Berto "Robert" DiPierdomenico (born 5 May 1958) is a retired Australian rules footballer who represented Hawthorn in the Australian Football League (AFL) from the 1970s to the 1990s. Popularly known by his nickname "Dipper", DiPierdomenico is one of the most successful Italian Australians to play Australian football, and his contribution to the game was recognised by selection in the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century.
| Robert DiPierdomenico | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 "Dipper" coaching the Peres Team for Peace in the 2008 International Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Berto DiPierdomenico | ||
| Nickname(s) | Dipper | ||
| Date of birth | 5 May 1958 | ||
| Place of birth | Hawthorn, Victoria | ||
| Original team(s) | North Kew (Vic) | ||
| Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 93 kg (205 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1975–1991 | Hawthorn | 240 (130) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| Victoria | ? (?) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1991. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
editDiPierdomenico was born in Hawthorn to parents Stefano and Antonietta, who had emigrated to Australia from Abbateggio, Italy. DiPierdomenico's parents were married by proxy, meaning they were married over the phone.[1]
A hyperactive child who had a stutter, Dipper attended numerous schools in Hawthorn and neighbouring areas, including Kew High School, where he met his future wife Cheryl Bayley, Swinburne Tech, where his headmaster was his future Hawthorn coach, John Kennedy Senior, and Hawthorn West Primary School.[2]
DiPierdomenico began playing football in his early teens for local clubs East Hawthorn and North Kew before signing for VFL club Hawthorn as an eighteen-year-old. As a youngster, DiPierdomenico played cricket and would bowl left arm over the wrist.
AFL career
editBeginning his career with the Hawthorn Football Club in 1975, DiPierdomenico started slowly, playing 99 reserve-grade games as he flitted between first team and reserve-grade football. He kick-started his career in 1978, culminating in a best-on-ground performance in the 1978 VFL Grand Final.[3]
DiPierdomenico was initially assigned guernsey number #53, but subsequently wore number #9. Typically, he was considered one of Hawthorn's best players.
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 won the Brownlow Medal, in 1986 tying with Greg Williams, who was playing for Sydney at the time.[4] During that season, DiPierdomenico was considered very fortunate to have avoided the VFL tribunal, and consequent ineligibility for the Brownlow.[citation needed] Later in the week, he would win his third Premiership medallion as the Hawks defeated Carlton by 42 points.[5]
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.[6] Despite the pain, and being unaware of the extent of the damage, DiPierdomenico continued to play until the final siren, and Hawthorn won by a goal in one of the most famous grand finals of all time.[6] He collapsed shortly after the game and was rushed to the casualty ward of St. Vincent's Hospital, where doctors found out that DiPierdomenico had punctured a lung.[6] 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."[7]
DiPierdomenico went on to play 240 games and kick 130 goals with the Hawks, retiring in 1991, and participating in five day and four night premierships during one of the most successful eras that a VFL/AFL club has ever achieved.
