Grass roots: Dusty Campbell (left) and Mac Butler during a half-time match on Girgarre Recreation Reserve earlier this year. Mac’s father, Ryan, is a star with the Kangaroos and the club will be hoping Butler Jr for add to the expansive story that is the history of the Kyabram district league’s father-son products.
Twenty-four years ago I played in a Kyabram district league premiership team alongside a lanky laconic ruckman and a cheeky spring-heeled goal-sneak.
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If I didn’t know any better, watching from the sidelines at Lancaster Recreation Reserve a month or so ago, I could have sworn I was witnessing reincarnations of the same players in the red, white and black strip of Nagambie.
The player wearing number 32 was Jonathan Moore, or Jono as he prefers, the son of 1999 premiership ruckman Dean.
A bit further afield was William Dalton, who if he was wearing number 19 (instead of 24), could have easily been mistaken for his father in his heyday — Adam.
It got me thinking, after I spent a few days researching a Goulburn Valley league father-son team, about those players who had completed a similar generational achievement in the Kyabram league.
Add an 87-year-old Dick Moore into the mix and the story becomes even more interesting.
Jono was involved in a bit of a push and shove at one point in the game against Lancaster and his father Dean also had a reasonably short fuse — but, according to my sources, neither would rival the football patriarch of the family.
Dick Moore arrived at Nagambie in 1960 as a ruckman, but is probably best known for an extraordinary 1966 season when he kicked 135 goals for the Lakers.
It was a period of domination by Nagambie, which won four premierships in six seasons — rivalling the modern-day achievement of five premierships in a 10-year period.
Moore coached Nagambie after arriving from Eaglehawk and, wife Val, raised four footballing sons.
Rick Moore is now in Bundaberg, 57-year-old Tony lives in northern Australia and then there is former Inch Medal (Under-18 Kyabram league best and fairest) winner David, now 62, won the inch medal.
Dean is the youngest of the four sons and regularly ferries his father to watch the third generation of the footballing family to wear the tri-colours.
Tony was a teenager who played with Lemnos in the Goulburn Valley and decided to stay in the red and white when he played in Avenel premierships in 1985 and 1989.
Dick Moore won the best and fairest at Eaglehawk, despite missing four games, and famously kicked 192 goals from the last 22 games of his career.
Third generation: Jonathan Moore’s ruck exploits, while in their infancy with Nagambie, have brought back memories of his grandfather (Dick) and father (Dean).
Making a name for himself: Will Dalton was best on ground for Nagambie in its Under-18 Kyabram district league premiership last season and started the season on fire with 21 goals in the opening three rounds of 2023.
Jono has all of the Moore family traits, easy going (until he is on the football field), probably prefers fishing to football and can certainly play.
He has kicked 26 goals in 10 games this season, including two bags of six against Violet Town and Merrigum.
Moore was best on ground for Nagambie in its 1960 Goulburn Valley league grand final loss to Lemnos.
His last year with the club was 1969.
Will Dalton started the season on fire, kicking 30 goals in the opening six games.
He was on track to challenge his father’s 1999 season of 80-plus goals before some quieter weeks.
He now has 37 goals for the season, having been best on ground in Nagambie’s 2022 Under-18 grand final win — in a season where he played 18 senior games and nine under age games and finished with a total of 35 goals.
Jono and Will played together at under-14 level in flag winning Tahbilk junior teams, where Will was a best and fairest winner.
Dalton Jr didn’t play his first game until he was almost 15.
He is now an apprentice carpenter, working with former Seymour star and Victorian Country football captain Jason Cole — himself the son of a former champion in 1991 Wilf Cox Medallist Glenn Cole.
While longevity wasn’t the strong suit of Dean Moore, captain of the 1999 premiership team Adam Dalton finished on over 300 games for the club and holds the unofficial goalkicking record.
They regularly rub shoulders with the man who has the club games record, Brett Fothergill, who has two sons — Nathan and Blake — playing in the senior team.
The gene pool is strong at Nagambie, with coach Tyrone Muir (son of Neil), Braydon Biggs (son of Andrew), Trent Gladwin (son of Brad), Tom Barnes is the son of former KDL leading goalkicker Brett “Barrell’’ Barnes (1988, 87 goals).
Armchair experts: Adam Dalton’s son Will has kicked 37 goals in 11 games this season in the Kyabram district league. Dalton Senior kicked 90 goals in Nagambie’s premiership year of 2001 and the pair are key figures in the long and star studded history of the competition. Bendigo, Goulburn Valley and Kyabram district league legend Dick Moore (centre) and his the youngest of his four footballing sons Dean (right) also wore the tri colours with distinction. Jonathon Moore, Dean’s son, is the third generation to carry Nagambie’s number one ruck title, while also (like his predecessors) remaining adept at goalkicking.
Barnes storming: Tom Barnes is among several sons of former Nagambie stars who is making a mark on the same competition as their fathers. Brett Barnes, Tom’s father, is a former leading league goalkicker.
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