Robert DiPierdomenico

Robert "Dipper" DiPierdomenico (born 5 May 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL of Italian descent and a member of the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century. Dipper was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

AFL career

Beginning his career with the Hawthorn Football Club in 1975, DiPierdomenico, or the "Big Dipper" as he is affectionately known, kick-started his career in 1978, culminating in a best-on-ground performance in the 1978 VFL Grand Final. He went on to play 240 games and kick 130 goals with the Hawks, retiring in 1991, including 5 day and 5 night premierships with one of the most successful eras of domination a club has ever seen.

DiPierdomenico was initially assigned guernsey number #53, but subsequently wore number #9.

He was known for his toughness (which led to many trips to the Tribunal), and the moustachioed Dipper was one of the much-loved, and most media-covered characters in the VFL during the 1980s.

DiPierdomenico somehow managed to avoid the Tribunal in 1986 to win the Brownlow Medal, tying with Greg Williams, who was playing for Sydney at the time. Later in the week, he would win his third Premiership medallion as the Hawks defeated Carlton by 42 points.

Late in the first quarter of the 1989 VFL Grand Final, DiPierdomenico was running backwards to take a mark when he was met solidly from behind by Geelong star Gary Ablett. The force of the collision broke several of DiPierdomenico's ribs and punctured one of his lungs. Despite the pain and unaware of the extent of the damage, DiPierdomenico continued to play until the final siren. Typically, he featured among Hawthorn's best players and also got reported. He collapsed shortly after the game and was rushed to the casualty ward of St. Vincent's Hospital, where doctors found out that Dipper had punctured a lung. He recounted the gravity of the situation years later:

"By this time I'd been shifted into intensive care. The doctor came in and said if they didn't gag me I was gone... So there you are. I had eight days in hospital to think about what might have happened. To tell you the truth, it scared me."^[1]

Media career

Dipper has long been known for big persona, including his always smiling and jovial personality.

After he retired, he became a popular media personality, as a boundary rider with the Seven Network. After Seven lost the rights to broadcast AFL in 2001, Dipper continued his tradition as a boundary-rider on radio station 3AW.

In the 1990s, Dipper made an appearance, along with Dermott Brereton and Adrian Barich, in a charity rugby league match and scored a try, and in typical comedian style dived over the line like superman to celebrate.

Dipper has appeared on advertising campaigns for Jenny Craig, Fasta Pasta, and most famously, his long association with Dimmeys & Forges in which his catchphrase in television and radio commercials is "Be there!" and "$9.99!".

In 2010, he was stood down from his role in the Auskick junior development program after making a racist remark regarding Gavin Wanganeen.^[2]

He coached the Peres Team for Peace (Israel-Palestinian Territories) in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup.

Robert also made a cameo in Neighbours in 1999.

Career highlights

• Brownlow Medal 1986 (tie)
• Australian Football Hall of Fame 2007
• VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century

Bibliography

• Butler, Ben and Craig Binnie (2007). "Dipper's Big Tax Bill Nightmare." Herald Sun. 5 September.
• Cometti, Dennis (2004). Centimetre Perfect. London: Allen and Unwin.
• (1991). "Dipper Decides to Call it Quits." The Advertiser. 4 October.
• Edwards, Mike (2007). "Time of the essence for kids, says Dipper." Herald Sun. 13 August.
• Kartal, Y (1992). "The club a party to Dipper's debut." Northern Territory News. 7 June.

References

Robert DiPierdomenico's statistics from AFL Tables