Sons of Guns

Product Description

When the AFL's father-son rule was introduced in the 1940s, it gave emerging players the chance to live out what was often the ultimate lifelong dream - the opportunity to play for the same beloved club they had watched their fathers play for. This is about as sentimental as football gets.

As a result, some of the greatest names in the AFL today are names that have been running around for generations - names like Ablett, Watson, Shaw, Fletcher, Hawkins, Kennedy and Mitchell - many of whom have given frank and candid interviews for this book.

Sons of Guns gives unique personal insight into some of the most famous footballing families of recent years - the successes, failures, and incidents that have never before been made public. The 'guns' confide doubts about whether their sons would ever make it, and the incredible pride when they did, while the sons describe overcoming the burden of their surname to forge their own identity.

This is an insightful and hugely inspiring book about generations of men in the same family who had what it took to possess the same dedication, courage, toughness and desire to succeed at the ultimate level.When the AFL's father-son rule was introduced in the 1940s, it gave emerging players the chance to live out what was often the ultimate lifelong dream - the opportunity to play for the same beloved club they had watched their fathers play for. This is about as sentimental as football gets.

As a result, some of the greatest names in the AFL today are names that have been running around for generations - names like Ablett, Watson, Shaw, Fletcher, Hawkins, Kennedy and Mitchell - many of whom have given frank and candid interviews for this book.

Sons of Guns gives unique personal insight into some of the most famous footballing families of recent years - the successes, failures, and incidents that have never before been made public. The 'guns' confide doubts about whether their sons would ever make it, and the incredible pride when they did, while the sons describe overcoming the burden of their surname to forge their own identity.

This is an insightful and hugely inspiring book about generations of men in the same family who had what it took to possess the same dedication, courage, toughness and desire to succeed at the ultimate level.
Matt Watson is a former ABC journalist in Brisbane and regional Queensland. He has covered politics, community events, breaking news and environmental stories since 2005. He is currently a corporate communications specialist with the Queensland Government.

Matt fell in love with North Melbourne in 1977 when he first pulled on a football jumper at the Oak Park Football Club in Victoria. He's been fascinated by football and its history ever since, and has turned his love of sport into a passion. He has been writing about AFL football, cricket and boxing for decades for ABC Online, the Footy Almanac and in his blog The Ramble. He is the author of Fabulous Phil Carman- the Phil Carman Story, published by Brolga Press in 2017.