Metis Wealth Milestone Match - Vintage Dom bring up 100
Andrew Thomson
Dom Beer often looks to be in perpetual motion the way he plays his footy. The absolute ultimate workhorse, the kind of ruckman and teammate footballers just love to have.
Not blessed with incredible speed, Dom’s workrate and ability to run and run, and then run some more to get to contest after contest is what sets him apart. Combined with the deft touch of an experienced ruckman, the midfielders just love getting first use around the ground when Dom is up and going. Particularly strong below his knees, his follow up work at ground level brings an extra element to his game. So with the big fella getting to so many contests, its not just a numbers game – he can impact those contests with a classy gather below his knees before feeding off the outlet handball, or swinging on to his trusty right boot and hitting the target more often than not – despite what many say about ruckmen!
With a name like Dom Beer, do you liken the man to the famous Dom Perignon, or associate him more closely with the more preferred beverage of a frothy Beer? The truth lies somewhere in the middle, with Beer’s workmanlike nature and team first attitude making him as good as any of the Cooper’s product, while his classical ruckman style and class below his knees making him a true ‘Vintage Dom’ !
Coming to the club from Calamvale as a skinny 17 year old, his first senior captain – Chris Mihalopoulous tells the tale of being pretty pleased with himself about being able to outlift the ruckman in the gym, failing to acknowledge the 9 year age gap, and likely 10kg weight difference (in Mika’s favour, despite being 15cm shorter!). Fair to say that Dom has come a long way since then, regularly showing brute strength around the ground at stoppages to give his mids first use.
After a mix of Seniors and Reserves footy as a teenager in the state League in 2009/10, Dom established himself as the #1 ruckman at the club from 2011 and was a model of consistency – playing 17 games and winning a Premiership in 2012 and after a year away in 2013, playing 17 and 20 games in consecutive seasons before playing 15 in 2016. The 2017 season started slowly for Dom as he came back from injury and regained match fitness in the reserves, but it wasn’t long before a senior recall and he hasn’t looked back.
The Magpie family are proud of this unassuming footballer as he brings up his 100th Senior game this week vs Palm Beach. Fiercely loyal, family orientated and humble – Dom Beer is a credit to his family and we all congratulate him on 100 Senior games in the black & white. It will take a strong few blokes to chair him off the ground after the game, but Dom has earnt it after carrying the ruck duties on his own shoulders for many years!
Senior Premiership player in 2012