New Demon ruckman Max Heath has revealed how he earned his unique moniker.
NEW Demon Max Heath arrives at the club with a 204cm frame and an iconic nickname.
He takes big pack marks and speaks with a laid-back, easy-going energy.
It’s just the recipe for the makings of a cult figure, especially when you pair the Melbourne Faithful’s affinity for a big man named Max.
So if you hear cheers for the Moose ringing around the MCG in years to come – here’s why.
“One of the old strength and conditioning coaches at the St Kilda footy club, Steve Forcone, gave me that nickname,” Heath told AFL Trade Radio.
“He sort of just thought the way I ate and the way I moved had few mannerisms of a moose about me.
“It’s pretty much stuck ever since then.”
Like most great nicknames, the origin is often an offhand comment that doesn’t stand up to too much close analysis.
“I couldn’t tell you (how a moose eats) but apparently he knows what it looks like,” Heath says.
“It must be something similar to how I eat.”
Heath is an advocate of his time at St Kilda, but found the opportunity for development offered by the Demons too good to refuse.
“I had a sit down with Melbourne and it was the tutelage under Max Gawn and Tommy Campbell and what they were doing was a bit too hard to overlook.
“I feel like rucks usually take more time to develop, especially in the AFL system.
“That’s probably the goal to be a permanent AFL ruck, but I’m not setting my sights too long-sighted.. It’s probably more short-term goals, even day by day.”
I feel very privileged to be at Melbourne now and working under the two big boys.