Go straight to the biography of your choice by clicking on the appropriate link:
[Bob Fabian] [Brian Faehse] [John Fairbrass] [Ian Fairley] [Joe Fanchi] [Fred Fanning] [Terry Farman] [Graham 'Polly' Farmer] [Ken Farmer] [Doug Farrant] [Ted Farrell] [William Faul] [Peter Featherby] [Reg Featherby] [Steven Febey] [Dan Feehan] [Geoff Feehan] [Andrew Ferguson] [Neil Ferguson] [Bruce Ferrari] [George Ferry] [Keith Fewkes] [Neville Fields] [Grantley Fielke] [Jack Fincher] [Bill Findlay] [Charles Fisher] [Gordon Fisher] [Alan Fitcher] [Len Fitzgerald] [Ross Fitzgerald] [Tom Fitzmaurice] [Jim Fitzpatrick] [Mike Fitzpatrick] [Shane Fitzsimmons] [Fred Flanagan] [Harry Fleet] [Fred Fleiter] [Eric Fleming] [Ted Flemming] [Adrian Fletcher] [Edward Fletcher] [Ken Fletcher] [Robert Flower] [Jim Flynn] [Jon Fogarty] [Thomas Fogarty] [Brian Foley] [Les Fong] [Fred Fontaine] [Les Foote] [Charles Forbes] [Keith Forbes] [Norman Ford] [Ted Fordham] [Jim Forsyth] [Bob Fosdike] [Duncan Fosdike] [Bert Foster] [Des Fothergill] [Gary Foulds] [George Foulis] [Laurie Fowler] [Carl Fragomeni] [Brian France] [Fabian Francis] [Jim Francis] [Tony Francis] [Robert Franklin] [Albert Franks] [Don Fraser] [Ken Fraser] [Danny Frawley] [Jimmy Freake] [Harry Free] [Tony Free] [Eric Freeman] [Vic French] [Hedley Freundt] [Edward Freyer] [Fred Froude] [Eddie Fry] [Terry Fulton] [Bob Furler] [Percy Furler] [Don Furness]
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| Port Adelaide's Bob Fabian had something of a topsy turvy SANFL career, falling in and out of favour with the selectors, but his 147 league games between 1955 and 1965 still included winning grand finals in 1957 against Norwood, 1962 against West Adelaide, 1963 versus North Adelaide, and 1965 against Sturt. A back pocket specialist, he gave away little, and was determinedly efficient in his approach, preferring to stick to position rather than take risks by galloping off downfield. |
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| The great Fos Williams, who played alongside Brian Faehse at West Adelaide, and against him with Port Adelaide, paid him the ultimate compliment when he said "I've never met a better team mate or a more ferocious and determined opponent" (see footnote 1). Throughout his career, Faehse's name was synonymous with courage, commitment and club loyalty. He made his league debut with the wartime West Adelaide-Glenelg combination in 1944, and when he retired thirteen seasons later it was with a then West Adelaide club record 222 senior games under his belt. After playing his early football in ruck he developed into possibly the state's best centre half back, in which position he starred in the winning grand final team against Norwood in 1947, as well as in 19 interstate games for South Australia. Winner of the club's best and fairest award in 1950 and 1951 he was Westies' captain for his last six seasons in league football. |
Footnotes1. Bloods, Sweat And Tears by Merv Agars, page 57. Return to Main Text |
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| Centre half back in Claremont's victorious grand final team of 1964 against East Fremantle (match reviewed here), John Fairbrass was a solid, versatile performer for the Monts over 94 WANFL games between 1962 and 1966. He represented his state on 2 occasions. |
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Ian Fairley (Williamstown & North Melbourne)
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| Ian
Fairley hit the headlines when, aged just fifteen, he booted 8 goals on
debut for VFA side Williamstown. He spent
three seasons with the Seagulls and then from 1983 to 1991 played 125
senior games and kicked 138
goals for |
| Joe
Fanchi's name became immortalised at the 1961
Brisbane carnival when he kicked the decisive goal for Western
Australia against the VFL to hand the sandgropers the title on
percentage. It was the highlight of a stellar season for Fanchi, who
also won West Perth's fairest and best
award, and kicked 48 goals to top its goal kicking list.
Fanchi joined the Cardinals in 1959 after two seasons with GNFL side Mines Rovers. While with the Diorites, he had finished second in the league fairest and best count in 1957, and helped a goldfields representative team to a highly creditable draw against Swan Districts the following year. From 1959 to 1965 Fanchi played a total of 129 WANFL games for West Perth, including the winning grand final of 1960 against arch-rivals East Perth. He represented Western Australia 5 times. After leaving league football he played with and coached Wanneroo for several seasons. |
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| Fred
Fanning had a comparatively brief league career but managed one feat
that will take some beating. During his final season with Melbourne
in 1947 he kicked an all time VFL record tally of 18 goals against St
Kilda. He ended the season with a league ladder-topping 97 goals, his best ever return,
but the following year he accepted the post of playing-coach at Victorian
country team Hamilton, which had offered him nearly three times as much
money per match as he was getting in the VFL. Thus, at the age of
just twenty-five, his league football career was over (see
footnote 1).
That career had begun in 1940 when, in a handful of senior appearances, which included the winning grand final against Richmond, he showed signs of developing into an admirable foil for full forward Norm Smith. At 193cm and 102kg, Fanning was something of a man mountain, and once he had set his sights on the ball there were few opposition players capable of impeding him. He was surprisingly quick over the ground, possessed huge hands which gripped the ball like a vice, and had a gravity-defying leap that enabled him to get sufficiently high in the air as to, in effect, add a good metre to his height. Unfortunately for Melbourne and Fanning, however, cartilage problems prevented his resuming in 1941, and when he did return the following year he took time to re-discover his touch. Nevertheless, with 37 goals he topped the Redlegs' list for the first of five occasions, and in 1943 he did even better, kicking 62 goals to finish just one adrift of the league's leading goal kicker, Dick Harris of Richmond. Fanning went on to top the league list himself on three occasions, with 87 goals in 1944, 67 in 1945 and, as noted above, 97 in his final season. He spent much of the 1946 season away from the goal front, but still managed 56 goals for the year. Fred Fanning's 104 VFL games yielded a total of 411 goals, but his contribution to the club cause went much further than that. In 1945, for example, he won Melbourne's best and fairest award, and far from being 'goal hungry', his fundamental approach to the game was classically team-orientated, with his robust and sturdy frame frequently being brought to bear in the self-sacrificial service of team mates. He might not have been pretty to watch, but he was demonstrably and consistently effective, and his premature departure left the league football scene the poorer. |
Footnotes1. It should not be inferred that this was in any way an uncommon occurrence. The VFL of the 1940s was emphatically not the equivalent of today's AFL, which has rightly been compared, in terms of the quality of the players to which it is home, to the apex of a pyramid. In days gone by, however, many elite footballers used the VFL (or SANFL, or WANFL) as a stepping stone to a more lucrative football career elsewhere. Return to Main Text |
| Terry
Farman was a solid, unspectacular defender who could usually be relied
upon to keep his direct opponent in check, even if he did not pick up all
that many possessions himself. He joined |
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Graham Farmer (East Perth, Geelong, West Perth)
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| The
dictionary definition of a 'legend' when applied to an individual human
being is "a person having a special place in public esteem because of
striking qualities or deeds". Such a definition arguably
applies to very few exponents of any sport (and certainly not to every one
of the eighteen individuals so aggrandised by the AFL) but if any player in
history is worthy of the accolade it is Western Australia's Graham 'Polly'
Farmer.
