Rick Schubert

When Rick Schubert played his first A grade game for United Ramblers in 1965, it was also his first real taste of competitive football. There was no junior competition in the Brown’s Well association and apart from the odd school match, he made his debut against grown men, many who were only too ready to teach him a lesson. However, by the time Rick was sixteen he was a key player for the Ramblers team and played an important role in their 1967 premiership team.

The Brown’s Well association disbanded after the 1968 season and Rick joined the new Brown’s Well team that entered the Upper Murray B Grade. Rick played in his second premiership with Brown’s Well in 1969 and was also named as their inaugural best and fairest. Loxton poached Rick from Brown’s Well in 1970 and it proved to be a good move as he played in his third premiership while still a teenager. Rick won the Peter Frankom Medal as the best player on the ground in the 1970 grand final.

Rick made the move to Adelaide in 1971 to play for North Adelaide. North Adelaide champion Don Lindner had just retired and because Rick had also come from the Riverland, Don passed on to Rick his number 1 guernsey. Unfortunately, that was Rick’s only bright spot in a season frustrated with injury.

1972 was far better for Rick but North Adelaide possessed a star studded line up and it was hard to break into the senior team. The Roosters made the grand final against Port Adelaide and Rick was selected as 20th man. This was before the introduction of the interchange rule and Rick only got a run in the last quarter. This left him with a fresh set of legs to run the victory lap of honour as the Roosters celebrated their 1972 premiership.

A few weeks later on the October long weekend Rick played for North Adelaide in the Australian Football Championships. He performed a key role in the Roosters great win over Carlton in front of a crowd of over 23,000. Rick went head to head against the likes of John Nicholls, Robert Walls, Syd Jackson and Alex Jesaulenko. On that weekend, Rick played on the wing with the best football team in Australia led by the brilliance of Barrie Robran.

He continued with North Adelaide in 1973 and although he played the odd league game, Rick spent most of his time with the seconds. For the first match of the 1974 season North Adelaide were drawn to play Central Districts at the new Football Park stadium at West Lakes. Rick had been named captain of the North Adelaide reserves and had the honour of being the first ever player to run out onto the ground at the new home of South Australian football.

In 1975, Rick had a full season with the league side but North Adelaide were now only a shadow of the team that was so powerful in the early seventies. Rick returned to Loxton in 1976 and played in another Loxton premiership as well as being named best and fairest. He was best and fairest again in 1977 and after a strong pre season in 1978 was looking to add a third to his collection.

While welding on the family farm at Paruna in March 1978, an errant spark ignited petrol fumes and Rick was severely burnt. He spent months of painful rehabilitation in hospital in Adelaide and missed the entire 1978 season. Rick returned to football in 1979 and resumed where he had left off claiming his third Loxton best and fairest. He regularly represented the Riverland at interleague level and continued playing for Loxton until 1983.

In 1984 with his good mate Lew Westbrook appointed as coach, Rick returned ‘home’ to play with Brown’s Well. Still showing he had plenty to offer as a player and a leader, Rick won three more best and fairest awards with the Bombers and played in three more premierships. His game at centre half back in the wet at Lyrup in the 1988 grand final was a match winner and one of his best.

Rick played until the early 1990s when out of respect he was no longer asked to fill in. To ask Rick to name the best player he ever played with when he had played alongside Barrie Robran needs no reply. However, he says David Beaton is the best player he played with in the Riverland, ‘he just seemed to have more time to do everything than everybody else’, Rick said of his Brown’s Well team mate. Asked to name his toughest opponent and opposition player he most admired, Rick does not hesitate in naming triple Whillas medal winner Trevor Gill from Renmark.