Redheads get a rough go of things in this country. Bullied in the schoolyard, the butt of jokes in pubs, and all for something they cannae control.
It's time they get some love.
I've taken a look at some of the very best bloodnuts to play our great game, and had a crack at ranking them.
Honourable Mentions: Lance Whitnall, Robert 'Scratcher' Neal, Nick Vlastuin
Two cult figures of their respective clubs, Whitnall and Neal occupy places in the hearts of Blues and Cats fans across the country.
"Big Red" Whitnall overcame multiple weight and injury concerns in his career to finish with a fine CV. Whitnall was an All-Australian, three-time Blues' leading goalkicker, club captain and a best and fairest winner, all inside a career that was cut short at just 28 years of age.
A fixture of the Geelong Cats in the '70s and '80s, Neal sported a red bowl cut while holding shape on a wing. A member of the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame, Neal could more than hold his own, finishing inside the top 10 in the 1976 Brownlow Medal count, tied with arguably the league's best ever player, 'Lethal' Leigh Matthews.
Richmond's resident redhead Nick Vlastuin is a three-time premiership star. A backman often overlooked in conversations about the league's best, it is perhaps fitting that his importance has only been truly recognised in the lean period that has followed the Tiger's breathtaking recent dynasty. The man the faithful call 'Tigger' has been an exceptional clubman for Richmond, and was granted life membership in 2017.
2Frank 'Bluey' Adams
A history lesson is in order.
I know there's a reticence to acknowledge the players of a bygone era, but we're going to.
Frank 'Bluey' Adams was a star of the Melbourne machine in the '50s and 60s. Adams did damage in the forward pocket, on a wing and as a rover. One of very few players to feature in all six flags Melbourne claimed in their golden era, Adams formed a formidable partnership with the great Ron Barassi. Both men were rather obvious inclusions in Melbourne's formidable Team of the Century.
A world champion sprinter, Adams is perhaps best known for his role in the most violent collision in V/AFL history. In the 1955 Grand Final, he crouched at the interchange, in a sprinter's starting stance, after Norm Smith finally decided to let the young man take part in the day's proceedings.
He made a breakneck beeline for Collingwood's blissfully unaware Des Healey, colliding with the man who would win the Pies best and fairest that year, at top speed.
The hit left both men out cold, sprawled out on the sunbaked MCG. Spectators were of the genuine belief one, if not both men were dead.
Melbourne would win, Healey would never play again, and Adams would win five more flags from six more Grand Final appearances. Typically rowdy Collingwood fans never let him forget the hit that cost them one of their favourite sons.