There have been more highly decorated individuals in the history of the game and arguably more gifted all round performers (though not too many of them) but in terms of impact, style and influence one is hard pressed to think of anyone to equal the East Perth, Geelong and West Perth great. As a ruckman during the 1950s and 1960s Farmer was unexcelled, with not even compatriot Jack Clarke or Victorian superstar John Nicholls being capable of living with him when he was fit and focused. Moreover, with his innovative and incomparably effective use of handball - often over prodigious distances - Farmer almost single-handedly revolutionised the sport. When you superimpose over all of this a resolute, almost regal demeanour and an unremitting dedication to succeed - albeit without any of the egocentricity all too often associated with such traits - then Farmer's right to be considered a bona fide legend of the game becomes irresistible. He made his league debut with East Perth in 1953 but it was twelve months before he settled down to become a regular. By 1955 he was recognised as one of the most effective knock ruckmen in Western Australia, earning state selection for the first time, and running second to South Fremantle's John Todd in the Sandover Medal voting. At the end of the year he signed for Richmond, and actually crossed to Victoria in order to prepare for the 1956 season with the Tigers. However, East Perth refused to clear him, and he was forced to return home. Graham Farmer's 1956 season was the stuff of legend. While representing Western Australia at the Perth carnival he won both the Simpson Medal as his state's best in the win over South Australia, and the Tassie Medal as the top player of the series. Needless to say, All Australian selection also followed. Later in the year, he won the first of three Sandover Medals (one of which was awarded retrospectively), and helped the Royals to a grand final victory over South Fremantle. In nine seasons with East Perth Farmer would win the club's fairest and best award no fewer than seven times, besides enjoying premiership success on three occasions. He won further Simpson Medals while representing Western Australia against the VFL at the 1958 Melbourne carnival, and after East Perth's 1959 grand final defeat of Subiaco. He continued to represent Western Australia regularly, securing All Australian selection in both 1958 and 1961. At the 1961 Brisbane carnival he helped his state to an unexpected but wholly meritorious series win. When Graham Farmer's contract with East Perth expired at the end of the 1961 season he advised the club that he would be moving to Victoria to play with Geelong. The Royals agreed, on condition that the Cats pay them the then unprecedented fee of £2,000 ($4,000) in order to procure his services. After witnessing Farmer's stellar form in the club's five pre-season matches, the Geelong hierarchy had no hesitation in agreeing to East Perth's terms. Farmer's six season stint with Geelong was not all plain sailing, but there were nevertheless numerous highlights, including participation in a premiership team in 1963, representing the VFL, winning two consecutive club best and fairest awards, and captaining the Cats for three seasons. With plenty of football still left in his legs he returned to Western Australia at the end of a 1967 season that had seen Geelong narrowly lose the grand final against Richmond. To many people's surprise, however, he did not resume with his former club, East Perth, but accepted the job of playing coach at arch-rivals West Perth. In four seasons with the Cardinals he oversaw two premierships - both secured with grand final victories over his former club - and added a club fairest and best award in 1969 to boot. When he retired at the end of the 1971 season, the WANFL organised an eight club interstate 'premiers carnival' (reviewed here) to commemorate and celebrate his playing career. That playing career saw Farmer play a total 356 club games -176 with East Perth, 101 for Geelong, and 79 for West Perth. In the interstate arena he played 31 times for Western Australia, including games at four interstate carnival series, and 5 times for the VFL. While representing his home state at the 1969 Adelaide carnival he won his fourth Simpson Medal. Graham Farmer's coaching career was less auspicious, but still had its noteworthy moments. Besides leading West Perth to the 1969 and 1971 WANFL premierships, in October 1977 he was at the helm of Western Australia's team for the first ever state of origin match, in which the sandgropers trounced Victoria 23.13 (151) to 8.9 (57) at Subiaco. From 1973 to 1975 he coached Geelong with scant success, and although he managed to get East Perth into the finals in both of his seasons (1976-7) in charge he was unable to deliver the premiership the club's fans craved. Such comparative failures are of scant account, however, when viewed in the context of a two decade playing career that made Graham 'Polly' Farmer, in the view of many, the greatest individual exponent of the sport of Australian football ever known. |
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| Known,
in South Australia at any rate, as 'football's Bradman', Ken Farmer was quite simply the most prolific
goalkicker in the history of the game. In thirteen seasons with North
Adelaide he booted no fewer than 1,419 majors, at an average of 6.3 per
match. In addition to topping the club goalkicking list in every
season of his career, Farmer topped the league list in eleven consecutive
seasons, topping the century each time. The keys to his success were
strong hands, speed off the mark, and extreme accuracy when kicking for
goal, whether from a set shot (typically using a torpedo punt, although he
was also proficient in the use of the 'checkside' or 'banana' kick), or when snapping
for goal from seemingly impossible positions à la Daicos.
