Paul Medhurst: Purrrrrring

Milo is a guard cat. As in, he acts like a guard dog, only he’s, well, a cat. But when someone comes to the door, he checks it out. With intent. And he’ll attack whenever he gets a chance. Call him an opportunist. Bit like his owner, really.

Milo also is a Bengal cat. Paul Medhurst – the owner – is a Magpie, natural enemy of the cat. Yet in this instance, mutual affection is unmistakable.

When Medhurst, this year’s Anzac Day Medallist, relaxes in his Prahran house, it’s usually with Milo, some old school music (think Sinatra), a comfy couch and a book. Constantly on the move, Milo is the sort of creature that can get your attention, but then, so is Paul Medhurst. And now, it’s for all the right reasons.

Since crossing from the Fremantle Dockers at the end of the 2006 season, the West Australian has dramatically altered east coast perceptions of him. In truth, his stock had dropped before a trade that right now seems so lopsided it is hard to credit: an unhappy Chris Tarrant was Collingwood’s trade bait; Medhurst, unable to regain tenure in a team which drove deep into the 2006 finals, was looking for the exit door.

The Dockers even threw in a first round pick (#8 overall) – which later delivered promising forward Ben Reid – and which was thought to be the real value in the switch. But Medhurst has proven otherwise, to the surprise of more than a few of the Magpie Army. Call it a consequence of swagger that outshone performance, not to mention in a climate of Docker inconsistency.

“When I first started football, the things you look back on, the way you carried on, they make you cringe a bit now,” he says. “You learn as you go. (Dockers teammate) Matt Carr once said to me that you start working things out when you’re 25. You grow up a little bit, and hopefully I’ve done that here.”

Carr was uncannily prescient. Medhurst turned 26 last December, and he is clearly working towards becoming a valuable asset in a team of contention. His achievements in Fremantle were better than many would recall; he kicked 127 goals in his first three years with the Dockers. In his first four seasons, he missed just one match with a calf injury. But in season five, things soured, he was dropped for the first time, and entered the purgatory that is the WAFL.

“Timing is such a big issue. Getting dropped coincided with a run from the club when they won nine games in a row,” he recalls.

“Looking back, I think it happened for a reason. All these things combined to get me traded and hopefully start something really successful here. Things don’t happen by chance as far as I’m concerned. Maybe at the time it’s hard to rationalise because you’re sitting on the sidelines – what have I done wrong? – but in retrospect it’s been fantastic.”

To read the full Paul Medhurst feature, get a copy of the latest In Black and White magazine.

If you don't get it delivered as part of your membership, you can either buy it online at the Magpie Superstore by CLICKING HERE, subscribe to two or three editions annually by CLICKING HERE, or visit the Lexus Centre and get your copy there. Also keep an eye out for it at your local newsagent.

At only $7.95, it represents great value, and this month also features the following:

• Interview with Irish Magpies Martin Clarke and Kevin Dyas
• National Recruiting Manager Derek Hine on list management and the club’s direction
• Leon Davis poster
• Mick Malthouse’s mid-season update
• Eddie McGuire president’s column
• All the latest news from the Lexus Centre
• A tribute to the 1958 premiership team & the other 2008 CFC Hall of Fame inductees