Conversations with Cornesy - Mark Mickan

Hi, everybody, Welcome to conversations. It's unusual. We sometimes have father and son. We've had a husband and wife. I don't think we've had brother and sister because a few years ago I interviewed Pat Micken as part of this program, one of our great Australian basketball players. But her brother is equally as famous and it's taken me a few years to track him down. Mark Micken, welcome to the program.

How are you. He's great, good, could be well.

Brother and sister. I think you're the first of it.

So yeah, I'm not the best sportsman in the family.

You're not the best. I'm not sure about that. It's been it's been pretty tough for you the last couple of years. You were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and how how you handled it. Don't tell us how that's worked out.

It's been challenging at times. I've got diagnosed in August of twenty sixteen, and in two thousand and nine nineteen, I had a de brain two deep brain stimulation operations. Actually I went on the thirteenth of April nineteen, twenty nineteen, and another one that was successful on December the fifteenth, twenty nineteen.

Explain what that is.

It's a it's a fairly invasive sort of a surgery where they open up your scale and go into your brain and put the little electrodes in your brain. And the first time I was asleep the first operation, that didn't work. In the second operation it did work, and I was awake. You're await here in the operation most of the operation.

How are they dead? In the plain of it, They've gone through your scalp.

You have an aesthetic and the anethesidist on how you say that regulates I could spell it. He regulates your consciousness really and has you coming in and out amazing. Yeah, and what could you feel? At one stage? I could feel jack hammer in the back of my head. It was a bit horrendous. One stage. He said, I should have I should have told you I was going to do that. But anyway, now that the surgery itself was very successful. He used to have a severe tremor in

Why are you? Why are yours different? Why are your circumstances different?

Every Parkinson's, every person to live with parking it has a different experience with it. And so for some people they are very rigid. They might not shake so much, but their body be very rigid and stiff. And for other people, they shake, they have the shakes, and it can figure in so many other ways. Well, you know, for me, I've got very low blood pressure as a result of Parkinson's, and that is quite demilitating at times.

And do you have treatment for that?

Or I a medicated? I medicated for that, And sometimes it works better than others. It's working all right today.

Goodness, How did you get in? How did you get into the studio? We're in the studio, folks. Mark's come in and we met downstairs, came up to the fourth floor. How did you get into the station?

Come up lifts?

No? You know, how can you drive yourself with?

Sorry?

I'm glad you're laughing.

When I sit down with blood pressure, it controls itself. It's all right, it's driving problem.

I read though that the treatment is controlled from Melbourne. Is that true?

Can be? Yeah? I have a entallyhealth appointment out every three or four months with doctor Andrew Evans, who's non neurologist in Melbourne, and he can use his iPad to my infrastructure in my brain and adjust it. Wow from from there?

Can you feel anything when he's doing that?

No, I can't know. And the result of what he does can take It can be fair the incident or couldn't take a while. So we really haven't adjusted. It's I've had the surgery in twenty nineteen because if we adjusted it could help one area, but then another area is of the brain might not function as well, so I might end up with a shaking my right leg instead of with a shaking my left or something like that. So it's a bit of a balancing act and it's not an exact science.

And you're comfortable with it maybe apart from the blood pressure, I.

Guess yeah, I am. Yeah. I've been very fortunate. As I said, some people's experienced with Parkinson since isn't as fortunate as mine. I've got my brother who's in an HP facility at Flora Flora McDonald on Don Breburan Drive, and he's very debilopitated with Parkinson's. His body's really packed up on him. He's got very rigid, very rigid, and he sit later on his back all day and it's very sad.

So to say he's the alert at the same time.

Yeah, he was aware of this. That must be terrible. Yeah, it's not good.

Well, had an impact on your dad.

He was similar to my brother. He had a very rigid sort of body and couldn't talk quite often because his facial mush muscles were affected.

How old were you when that happened?

He was He was sixty two.

So you're you're pretty much an adult.

Yeah, I was definitely. Yeah.

So how's how has life changed? DRAMATOA. You were a school teacher, you're active, you were coaching, and what happens these days.

You're getting Parkinson's wasn't part of the plan.

I put in my life, And I'm sorry, that's right now.