Farmer was no slouch when it came to interstate football either, averaging 5 goals a game, mostly in losing sides against the Vics. A member of North Adelaide's 1930 and 1931 premiership teams as a player, after World War Two Farmer steered the club to two further flags in four seasons as non-playing coach. In 2001, Ken Farmer was the inevitable selection as full forward in North Adelaide's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
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Doug Farrant (North Melbourne & Perth)
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| Originally from Cohuna, Doug Farrant was a capable all round footballer who kicked well and marked strongly. He commenced his senior career with North Melbourne in 1968, having been at full forward in the reserves' grand final win over Richmond the previous year. Between 1968 and 1971 and in 1973 Farrant went on to play a total of 70 VFL games and kick 110 goals for the Kangaroos, topping their goal kicking list with 35 goals in his debut season. In 1974 he was one of a group of four players (the others were Phil Doherty, David Pretty and Mike Redenbach) off-loaded by North to Perth as part of the deal which saw champion rover Barry Cable heading in the opposite direction. Farrant, who was the only member of the quartet to enjoy an extended stay in the west, promptly emulated his 1968 feat by topping his new club's goal kicking list at the first time of asking, this time with 55 goals. He remained with Perth until 1979, playing a total of 116 WANFL games which included the victorious grand finals of 1976 against East Perth and 1977 against East Fremantle. |
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Ted Farrell (Fitzroy & Richmond)
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| Originally from Surrey Hills, Ted Farrell joined Fitzroy in 1910, but made more of an impact after he moved to Richmond midway through the following season. Of medium height and build (178cm, 75kg) he played the majority of his football in the backlines, but was also a useful centreman. His stint with the Maroons consisted of 12 games and he added 41 games and 2 goals with the yellow and blacks, for whom he served as vice-captain for a time. |
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William Faul (Subiaco, South Melbourne, Prahran, Northcote, Moorabbin)
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| Debuting
with Subiaco as a nineteen year old in 1929 Billy
Faul quickly developed into a tenacious, no nonsense half back flanker who
rarely lowered his colours. He played a total of 71 league games for
the Maroons, winning the club's fairest and best award in 1931, but
perhaps somewhat surprisingly was never chosen to represent Western
Australia.
In 1932, Faul joined the rapidly expanding 'foreign legion' at South Melbourne, and after putting in a superbly consistent season he was rewarded with his second club champion award in a row, as well as runner-up spot in the Brownlow Medal behind Haydn Bunton. The following year was even better as he helped the Blood Stained Angels secure their first flag since 1918 with a comprehensive 9.17 (71) to 4.5 (29) grand final demolition of Richmond. After 117 games in seven seasons at South, Faul crossed to Prahran as captain-coach where he played 66 games in three seasons, winning consecutive club best and fairest awards in 1940-1. After the war he coached VFA club Northcote to 4th place in 1948, before returning to Prahran. He coached the Two Blues to a flag in 1951, an achievement he repeated in 1957, the first of his three year stint with Moorabbin. The 1953 to 1956 seasons had seen him back at Northcote, but apart from 1954, when the side finished 3rd, this was a distinctly unmemorable phase of Faul's career. |
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Peter Featherby (Subiaco, Footscray, Geelong)
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Recruited by Subiaco from powerful amateur club Wembley, where his father Brian had been a prominent identity for many years, Peter Featherby made his league debut in 1970, but an ankle injury sustained against Swan Districts on 2 May effectively ruined his season, as, although he recovered from the injury, he was unable to force his way back into the side. Prior to the start of the 1971 season he sought, and was refused, a clearance to Claremont, after which he elected to buckle down and prove his worth. Over the course of the next three seasons he developed into one of the finest players in Western Australia, showing almost preternatural anticipation skills which often made it seem as though the football was sheathed in metal, and was incapable of resisting the magnetic pull of Featherby's hands. The 1973 season saw Featherby selected to represent Western Australia for the first time, and earning a Simpson Medal for his best afield performance in the win over South Australia at Subiaco Oval. Later in the season he experienced an even greater thrill as he helped his club overcome a premiership hoodoo stretching back almost half a century with a 10.12 (72) to 6.4 (40) grand final defeat of West Perth. Featherby continued to perform brilliantly in 1974 and, given that he was rated as one of the most exciting talents in the land, it was perhaps no surprise that he was picked up by VFL side Footscray prior to the start of the 1975 season. In 42 games in two seasons with the Bulldogs, however, Featherby failed to justify his reputation, and in 1977 he was back home at Subiaco. Despite his comparative failure in Melbourne, Featherby had clearly learned a great deal, and over the course of the next couple of seasons he played some of the finest football of his career, earning regular interstate selection, and winning back to back club fairest and best awards. After 10 games of the 1979 season he was enticed back to the VFL by Geelong, and this time he took his best form with him. After playing consistently well during the second half of 1979 and throughout 1980 - during which year he was selected to represent Victoria against his home state in a so-called 'state of origin' match - Featherby's performances reached a new level of excellence during a 1981 season that saw him claim the Cats' best and fairest award. In one noteworthy match against Melbourne on the MCG he garnered no fewer than 43 kicks, effected 8 handballs, and held a dozen marks. At the end of the 1983 season, after 93 VFL games for Geelong, Peter Featherby returned to Subiaco where he would continue to perform with great consistency and distinction for another five seasons, highlighted by participation in another premiership team in 1986. In 1987, his penultimate season, he averaged 23.7 disposals a game, making him the most prolific ball-getter in the competition. Injury problems the following year restricted him to just 2 league appearances, however, taking his final career tally to 332, and with perhaps a touch of reluctance he opted to retire. |
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| A champion centreline player in Williamstown's powerful postwar sides, Reg Featherby enjoyed premiership success in 1945 and 1949, and played in the losing grand final team of 1948. After the Seagulls overcame Oakleigh by 3 points in the 1949 premiership decider, Featherby capped a marvellous year by winning the club's best and fairest award. |
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Stephen Febey (Devonport & Melbourne)
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| The only Melbourne player to appear in both of that club's most recent grand finals (1988 and 2000), Stephen Febey gave excellent service to the Demons in 258 senior games, many alongside his twin brother Matthew. Originally from Devonport, Febey at one stage appeared more likely to succeed at basketball than football but ultimately it was the oval-shaped ball which provided the greater allure. Not the most highly skilled of players Febey nevertheless gave greater value than most because of his courage, determination and immense discipline. |
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Dan Feehan (South Ballarat & St Kilda)
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| Originally from South Ballarat, itself probably a league standard club at the time (see footnote 1), Dan Feehan made his VFL debut with St Kilda in 1904. Blessed with all the skills, and enormously versatile, he went on to provide reputable service to the Saints in 86 senior games over the course of the ensuing seven seasons. Most of his best football was played on the half back line, but he could also do a more than serviceable job across centre, on a half forward flank, or in the ruck. |
Footnotes1. Substance for this view is provided by the feat of the Ballarat Football Association in defeating full strength VFL combinations in 6 out of 14 encounters, home and away, between 1897 and 1903, with the league combinations only beginning to assert any semblance of superiority after the turn of the century. Return to Main Text |
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Geoff Feehan (St Kilda & Norwood)
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| Having played initially with Wodonga and Elwood, Geoff Feehan made his senior league debut with St Kilda as a twenty-two year old in 1957. He went on to play 44 VFL games in three seasons with the Saints, mainly in the backlines or as a follower, before crossing to South Australia where he played under his former mentor Alan Killigrew at Norwood. In his first season with the Redlegs he was his side's best player in a 5 point grand final loss to North Adelaide. He also played in the famous 'Turkish Bath grand final' the following year, when Norwood lost to West Adelaide (match reviewed here). Solid and tough rather than spectacular, Feehan had played a total of 56 SANFL games by the time he retired in 1963. |
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| A
fine centreline player, Andy Ferguson played for Perth
during the first decade of the twentieth century. He was in the
centre when the Redlegs lost to East
Fremantle in a semi final in 1906, and was on a wing in the following
year's semi final victory over South
Fremantle as well as the controversial 1 point win over Old Easts in
the final (reviewed here).
