Cooma is not a town widely known for homegrown Australian Rules Football legends. In fact, Aussie Rules footballers are a relatively rare commodity in this rugby and soccer stronghold at the foot of the Snowy Mountains in southern New South Wales.
But Damien Asanovski, known to one and all simply as Azzo, is both a Cooma AFL footballer and now officially a local Aussie Rules legend.
This Saturday (21 August), when he runs out with the Number 29 on his back onto the notorious playing surface at Snowy Oval behind the local cemetery, Azzo will achieve what few before him have – playing 300 games for his beloved Cooma Cats.
And it’s an achievement that takes on extra proportions when you consider the Cooma Cats have been a side which has – to say the least – struggled on and off the field since their formation in the mid 1970s. They’re a team more accustomed to healthy defeats rather than glorious success.
For Azzo, it’s been 20 years of blood, sweat and toil with little in the way of September action upon which to reflect.
But playing local footy for the Cats has never been about on field success – it always been about doing something with your mates and representing your community. And if that’s a measure of success, then Azzo is a winner many times over.
Azzo’s path to Aussie Rules was typical of country life in southern NSW.
While he had tried a number of the other codes, it was a desire for something different which led him to Aussie Rules.
“A couple of mates of mine and I were looking for something to do on the weekends and one of them was a Bombers (Essendon) supporter, so we went up to the (Cooma) Cats to have a look at what they did and they were very welcoming,” Azzo recalls.
“Twenty years’ later I’m still there and still playing footy. I love it.
“I just found the challenge of the 360 degree game more suited to me, along with enjoying the company of mates on the field,” he said.
Achieving the 300 senior game mile-stone is a rare thing in any sport, particular in local football when playing is all about training on cold winter nights and throwing the body into the fray every Saturday afternoon.
It’s even harder when the scoreboard never seems that friendly.
For Azzo, playing 300 games will mean just a little bit of acknowledgement for all the years of hard work.
“It’s a bit of an honour, there’s only a few blokes who have achieved it before me, so it will mean a fair bit to me,” he said.
Playing for the Cooma Cats is very much about a love of the game first and foremost, as on field success has never featured significantly in the club’s history.
But for Azzo, now also the senior coach, playing footy is all about representing your team and your community.
As coach, he is working hard with the Cats’ committee to install a culture of “love of the game first and foremost” among the team, club and supporters.
He said the Cats have a real desire to help bring AFL footy to the Monaro and the Snowy Mountains. To do this, Azzo is keen to ensure the Cats are known as a well-run, family and community focused club which the players, fans and community can be truly proud of.
And in ensuring this, Azzo works hard to ensure the club is known as a warm and welcoming one for anyone interested in Aussie Rules, regardless of skill or background.
“I think we are very much achieving that goal,” he said.
In a 20 year playing career, there have been many highs and lows.
For Azzo, the obvious high was getting a taste of finals football very early in his playing career when the Cats played in a final series in the early 1990s.
“We were minor premiers in 1994 and only missed out on getting into a grand-final by a couple of points,” he said.
As for the lows, he recalls a long period a little later when the Cats struggled to win a game and went for almost two full seasons without a victory.
“Obviously that was very hard, to back up and come back every week – they were pretty tough times,” he said.
But playing footy in the bush has always been more about providing people with an avenue to enjoy the game rather than winning flags.
Helping young people become better people is a real motivator for Azzo, and is one of the prime reasons he has taken on the coaching role with the Cats.
Azzo says he worries less about on field success and more about seeing the development of the new players coming through.
“The more they get out there and play and the more instruction you give them, the more they become men and that in itself is a big reward for me,” he said.
Playing and coaching an Aussie Rules football team in country NSW is never going to be an easy task – it’s challenging to say the least.
“The majority of players on the club’s list are young blokes who have never played Aussie Rules as juniors, normally coming with a background from the other codes but looking for something different,” Azzo said.
“These blokes have got to learn the basic skills and develop and understanding of a 360 degree game rather than the straight up and down approach of the other codes.
“It’s not easy, but that’s where there is a lot of satisfaction in seeing these blokes develop new skills,” he said.
The Cats have been working hard in recent years to develop its juniors and this year is fielding a successful Under 14 side (the Snowy SuperCats) in the Canberra competition for the second year in a row in an effort to start developing Cats players for the future.
Cooma Cats’ club president Dave Paterson paid tribute to Azzo not only for his 300 games milestone, but for his commitment to the Cats, AFL and the community for 20 years.
“Azzo is a wonderful example of a real AFL ambassador,” Dave said.
“Playing AFL here in Cooma, while a privilege, also requires incredible commitment. It’s hard work. So to do it for as long as Azzo has, and as well as he has, is a real credit to the man, his club and the game.
“But more than that, Azzo is a genuine example of someone who has not only enjoyed playing his football, and has taken the next step and is giving as much as he can back to his club and community through the gamer.
“Through his commitment as our senior coach and the hours of ‘behind the scenes’ committee work he does to keep the Cats on the field each week, he ensures the next generation of Monaro and Snowy Mountains youngsters get the chance to play Australia’s number one football code,’ Dave said.
Last Modified on 15/08/2010 17:16