Yesterday Luke Ball called to a halt his remarkable career, retiring in an understated and selfless fashion following the news he would need off-season surgery.
After tonight’s game against Hawthorn, his 223rd AFL match, he will leave the MCG – the stage of his greatest success – as a walking definition of hard work, dedication and drive to get the absolute best out of himself.
Through his younger days at Xavier College Ball was an elite junior athlete excelling at both cricket and athletics, but even the great heights he reached in these pursuits were over-shadowed by his skills in Aussie rules.
After playing as a year 11 in a premiership for his school, speculation around where Ball might land in the draft focussed on the first half dozen selections of the 2001 AFL draft.
In the now infamous ‘super draft’, he would be selected pick two to St Kilda – flanked by Norm Smith medallist Luke Hodge taken by the Hawks and future AFL Hall of Famer Chris Judd selected by the West Coast.
Ball would spend 2002 finishing year 12 and leading Xavier to another premiership, before moving full time to the Saints along with a host of new top end draft talent. Along with the arrival of Nick Riewoldt, Justin Koschitzke and Nick Dal Santo, Ball soon built a reputation as a strong inside midfielder with outstanding courage and great short distance speed.
Often doing the grunt work for his skilled teammates, Ball would amass 25 games in 2004 including a two-goal, 21-disposal game in a preliminary final loss to Port Adelaide.
The accolades would begin in 2005 when Ball won the Trevor Barker Medal as St Kilda’s best and fairest while taking on the role of captain in 2006 and 2007. It was around this time however that things started to sour, with a debilitating groin injury robbing Ball for a time of his pace and ability to cover the ground.
Despite this, Ball continued to play through the pain often it seemed at the request of the coaches desperate to have the hard midfield general in the side.
While Ball had enjoyed success at the Saints and played numerous finals he was yet to reach every AFL players ultimate goal of lifting the premiership cup.
By 2008 and 2009 new coach Ross Lyon had begun to use Ball sparingly off the bench despite still maintaining his high standards in terms of work rate and being one of the Saints leaders.
This was never more evident than the 2009 grand final where Ball only saw 46 per cent game time in a wet contest which had his name all over it. Ball responded the only way he knew how, by attacking the contest with fearless desperation which saw him collect 22 disposals and lay seven tackles in a heartbreaking loss.
Despite the huge individual effort on the big stage, the writing was on the wall that his time was up at the Saints while Lyon remained in charge.
In the face of some harsh and ridiculous criticism from Riewoldt and Lyon, who suggested Ball left the club for a big payday, he never broke his silence and showed his class by refusing to be drawn into a verbal stoush with his old team. After some drawn out negotiations which would lead in years to come to the AFL adopting free agency, Ball finally found his way to Collingwood through the draft at pick 30.
What followed would go down in folklore. Ball would complete a Cinderella story by winning a premiership for the Magpies against his former club in the grand final replay.
After a quiet first grand final, Ball again showed his determination to succeed, amassing 25 possessions and being one of the Pies’ best in the famous win. He also once again showed himself to be ever so humble in victory refusing to celebrate while in the presence of his former teammates.
While emotions spilled over for others only gave a small fist pump on the premiership dais when accepting his medal.
Ball will sign off with 81 games to his name, having worked his way once again back from injury after a devastating ACL tear threatened to end his career in 2012.
Coach Nathan Buckley described Ball’s preparation for games and effort as second to none and that “he has been an inspiration for his teammates, a wonderful player and a person of great integrity. We were fortunate to have him play in a Black and White jumper”.
Certainly praise of the highest order from one of the game’s greats and nothing short of what Ball deserves for what has been a tremendous career.
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