He also took part in the following year's 'revenge' final against the same
opponent when Perth endured a horror day to go under by 28 points.
Andy Ferguson played a total of 60 league games for Perth between 1905 and 1908. He died in March 1968, aged eighty-three. |
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Neil Ferguson (Hawthorn, East Fremantle, Claremont)
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| A
ruckman whose tough, rugged, uncompromising style was the perfect
manifestation of Hawthorn coach John
Kennedy's football philosophy, Neil Ferguson gave sterling service to the
Hawks in 82 VFL games between 1964 and 1970. He was also dangerous
when resting up forward, booting a total of 50 goals.
Ferguson resumed his career with East Fremantle where, in 1974, he had the satisfaction of leading the side's rucks on grand final day as Perth was outlasted by 22 points in a hard fought clash. Ferguson was among the most influential players on view that afternoon. He carried on with Old Easts for another year, amassing a total of 86 WANFL games. His final port of call was Claremont, where he added 16 further games in 1977. |
| Bruce
Ferrari was a mercurial footballer who never
quite managed to do full justice to his obvious natural ability.
He had a knee weakness which often
hampered him, and probably also shortened his league career. A
product of Goulburn Valley
Football League Club Shepparton United,
his stint in the VFL with Geelong consisted
of 58 games between 1955 and 1960. When
fully fit and on form he could be an exceptionally damaging centreman or
half forward flanker, but the longer his career went on the more often he
was either sidelined with injury, or required to play when less than fully
fit. A genuinely two-sided footballer, Ferrari was a reliable kick
and was capable of flying high to mark or spoil. |
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| Carlton's George Ferry was a solid, strong and determined full back who developed a great understanding with his back pocket team mate Bruce Comben. He played 139 VFL games for the Blues during an almost unprecedentedly bleak era for the club between 1952 and 1961. |
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| Keith Fewkes was a fine full back for Coburg during a predominantly inauspicious era for the club. He arrived in 1948 from Merlynston and went on to play 166 games, winning a best and fairest award in 1950. He was versatile, and could do a job in the forward lines when required. |
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Neville Fields (Essendon, South Melbourne, East Fremantle)
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| Fleet of foot, an excellent ball handler, and a penetrative left foot kick, Neville Fields was, for a brief time in the early 1970s, arguably the most damaging centreman in the VFL. He began with Essendon in 1969 after being recruited locally from Essendon High School, and after taking a couple of years to find his feet he began to come into his own during the second half of the 1971 season when a series of fine performances earned him the club's most improved player award. His improvement continued in 1972 when he landed both the Bombers' best and fairest award and the prestigious 'Inside Football' player of the year trophy, and was named in the centre in 'The Sun' all star team. Fields made his VFL interstate debut in 1973, but over the next few years his form began to deteriorate, and at the end of the 1977 season he was cleared to South Melbourne. In three and a half years at the Lake Oval he played 60 VFL games and kicked 55 goals, but while he played some good football, and indeed achieved interstate selection again in 1980, overall he was too inconsistent to be rated a success. He finished his VFL career with a one and a half season stint back at Essendon, taking his final tally of games with the club to 140, and the number of goals kicked to 138. In 1983 he crossed to East Fremantle but, with his best football years well behind him, could manage only 8 senior games for the year before retiring. |
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Grantley Fielke (West Adelaide, Collingwood, Adelaide)
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| With 364 SANFL games from 1979 to 1986 and between 1988 and 1997 Grant Fielke is West Adelaide's games played record holder. The highlight of his career with Westies came in 1985, when he won the Magarey Medal. Two years earlier, he had been a member of the club's victorious grand final team against Sturt. Never the most naturally gifted of footballers, Fielke worked hard on his game and it paid off. In his Magarey Medal year he led the league in disposals, and throughout his career his ability to find and use the ball irrespective of the intensity of the opposition was highly noteworthy. He spent the 1987 season with Collingwood in the VFL, playing 16 games, mainly on a wing, and impressing everyone with his energy and determination. A country boy at heart, however, he returned to West in 1988 and, but for a fleeting, 24 game interlude with Adelaide in 1991-2, that was where he remained. |
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Jack Fincher (Richmond & Footscray)
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| Jack Fincher was an extremely hard working, tenacious rover who particularly excelled when the going was tough. In the premiership play-off of 1927, played in torrential rain and freezing winds, with the MCG partially submerged, he was Richmond's best player in a 12 point loss to Collingwood. He also played in the losing premiership deciders of 1928 and 1929. In 1931, after 69 VFL games and 54 goals for the Tigers, he crossed to Footscray, where he gave good service in a further 36 games (for 24 goals) over the next three seasons. |
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Bill Findlay (Footscray, North Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Coburg)
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| Footscray
recruited Bill Findlay from Footscray Technical School Old Boys, and he
made his VFL debut in 1933. However, he had trouble adapting to the
demands of league football, and in two seasons managed just 5 senior games
and 8 goals, whereupon he was released to North
Melbourne. As often
seems to happen, a change of scenery somehow managed to elicit the
player's full potential, and over the ensuing eleven seasons Findlay
developed into one of the most damaging rovers in the game, playing 158
games and kicking 352 goals, as well as representing the VFL. He
also captained North for two and a half years and was captain-coach for
part of the 1942 season and the whole of 1943. Towards the end of
his career with the shinboners he began to spend more time resting in a
forward pocket, and in his final three VFL seasons he topped the club's
goal kicking list with tallies of 43, 55 and 49 goals. After moving
to Port Melbourne in 1946 he became an
even more potent goal kicking threat, topping the Borough's goal kicking
list in his debut season with 88 goals, and the VFA's the following year
with 107. For good measure, he won both his club's 1946 best and
fairest award and the same year's Liston
Trophy. Appointed captain-coach in 1947 he steered the club to
its first flag since 1941. On grand final day, Findlay was the best
player on view as the Borough comfortably overcame the challenge of Williamstown,
leading at every change en route to a 15.15 (105) to 11.8 (74)
triumph. An unexpected slump to 11th place the following year
precipitated Bill Findlay's retirement after 62 VFA games. He did,
however, end up playing briefly again. Appointed non-playing coach
of Coburg in 1954 he was compelled on several
occasions to take to the field when the club's playing resources were
stretched. During Findlay's three seasons at Coburg the Lions were
competitive, but did not manage to qualify for the finals.