I don't teach anymore. That's that's pretty much out of the question. Because my low blood pressure and associated things to do with parkins. I go to the gym. I go to the brain and body in the studio at twenty five King Winding Road only three times a week, and that's a real winner for me because I can sit down in a safe environment and do my exercises and the exercises of tailor made to suit my condition.

What do you do.

A range of weights and aerobic activities? Bike and on the bike? Yeah?

What sort of weight training is?

It's all cables and stacks of boats and things like that, and it's ch chess. Yeah, pretty much what you might do in all GM differently sitting down. For me, it's quite an inspirational place to go actually, because they got people there with parkings and of all different types, and people with stroke effective stroke, and all trying their best to make the most of their lives.

The thing that impresses me, you're always such a physically impressive guy, big tour and strong, and you still aren't big tool and strong. You haven't diminished at all and you haven't. Is that maybe due to the gym work?

Do you think I think on big to a bit fat?

You are not fat. We led her put on a bit away when you get how old are you now?

Sixty four.

Okay, so well you let her put on a bit away.

Thanks.

Mark mcken is my guest, Folks, he's come all the way into We're going to chat about his footy career. I want to talk about your dad too, because he's a bit more about your dad, and maybe your mum as well, because I was intrigued in your dad's war service. She brought in his war records, so I'm can have a bit of a look at that. Mark Micken is my guess. Back shortly, welcome back to conversations. Mark Micken has made his way into the studio and he just

I think in our case there is. Not only did my dad have my brother's got it. My first cousin, Barry has it, my dad's sister have it, and well it's gone through through the family to a degree. The thing is, the treatment for Parkinson's is not really much better than it has been over the last fifty years. You know, the medications and things like that really haven't changed much. And so when we you know, that's why we're raised money.

For the we should tell us about that. You have the bike ride, the twenty four hour bike ride, which is well supported by people, and to raise money. That money goes towards research.

Yeah, and helping people living with Parkinson's to cope. And that will be come out of it again this year as well. We're doing it again and we don't know. There will be a meeting with us on that Tomorrow Friday, and we'll know more about it than about when it is. But it's being a fairy well supported by this NFL and and by the community at large.

Really now, I know this isn't about me, but I have an amusing story about one of the bike rides because I was invited to do the bike ride and I had a racing bike that hadn't been used for a while, so I took it into Super Addiots and I said, look, I've got to do this bike ride with Magnick and can you get it done and get it And I spent less money to get the bike up for scratch and then that's on a stationary bike at Adelaide. I still had a good result.

I didn't know that.

I had to be there. I guess tell us me, you you brought your dad's war records in When do you look at anybody's war records when you just he's enrolled. He was a block laborer when he was nineteen, when he enlisted in nineteen forty two? Did he Did he ever talk about it? No?

Very rarely. We couldn't couldn't glean anything from what he said. All we think is that because he had a risk injury or a forearm broken forearm and he got medically discharged, that he felt he carried a certain amount of guilt with him over that.

But it wasn't discharged on nineteen forty five, So you sort of st bit.

Of the war. Yeah, I think. I think the fact that there were some losses from from the group of people he trained with waved heavily on his mind.

Okay, did he remember after did he get Lansac? Was Anzac Day important to it that you remember? Not?

Really, he didn't. He didn't march hardly March sac Day.

No.

I think it was a conscious decision. I don't really know why. And we encouraged him to March as a family. But he didn't really want to.

What happened to his medals because he on these records here he's you know, got citations.

And yeah, to be honest, I don't really know what were are, but they'll be in the family somewhere.

Okay, and your mum, but your mom sports.

She played netball. She was she was taller. She towers in photos of her era. She towers above her her mates because she was She was five foot nine and that seeing that looks about six foot three in the photos. But she was relative. It's funny how the generations get taller. But she was quite tall for her era and she played a little bit of netball. Sport wasn't really huge on her agenda, but ye, she was a participated in local Riverland netball as far as I know.

So where do the sporting gene come from? You think, because there's you, there's there's pattern. You've got two other sisters, haven't.

Have you know Lanne who was very talented. She she played one game basketball for Australia. I would have played a lot more had she not had her knee reconstructed at a time when they weren't doing it quite as well as they do now, and that held her back quite a bit. And there's Bev who's the oldest of her family and she she was a Riverland hockey player, very good hockey player. And I guess the sporting team comes from dad. He played cricket and foot in the Riverland.

