Dragons first father-son

Saturday’s round four match marked a historic day for the Sandringham Dragons with the Dragons debuting their first father-son player, Tom Deane-Johns.

Tom is the son of Gabe, who started with the Dragons, then known as the Central Dragons, in 1992 as a bottom-ager.

The Deane-Johns ties to the Dragons are rich with Game Day Football manager Ian Penn driving Gabe home from trainings.

In his first season, he balanced his commitments between Sandringham and Xavier College before playing a full season in 1993 where the Dragons made the preliminary final.

Mr Deane-Johns said it was an exciting experience playing in the inaugural TAC Cup season.

“It was quite exciting because back then it was in its infancy.”

“It was a fantastic experience. I was lucky enough to play both Vic Metro and some reserves games with Richmond.

“It is a fantastic program with great people and they really encouraged you to get the best out of yourself and supported you.

“It was a fantastic program from the start,” he said.

In the Dragons 32 point loss to the Jets, Deane-Johns starred with 20 disposals, six tackles, three marks, two inside 50s and one rebound 50.

Development coach Fraser Cameron said Tom “really stood out”.

“Tom came into the midfield and we played him on the wing … then when we threw him inside-mid he was exceptional as far as winning some contested footy. He showed great poise, didn’t get tackled very often and clearly was a standout as (one of) our best bottom age players,” he said.

Kavisha Di Pietro