In 2003, Bill Findlay was chosen as first rover in Port's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
| Charlie
Fisher joined |
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Gordon Fisher (South Fremantle)
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| One of many promising footballers whose careers were short-circuited by the onset of war, South Fremantle's Gordon Fisher was without doubt one of the finest WAFL recruits of 1914. Hailing from the York district, where he enjoyed an outstanding reputation as an athlete, he was a virtual ever-present for South that year, and also represented Western Australia in 4 of the state's 5 matches at the Sydney carnival. In the carnival clash with the VFL, which Western Australia lost by 14 points, Fisher, playing on a half back flank, was one of the sandgropers' best. Pacy, adaptable and skilled, he could also play as a centreman or across half forward. Exactly what happened to Fisher during World War One is unclear, but it is is known that, after 23 senior games for South Fremantle in 1914 and 1915, he never played top level football again. |
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| Perhaps better known as a 'Sporting Globe' journalist, Alan Fitcher was also a highly dependable VFL ruckman with Fitzroy, where he played 98 senior games and booted 21 goals between 1929 and 1936. Not overly tall at 183cm, he was nevertheless more than capable of looking after himself, and gave the Maroons many fine performances during what was a wholly inauspicious era for the club. |
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Len Fitzgerald (Collingwood, Sturt, Glenelg)
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| The
Australian football landscape of half a century ago was considerably
different to that of today. In particular, there was no equivalent
of the Australian Football League. While the AFL has in recent years
been systematically manufacturing a 'history' for itself which derives
from an imaginary contiguity with the old suburban VFL, the truth is that,
prior to the re-location of South Melbourne
to Sydney in 1982, the VFL was a state competition pure and simple.
Granted, it was by some measure the strongest state competition in
Australia, and this strength had tended to magnify as more and more elite
non-Victorian players entered the league. However, whereas nowadays
it would be reasonable to suggest that nigh on 100% of the very best
footballers in Australia ply their trade in the AFL, this was very far
from being the case in the old, suburban VFL.
A classic case in point is Len Fitzgerald. His move from Victoria Park to Unley in 1951 after 96 games with Collingwood was indicative of the fact that, even to an elite player at what was then Australia's most illustrious sporting club, football was not the prime controlling influence in life. Football players did not depend for their livelihood on the game, and so when Sturt managed to secure more lucrative employment for Fitzgerald than the Magpies had been able to arrange for him in Melbourne, the result was that the balance of football power between South Australia and Victoria shifted ever so slightly in favour of the former. If Len Fitzgerald had been a prominent player at Collingwood, he soon developed into a veritable champion with the Double Blues. After a relatively slow start to his SANFL career 'Fitzie' - who took over the Sturt coaching reins midway through his debut season - gradually went from strength to strength. In 1952 he won every media award going, together with Sturt's club champion award and the first of his three Magarey Medals. The 1953 season brought interstate selection for South Australia at the Adelaide carnival, followed by inclusion in the inaugural All Australian team. The second Magarey Medal followed in 1954 but Fitzgerald declared himself more concerned by Sturt's late season loss to wooden spoon side Glenelg which cost the Double Blues a place in the finals. Matters were rectified somewhat in 1955 as Sturt reached the preliminary final but the club's failure to honour a verbal pledge to bestow a £50 bonus upon its coach induced Fitzgerald to start an immediate search for pastures new. The next three seasons saw Fitzgerald starring for and coaching Benalla in the powerful Ovens and Murray Football League but he returned to Sturt purely as a player in 1959 and won another Magarey as the Double Blues reached the finals for the first time since his departure. Nagging injuries blighted Fitzgerald's final couple of seasons in league football but nothing should mar the memory of a supremely adaptable footballer with lightning reflexes, excellent ball handling skills and, perhaps above all else, an awesome strength which was exhibited both in body on body clashes with opponents as well as when taking seemingly miraculous marks in pack situations. All told, he played a total of 125 SANFL matches for Sturt, booting 201 goals, and represented South Australia 17 times, kicking 5 goals. As a league coach, Len Fitzgerald experienced significantly less success, steering Glenelg to 4th, 6th and last places in three seasons in charge during the 1960s. He retained his passion for the game throughout his life, and news of his death in April 2007 saddened football followers from all over Australia and beyond. |
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Ross Fitzgerald (Swan Districts & Perth)
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| A polished, resourceful, imperturbable footballer who was equally effective either in attack or defence, Ross Fitzgerald enjoyed a fine, ten season league career with two clubs during which he played in excess of 150 senior games. Originally recruited from Coverdale by Swan Districts, he made his WANFL debut in 1977, and went on to develop into a significant contributor to Swans' emergence as a power under John Todd. However, midway through the 1982 season when that emergence was about to bear ultimate fruit in terms of long overdue premiership success, Fitzgerald announced that he wished to transfer to Perth. Viewing this as tantamount to disloyalty, the Swans hierarchy responded by dropping him to the reserves, which is probably where he would have remained for the rest of the season had not his form at that level been so outstanding. As the finals approached, pragmatism triumphed over principle, and Fitzgerald was quietly restored to the senior side in time to make a worthy contribution to the 18.19 (127) to 11.12 (78) grand final triumph over Claremont that clinched Swans first senior flag since 1963. The following season saw him at Perth, where he produced arguably the best football of his career over a three year stint that saw him play 40 games and kick 39 goals. Features of his play were his prodigious and accurate kicking, and an imposing aerial presence that frequently saw him outmarking much bigger opponents. Despite standing only 185cm in height, and weighing just 82kg, Fitzgerald was frequently used at centre half forward by the Demons, in which position he vied with the best in the league. In 1986, Ross Fitzgerald returned to Bassendean Oval to see out his career with Swans. When he finally retired in 1987 he had played a total of 112 games for the club, booting 68 goals. |
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Tom Fitzmaurice (Essendon, North Sydney, Geelong, Yarraville, North Melbourne, Brunswick, Manuka)
