Hi there! This is Jesse Hanel here. I was rather sad on the weekend because my Mum & Dad drove over to Melbourne for my hero Kouta's Testimonial Dinner at the Crown and I wasn't allowed to go with them. But I made sure that Mummy took the camera so she could take lots of photos for me, and I asked her to remember every detail so she could tell me exactly what I missed out on. I thought all Carlton people out there who also couldn't be at the Testimonial (and even those who simply follow AFL footy) might also like to read about what a big night it was. So here's my Mummy to tell you....
During the afternoon we met up with the parents and grandparents of Jesse's little Carlton girlfriend Keeley for drinks (they were staying at the same place as us, the Crown Plaza immediately opposite the Crown Casino). Like Jesse, Keeley was also disappointed not to be able to attend! It was good for us to catch up with other like-minded Carlton supporters before glamming ourselves up for the big night. Blair and I made sure we arrived in time to see Kouta before the event officially started at 6.30pm. I had with me a card from Jesse to give to Kouta, together with a picture that Jess had drawn for him. I was under strict instructions to tell Kouta just how sad Jesse was that he had now retired! I also took with me a photo of Jesse and Kouta from last year for Kouta to sign. Kouta recognised me as soon as he saw me, thanking me so much for the Ode to him we wrote on the website and telling me that Jesse features in his autobiography being released in November. He loved the card from Jesse, and asked for our phone number as he said he wanted to speak to Jesse himself sometime soon. It was unfortunate that we weren't able to talk for longer - but there was a long line-up of people still waiting to see him.
Here is what our hero wrote for little Jesse to keep on his bedroom wall, along with all his other treasured photos of himself with Carlton players:
Then it was time to enter the glittering and beautifully decorated Palladium Ballroom. We were welcomed by MC Peter Meehan, before seeing the first of many footballing highlights of Kouta's brilliant career. We then enjoyed the entree provided by the Souvlaki Hut, Kouta's new business venture with his footy partner in crime, Ang Christou. Delicious! After this Stephen Kernahan proposed the official toast to Anthony, reiterating just how good he was at footy but more importantly, what a wonderful, generous and humble human being he is. This seemed to be the theme of the night, with all in agreeance.
Throughout the evening the guests (1,400 in total) had time to mingle with many of the Carlton players, both past and present. It was a great chance for Carlton supporters to speak to the guys who they've watched on the footy field, week in, week out, year in, year out. It was good to chat to Matty Lappin and Houla, who were both very interested in how Jesse is going, having met him as a baby after his heart surgery and seen him a few times since then. They were also keen to check back at the photo I then took of the two of them to see who looked better!! Everybody seemed to be having a wonderful time, and players were more than willing to chat to their supporters and pose for photos:
 Ang Christou with me |  and with the man himself, Kouta |
Blair liked mixing with the players also - in particular he enjoyed talking to young Bryce Gibbs, who like us is from SA. As a youngster Blair had played some 'Samboy Cup' footy through Glenelg Footy Club and he and Bryce talked about some of the officials who are still in charge there. Bryce seemed pretty in awe of the whole evening, knowing how much of an absolute champion Anthony Koutoufides is. I told him that it wouldn't surprise me if in fifteen years' time we are doing the same thing for him! I appreciated the opportunity to catch up with one of my own original heroes, Mil Hanna, whose number 13 I used to wear on my footy guernsey. He has aged very gracefully, still looking as young and fit as ever!
After our main course (also delicious) we were treated to the "First Half of the Kouta Testimonial", hosted by media personality and also big Carlton fan, Jim Wilson. Jim started with welcoming various guests to the event, including fellow media personalities Robert Walls, Rex Hunt and Mike Sheehan. He then asked to the stage three coaches who have played an important part in Kouta's career development: David Parkin (who had flown back to Melbourne after commentating the Hawks/Port game in Tasmania that day), Wayne Brittain (who had flown in especially from Queensland) and Barry Mitchell. All three paid testimony to our elite athlete and stressed that we as football followers are so very grateful that he chose an AFL career instead of an athletics one. David Parkin is left in no doubt that Kouta would have represented our country as an Olympian. Parko also said that Kouta came to the club as a shy boy and the coach's first challenge was to give Kouta enough confidence to believe in his own ability. He said that Britts was invaluable as a motivator for Kouta, being much closer in age. Britts himself said he was able to be of such good support to Kouta at the time he sadly lost his father in 1998 because he himself lost his own father at a young age. Barry Mitchell started as a team-mate of Kouta's, and was able to push Kouta to turn his athleticism into becoming a great footballer.
