AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY TEAM OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Half Back Line

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Right Half Back Flank - Adrian Barich (Manuka, Perth, West Coast)

Considering he preferred rugby union to Australian football until he was 16 years of age, Adrian Barich managed to carve out a highly impressive career for himself in the elite echelons of the game. 

A member of Manuka's 1981 ACTAFL premiership team, the solidly built utility was recruited by Perth in 1984 and quickly developed into one of the Demons' key players.  Perfectly balanced, and possessing surprisingly excellent skills, Barich played 60 WAFL games over the next 3 seasons before being selected in West Coast's inaugural VFL squad in 1987.  At his peak as a player between 1987 and 1989 when he played 47 VFL games, represented Western Australia at state league level against South Australia, and was among the ACT's best players at the 1988 bicentennial carnival in Adelaide, Barich's career hit the skids somewhat when Mick Malthouse was appointed to the Eagles' senior coaching position in 1990.  However, despite only making another 8 senior appearances during his last 3 seasons with the club, Barich, along with team mate Phil Scott, made a legible contribution to West Coast's inaugural AFL premiership win in 1992 by sending the team an inspirational letter of support on the eve of the grand final.

After leaving the Eagles, Barich continued to play for Perth, racking up a total of 160 WAFL games prior to his retirement in 1994.  A year earlier he had captained Western Australia at state league level against South Australia, and returned to state of origin football as a member of the combined New South Wales-ACT side which played Victoria in Melbourne.

Between 1995 and 1996 Barich showed his versatility by playing rugby league in the national competition for the Perth-based Western Reds whilst simultaneously commencing a career as a TV presenter and reporter.

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Centre Half Back - Robert Franklin (Manuka)

Instantly recognisable owing to his long hair and full beard, Manuka key position forward and defender Robert Franklin would have caught the eye in any case thanks to his prodigious football talent.  A member of Manuka's 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1977 premiership teams, Franklin was at the forefront of the game in Canberra at a time when the standard was steadily improving, culminating in the famous victory over the VFL in 1980.  Robert Franklin did not play in that particular game, although he was a regular ACT representative throughout the 1970s.  (He is shown at left spoiling official AFL Legend Barrie Robran's attempt to mark in a match between the ACT and then Australian club champions North Adelaide in 1973.)  Towards the end of his career, he represented the ACT at state of origin level at the 1979 Australian interstate championships in Perth.  The enormous impression Franklin made on informed followers of the Australian code in Canberra was demonstrated when, in 1999, he was selected at centre half back in the official 'ACT Legends' team chosen to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the ACTAFL.

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Left Half Back Flank - Roy Williams (Queanbeyan & Queanbeyan-Acton)

A tough, tenacious back man, the late Roy Williams was the youngest of five brothers to play senior football, much of it with the highly successful Queanbeyan-Acton 'combine' which existed from 1952 to 1956.  Among his 143 senior CANFL appearances were the grand final wins of 1953, 1954 and 1956, the last of which was as part of an undefeated 'championship' team.  A regular representative player, one of the highlights of Williams' career was his selection in the Canberra team which participated, not altogether unsuccessfully, in the 1958 centenary carnival in Melbourne. 

Williams spent the 1952 season with VFL club Collingwood but, despite impressing as "a skilled aggressive performer" (see footnote 2), was unable to force his way into the Magpies' formidably strong senior line up.  Had he remained at Victoria Park, who knows what he might have achieved, but playing in Melbourne had not yet become the be all and end all of every talented footballers' aspirations, and Williams returned home to Queanbeyan, one presumes, with few regrets.  In any case, he continued to play superb football, winning the combine's best and fairest award in 1954, and continuing to perform with distinction for the 'post-divorce' Queanbeyan until 1959.

In common with his brothers, Roy Williams was also a talented rugby league player and represented the Queanbeyan Blues for several seasons.  In 1999, he was selected as a member of the official 'ACT Legends' team.

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Footnotes

1.  Bulldogs By The Numbers by Robert Laidlaw, page 5.  The following season, Hannam's replacement as Centrals' captain, Rene van Dommele, finally broke with tradition by opting to retain his trademark number 32 guernsey.  Return to Main Text

2. Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright: Queanbeyan Australian Football Club History 1925-1988 by Ron Fowlie, page 137.  Return to Main Text