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| After beginning his league career with Essendon in 1918 as a high flying ruckman, Tom Fitzmaurice was forced to reinvent himself after sustaining a leg injury while playing for North Sydney in 1922. The following year he returned to Essendon and quickly developed into the best centre half back in the VFL, winning consecutive Champion of the Colony awards in 1923-4 whilst simultaneously helping steer the side to back to back flags. His time with the Dons came to an end in acrimonious circumstances, however: at the end of the 1924 season, a charity challenge match was arranged between Essendon and VFA premier Footscray, ostensibly for the 'championship of Victoria'; after Footscray scored a surprise win, Fitzmaurice publicly denounced certain of his team mates for 'playing dead', and walked out on the club. The 1925 season saw him at Geelong, where he had the satisfaction of playing in a third successive premiership team. After four years with the Cats he clambered aboard the football merry-go-round, with the remaining ten seasons of his illustrious career taking in spells at Mortlake, Yarraville, North Melbourne, Brunswick and Manuka. During his time with North he showed that he was still as potent a force as ever by topping the club's goal kicking list for three consecutive seasons. |
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Jim Fitzpatrick (Melbourne & Richmond)
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| Jim Fitzpatrick commenced his senior career with Hawthorn prior to that club's involvement in the VFA, but really came into his own after moving to VFL club Melbourne in 1907. Playing initially as a defender, and later in the pivot, he amassed 81 games for the Fuchsias in six and half seasons before moving to Richmond in 1913 where he added a final 7 games to his VFL tally. |
Mike Fitzpatrick (Subiaco & Carlton)
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Among the most vivid memories of Mike Fitzpatrick centre around his lion-hearted performances as captain of Western Australia in state of origin matches against Victoria, when he seemed to epitomise and personify the West Australians' hunger to succeed. However, Fitzpatrick himself was actually born in Victoria, at Hastings, which only goes to prove that things are not always as straightforward as they seem. His two state of origin appearances for Victoria therefore were perhaps not quite the anomaly they appeared. As a Rhodes scholar, Mike Fitzpatrick would no doubt appreciate the complexities which often underlie the seemingly mundane, but his approach to football was unequivocally simple. Indeed, because of his wholeheartedly aggressive approach he was virtually tailor-made for the VFL where his performances in important games were frequently of a match-winning order. Debuting with Subiaco in 1970, Fitzpatrick quickly developed into a key component in the team that Haydn Bunton was developing for a long overdue assault on the premiership. When that assault was finally mounted, in 1973 under Bunton's successor Ross Smith, Mike Fitzpatrick led the ruck and was one of his team's best players in a grand final defeat of West Perth that broke a 49 year premiership drought. Fitzpatrick also won Subiaco's fairest and best award in 1973, and repeated the feat the following year. In 1975 he simultaneously signed with Carlton and embarked on a two year Rhodes scholarship at Oxford University. He played a handful of games with the Blues in 1975 and 1976, but it was not until 1978 that he was able to concentrate on his VFL career. A member of Carlton's 1979 premiership side, and club champion the same year, Mike Fitzpatrick took over from Alex Jesaulenko as the Blues' skipper the following season, and quickly proved himself an inspirational leader. Arguably his most significant Carlton performance came in the 1981 grand final against Collingwood when he was without doubt the single most important factor in turning the match around after the Magpies had looked 'home and hosed'. Fitzpatrick led the Blues to another flag in 1982, but at the end of the following season, while still at his peak as a player, he elected to call it a day after accepting a senior position with the Victorian government. In 2003, Mike Fitzpatrick returned to football when he accepted a post with the AFL Commission. |
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Shane Fitzsimmons (Melbourne & West Perth)
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| Melbourne recruited Shane Fitzsimmons from Kyabram, and he gave the club sound service, mainly as a half forward flanker, in 63 games from 1973 to 1979. Crossing to West Perth during the 1979 season he proved his versatility by finding a niche across half back, in which new role he won a fairest and best award in his second season. In five seasons with the Falcons Fitzsimmons added another 92 league games to his tally before retiring. |
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| Fred
'Troubles' Flanagan was as close to the perfect centre half forward as you
could wish to see. A superb aerialist, he was feted for his
ability to maneuver himself while flying for a mark in such a way as to be
facing directly towards goal upon landing. He began with Geelong
in 1946, and was an eye-catching performer from the start, making the VFL
team in his debut season, and thereafter every year until 1954.
Given that he retired from football after round 4 1955 this was a
remarkable and perhaps unique record.
During his early seasons with the club, Geelong tended to struggle, but Flanagan could always be counted on to produce displays of the highest order. Indeed, it was his consistency as much as anything that elevated him above the common herd, and gave him that elusive but unmistakable champions' quality. Best and fairest for the Cats in 1949, Flanagan took over the club captaincy two years later and thus had the satisfaction of leading the team to its first flag since 1937. A year later he became the first, and so far only, Geelong skipper to lead the side to consecutive premierships. Quick, elusive, and elegance itself in motion, Fred Flanagan set the standard for centre half forward play for generations to come. A superb drop kick, he could also stab pass with unerring accuracy when required. Off the field he was a worrier - hence the nickname 'Troubles' - and was heavily involved in various business ventures. Ultimately, it was his need to concentrate on these these that led to his premature retirement while still at the top of his form. In just over nine seasons, he played 163 VFL and 13 interstate games; his 182 goals for the Cats included 55 in 1954 when he was the club's top goal kicker. In 2001, Fred Flanagan was a predictable and worthy choice as centre half forward of Geelong's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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| A pacy and at times brilliant defender renowned for his smooth ball handling and capability under pressure, North Adelaide's Harry Fleet enjoyed a memorable thirteen season career with the club during which he played a total of 144 senior games. Included in those games were the 1930 challenge final defeat of Port Adelaide, and the 1931 grand final win over Sturt. North's backline, with Fleet at full back aided and abetted by the likes of Syd Burton, Dave Conrad and Don Phillis, was very much the cornerstone of both victories. Early in his career, Fleet also played on the forward lines on occasion, and indeed in 1926 he topped the club's goal kicking list with 52 majors. A South Australian interstate representative on 5 occasions, he continued to play extremely effective football until his retirement in 1936. |
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Fred Fleiter (South Melbourne)
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| One
of the finest ruck shepherds of his or any era, Fred Fleiter's football
career was inextricably interwoven with that of the man with arguably the
most resonant name in the history of football, Roy
Cazaly. A school friend of Cazaly's, Fleiter later formed a
third of the renowned Cazaly-Fleiter-Tandy
ruck combination at South Melbourne,
during which time he famously coined the phrase "Up there,
Cazaly!" as a signal that the way had been made clear for Cazaly to
run through and leap for the ball.