Next Jim invited onto the stage two of Kouta's great friends, ex-team-mates Glenn Manton and Ang Christou. They were like Laurel and Hardy together with a lot of humorous banter especially from Glenn, directed mainly at Ang's shoe choice, that kept the audience in peels of laughter. They talked of playing days with Kouta, how Mants would kick out from the backline to Ang, who would then pass it on to Kouta - they reckon Kouta should therefore attribute to them at least 44% of all his possessions. On a serious note they talked about what a true mate Kouta is and how they wished him well in the next stage of his life. Finally, Ang asked Kouta up onto the stage with them as he had a special presentation to make to him. With that, he undid the buttons of his jacket to reveal his own prized number 39 footy guernsey, much to the delight of the audience! He removed that and gave it to his friend. Three of Kouta's current team-mates then appeared on the stage: Captain Lance Whitnall, Nick Stevens, and youngster Marc Murphy. Lance spoke of growing up in Lalor only a few hundred metres from Kouta's home, and how Kouta took him under his wing when Lance began with the club as a seventeen year old, driving him to footy training, and how Kouta hit him up recently for the $20 he still owes Kouta for petrol money (Lance reckons it's not as if Kouta needs the money so he'll keep it!); Stevo talked about what a big hole Kouta will leave at the club as he is so up-beat and always ready for a laugh and so inspirational to the younger players; and Murph spoke of how as a young Kangaroos supporter he had a few heroes including Wayne Carey and Anthony Koutoufides, so he was filled with awe when he first met Kouta on his first day at Carlton, and how his first AFL match was such a special day for him as it was also Kouta's 250th match and one which the team won.
Jim then invited three of Kouta's opponents on the stage, to discuss his footballing prowess as seen from "the other side of the fence". They were James Hird, Nathan Buckley, and Matthew Richardson. That these three champions in their own right would make the effort to attend Kouta's Testimonial speaks volumes in itelf. All three agreed that Kouta in his hey-day was one of the most difficult opponents to match up on. Hirdy talked of how Kouta tore Essendon apart in the final quarter of the 1999 Preliminary final and while Kouta was the first real athlete to play AFL football, he is now the prototype that so many recruiters look for in up-and-coming stars; Bucks said that he believes Kouta in full flight is the best AFL footballer he has ever seen in his lifetime and his body strength is simply amazing; and Richo said that he really relished the challenge of playing against Kouta a couple of times and that he was one of the toughest opponents to play. I must say Hirdy was modest in not pointing out that yesteday he himself had torn us apart in the final quarter to just pip us at the post!! Richo also stated that Kouta's only weakness was highlighted during his time spent on "Dancing With the Stars" when it became apparent from Kouta's much straighter hair than his naturally curly locks that he must now use a hair straightener - and it's no wonder he's since shaved his hair off!!
Of course Blair as a Richmond supporter (as well as a Carlton member) enjoyed the chance to speak to Richo, while James Hird agreed to pose for a photo .
After main course the auction was run by Shawn Cosgrove, featuring five different items. The first was the huge "Celebrating the Life of a Legend" original painting of Kouta (pictured at the end of this story). This fetched a whopping $55,000. Other items included a mounted football, the boots worn by Kouta in his last football season, and his last ever match worn guernsey. After dessert it was time for the raffle to be drawn, the prize being one of only 43 prints made of the original Legend painting. Alas, we didn't win it!
Then Jim Wilson commenced the "Second Half of Kouta Testimonial", beginning with video tributes from Bruce McAvaney, Michael Voss, Andrew Gaze and Daryl Somers. Bruce talked of Kouta's high flying leaps and one handed grabs and what a fantastic player he was to call; Vossy talked about no one ever wanting to put their hand up in team meetings to line up against Kouta when the Lions played Carlton; Gazey talked of first meeting Kouta years ago for an Adidas promotion and how his eyes nearly popped out of his head at seeing Kouta's perfectly chiseled body (he said if he was a woman he would have fallen in love with him!) and what a wonderful fun friend Kouta is; and Daryl talked sadly about how Kouta's contribution in the 1995 finals series helped the Blues thrash Geelong in the grand final and suggested if Kouta doesn't continue his working life in some sort of footy capacity he could always open a dancing academy! Following these tributes were scenes from Kouta's "Dancing" appearances, lots of footage of fun times with football team-mates and friends (including Wayne Carey), and more fantastic footy highlights. Then came special photos of him growing up from babyhood, with his father, family times, athletics scenes (so many photos showed him standing always number 1 on top of the podium, never in 2nd or 3rd place), and then meeting his beautiful wife Susie, and showing his two darling children, Jamie (same age as our boy Jesse) and Monique, finishing with Jamie singing a touching rendition of the Carlton theme song before kissing photos of his Dad.
