One For The Presti Fans!!

[Black_White]

Double page spread in todays H/S;



"Hey Presto! Magpie's accidental hero
15 September 2002 Sunday Herald Sun
By JACKIE EPSTEIN

HIS teammates call him the "Phantom" because he rarely speaks. On the other side of the fence Simon Prestigiacomo's profile is even lower.

To Collingwood supporters, he is simply known as "Presti", a blue-collar defender who has copped plenty of flak on the last line.

Little is known about the man in the No. 35 guernsey, a vital cog in the well-oiled Collingwood machine.

Prestigiacomo stands out as one of only two Magpies who is married (Scott Cummings is the other) and is the only father. He has a daughter, Emily, 3, and a three-month-old son, Riley.

There may well be an exotic and vibrant personality concealed in his lanky frame, but in seven years at Collingwood it has yet to surface.

"I suppose I wouldn't see a lot of people outside football," Prestigiacomo, 24, said.

"I guess (an exception is) Anthony Rocca because my wife's good friends with his girlfriend (Enza), but there's no real standout best mates I've found. I get along with everyone well."

It is his shy but determined nature which has endeared him to many at Victoria Park, but also left him vulnerable to criticism.

He has had to endure years of cutting remarks about his ability, even from Magpies supporters.

After all, he has been afforded the unenviable task of stopping the opposition's best forward each week, an onerous task at the best of times.

But despite the attention rarely does he flounder or flinch from his task.

In his first finals match last week he shut down Warren Tredrea. Arguably, he was as important as any Collingwood player - bar Paul Licuria - in the upset win over Port Adelaide.

But he never expects to receive the plaudits showered on the midfielders and forwards. For Prestigiacomo, actions do speak louder than words.

"I suppose if your opponent gets a kick, there's a high chance it's going to be a goal or a shot at goal," he said. "A good game for you can change so quickly.

"You might be holding your man down, but he could come out in the last quarter or something and kick three or four goals and win the game and you're the villain.

"It can happen to forwards as well, but that's one thing about being a defender, I suppose they don't get the acclaim or the fanfare that the forwards might get, but that just comes with the territory down there.

"There's a lot of pressure and you might not get the rewards in terms of exposure, but that's just something you've got to deal with."

Prestigiacomo has been the mainstay in the Collingwood backline since arriving as the No. 10 draft pick in late 1995.

Only three players - Nathan Buckley, Scott Burns and Mark Richardson - remain from the days in 1996 when he used to catch a lift to training with coach Tony Shaw.

But he has not always been a backman. With the Northern Knights under-18s he was a star centre half-forward playing alongside Carlton's Lance Whitnall and Kangaroo Brent Harvey.

It was not until midway through his first season at Collingwood that reserves coach Danny Frawley switched him into the backline during a game at Punt Rd.

Then Collingwood recruiting manager Ricky Barham, now at Sydney, said Prestigiacomo was always recruited with the view to play in defence.

"He was never a raucous kid or a big-frills kind of guy and I just thought he'd be better suited to the backline," Barham said this week.

"His personality didn't lend him to being a big-marking forward like a Dermott Brereton. He was always a quiet achiever and an unobtrusive type who has probably turned into the player I always thought he would be."

Magpie great Peter Daicos said he used to be bombarded by fans asking why he would want a gangly kid from Research, near Eltham, to wear his famed No.35 jumper.

"A lot of people asked how I felt, but I never owned that number and I think he's carried it beautifully," Daicos said.

"He's not going to be set in your mind after a game because we all gravitate to the goalkickers and the players with flair, but as a negator what more could you want?

"He might not be the No.1 choice for kids to put his number on their backs because you don't grow up wanting to be a defender.

"But I really do take my hat off to him. You don't get to a preliminary final if there are weak links in a team."

Daicos likens Prestigiacomo's unfashionable and sometimes unattractive style to that of Carlton fullback of the 20th century, Stephen Silvagni.

"Presti's not the prettiest, but he tends to be able to get the body in and always gives a contest," Daicos said.

"I only played on 'Sos' (Silvagni) once, but I found he was very awkward to play on and he tends to be all over a guy. Presti's motto would be 'spoil, bring to ground, take possession and give it off'."