Playing statistics
edit G
|
Goals | K
|
Kicks | D
|
Disposals | T
|
Tackles |
B
|
Behinds | H
|
Handballs | M
|
Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 1975 | Hawthorn | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | — |
| 1976 | Hawthorn | 38 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1977 | Hawthorn | 38 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978 | Hawthorn | 9 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 179 | 75 | 254 | 32 | — | 0.0 | 0.1 | 8.5 | 3.6 | 12.1 | 1.5 | — |
| 1979 | Hawthorn | 9 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 170 | 87 | 257 | 49 | — | 0.1 | 0.1 | 11.3 | 5.8 | 17.1 | 3.3 | — |
| 1980 | Hawthorn | 9 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 191 | 96 | 287 | 43 | — | 0.1 | 0.1 | 11.9 | 6.0 | 17.9 | 2.7 | — |
| 1981 | Hawthorn | 9 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 127 | 45 | 172 | 36 | — | 0.4 | 0.3 | 10.6 | 3.8 | 14.3 | 3.0 | — |
| 1982 | Hawthorn | 9 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 67 | 37 | 104 | 23 | — | 0.3 | 0.2 | 7.4 | 4.1 | 11.6 | 2.6 | — |
| 1983 | Hawthorn | 9 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 205 | 89 | 294 | 68 | — | 0.4 | 0.8 | 12.1 | 5.2 | 17.3 | 4.0 | — |
| 1984 | Hawthorn | 9 | 24 | 23 | 30 | 335 | 166 | 501 | 112 | — | 1.0 | 1.3 | 14.0 | 6.9 | 20.9 | 4.7 | — |
| 1985 | Hawthorn | 9 | 17 | 12 | 20 | 227 | 97 | 324 | 62 | — | 0.7 | 1.2 | 13.4 | 5.7 | 19.1 | 3.6 | — |
| 1986 | Hawthorn | 9 | 25 | 23 | 17 | 360 | 211 | 571 | 101 | — | 0.9 | 0.7 | 14.4 | 8.4 | 22.8 | 4.0 | — |
| 1987 | Hawthorn | 9 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 317 | 201 | 518 | 120 | 67 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 13.2 | 8.4 | 21.6 | 5.0 | 2.8 |
| 1988 | Hawthorn | 9 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 351 | 112 | 463 | 89 | 66 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 16.7 | 5.3 | 22.0 | 4.2 | 3.1 |
| 1989 | Hawthorn | 9 | 24 | 19 | 18 | 353 | 142 | 495 | 96 | 70 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 14.7 | 5.9 | 20.6 | 4.0 | 2.9 |
| 1990 | Hawthorn | 9 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 180 | 76 | 256 | 61 | 18 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 13.8 | 5.8 | 19.7 | 4.7 | 1.4 |
| 1991 | Hawthorn | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 4.0 | 15.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Career[8] | 240 | 130 | 152 | 3077 | 1438 | 4515 | 892 | 223 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 12.8 | 6.0 | 18.8 | 3.7 | 2.7 | ||
Media career
editAfter DiPierdomenico 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, DiPierdomenico continued his tradition as a boundary-rider on radio station 3AW. DiPierdomenico also worked at Sky News Australia as their AFL expert in the mid 2000s.
In the 1990s, DiPierdomenico made an appearance, along with Dermott Brereton and Adrian Barich, in a charity rugby league match and scored a try, and in comedic fashion dived over the line in a fashion similar to Superman to celebrate.
In 2010, he was stood down from his role in the Auskick junior development program after making a racist remark regarding Gavin Wanganeen.[9]
DiPierdomenico made a cameo in the TV series Neighbours in 1999, and he appeared on the Channel 9 weight-loss show Excess Baggage in 2012. Since 2019, he has been hosting the TV series Dipper's Backyard BBQ Wars.
Dipierdemenico appeared in adverts for department store Dimmeys in the 1990s.
Dipper was the 7th person evicted on the seventh series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2021. He is the first celebrity to bowl a strike in a sushi-eating challenge.
Incontinence advocacy
editDiPierdomenico is an advocate for incontinence awareness, taking a brave step to publicly bring attention to the taboo subject.[10][11]
Career highlights
editBibliography
edit- Butler, Ben and Binnie, Craig (2007). "Dipper's 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
edit- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Open Mike – Robert DiPierdomenico (2010)". YouTube.
- ^ "Back to the future". The Age. 17 May 2004. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ Anderson, Jon (24 September 2008). "1978 VFL Grand Final: A lesson in positive thinking". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ "1986 Brownlow Medal". AFL Tables.
- ^ Stephen Rodgers, Ashley Browne (2 March 1998). Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997. ISBN 9780670908097.
- ^ a b c Staff Writers (28 July 2014). "Robert DiPierdomenico playing with broken ribs, ironmen crawling across the line – they are among sport's bravest moments". Herald Sun. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ "Lords of War". Herald Sun.
- ^ "Robert DiPierdomenico's player profile at AFL Tables". AFL Tables.
- ^ Australian Associated Press (18 June 2010). "Dipper offers apology for 'Abo' remark". ABC News.
- ^ "Dipper – You don't have to put up with it". Continence Foundation of Australia. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ Continence Foundation of Australia (7 June 2023). Dipper shares his experience with incontinence. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via YouTube.
External links
edit
- Robert DiPierdomenico's playing statistics from AFL Tables