BRISBANE Lions fans might have noticed that their players wore black armbands during the recent loss to Collingwood at the MCG.

The team was paying tribute to a man who had played only two games with the Lions' forerunner, Fitzroy, in 1943 and 1944. But that man had assumed importance with the years.

Before his death on August 19, aged 92, Merv Brooks was Fitzroy's oldest former footballer.

He was also a life member of the Fitzroy Past Players Association. The association's Ivan Smith paid tribute to Brooks at his funeral by draping the 1944 reserves premiership flag over the coffin.

Brooks had been a member of that premiership team, and it meant a lot to him.

He continued to go to Fitzroy games with his family until he was well into his 80s.

David Brooks, his grandson, remembers the family going to see Fitzroy v Collingwood at Princes Park in round 11, 1992. It was the game in which Gary Pert, a former Fitzroy hero, kicked a goal to put the Pies in front late in the game.

Brooks was so overcome by the excitement that his family decided it was prudent to leave the ground. In doing so, they missed the goal from Fitzroy champion Paul Roos that gave the Lions a famous three-point victory.

Brooks grew up in Ariah Park in the heart of the Riverina region in NSW. As a young man, he left home to take a job in Melbourne as a blacksmith at the company that would become Massey Ferguson.

The company was based in Sunshine, in Melbourne's western suburbs. Brooks settled there, and began playing footy for Sunshine YCW.

He came under notice from a Fitzroy scout, who asked him down to the Brunswick Street Oval. Brooks failed to play more senior games for the Roys because the distance from Sunshine to Fitzroy meant he could barely train.

Brooks was a rugged half-back. His son Daryl described him as "all bone". He played in a straight-ahead manner that unsettled opponents.

Brooks's two senior games at Fitzroy consisted of a win over North Melbourne at Brunswick Street and a victory over Collingwood at Victoria Park.

After leaving Fitzroy, he played with Preston in the VFA. He later coached junior teams at Sunshine YCW and he worked for Massey Ferguson for the duration of his working life.

One of his interests beyond sport was carpentry. Daryl, the third of Brooks's three sons, said one of his father's mottos was "If you're going to do a job, do it properly."

Merv Brooks is survived by his wife Elsa, three sons and a daughter, 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Merv Brooks: Fitzroy 1943-44, 2 games, 0 goals; 19/01/1919—19/08/2011, aged 92.

VFL/AFL players known to have died in July 2011 and August 2011

Allan ‘Yabby’ Jeans: 21/09/1933—13/07/2011, aged 77; St Kilda 1955-59, 77 games, 16 goals.
John McGreevy: 11/05/1930—24/07/2011, aged 81; Hawthorn 1952, 3 games, 0 goals.
Jim ‘Wattie’ Oppy: 08/03/1921—24/07/2011, aged 90; Melbourne 1945, 3 games, 0 goals.
Laurie Peters: 13/06/1916—29/07/2011, aged 95; Hawthorn 1940-44, 24 games, 0 goals.
John Clegg: 18/06/1939— 01/08-2011, aged 72; Footscray 1958-60, 24 games, 14 goals.
David Wilkie: Essendon 1934, 1 game, 3 goals; 27/06/1914—09/08/2011, aged 97.
John M. Fogarty:  South Melbourne 1962-63, 3 games, 0 goals; 05/03/1942—13/08/2011, aged 69.
Phil Garwood: Hawthorn 1964-65, 13 games, 0 goals; 24/12/1939—18/08/2011, aged 71.
Clive Pasquill: South Melbourne 1966-67, 9 games, 0 goals; 06/12/1946—18/08/2011, aged 64. 
Merv Brooks: Fitzroy 1943-44, 2 games, 0 goals; 19/01/1919—19/08/2011, aged 92.
Dennis ‘Scruffy’ Collins: Footscray 1972-77, 100 games, 60 goals; Carlton, 1978-79, 30 games, 12 goals; Richmond 1980, 17 games, 2 goals; 17/05/1953—31/08/2011, aged 58.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs