{xtypo_dropcap}K{/xtypo_dropcap}eith and Phil Narkle were two of the finest players ever to represent Swan Districts.  They were both chosen in Swan Districts “team of the century”. Both represented their state.

Playing on either wing, they were the nemesis of opposing sides during the period 1988 and 1993, both quick, skilled, and highly athletic. Phil easily recognisable because of his black helmet which moved like a flash into attack on one side of the ground, while Keith was poetry in motion  on the other.

Their careers, however, were contrasts. 

While Phil battled with injury over the latter stages of his career, Keith enjoyed a long ride at the top, culminating in a Fairest And Best award(his third) in his final season at the age of 33. Keith never strayed from Bassendean, while Phil plied his wares at St Kilda, where he was hampered by injury, but was snapped up by the fledgling West Coast Eagles on his return.

Keith Narkle wore the black and white from 1971 to 1984.  He played 254 games and experienced the highs and lows of football fortunes with his club.  He was a permanent fixture on a wing until later playing as a forward on occasions. With Phil he was a significant factor in Swans 1982 and 83 premierships as well as figuring himself in the 1984 flag in the absence of his brother. He was a premiership captain.

Phil Narkle’s fearless style of play resulted in a series of bouts of concussion, forcing him to don the trademark helmet.  Despite this, he never wavered in his approach to the game, an approach that possibly contributed to his career being curtailed at an earlier age than Keith.

Phil won the Sandover Medal in 1982 and Swans Fairest And Best in 1981. After the 83 premiership he signed with St Kilda, but in the main, Saints fans were robbed of his best due to injury , with only his last season, in 1986, anything like his best.

Returning home, he chalked up just 18 games in three seasons for West Coast. However the clock was turned back in 1987, when he turned in a scintillating performance for Western Australia against Victoria, and was subsequently named All Australian.     

There are many great memories of the Swans premiership years..the Bunton and Todd eras..and   the recollections of the sheer artistry  the Narkle brothers displayed on either side of Bassendean Oval  will be high on the list.