Canberra's AFL community shared tributes on Sunday to legendary player and coach Kevin "Cowboy" Neale.
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The 1966 St Kilda premiership winner died on Saturday night at 78 after a long battle with Alzheimer's.
Neale played 256 games for St Kilda after being recruited from Warrnambool. When he finished his stellar VFL career in 1977 he came to Canberra, where he left an extraordinary legacy, particularly with Ainslie and Tuggeranong football clubs.
"A truly sad day for Ainslie FC and football in Canberra with the passing of Kevin," Ainslie Football Club said in a statement.
"While Cowboy made a significant contribution to the game, he also made a contribution to the broader community level, both on and off field.
"He was a leader, a person of integrity, who set an example of what it takes to be successful and the manner and spirit in which the game was played."
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Neale captain-coached Ainslie Tricolours to four premierships between 1978-1983, which included two undefeated seasons.
He was famously also captain-coach of the ACT team that triumphed over a more-fancied Victorian team.
That victory was a fond memory often recalled by many around Ainslie, current club president Lee Phillips said.
"That win really put Canberra on the map and had real significance," he said.
"From what I heard, it's said that on the plane back to Melbourne that Victorian team were told, 'You lot will never play for Victoria again'."
Phillips was only a 16-year-old when Neale arrived at Ainslie in 1978, but clearly remembered the impact "Cowboy" had on Canberra's Aussie rules community.
"He was a larger-than-life character and a big supporter of junior footballers," the president said.
"Him coming to the capital, it brought more footballers to this region and we became known to be a strong region that attracted good players from other competitions."
Following his stint at Ainslie, Neale coached interstate before returning to Canberra to coach Tuggeranong between 1993-95. In 1998 he coached Ainslie again and the ACT representative team.
Neale was inducted as a 'Legend' in the AFL Canberra Hall of Fame in 2019.
Former Ainslie teammate and close friend John Miller said Neale was a "giant of a man" whose name was still always brought up by those in the community, years after he left the ACT.
"He's left an indelible footprint on Canberra," Miller said.
"Canberra was a place he held very closely in his heart. He had a lovely time and loved his football here.
"As St Kilda said of him in their tribute to Kevin, he could engage with people at all levels, and that he could. He was one of the funniest people I ever knew.
"People just always got behind him, he had that leadership quality, that aura to him. I lost a dear, dear friend."
Miller counted himself lucky to have "lived a dream" as a Victorian that grew up a St Kilda fan being able to play alongside Neale at Ainslie, and later call him one of his best mates.
He said when Neale played in Canberra it was an "unbelievable" atmosphere at games.
"I was gobsmacked. We got terrific crowds in those days, particularly in 1979 when we won the grand final," Miller recalled.
"I know Kevin's presence had a lot to do with that."
A tribute will be made for Neale at Ainslie's club presentation night this week.
Neale's time at Tuggeranong was brief, but former football manager Bill Miller credited him for helping rescue the club when it was in dire state.
"I don't think the club would exist today if it wasn't for him," Bill Miller said.
"Back in the early '90s Tuggeranong went bankrupt and it was started again by about nine volunteers with no money or anything. After 18 months, those in charge managed to get "Cowboy" to coach us.
"At that stage we were getting obliterated by 150-200 points and when he got there he brought in some youth, and while we didn't win many games we went from being thrashed to being competitive.
"It was all about the development of kids, and I'll never forget his presence and what he did for the club during that period."
Neale was instrumental in starting the careers of many players who went from juniors to first grade at Tuggeranong, to the AFL, including Aaron Hamill (Carlton, St Kilda), Justin Blumfield (Essendon, Richmond), and Jacob Anstey (Carlton).
"He was my first senior coach. He had some great stories and gave unbelievably good half-time sprays," current Tuggeranong Valley vice-president Luke Jess said.
"We were struggling a fair bit at the time, and he gave all these kids a go and a lot of those guys went on to have AFL careers.
"He made a lot of close friends at our club in the three years he was there."
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