Monday's Musings

Pyke Tops the Ton in Aussie Rules

The former Canadian rugby international played his 100th game on Saturday when Sydney faced Gold Coast.  The Swans, in second place, swamped their NSW neighbours by some fifty points.

Steve Taubert, a former Swans ruckman and current coach, admits when he first laid eyes on Pyke in 2008 he thought he had no hope. “He was terrible early, he would run around in the reserves like an ambulance chaser. It was car crash after car crash — he would never get it,” Taubert said.

What Taubert hadn’t counted on was Pyke’s resilience and his desire to succeed. “At the time I didn’t know how much determination he had or his ability to apply himself — knock-back after knock-back,” Taubert said. “I didn’t realise just what sort of a young man he was. He shouldn’t have been able to do it. I’ve seen a lot of athletes from other sports come and go but very, very few are able to have success. Michael was different, what he’s achieved is incredible.”

Nobody has followed a similar path to the AFL like the man from Victoria, British Columbia. After playing for Canada in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France Pyke arrived in Sydney looking for adventure and a career in the AFL, ( Ed. where Pyke is remembered for pinching an intercept off the All Blacks and going the length of the field to dot down under the sticks!).

“He is a great athlete but learning the game was the greatest challenge,” Taubert said. “You can teach athletes to tap the ball and jump against the bag and to mark and kick but the thing that gets them in the end is understanding the game. “With 90 per cent of the players from other codes that’s what knocks them over. If you haven’t been brought up with the code it’s very difficult. Most of us have played hundreds of games by the time we’re teenagers and another three hundred on TV, Mike had none of that. You can’t learn it watching videos. You have to play again, again and again.”

Taubert has worked as Swans ruck coach for more than a decade and one of his mottos is direct from a Clint Eastwood film — a man has to know his limitations. “When he keeps it simple he is a very good player in a very good side,” Taubert said. “He knows what he has to do. He is very aggressive and has made the best of his skills. If you don’t have aggression in the ruck you need to find another job.”

“We’ve had a fantastic relationship over seven years we’ve known each other,” Taubert said.

In conclusion, CW and Canada’s Mike Pyke has more than made the grade Downunder.  We congratulate Mike on this outstanding feat in a code where longevity is not necessarily a feature. ‘onya, Pyker!