I wonder what, yes, So you're playing for reend Mark Rovers. When did West Adelaide come talk calling on you?

They didn't really. I played for Remark in junior colts on the wing and on the in the senior colts on the half foll flank. What. I was already tall during that time and I grew about six or seven interest in one year. And that was when the U I came to Adelaide and I thought I'll go out of the West hadlaid to ever go and I went out and had a look and we got lost on the way to the ground because we didn't really know where it was.

Can you get lost.

If you come from the mart. And uh And anyway, I asked Foggy training and they say that I could. I could do it. And then one thing going to another and I.

Just go I'd like to relive this. And I could see rocked up at the club. See can I train? Yeah, they hadn't invited you down. No, can I train? So did you? Who did you speak to?

Doug Thomas or someone on the mound? Some someone standing in front of the gres point me in the right direction?

So who was coaching?

Thenis means forth with the coach?

And they said they can mark? Can I train? Are as simple as that?

Yeah. I went in and I may have rang before sale was coming, I'm not sure, but they allowed me to train, and I thought, I feel right about this. Yeah yeah, And anyway, the games came around and I didn't get a game for the first three weeks. It sounds like I could do at the cruise, Yeah exactly.

Uh so what happened?

Eventually I got a game and I kicked four goals of Elizabeth Central remember that as a for forward. And and then the ruckman I think got injured, you know, and the guy asked me if I could play in the rock, and I said, I hope I got it?

Had you ever played there before?

And I'll have a got it? And when I came and then he kept me in the rock and sort of things went from there.

Well where'd they go from there? You know? So that did you graduate to reserves after that or no?

I stayed down the nineties for the year. I actually won the Best Fairest that year in the nineties.

Having missed the first three How amazing is that you missed the first three games of the first Crows season and you won the best in first?

Yeah, that's right.

So anyway, so you win the under nineties best and first, so you're obviously on the radar then of the of the senior coach.

Possibly, but I wouldn't have known it. Nobody spoke, not really, And the next year they may be captain of the under nineties. And I played a few reserve games as well. I felt all right at reserve level, but I was still going between the two. Between the nineties and reserves. I still getting growing into my body and getting used to the training. And by this time I was getting really into it, and I really loved the West Handlaidian environment.

Did you have a mentor or did someone inspire you?

Not really. I sort of learned that it's not good necessarily just to go for a five or ten k run. It's better to do repetitions as I used to do ten four hundreds as my go to on my own training experience.

And you're right about that. So when did the league team come calling?

And Neil Curley was the coach?

So what do you?

Was this a nine mean eighty one eighty one? Yeah? I was twenty one years old.

Okay, So tell us about your first impression of me.

I was twenty years old, and yeah it was I hear him whenever he come to me one day and he said, I'm going to play you on the weekend, son, And I said, what you and he said, you're playing the back pocket against and so that's what happened. I got about four or five touches and we won by one hundred points.

The board come down there.

I want too much pressure down there. And I played three more games, so though the third game I played, I didn't get on the ground I was played at. We beat Port at Alberton and I didn't get on the ground. I just started on the bench and and didn't didn't participate.

Beat al That's a big deal, wasn't it In those days?

It was okay.

Now, I know you back for Port Adelaide when you're a kid, but what was it like playing against them?

It was quite interesting, actually, because I was a man put out of a supporter and Russell Evitt was my hero. And when we first played in a league game, there was a ball up at center half back and I went up and touched him on them who was on the ball on the pack. I just went up and touched him and walked away because there was so much, so much admiration for him. I can't believe it was on the same ground as he was. You touched him?

Did you tell him that?

He knows? Because I've become good friends with Brett, and Brett told him.

Great story, when did you start to consolidate your role as the leading ruckman?

In that same year we said they played in an elimination final against Nord at Football Park and I played in the ford pocket next to Roger Luders. I kicked four goals in that game, and that was a game that really turned the corner for me. I think we lost the We lost the game, but I think it really turned the corner for me because to that stage I hadn't really shown a whole lot in the league company, but in that game I did, and I felt that that put more case forward for the following year.

