Kelvin Templeton, a name synonymous with VFL greatness in the 1970s and 80s, has traded the roar of the crowd for the quiet contemplation of the written word. After a stellar playing career that saw him crowned the league’s best and fairest with a Brownlow Medal in 1980, and claim two Coleman Medals for his prolific goalkicking in 1978 and 1979, Templeton has penned his debut novel, Collision. This literary endeavour plunges readers into the raw, often brutal, world of 1970s VFL football, a stark contrast to the polished professional sport of today.
Templeton’s own journey began far from the bright lights of Melbourne, in the regional Victorian town of Tyers. Growing up in the 1960s, he was captivated by the power of stories, a passion that would eventually lead him to craft his own. As a teenager, he honed his skills in senior football in the Latrobe Valley before making the significant move to Melbourne at 17 to pursue his VFL dreams with Footscray (now the Western Bulldogs) while also undertaking university studies.
The Tribalism and Toughness of 1970s VFL
Reflecting on his early days in the VFL, Templeton paints a vivid picture of a sport steeped in fierce tribal loyalties. “If we go back to 1974, there were fierce tribal loyalties between teams,” he recalls. “At Footscray, quite a lot of players in the team were from the local area or the Latrobe Valley.” The game was played on often-muddy suburban grounds, a far cry from the manicured arenas of today. “It was very localised,” he notes.
The culture surrounding the game was also markedly different, with a far more permissive attitude towards physicality. “There was a very casual attitude to violence on the field. It happened a lot, as it was regarded as just part of the game.” Fights were commonplace, and Templeton describes a disturbing reality where some players were specifically tasked with physically intimidating or injuring opponents. “The era that I played in was quite a dangerous one and there were a number of players that got injured badly,” he states soberly.
He cites the cautionary tales of fellow Footscray players like Stephen Boyle, who tragically lost sight in one eye during a match, and Neil Sachse, who suffered a career-ending spinal injury that resulted in quadriplegia. The dangers weren’t confined to one club, with Collingwood’s John Greening also experiencing a severe cerebral concussion. “It was a bit of a wild time,” Templeton admits. “There was a pretty active partying and drinking life off the field at the same time.” This rough-and-tumble era of VFL football persisted until the mid-to-late 1980s, with the establishment of the AFL Commission ushering in a more corporate governance style that began to reshape the game.
Collision: A Fictional Exploration of Life After the Limelight
Collision delves into the psychological impact of such a demanding and volatile environment. The novel centres on Joshua “Clover” Shamrock, a fictional 20-year-old goalkicking prodigy. Templeton portrays Shamrock as a young man consumed by the superficialities of fame: vanity, status, and a relentless pursuit of glory. His world is defined by training, games, goals, injuries, extravagant nights out, fast cars, and the attention of women.
However, the narrative takes a sharp turn when a career-ending injury abruptly shatters Shamrock’s identity, which has been inextricably linked to his success as a sports star. Suddenly facing life beyond the football field, he finds himself ill-equipped to navigate this new reality and rebuild his sense of self-worth.
Templeton’s decision to explore these “sliding doors” moments and their profound influence on an individual’s life trajectory was deeply personal. He drew upon the complex emotions he experienced during his own playing days. The process of writing Collision was a decade-long undertaking. “I’ve found that the best way to write fiction is to write the emotions but not any of the facts of your life,” he explains. “In the case of my character, it takes away the dream he has always had and he has to fashion a new life, and for a lot of the time he’s not very good at doing that.”
He views Collision as an examination of Australian masculinity, particularly the stoicism often ingrained in men and the underlying anxieties that can manifest as arrogance. “I see the book as a journey, a transformational story,” Templeton says. He highlights how the very traits that propelled Joshua to sporting success – an unyielding stoicism, a refusal to show pain, and an unwavering determination – become a double-edged sword in his post-football life. “His initial reaction is that he has to tough it out, he has to be brave and strong, but of course all that does is push his partner away from him. He then comes to the realisation that he has to think in a different way.”
From the Field to Fostering Wellbeing: A Modern Perspective
Post-playing career, Templeton’s life continued on diverse paths. After his tenure as chief executive of the Sydney Swans, a role he held for seven years, he pursued postgraduate studies in the United States. His professional life then took him to the Middle East, where he successfully ran a consulting firm for 15 years, living in Abu Dhabi and Iran. In 2024, his significant contributions to Australian football were recognised with his induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
While he maintains little direct involvement in the game today, Templeton observes the dramatic evolution of modern Australian Rules football. He notes its increased speed, a greater reliance on handballing, and a marked decrease in the brawls that characterised his era. He attributes this transformation to a combination of national development programs and rule changes, which have shifted the emphasis from individual dominance in key positions to a more holistic approach to player support.
Crucially, Templeton highlights the vastly improved landscape for player mental health. “If someone disclosed that they were feeling down or depressed it would be seen as a weakness. You had to overcome that. People dealt with that with stoicism, not tapping through it, and not talking about it,” he contrasts. “We now see players that are going through rough periods actually have time off, even during the season, where they have time to sort out whatever their personal problems might be. Back in my era, you probably would have got tossed out of the club.” This shift underscores a profound cultural change within the sport, one that prioritises player wellbeing alongside on-field performance.
