Robert DiPierdomenico has recalled the time his ferocious attack on the ball almost cost him his ear.
The 1986 Brownlow medallist was reminded of the close encounter by his former Hawthorn teammate Dermott Brereton on Fox Footy LIVE on Thursday night.
The setting was Waverley in the mid ‘80s against St Kilda.
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“You’ve jumped up after being on the ground, you’ve got your hand over your ear, you’ve dropped your hand and said, ‘How’s my ear?’ and it fell off,” Brereton recalled.
“It held on by the earlobe and started hanging down — your ear fell off.”
Dermott Brereton and Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico.Source: News Corp Australia
DiPierdomenico, affectionately known as ‘Dipper’, was renowned for his bravery on the field.
But even he winced when reminiscing on the incident.
“You know when the trainers come up and say, ‘Oh, you’ll be right’, bit of a squirt, give you some water?” he said.
“I said, ‘well, how’s my ear?’ and they said ‘Oh, I think you better come off’.”
Always the opportunist, the five-time premiership midfielder found a way to make some cash out of the harrowing experience.
“The next day, I had my ear sewn back on and they did a really good job, and then I made money out of it,— I went to Puma and I said, ‘Can I wear your headbands?’.”
