Frank wings it to 400th with Cheetahs since ’84

Andrew Mathieson
WHEN loyal Frank Frittoli first pulled on a Geelong West jumper at Bakers Oval, the other local club baring the same famous name still played in the former VFA.
Back then, in 1984, the football world had also just farewelled the playing days of Richmond legend Kevin Bartlett and was celebrating Kevin Sheedy’s first flag coaching Essendon.
Twenty-six years later, Frank will run out on Sunday in his 400th match for Geelong West.
The 39-year-old is best remembered for running the tight flanks of the Cheetahs’ spiritual home before the club moved to the other Geelong West ground in 2008.
“Bakers, as they used to call it, was the backyard ground,” Frank said.
“It wasn’t quite as wide and it was long but now we play on a bit more space and, at my age, you can get a few more kicks when you’re on the wings.”
Except for a brief flirtation with Bell Park in the 1986 season, the nuggety utility has played nearly all of his 27 years in footy at the club he loves.
Frank grew up just down the road when the suburb was working-class and home for immigrant families before investors and real estate agents made a mint out of its residential attributes.
“It’s not quite a good drop punt from home but maybe just a few more kicks away,” he said.
The club legend’s record with Geelong West includes 105 senior games.
The historic milestone nearly fell beyond reach this year when the GDFL club’s reserves side almost missed the finals, which would have forced Frank to come back next year for his 400th.
“I would have done pre-season for one more game – don’t worry about that,” Frank said.
“But I probably would have kept on playing anyway.”