate that has taken place since the game as to which brother was best on ground. Snap Shot is convinced Cam will poll more than Zach because it’s a midfielders’ medal and, of course, he has more hair. He’s also a more decorated player, having won the club’s best and fairest and earning All-Australian honours last season.

There have been recent examples of both brothers polling Brownlow votes in the same game, with Matt Crouch polling two and Brad Crouch one against the Giants in round 16 last season, while Rhyce Shaw kept the upper hand on his brother Heath when he polled three votes against Richmond in round three 2008, while Heath could only manage one.

Of course, the Crouch and Shaw brothers eventually played at different clubs, but we doubt Cam, despite being out of contract as a free agent on the verge of his 200th game, will be parting ways with Zach unless a tantalising adventure near a good surf beach was on offer.

And, just for those looking for symmetry, Zach polled his first coaches votes in game No.29, the same number his brother wears on his back, with Cam, who turns 29 this month, picking up 29 disposals against the Kangaroos, the same number of disposals his dad, Andrew Merryweather, managed in his five games with Essendon in 1988 (beat that bit of numerology, Cam Mooney).

BANNER BOOK

Speaking of the famous No.29, the story behind the banner that nearly injured Richmond’s Kevin Bartlett as he ran through it for his 400th match is one worth reading if you prioritise fans’ connections to their clubs more than a certain club president has shown in recent times.

The tale is outlined in a book we underestimated when we heard the idea called Footy Banners: A Complete Run-Through. It has been written and compiled by Giants media manager Leigh Meyrick and Matthew Hagias.

Like all good books on a single issue, it covers everything you never thought you needed to know about banners - including Collingwood’s disgusting banner when they met Essendon for a second time in 1995, right through to the more uplifting cheeky aside from Port Adelaide to Crows fans before their Showdown in 2017.

COULD A FOOTBALL CRIME BE SOLVED 30 YEARS ON?

Adelaide premiership player Nigel Smart never lacked confidence in his ability to stop key forwards during his 278-game career with the Crows, which saw him often switch from attack to defence and back again.

Well, he will need all the qualities he showed, including his ability to walk over hot coals, in his new role as the chief executive of South Australian Crime Stoppers, an appointment the office of state Premier Steven Marshall proudly announced on Monday.

Nigel Smart dishes off a stern ‘don’t argue’ to Bombers great Scott Lucas back in 2003.Credit:Getty Images

Snap Shot automatically thought the first phone call to Smart might come from former commentator and Collingwood great Peter McKenna.

McKenna was the man fired up as he called a famous after-the-siren win to the Crows over Fitzroy at Football Park in 1991. Victory was only achieved after Adelaide’s Rod Jameson and David Marshall were given two dubious free kicks in front of goal in the final two minutes of the match to deny the Lions victory, and McKenna did not hold back.

“Absolute murder, absolute murder,” yelled McKenna down the microphone as he claimed the match had been stolen.

Snap Shot thought such a series of events should fit right in Smart’s remit, but after some investigation ourselves we’re not so sure the cold case will be opened.

The now 52-year-old Smart received three Brownlow votes from the umpires in that game, meaning Fitzroy supporters, and McKenna, might have to take that injustice to their graves.

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Peter Ryan is a sports reporter with The Age covering AFL, horse racing and other sports.

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