Mark mckem is my guess, So we need to take a break. I don't want to because it's getting interesting, but we'll be back after the break and we'll continue this progress of this young skinny kid from ren Mark who's making his way west Adelaide back shortly. Welcome back, everybody. If you just tuned into conversations, Mark mckin is in the studio. He's made his way in. We had a good chat initially about Mark's illness he's Parkinson's disease, and

I remember it pretty well because they had Dexter, they had Michael greg David Gurney, Michael Gregg Young, he was coming to the end of his career at that stage.

He came from Norwood.

He played for West as well.

I forgot that unusual eccentric sort of guy, wasn't he.

I didn't know him very well, but he used to ride his bike to training. I know that.

I think he is a doctor. I think he is intelligent. Yeah, so you've got a lot of competition for ruck.

Yeah. Neil gave me the opportunity to play in the ruck for some reason, and I've got a lot to be grateful for having you as a coach because he was a fantastic motivator. I didn't want him to stop talking once he spoke to the group. I just loved listening to him and I'd do anything for him.

And well, you're not the only one who feels like that.

As you know anyway. But he was such a great motivator of people, of men. And it's hard to explain to people the effect that he had had on you because I had never met anyone quite like him. I don't think.

Over wall it's a really good summary because he had a magnetic appeal. You know, when he stood in front of an audience, you just you didn't dare you didn't dare it erupt. But he was captivating. Okay, we've got to talk about eighty three. Don't weight. You have a you have a great year, your team is dominant, You're going to the finals, and what happens I Benjamin knee in the last I think it was the last second, last.

My round game and it was a posterior Christian Ruckland injury and I missed all the finals in the next Yeah, all the finals of that series plus the Grand Final because I need to operate on my knee because of cartilage damage. As well, and that set me back. Obviously.

Did you have any hope at all that you could get right for it?

I tried to. I tried. I started going well. I started going to a horse doctor at or Globe Day something glob w was and I sat on this machine after after going to school, I was teaching, and after going to school for the dard head out that way and hop on this machine. I can't remember exactly what it did. Didn't you didn't do enough for me.

And that's the same machine that Jeff Morris.

Yeah, I think they worked for him.

Jeff Morris had a hamstring industry in the second semi finals it, yeah, which he and you normally had missed. But he he went to this same doctor, same vet you would call it, and they got him up for the grand final.

Yeah, that's right. He did his hamstring with about thirty seconds to go in the Grand final.

Oh, but you're in front, so you've got to sit and watch. And they recalled Dirk de Jong. Dirk came from a volleyball background, didn't he, But had he not retired he.

Left the club and he hadn't played footy for probably a year and or more, and he came into the side, they went and head hunting him, And yeah, he did a great job in the grand final, and in fact the whole final series did a great job.

How did you feel watching that?

Oh bit enviews? But I felt that we would always be a good side and that would always have opportunities to play in grand finals. But you can't you can't think that wake circumstances change as they did, and we didn't make the finals the next year, and we played in a prediminary final in eighty five Slat which we lost, but we never played another in another Premierhute.

Curls always said, to the annoyance of the grenod players who played in nineteen seventy three, but that eighty three West LA team was the best team he coached.

You did say that, He did say that, How do you feel about it?

I don't feel very happy because we were smashed, But did just run through some of the players for.

US Ian Bochard, Peter Murrette, Jeff Morris, Roger Lowis, Peter Winter, McKinnon, Smith McKinnon, ro McKinnon, Yet Grant Key.

Bruce lind. Yeah, you're probably right. Who was the wh was the fallback from milk from Melbourne.

Craig Williams Craig.

Fantastic player, and Ian Bouchard won the medal tack.

He won the the what's according to the jack Oi.

So after ady six with the OFL were starting to beckon for you. You go to Brisbane, you go to this new team called the Brisbane Bears establish themselves in Brisbane. What was that like?

It was quite amazing. Really. We formed a team of people from all around Australia and we gathered in nearly in early January of nineteen eighty seven and were gathered in Brisbane for the first time that we'd ever met. And we were supposed to be a football team that was going to compete on the big stage within about two months.

Peter Knights as your coach, Peter Knights as the coach, great great, great player, great player, and you're appointed captain.

Yeah, how did that?

How did that sit with you? Did you welcome it? Did you embrace it?