Magpie assistant and defensive coach Dean Laidley has been honing Prestigiacomo's skills for three years. He believes his charge is one of the most underrated players in the AFL.

Laidley said a measure of how much Prestigiacomo had developed was in the emergence of his offensive game - he kicked only the third goal of his career against Carlton in Round 18. In the past three matches he had rebounded 12 times out of defensive 50 for a total of 37 for the year.

"When I first got there he was a much-maligned player with limited tricks in his bag and not enough scope with his ability," he said.

"He's started to work more with Gavin Brown on developing the offensive side of his game and it's paid dividends.

"Mark Williams sprouts enough about Darryl Wakelin conceding only about 20 goals and that he should be a certainty for All-Australian selection. But if his name's going to be mentioned, then so should Presti's.

"Every time there's a big job to be done, he does it and his name is always first up on the board.

"There aren't many players who can handle the pressure of playing in the goalsquare knowing it is life or death.

"He's still pretty young so having a family really takes precedence, but he's a leader more by deed than by speech."

Prestigiacomo's 2002 season, he admits, has been patchy. He spent time on the bench and was even dubbed "the Pine King" before bouncing back in his 100th match, against Sydney, keeping in-form Barry Hall goalless.

"I just kept focused and you try not to drop your bundle and get all frustrated and hopefully things turn and change around," he said.

"I got back in. Maybe the other sides were playing the extra talls and my form just improved with more confidence or game time.

"We really want to get a core group of defenders. I think this year we've probably had six or seven defenders that are always down there, like Wakes (Shane Wakelin), Clokey (Jason Cloke), Jimmy Clement, Ryan Lonie, Ben Johnson and myself.

'So we haven't had a lot of injuries or people coming out and in and changing and that sort of thing.

"I think that's what we're trying to do just so we can mould in together and work well as a team and know how each other plays."

Prestigiacomo is adamant about one thing, though. While he does not crave the attention or the accolades afforded higher-profile teammates, he wants to ensure he is not remembered as just a phantom at the club.

"It would be great to be a premiership player," he said. "A 10-year player who played fullback in a premiership team would be a pretty good way to be remembered.""

[TaZ_LuVs_EmIn3m]

omg presti is the best i think that his quietness is good its how we know the guy and luv the guy also i agree that would be a great way to be remembered as a premiership player. GO PRESTI!!!!
And its is true that not many ppl r major fans of defenders which is ashame as they, like forwards can help win or lose the game like last week both the forwards and defenders worked very well together at both ends of the ground and now look where we r in the PRELIM final. Presti is a great defender and has earned a spot on the all-australian team.

catch ya later luv always Tara

I LUV NICK DAVIS~YES I DO~HES 4 ME~AND~NOT 4 U~IF U TOUCH HIM~OR~TAKE MY PLACE~ILL GET MY FIST~AND~SMASH UR FACE~J/K LUV YA 2 BRODIE HOLLAND!!!!

[This message has been edited by i_luv_nick_davis! (edited 15 September 2002).]

[Miss_Lisey_Molloy]

A fantastic read, thanks Black_White!
Presti you are a star! One of the main parts of the big collingwood community! Without you this year could of been a big turnaround as we wouldn't have so many number 1 defenders!
Your lucky to have 2 number one fans too! Shane & Leonie (ya sis). You a respected member of the collingwood body and we all love ya so much!
Love always, Alyssa xoxo

__________________________________
Lisey Molloy! Jarrod Molloy's No.1 Fan!

*~Official Leader of the Jarrod Molloy cheersquad~*

*~Alyssa's song of the week~*
"When the Jester sang for the King and Queen, In a coat he borrowed from James Dean, and a voice that came from you & me." *American Pie- Don McLean*"

[Presti35]

Life is great when you wake up to text messages askin if ive read this mornings paper!

You should have seen the girls face when i took it to 'everlasting lamination' at bradon park shopping center!

GO PRESTI! We Love Ya!
(Its about time media)

Who loves ya Presti?
WE DO!

"Chris Grant couldnt handle this, Barry couldnt handle this, Nieta couldnt handle this, i dont think they can handle this.... I dont think there ready for you Presti, I dont think there ready for you Presti... is our full back to Prestivicious for your forwards baby!!!"