Thursday, July 28, 2022

Vale Lincoln Conquest, Danny D'Abate and John Reece

Photo:  Lincoln Conquest (extreme right, back row) in the title-winning Glenorchy Knights side of 2006. [PlessPix] 

Lincoln Conquest, one of the finest strikers to have played for Glenorchy Knights, has passed away in Brisbane at the age of 45.

He played in Queensland before moving to Tasmania and joining Glenorchy Knights.

Photo:  Lincoln Conquest (extreme left, front row) in another successful Glenorchy Knights team. [PlessPix]  

Conquest was in the title winning Knights sides of 2005 and 2006.

He was an integral member of that fine team that won the treble in 2005. 

They won the southern title and then the Top-Five series, as well as the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy.

The only trophy they missed out on that year was the Summer Cup.  They lost to Olympia in a penalty shoot-out in the final.

In 2005, Conquest was Knights’ third-ranked goalscorer with 11 goals, 4 behind team-mates Tom Huigsloot and Mathew Sanders, who netted 15 goals apiece.

Photo:  Lincoln Conquest (raised hand and finger) in the Glenorchy Knights side that won the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy in 2005. [PlessPix]  

He had taken his tally to 11 by scoring a hat-trick in a 4-3 win over Hobart Zebras.

Conquest was a team player and always paid credit to his team-mates for setting him up for goals.

He was fast, aggressive but fair, and never gave up the cause.

I interviewed Conquest for The Mercury in late August 2005 and he paid tribute to the Knights’ opponents but maintained that Knights had the best squad in the competition.

This opinion was borne out by the results.

Photo:  My story about Lincoln Conquest in The Mercury of 31 August, 2005.

*****

Danny D’Abate, one the State’s leading referees in the 1970s and 1980s, passed away in Hobart on Tuesday aged 83.

D’Abate was born in Frosolone, Italy, in 1939 and came to Australia as a young man.

He was always firm but fair and treated players with respect.

His sense of humour was enough to defuse most tense and difficult situations and he was generally liked by players.

John Reece, another notable referee of that era, also passed away in Hobart on Monday.

Reece was a resident of the Hawthorn Village Nursing Home in Blackmans Bay near Kingston.

He was an absolute gentleman on and off the field.

 

3 comments:

Mick said...

Rip Linc. You were a star in the 2005 team that was awesome. Your workrate was 2nd to none and gave the team everything. Would love to see an article about this season they were brilliant

Matthew Burn said...

One of the best players to have as a teammate. Gave 110% defended from the forward line. Enjoyed the trainings, bus trips and winning trophies with this squad. RIP Linc’s -Burnsy

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much. He is the father of my children, and I'm glad that his name has lived up to what he was and who he was.