I did embrace it, but I wasn't expecting it. I expected Mark to everyone expected Market needs to be captains, including Mark, but we sort of choke about it now and he's very good with it. It was the owner Christophers.

Christopher's What was it like?

It was one of the reasons why football should never be owned by a private, private investor, because when things didn't go well, things didn't go well.

And did he have did he address the team very often? Did he come down and speak to the team at all?

Every now and again? I remember right at the beginning of the year, we had a launch and he did. He raised some money that launch. He said, We've got lots of people in the room with lots of money, and what we'll do now is we'll extract some of that money from here. So he started with A fora architects and B for builders and whatever, and he said, it's got to be worth, you know, one hundred thousand dollars from your company. And he had that sort of

Okay? You won your first game?

Yeah, we did. We beat North Mill with the m CG by about six or seven goals.

How exciting was that of bet?

That was extremely exciting. We didn't know the song we had written on a piece of paper in the world in the rooms and we stood around, steering at the paper around singing the song. And we run our next game too. We were better beat you along at Codinya Park a park.

Nobody beat you a long Ada Park.

No we did.

Yeah, what happened after that?

After that? We lost to I think the lost Saint Kilda And how.

Did the season pound out?

After we won six games the year which I thought was too bad. I think it stacks up a right against the other teams, even against Adelaide winning ken in the first year. I think with the circumstances that we had going into the year, that six out of six out of the season wasn't too bad. We didn't finish bottom, we finished about the third bottom.

I've always admired Peena Knights. Tell us what sort of coach was?

He extremely enthusiastic. He could have been a playing coach, I think because he joined in the training sometimes in goodness me could he play? Figure was quick and sending to his pace and he could do it, could take marks that no one else could take, and his boarhanding was really switched on and he was fantastic And as a coach I really liked him. I already enjoyed him because of his enthusiasm and he had it all against him coaching a team that had the administration that did.

No I agree, I reckon he's a great guy. Catch up with him regularly once a year and it's always great to do so. Mark McKinnon is my guest, folks. We've still got his time at the Crows to come and subsequently backshortly. Mark McKinnon is in the studio, is my guest on conversations and as it is with Old, it's just a it's a great chat, just a great journey through his footy life. You're in Brisbane, you've been captain of the team, You're there for four years. What's

At that stage? I had some injury problems. I had calf problems and I couldn't train fully and that really affected my form. I was doing training on versa climber and playing intermittently because if my calf are no good, I couldn't play, and that was that was off on the case, and so I was beating up when I come back And did.

You come back to I can't remember the actual I don't you were on our radar in terms of on the list.

No, no, that's right. I heard Adelaide were interested in putting a team in and I thought they probably won't ring me because I'm beat up and I've probably give them the impression on finished. But I still felt that I had some fully left in me, and so I didn't train with West that late. For that reason, I didn't want you both to think that I was going to just resign myself to planning for the s CNFL. And so I got myself organized to visit Steve Sauna's visier.

You're training by yourself. Yeah, and you spoke to Neil Curly, that footy manager at that time.

Not too later. And then eventually the phone call came and they asked me out to training just before Christmas? And I said, do you mind if I wait until after Christmas to come out because I wasn't quite sure that my carf would stand up to it.

Had you heard about the one hundred and ten hundred?

I hadn't at that time, but yeah, my.

Would we spend to kills?

Was he the Yeah? He rang and said can you come out? It might be a week before Christmas break and I said, look, can I just wait until after Christmas, because I've got a few things I need to do. I didn't want to say I've got a car problem, so I said, and he said, yeah, that's all right, you can come out start after Christmas. That came here. They bought me in a couple more weeks to get right, and I got right, and I felt as though I could still play at the level if I got myself

You didn't get picked in the first game. I'm trying to think why we were with Romano Negre games. Why do you think that? What were you feeling? What was your emotion around?

I felt as uh, you should have picked me.

You're on the point of retirement.

But I told shown enough in the Trol games and up until that point. But I could have gone to the stand. Why he didn't pick me? Absolutely, And I just went back and played the West. Dad laid and played okay, and then I got a game in the fourth game again Stession and at the winter yeh Marpi was on the bench with me that's making But at the same.

Time that Bruce Aby got knocked out and Mark came on, So you started on the bench. I don't remember that, so so did When did you come on?

