Page 580 - History of Parkside Football Club (1897-2017) Editied Version Completed_optimized

Parkside Football Club 1897/2017

"He told us he'd already been told he'll never walk again," he said.

Club president Mr Don Browne-Kerr Jnr said he had spoken to Napoli's mother late yesterday
morning (Tuesday).

"He's got a bit of a flinch in one arm which is a good sign," he said.

"We're hoping and keeping our fingers crossed that things will turn out for the better. Ross is pretty
positive."

Mr Browne-Kerr said Napoli had taken "great heart" from the good wishes passed on to Footscray-
based Parkside from "everyone in the FDFL".

"It's incredible, I've never seen anything like it in my life," he said.

He added that AFL superstar and record goalkicker Tony Lockett had been in touch with the club and
will donate a special '1300 goals' auto-graphed guernsey to the trust fund opened for Napoli.

It will be auctioned off at a special club auction next Thursday night (July 29).

The highly skilled wingman was playing just his sixth senior game with the Magpies after joining
them from Coburg in the Victorian Football League earlier this season.

It has been a tumultuous time for the Magpies. Club officials are contemplat¬ing a move from the
FDFL to the Essendon District Football League after star half-forward George Kotoski was
controversially suspended by the FDFL executive until the end of the 2001 season.”

***

Essenddon star, in 2003 Steven Alessio told this short, but comprehensive account of the footy
fraternity and mateships to Lyall Johnson, The Age reporter.

By Lyall Johnson

“Fourteen years ago, a gangly 17-year-old Steven Alessio "walked in off the street" at Windy Hill at
the behest of his schoolmate Ross Napoli, not wanting to play AFL but rather hoping to get fit over
summer to play local footy.

In the pre-draft days, Napoli, a local lad, was training with the Essendon under-19 team and the
coach, the legendary Ray "Slug" Jordon, was not perturbed to have a 200-centimetre athletic
youngster run around for a while as the team trained alongside the seniors at the Cross Keys
Reserve.

"He looked me up and down and said, 'Yeah, no worries, big fella' and gave me an opportunity,"
Alessio said yesterday.

Once a Parksider, Always a Parksider