For more than decade Jeff Farmer has weaved his football magic at the elite level and on Sunday will notch yet another milestone in his outstanding career by becoming just the eighth indigenous player to play 200 AFL games.

The special occasion isn’t lost on the man affectionately known as the ‘Wiz’ and in an exclusive interview in Fremantle’s first edition of the 2006 club magazine reveals what makes him tick on and off the field.

The following are excerpts from the interview;

Born in Tambellup, Jeff learned to play his game on the hard grounds of country footy. And you learned to be tough and play hard, the rule was cry and you couldn’t play, and that meant that you had to develop an array of skills that have since gone on to help Jeff in his AFL career. But what of the man who has made a remarkable journey from the small south-west town to the heights of the AFL?

Jeff completed his early schooling in Tambellup where “with such a small population, pretty much every child that went to school was related or knew each other very well,” says Jeff.

“It was close-knit family type of community. I went to school in Tambellup until year 5 before our parents decided to make a move to Mandurah.

“It was a tough move after having been so used to having family around all the time and then to move to a new place where we had no friends or family, it took some time to settle in. “Mum and Dad made the move to give more opportunities for all the family,” says Jeff.

Despite the public image that is constructed around his two hours of football each weekend, the real Jeff Farmer is a very different man. He’s a footballer with a strong desire to win but a man who holds family and culture close to his heart.

“My dad is my hero,” Jeff says with great pride.

“In fact, my greatest sporting moment was being able to run out and play footy with Dad for Tambellup as a 14 year old.

“My father is highly respected in the Tambellup community and the aboriginal community as well.

“He has lived his life as a very hard worker on the farms shearing and has been a great role model for myself.

“My mother was part of the stolen generation and spent part of her childhood at Sister Kate’s in Queen’s Park growing up along with her younger brother, but she never let that hold her back.

“With what she has been able to do over her life and have her own family is a great credit to her.

“Mum has been an inspiration to us.”

….

The close family unit was disrupted by the 1994 National Draft that found Jeff moving to the other side of the country to fulfil his dream of playing AFL football with the Melbourne Football Club. The move to Melbourne was difficult for the 17 year old from Tambellup.

“I had to leave my family behind and also had to leave my partner Sharlene who was pregnant at the time,” said Jeff.

“It was a very tough period for both me and my family.

“You have to one day get up, leave everyone and go across the other side of the country and live out your dream of playing AFL football, and that was hard. But it is part and parcel of being an AFL footballer, you have to be prepared to make sacrifices and for me the sacrifice I had to make was to leave my family.

“As I look back at the way things have worked out over my career it was a move that paid off so I have no regrets even though it was very difficult at the time,” said Jeff.

The move interstate and into AFL football was helped significantly by a Melbourne Football Club player group that included the likes of Garry Lyon, David Schwarz, David Nietz, Jim Stynes, Todd Viney and Steven Tingay who in 1994 helped Melbourne finish third in the premiership race after losing in a Preliminary Final at Subiaco.

“The guys were fantastic and helped me adapt and become aware of what it took to be an AFL footballer,” says Jeff.

“They were always approachable, always friendly and they made coming to training a pleasure.

“It was amazing really, here I was rubbing shoulders with guys who I had sat back and watched and admired on TV.

“I was a little scared at first going into an environment I wasn’t used to, so it took a while to get used to that and get comfortable with the other players.

“I don’t think I talked for a couple of years [laughs] and most of the early conversations were only one or two words but as time went on I developed friendships and started to open up with them and then the real Jeff Farmer came out, which a lot of people don’t get to see,” says Jeff.

…

Jeff was Melbourne’s sole All Australian selection in 2000. After seven seasons, 118 games and 259 goals, it was time for the Wiz to come home and in one of the most complex player trade moves in AFL history it happened.

Sydney traded draft selections 13, 17 and 45 to St Kilda for Barry Hall (they subsequently used selection 13 to select Nick Dal Santo), selection 17 was traded to Fremantle for Heath Black and then moved onto Melbourne for Jeff Farmer who then moved it on to Geelong in exchange for Clint Bizzell and who used selection 17 to secure James Kelly in the 2001 National Draft.

The five-club trade may have been complex but the desire for Jeff to return home was strong. The sudden heart attack suffered by his grandmother, whom Jeff had a special bond with, drove home the importance of family and his yearning to return to Western Australia.

But there were reservations. “Obviously there was going to be expectations and a lot of pressure but I knew that if I could just get myself right and settle in then things would be alright,” Jeff says.

“Playing with a new bunch of players, a new coach, and a new game plan turned out to be tougher than I actually thought. Back home with family is the best part of being back in WA.”

Together with daughter Shontane and sons Jeff junior and Kobe, Jeff and Sharlene now enjoy their own time together and the easy going family life. For Jeff, family remains the most important part of life.

“My family are my heart and soul, my family is my life,” Jeff says.

“Outside of football I am a very private person and enjoy an easy going lifestyle, I like to get away and relax and do things with the family.

“Spending time with my family is what is important to me, football is our job and that takes up a fair chunk of time and what I try to do is find the right balance with my football commitments and my family.”

…

Whilst Jeff prefers the quiet life away from the club, he is a tremendous contributor to the community. In 2005 he joined with Troy Cook to be Ambassadors for the Cerebral Palsy Association, a role that both players took very seriously and one which Jeff will do so again in 2006.

“I absolutely love doing charity work,” says Jeff. “My work at Cerebral Palsy is a great opportunity not only to give something back to the community but more importantly to raise awareness of this unfortunate disability. “

There is no pre-birth test for Cerebral Palsy and there is no cure so the more that we can do to raise awareness by using our profile the better.

“I am blessed with three healthy children so I just want to help in any way I can,” says Jeff.

In fact giving back is something that is very important to the Wiz. Together with Antoni Grover and Des Headland, Jeff is completing a Department of Health certified course to work in Drug and Alcohol rehabilitation and counselling.

“After footy I want to get out and help – give something back – we can’t change the world but we can make a difference and that’s what I want to do.

…

Jeff now sits one game away from the 200 game milestone and 14 goals short of the 400 goal mark.

“I am proud to be who I am, what I am, and where I came from and I never forget that,” says Jeff.

“To be the eighth indigenous player to reach the 200 games, wow – it’s hard to see it as reality at the moment.

“To achieve a milestone like that is just something I will never forget,” says Jeff.

These milestones mean a tremendous amount to a very proud indigenous Australian, and make no mistake Jeff Farmer is a proud man.

“Being proud of your heritage or culture is very important to everyone not just indigenous people,” says Jeff.

“It gives you a sense of belonging, a place of comfort."


You can download the full interview by clicking on the related article at the top of the story.