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The sixties was a goldmine for ruckmen in the WANFL. Every club had at least one top exponent of the craft, including Jack Clarke, John McIntosh, Bill Dempsey, Keith Slater, Freddy Seinor, Brian “Whale” Roberts, Brian Seirakowski, and Alan Mycock.    Although considerably shorter(six foot) and lighter(twelve and a half stone) than his rivals from the other seven clubs,  Perth aerialist Pat Astone more than held his own  week after week.  Astone also had the added arrow to his bow of being adept at the running and marking game and his  flexibility around the ground made him a coaches dream. A high leaping player, who was also dangerous when resting in a forward pocket, Astone was recruited from Carlisle, making his league debut for the Demons in 1962.  His career spanned 215 games and a hat trick of premierships in 1966-7-8, in each of which he figured prominently.  Captain of Perth in 1970, he made two appearances for Western Australia as a ruck rover and was named in the Perth Football club’s official “Team Of The Twentieth Century”  We asked him the inevitable question on his thoughts about the game today.  “It’s a different game, isn’t it?” was his comment. “Players today have better skills, they can kick both feet, where a lot in previous years couldn’t, it’s more a possession game”  He did make another observation: “marking skills were just as good in my day” Pat was full of praise for the little master, Barry Cable, as the best he played with, while lauding McIntosh(who seems to pop up at most Memory Lane chats when discussing tough opponents) and Dempsey  as hardest to beat.  Pat Astone continued to involve himself with football after his retirement in 1972, serving on the committee of the Perth Football Club, and has been a sponsor of the Demons since.  After a lifetime in the building industry, Pat is now happily retired and the touches he had as a tap ruckman are now touchers on the bowling green.  Of course, that’s when he’s not travelling, which he enjoys doing with his partner, Marie.    

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