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After
leaving the Darwin Football Club as an 18 year
old in 1960 Bill Dempsey went on to become one of the finest ruckman to
play in Western Australia since the war. Whether on the ball or
resting in a back pocket he was an imposing, formidable presence, who
inspired his team mates. Cardinals best and fairest
in 1966, he won a Simpson
Medal after the 1969 grand final in which he formed part of an
irrepressible 1st ruck combination with the legendary Graham
'Polly' Farmer, and Bill Valli. West Perth won that game by 73
points, and would go on to lift further premierships, with Dempsey a
prominent contributor both times, in 1971 and 1975. He also returned
home to the Top End occasionally, and was a member of Darwin's unbeaten
1967/68 premiership team.
After making his interstate debut in an ignominious home defeat against Tasmania in 1963, Dempsey went on to more than make amends with some superb performances in a total of 14 state appearances over the course of the next decade. The last game of Bill Dempsey's illustrious 343 game WANFL career came in the losing 1976 1st semi final against Perth. Only Mel Whinnen, with 371 games over 18 seasons, has represented West Perth on more occasions than Dempsey. |
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Ruck-rover - Andrew McLeod (Darwin, Port Adelaide, Adelaide) |
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After
playing his early football with Darwin, Andrew
McLeod ventured to South Australia where he joined Port Adelaide.
Drafted by Adelaide at the end of the 1994
season, he made his Crows debut the following year, and thereafter
gradually developed, by stages, from being an elusive crumbing forward, to
a strong rebounding half back, to, latterly, a vibrantly skilful
powerhouse of a player who can make a success of virtually any position.
Always at his best in big games, McLeod shares with Gary Ayres the distinction of having won 2 Norm Smith Medals. In McLeod's case, however, these came in consecutive years, after the Crows' grand final defeats of St Kilda in 1997 and North Melbourne in 1998. When Adelaide next appeared in a grand final, albeit only that of the Wizard Cup in 2003, McLeod was voted best afield in that, too. Possessed of exhilarating pace coupled with tremendous anticipation - arguably the most lethal combination in football - there are few more electrifying sights in the game than Andrew McLeod in full flight. |
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A
livewire, will o' the wisp type player, deadly near goals, and
pre-eminently capable of the spectacular, Peter Burgoyne's only major
problem early in his senior career was a lack of consistency. After
playing junior football with St Marys in Darwin, and gaining All Australian selection
after representing the Northern Territory at the National Under 18
Championships in 1995, he was invited to join Port Adelaide's under 19
academy. In 1996 he was a member of Port's SANFL reserves
premiership team, having played a number of senior games - some
scintillating, some ordinary - earlier in the season. It was a
similar story in 1997 when he was a member of Port Adelaide's inaugural
AFL squad. After starting the season brilliantly, he lost his way
and was dropped. However, he showed commendable persistence by
applying himself to the task at hand, and gaining selection once again for
the final 3 games of the season.
Burgoyne's form over the course of the next couple of seasons showed sustained improvement, as did his level of consistency. Having begun his AFL career chiefly as a crumbing forward, feeding off the likes of Warren Tredrea and Scott Cummings, later on he began to be used more across centre or on the ball, where his pace and precise ball delivery made him highly damaging and effective. With brother Shaun now also on the Power list, the Burgoyne brothers are rapidly developing into football's most exciting 'double act' since Jimmy and Phil Krakouer delighted Claremont and North Melbourne fans in the 1980s. |
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