About the first quarter?

I stayed on and the rest is history.

Well I don't know about that, but one another.

Best in first and one of the best in first. I did summarize that first year for us, for for the Crows fans.

Uh, we well coached. I really enjoyed your coaching. In fact, I enjoyed everybody. I feel very blessed to have had the coaches that I had throughout marketing my time in the game. But that was a really open every year for me because coming from Brisbane where we didn't really have a ground, we didn't have the infrastructure, we didn't have place to train all the time, we had a

How did the income for you?

I pulled a hamstring at training and I didn't know whether it was only a slight one. I didn't know whether to tell you or not, so I think she I thought I better, So I told you and you left me out that week, which was fair enough, and I never got back in the side.

Ren came along.

That's that probably help. He's a champion reading wasn't he one of my favorite players?

So what happened? Do you feel your career fizzled out?

Ah?

The thing I liked about you at training is that you were so generous with your time with the other ruckman in terms of helping you like the David Pittman's and the and the Sean w Ren, and they like you. You're happy to put time in with them and assist in their development too.

So cost me.

You were going to you weren't going to keep sewing.

It was fantastic. I'll never forget when I was. He'd pick me up at the end, not picked me up. He would choose me in the training to do competitive marketing with. We do half an hour to train every night, and to start with, he would he would not touch the ball where I would take every mark, and going by the end of the year, I couldn't touch it. It was improved that much that quickly as unbelievable.

So the end comes, do you realize that you're destined for coaching.

I don't think I was destined for coaching, but I took a role on to see how I liked it at the club as a development coach and during your during your time, and I enjoyed that, and I stayed in similar roles for quite a while, and then ninety seven and Blake came along, and that ninety seven premiership year really inspired me to coach because he I felt it was I could see what he was doing from the inside, and I really liked what he did. His philosophy on the game explained.

Can you explain that for the listeners?

I never forget. We had a time where he invited every trainer, every employee of the club to a meeting and he showed the game plan on video and that it was so simple and so impressive, and then it transferred exactly to the way we played on the game on game day and in the coach's box he really didn't have a pench on for statistics. He just looked at the scoreboard and if the scoreboard played with us, he wouldn't make too many changes at all. If it didn't,

Bring it the ground, simple as that.

And he did that and the result took care of itself.

So you're going to coaching yourself. You coach the Eagles, you coach at come back to West Adelaide, summarize those those times.

It was an exciting time with the Eagles. We had about nine last drafted in two years. Bread Biglin's, Matthew pavileich Ken, Matthew Wheeling, Robbie Shirley, Brett Burton.

Likes it hard to settle a team down.

Yeah, and we had we had a pretty successful time. We lost a premim Re final in my second year to NORWD by fourteen points. I don't know that I don't. I don't remember it. And then at Glenelg I felt I really enjoyed my time there. I had some very good players and Ben came Bull Shearwood were high up with glen Well. I suppose I felt say I felt that, you know, at the time I got dismissed there was we were fifth on the ladder and we had done what we said we're going to do in terms of

And what was it like to come back of West Adelaide. I mean, you missed the Premiership as a player, but you bring home a Premiership cup for the team that you know gave you an introduction to footy.

What was it like?

Can you tell us?

It was fantastic. It was great to see that the smiles of everyone's face who waited thirty two years for that to happen. And what I really enjoys the fact that the club doctor is Angel Moran becomes a premiership doctor.

Hadn't thought of it like that.

You know, the physio Brinnan o'livery becomes a premiership physio. The room staff become premiership room staff and can put that next to the name. And I really liked the way that you can share a premiership not only with the players but with the staff as well.

And you share it for the rest of your lives. Yeah, as right as you're finding out. Yeah, you've had so many roles in footy, you're still doing a little bit, aren't you.

Yeah, I am. I'm involved with a trust that's in

Well done. Everything you've done in footy has been elite, magnificent and memorable and just one of those great football people markets. It's great to catch up, it's great to chat. Good luck with the trust, good good luck with managing your parkings disease. You're doing it in an inspirational manner, so I'm so pleasing you come in. It's been great speaking to you.

Thanks going up and enjoying it.

Mark mckemmon is my guest. Folks, thank you for joining us.