It is the father-son rule.
Five players featuring in this weekend's two preliminary finals - Matthew Scarlett (son of John), Tom Hawkins (Jack), Heath Shaw (Ray), Travis Cloke (David) and Andrew Krakouer (Jimmy) - are sons of famous footballers. Although they are not all products of the rule, their name alone brings a large dollop of romanticism to football.
In recent weeks, when club loyalty has been questioned, the father-son rule speaks volumes; how much joy does the midfield grunt work of Jobe Watson bring to Essendon supporters who idolised his father, Tim?
When Gary Ablett Snr was dominating footy on a weekly basis for more than a decade, who knew we would one day be arguing vigorously about whether his son was a better player?
Hawthorn supporters are already counting down the years to when Smith (son of Sam) Mitchell and Cooper (son of Luke) Hodge don the brown and gold, and are content in the knowledge that if Lance Franklin produces a son with anywhere near the same freakish talents, he too will wear the same jumper.
Carlton fans were delighted when the first baby for Chris and Rebecca Judd was born safe and well, but overjoyed at news it was a boy. Just 12 more games will make Chris a 100-game Carlton player, meaning Oscar Judd will become eligible to play for the Blues.
West Coast supporters are increasingly resigned to the likelihood that if Judd Jnr ever becomes AFL standard, his chances of choosing to play for West Coast ahead of Carlton are remote at best.
But not all sons go on to play for the same club as their fathers.
The Brisbane Lions rolled out the red carpet for Marc Murphy a few years back in the hope he would sign for the club that has embraced Fitzroy, where his father was a star centreman and captain. But Murphy, the No.1 selection in 2005, chose to stay in Victoria and play for the Blues, where he is now a star.
Josh Kennedy, a third-generation member of Hawthorn’s most revered family, left the club for the Sydney Swans in search of greater playing opportunities and is now being spoken of as a midfielder in the same breath as Watson and Murphy.
So, the discussion turns to the best father-son combinations in AFL history.
Channel Ten and SEN 1116 broadcaster Anthony Hudson stuck his neck out earlier in the season and went this way -
1. Ablett: Gary Snr and Jnr
2. Silvagni: Serg and Stephen
3. Fletcher: Dustin and Ken
4. Watson: Tim and Jobe
5. Hudson: Peter and Paul.
It is a pretty fair list. Certainly, it is hard to go past the Abletts who, as stated earlier, were considered to be the best players in the game during their particular eras.
Stephen Silvagni was full-back in the AFL’s Team of the Century, Serg perhaps Carlton’s greatest rover and like Stephen, a dual premiership player.
The Fletchers were durable. Ken debuted in 1967 and played for 14 seasons. Dustin made his debut for the Bombers in 1993 and is still going strong.
Sadly for the Magpies, this is another list in which they don’t get any representation.
But that could change. The Magpies shared outstanding forward/ruckman David Cloke with Richmond and the black and white army has enjoyed the ascension over the past two seasons of Travis Cloke into the pantheon of the AFL’s leading forwards.
Add another 50 games and another premiership to Travis’s resume, and you would think the Clokes would be among the first mentioned when it comes to discussing the great father-son combinations.
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The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