Heavily built and extraordinarily powerful, Fleiter was ideally equipped to take on what, at the time, was widely acknowledged as the toughest role in football. He made his debut with South in 1919 and, after struggling initially to make his mark, really came into his own following the arrival of Cazaly from St Kilda in 1921. Over the final five seasons of his VFL career he gradually grew in both confidence and prowess, and was perfectly capable of holding down a key position when required. He played a total of 71 games for South in seven seasons, and later served as club coach for a brief time in 1929. |
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Eric Fleming (Geelong & Oakleigh)
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| Hailing originally from Bendigo Football League club South Bendigo, Eric Fleming was a tall, wiry ruckman who gave Geelong solid and intermittently spectacular service in 105 VFL games between 1922 and 1928, during which he booted 112 goals. The occasionally spectacular aspects of his play were his high marking, and his kicking - both drop kicks and, more especially, torpedo punts - which could be prodigious. Fleming was first ruckman in the Cats' 1925 premiership team, and represented the VFL in the interstate arena half a dozen times. In addition to the ruck he could also perform serviceably across half forward, where his above average ground skills came to the fore. In 1929 he crossed to Oakleigh which was making its debut in the VFA, and went on to star at centre half forward in the club's 1930 and 1931 premiership teams. He played a total of 103 senior games for the Purple and Golds, whom he captained in 1933. |
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| West Perth's 1930 Sandover Medallist Ted Flemming was a highly adaptable footballer who topped the WAFL goal kicking ladder in 1925 with 50 goals, but who also played many fine games as a defender. Winner of Cardinals' fairest and best awards in 1928 and 1936, he captained the side in 1931, and was a member of premiership teams in 1932, 1934 and 1935. Flemming played a total of 248 league games for West Perth between 1922 and 1937. He also represented Western Australia 19 times, in five different positions, earning inclusion in the best player lists on numerous occasions. He was included on a half back flank in the Cardinals' official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Adrian Fletcher (Glenorchy, Geelong, St Kilda, Brisbane, Fremantle, Williamstown)
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| Arguably
one of the modern era's most underrated players (at least as far as the
media and general public are concerned; less so in the case of field
umpires awarding Brownlow
votes), Adrian Fletcher's ability to rack up effective possessions
remained a noteworthy feature of his game right to the end. Recognised as an outstanding talent right from his early
days at Glenorchy (where, in 1988, he won a
club best and fairest award and shared the William
Leitch Medal), Fletcher went on to give commendable service to five
different AFL/VFL clubs. His early years at Geelong (23 games
between 1989 and 1991) and St Kilda (22
games in 1992) represented a solid apprenticeship but it was after his
move to Brisbane in 1993 that his career truly began to blossom.
Tough and resilient, Fletcher's best work sometimes eluded notice but was
nevertheless critical to team success. His effectiveness is readily
illustrated by the high numbers of accurate handballs he regularly
accumulated (he topped the league in this stats category in 1995), while
his 'in and under' propensities frequently saw him winning more than his
fair share of free kicks (he led the AFL in this category in 1999, a
season after moving to Fremantle).
Following four seasons with the Dockers, during which he won a club champion award and was co-captain in 2000 and 2001, Fletcher returned to Victoria in 2002 as a member of the support team, as well as a player, at the Collingwood-aligned VFL club Williamstown. After winning consecutive best and fairest awards with the Seagulls, he retired as a player, and in 2004 he returned to his former club, Geelong, as a scout. |
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| A formidable on field presence, especially when his smaller team mates were threatened, Hawthorn's Ted Fletcher matured with age, playing much of his best football during the last few years of his nine season, 129 game VFL career. Indeed, he won a best and fairest award during his second to last league season in 1953, having represented the VFL for the first time the previous year. He also captained Hawthorn in 1953-4. Equally at home in the ruck or anywhere behind centre he fell only narrowly short of being a genuine champion. In 1955, Ted Fletcher was appointed to the coaching position at VFA club Sandringham, which had been struggling badly for several seasons. Although the Zebras' on-field record did not improve significantly during Fletcher's three season stint in charge, he definitely set them moving in the right direction, and in so doing might be felt to have sowed the seeds of the side's emergence as a VFA power in the early 1960s. |
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| When a broken leg brought about Ken Fletcher's enforced retirement from league football in 1980 he had achieved virtually everything the game had to offer, other than participation in a premiership, during the course of 264 game, 55 goal career that stretched back as far as 1967. During that time, he had occupied virtually every position on the field, but it is as a wingman and, later, a half back flanker that he probably played his best and most consistent football. Extremely quick and highly skilled, Fletcher rarely put in a bad game. He won Essendon's best and fairest award in 1978 having been runner-up five years earlier. Between 1973 and 1978 he was a virtual ever-present in VFL interstate and Victorian state of origin teams. The closest he came to playing in a premiership team was his appearance on a half back flank in the Bombers' 3 point grand final loss to Carlton in 1968. After leaving Essendon he spent a couple of seasons as captain-coach of Tatura in the Goulburn Valley Football League. |
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| One
of football's gentlemen, Robert Flower was also a supremely gifted - and
highly effective - one club footballer for 274 games, only the last 3 of
which were finals. Borrowing Fos
Williams' adage about Ken
Eustice,
journalists often used to refer to him as 'pound for pound the best
footballer in the VFL', an assertion which generated little dissent.
