Thursday night saw Essendon royalty combine, but not just from a footy lens.
With 42-year-old Alistair McLennan set to run out for his 400th Premier League appearance with the Essendon Hockey Club this Sunday, it was only fitting to have another member of the 400-club in Dustin Fletcher presenting a special EFC guernsey to commemorate the occasion.
The parallels don’t end at just the shared milestone, however. In the same vein as the Fletcher family name being synonymous to the Bombers, the McLennan name is also held in similar regard for the Hockey Club.
Where Fletcher’s father Ken played 264 games for Essendon prior, McLennan also comes from a family that bleeds red and black. His maternal grandfather Ray Toner played in multiple premierships with EHC into his 50’s and has the best clubman award named after him, while two of his uncles (Scott McLennan and John Toner) each represented Victoria.
McLennan also carries the on-field legacy of his father Robert, who won twelve A-Grade premierships with Essendon Hockey throughout the 1960’s and ‘70’s, as well as proving a very capable performer at international level for Australia. Coincidentally, Robert and Ken Fletcher actually played cricket together around the same time period.
Alistair’s been playing at A-grade level since the age of 14 – in his 28-year span, he’s won two premierships (2001-’02) and a whopping seven club best and fairest awards, continuing to play a vital role for his side into his 40’s.
Fletcher’s appearance at the club on Thursday to present the guernsey to McLennan continued the Bombers’ push in strengthening their local connections this year, with the club set to celebrate their ‘Community Game’ against Fremantle at the MCG in two weeks’ time as part of a renewed community strategy this year.