At this point Jim invited Kouta's family up on stage - mother Anna, two brothers, and wife Susie. All spoke very fondly with enormous pride of their son, brother and husband. Susie looked particularly stunning in a long white gown, and she talked about how much she looked forward to spending the next phase in her life with her husband. And then it was time for the guest of honour himself to speak to us all. As Kouta ascended the stage steps he was met with ear-splitting whistles, rousing cheers and thunderous applause from everyone in the room. A more popular person at Carlton there couldn't be. He spoke so eloquently, talking of how good the Carlton Football Club has been to him, and that he was lucky to play his early football amongst a great era of Carlton footballers. He mentioned the fantastic on-field partnership with Ang and how he had the advantage of always knowing when he would take the next mark as the crowd yelled "Woof!" whenever Ang kicked the ball. He thanked his previous coaches, various Carlton staff, and all those who had 'given him a roasting' on the stage that evening. He thanked Denis Pagan and all the 2007 playing list, and made special mention of Lance Whitnall, Matthew Lappin, Ryan Houlihan, Brendan Fevola and Nick Stevens, all of whom he has played with at the club for a long time now. He told his team-mates that they must respect the Carlton guernsey and its great history, and that the winning culture of Carlton will continue as it wouldn't be long before the club was back at the top. He said that his retirement had halved the average age of the team and so the future was bright! He also spoke of his family and what a lasting influence his father was on him, and what a great support his mother and brothers have been to him throughout his life. He looked forward to his future with Susie, Jamie & Monique, and he hoped that all Carlton supporters would remember him as one who had remained loyal to the Carlton Football Club, and who had given his heart and soul to the Old Dark Navy Blue jumper, always playing to the best of his ability. He left the stage as he arrived, with everyone in the room giving him a standing ovation.
After that long-time Carlton supporter, Kate Ceberano, sang again (she had also sung a song at the start of the evening). She paid tribute to her friend Kouta, who had inspired her to follow in his footsteps and win the following series of "Dancing With the Stars". She remained on the stage for several songs while people got up and danced to her strong voice. She was a very popular singer:
Time again for some photos, and more chatting to current and past Carlton players. I was especially pleased to see Dana Howes, who used to be events manager at Carlton but is now in a similar role for the AFL. She was back at Carlton tonight helping Kouta with his speech. Dana was the one who put a private email of Jesse's about his first AFL match up on the Carlton website back in 2004 as she thought it would be of interest to Carlton supporters. Little did we know it would lead to more regular stories from Jesse on the site! She had seen his recent Ode to Kouta from Jesse and was amazed at how much he has grown. It was also good to see Adrian Hickmott again, who met Jesse as a baby after his surgery and the only player we'd not caught up with since due to his retirement after that season. Andy McKay was also good to chat to - prior to playing with Bryce Gibbs' club Glenelg, he used to play for Lucindale in the same footy league as Blair (Penola) and so they enjoyed talking about old times. He is still living in Melbourne and working as a vet. I asked Fraser Brown what he thought about all the adulation piled upon Kouta tonight for winning us the 1999 Preliminary Final when it was actually Fraser's tackle that stopped the Bombers from taking the ball down their end in the final moments - he agreed that Kouta neglected to pay homage to him! I also posed for a photo with the very quiet, shy and lovable Irishman, Setanta O'Halpin - you wouldn't know he was the same man on the footy field who is fired up and so full of life! He simply towered over me:
And alas, the night was over! It was a wonderful evening full of great entertainment, and one that no doubt Kouta will remember for always. We thank him for all the great memories, not least of which was the 1999 Preliminary Final featured in the Legend painting below when he helped to take us over the line (note the score displayed)!!
Congratulations to you, Kouta, on a spectacular career!
Carolyn Hanel