Blessed with all the attributes of a born champion, Flower's particular
trademark was his almost implausible evasive ability, a skill which stood
him in good stead as he was often the target of unseemly opposition
assaults. Best and fairest awards might well have been devised with
players like Robbie Flower in mind, but somewhat surprisingly he only won
Melbourne's premier award once, and never finished higher than 3rd, which
he did twice, in the Brownlow,
despite often starting as one of the favourites. However, he won
virtually every other accolade the game had to offer, including making 15 (almost
invariably superlative) Big V appearances (3 as captain) and earning selection in
two All Australian teams.
Contemporary VFL and interstate wingmen were near unanimous in declaring
him their most troublesome opponent.
Late in his career Melbourne coach Ron Barassi controversially converted Flower from a wingman into a half back flanker but he took the move in his stride and continued to be an exemplary footballer until his retirement in 1987. |
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| Jim
Flynn was a powerful and vigorous ruckman who nevertheless combined brain
with brawn. His leadership potential was soon recognised at Carlton,
where he moved in 1903 after 6 seasons and 74 games with Geelong,
and in 1905 he was made club captain.
After leading the Blues to a 1906 grand final victory over Fitzroy, Flynn was forced to retire owing to business commitments. However, when his successor as captain, Fred Elliott, was suspended on the eve of the 1907 finals he agreed to step into the breach, to telling effect: Carlton won back to back flags with a hard fought 5 point grand final win over South Melbourne, and stand-in skipper Flynn vied for best afield honours with George Bruce. In 1908, Jim Flynn again played only in the finals, this time under Fred Elliott's captaincy, and was again an important contributor as the Blues made it three premierships in a row with a 9 point grand final defeat of Essendon. After missing the entire 1909 season, the last of Jim Flynn's 77 appearances in a Carlton jumper came in the team's 1910 semi final loss against South Melbourne. |
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| Jon Fogarty was a hard working ruck-rover who was an important, if comparatively unheralded, member of Swan Districts' powerful early 1980s combinations. He arrived at Bassendean from Collie side Mines Rovers, and made his league debut in 1979. He played on a half back flank in the 1980 grand final, when Swans lost to South Fremantle (match reviewed here), and was a useful contributor on the ball to the premiership triumphs of 1982-3-4. Tenacious in his attack on both ball and body, he also boasted good all round skills, and was a fine overhead mark. He played a total of 133 games and kicked 38 goals for Swans during a career which ended in 1985. He represented Western Australia against South Australia at Football Park in 1984, and at Subiaco a year later. |
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Thomas Fogarty (St Kilda, South Melbourne, University)
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| After playing half a dozen games with St Kilda in 1898, Tom Fogarty made his name with South Melbourne, where he moved four years later and quickly established himself as a tireless and resolute ruckman who seldom lowered his colours. He played 66 games for South between 1902 and 1906, but then felt compelled to retire owing to business commitments. In 1908, however, he returned to the VFL as captain of University, which made its bows in the competition that year along with Richmond. Under Fogarty, who proved himself a forceful and clever leader, the Students came as close to being a genuine league power as they ever would, finishing 6th in 1908 and 7th in 1909 (Fogarty's last year). |
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| After
a somewhat stuttering start to his league career, West
Perth's Brian Foley developed into one of Australia's finest
ruckmen. Making up for in dogged persistence what he may have lacked
in raw talent, Foley gave as good as he got against the likes of Farmer,
Clarke, McIntosh
and Slater
at home, and Nicholls,
Schultz, Wedding and
Wright
interstate. The fact that Foley made no fewer than 22 interstate
appearances for Western Australia in an era when the state was blessed
with considerable ruck strength is perhaps the most persuasive testimony
as to his prowess, as well as to the esteem in which he was held.
From an individual perspective, the highlight of Brian Foley's illustrious 202 game league career came in 1959 when he was a runaway winner of the Sandover Medal. Foley also won his second Cardinals fairest and best trophy that year, having previously won the award in 1957. In 1960, he was one of the most conspicuous performers on the ground as West Perth overcame arch rivals East Perth by 32 points in the grand final. Given that he was playing at a time when VFL clubs were beginning to make significant inroads into Western Australia's vast pool of playing talent it was inevitable that Foley should become a prime recruiting target. North Melbourne came closer than anyone to procuring him - Foley even signed a form four - but the Cardinals steadfastly refused to agree to a clearance. This, of course, was in the days when the ANFC was in ostensible control of interstate clearances. Captain of West Perth from 1960 to 1964, Foley decided to play one last season in 1965 after Bob Spargo took over as captain-coach. He finished on a 'high', performing consistently well all year, as well as leading the ruck in typically resolute fashion when Western Australia came from behind to defeat the VFL in a mid-season interstate clash at Subiaco Oval. |
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| During
an era when it was becoming increasingly taken for granted that the best
West Australian footballers would migrate to the VFL, Les Fong - arguably
a better player than many of those who headed east - spent his entire 284
game league career with West Perth.
That career commenced in 1973 when, as a sixteen year old, he played the
first 7 games of the season in the reserves before being promoted to the
seniors where he spent the remainder of the year. His form during
his brief stint in the reserves was so good that he ended up winning the
club's fairest and best award for that level.
Nicknamed 'Choppy', Fong was an ebullient, intense, extraordinarily courageous performer. He had the satisfaction of playing in a premiership team in only his third season, but thereafter the Cardinals tended to struggle. Nevertheless, Fong showed no desire to leave, and indeed for much of the 1970s and '80s he was almost a personification of the club, as well as a rare emblem of stability and loyalty in a time of sweeping change. In 1980 Fong was appointed club captain and ended up serving for a record seven year term, proving himself in the process to be almost the consummate on-field leader. He peaked as a player during the late seventies and early eighties, making half a dozen interstate appearances for Western Australia, and winning West Perth's fairest and best award in 1982 and 1983. Known as 'Captain Courageous' during his time as skipper, his importance in the history of the club was emphasised in October 2000 with his inclusion, as first rover, in West Perth's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. After leaving West Perth Les Fong coached Wanneroo to two successive Sunday Football League premierships, the first of which, in 1991, was won unbeaten. |
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| One of the most famous members of Fitzroy's illustrious early VFL teams, Fred Fontaine was a key contributor to the premiership wins of 1898, 1899, 1904 and 1905. He also played in the losing grand finals of 1903 and 1906. A VFL interstate representative in 1902, Fontaine was extremely quick, adept overhead, and a booming kick. He was also immensely versatile, performing with distinction on every line as well as on the ball. The highlight of his career probably came with his fine performance at full back in the 1904 grand final win over |
