Born: Geelong on January 1,1962.

Wife: Tracey.

Children: Laura and Noah.

Parents: Denise and Adrian.

Siblings: Michael, Rodney, Stephen, Jacqueline, Chris and Penny.

Education: Lara Primary School then Chanel College Geelong and later St Joseph's Geelong.

Sporting highlight: Playing footy at different levels during my career.

Nigel, this Saturday, Melbourne lines up against the Western Bulldogs in the grand final. The history books show you played 28 games for the Demons from 1985 to 1987. We'll talk about your career with the Demons in a moment but firstly I take it you think Melbourne will win. Why do you think the Demons have improved so much this season?

I think the Demons have a great work ethic. They have got good strong runners. I reckon it's going to be a close game but I've just got my fingers crossed that the Demons will break a 57-year drought this Saturday night.

How did it come about that you played for the Demons?

I had played at Geelong for one season in 1983 before I was recruited to Melbourne by Cameron Schwab.

My career with the Demons started in the reserves under Ray 'Slug' Jordan. Ray was an assistant coach to the Melbourne legend senior coach Ron Barassi.

Ray was tough as nails. I was struggling in the reserves when Ray told me to go into the coaches' box with him for one game.

I immediately saw a different way. They wanted me to play my footy with a different strategy; within four weeks I was playing in the seniors under Barassi.

What was it like having Barassi as your coach?

Ron was so respected by everyone. He goes down in the record books as one of the greatest coaches the game has seen.

He only coached me for one year in 1985. I've got no doubt Ron was before his time as a coach.

He took note of all the little things like knocking the ball on and things like that. He was a wonderful educator.

Ron would ask you to write down notes on the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent after the game.

He kept those notes and was full of information about all the players in the league.

Ron was big on defence and I was a defender at the Demons so he was always telling me how to improve my game.

It's been well documented that Barassi could give players a good spray. Did you see him get excited while he was coaching?

Yes. There were a few times. Luckily his sprays were not aimed at me. He would often yell out but after a while you just took it in.

He just wanted the players to play footy a certain way and when you never did it he would go off.

I was really lucky to have played with the Demons back in that era as we trained and played on the MCG. The club ended up training down at the Junction Oval.

There were some champion players who played with the Demons while I was there and none better than Robbie Flower.

He was a champion in every sense of the word and was a fantastic bloke - everyone loved him.

Two-time Brownlow medallist Peter Moore played with the Demons while I was there so did Kelvin Templeton and Gerard Healy. They were all great players.

John Northey took over as the senior coach replacing Barassi in 1986.

Can you tell me what Northey was like as a coach at Melbourne?

Northey encouraged players to think outside the square while Barassi was really structured. I got along really well with both coaches.

They both taught me a lot of things about footy and how to cope with things in life.

Do you still stay in contact with the Melbourne Football Club?

Rod Grinter, who was a former player, sets up a reunion for all past Demon players on the first Friday in December.

There's usually a big crowd of former players who turn up for the function.

This year the group set up an app on the phone and all the players can contact each other.

There's been lot of messages going around between all the former players from different eras and that will increase pretty dramatically this week.

How did your career end up at Melbourne?

In 1987, I was playing in a practice game with Melbourne and got a knee in the back. From that day on I had problems running because of hamstring issues.

I went to the Cabrini Hospital but it took a long time for my hamstring to come right so it spelt the end of my career at the elite level.

Have you got anything planned for the grand final this Saturday night?

It's really difficult to plan anything because of COVID. I'll probably be staying at home with the family but will have contact with a few other Demon fans who live in Warrnambool.

What year did you move to Warrnambool?

It was in 1990. My twin brother Michael (Kol) and Lloyd Gibson plus me took over the old Grand Hotel in Warrnambool on the corner of Lava and Liebig streets. We ran the pub for 12 years.

It was an enjoyable time in the pub but we worked long hours and it took a toll on you in the end.

We used to have some huge nights at the Grand. The big nights centred around bringing tribute bands out of Melbourne.

I was also heavily involved with local footy, playing in two premierships for South Warrnambool in 1990 and 1991 before the hamstring problems resurfaced at the end of 1992.

I came back for coaching stints at Warrnambool and South Warrnambool.

I got a job with Bruce Ludeman Real Estate in 2004 and I'm now a partner in the business with Mark Dwyer. I've been a partner with Mark for the last three years. Mark and I have worked together for 17 years.

The partnership with Mark offers us the best of both worlds.

Would it be fair to say real estate is booming in Warrnambool?

Yes. The people who invested in Warrnambool years ago are now showing a great return on their investment.

There's no signs of the market around Warrnambool cooling. There's no more bargains on the market.

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