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Ray Gabelich (Collingwood, West Perth, Waratahs)
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| In
a sign of things to come, young West Australian ruckman Ray Gabelich was
signed by Collingwood in 1954 before he had
even played a single senior game in his home state. Formidably
built, he gave the Magpies great service in 161 VFL games from 1955 to
1960 and 1962 to 1966, winning a Copeland Trophy in 1960, and being chosen to represent
the VFL. He spent the 1961 season back home in Western Australia
where he played 18 games with West Perth and was a member that
year of his native state's Australian championship winning side at the Brisbane
carnival, securing All Australian selection and a Simpson
Medal in the process. During the 1961-2 summer he played briefly
with Waratahs in Darwin, which he later
recalled as the toughest time of his entire football career.
Ray Gabelich entered football folk lore in 1964 with a fifty metre run, which culminated in a goal, during that season's VFL grand final against Melbourne (match reviewed here). Gabelich finished on the losing side that day, as he had in 1956 and 1960. He played in the Magpies' winning grand final team of 1958, however. |
| Solidly built, speedy, and strong overhead, East Fremantle's Don Gabrielson was one of the best West Australian half back flankers of the immediate pre- and post-war periods. Despite a lack of inches, he could also do a more than serviceable job at centre half back when required. A superb kick with either foot, and a smooth ball handler, Gabrielson was a member of Old Easts' winning grand final teams of 1945 and 1946. Between 1938 and 1941 and from 1945 to 1951 he played a total of 183 WANFL games, and represented Western Australia in the interstate arena 4 times. |
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| A lion-hearted follower whose tough,
resolute approach was allied to more skill than was often realised, Allan
'Butch' Gale was Fitzroy through and through. His consistency over
213 senior VFL games in fourteen seasons was emphasised by his finishing
second in the club's best and fairest voting on no fewer than seven
occasions. Sadly, he never managed to finish first, but over the
years there have been few Fitzroy players who would have made more worthy
recipients of the club's top honour.
'Butch' Gale joined Fitzroy from the Police Boys' football team and made his league debut in 1948, and if his early games suggested he was little more than an honest trier he wasted little time in elevating his performances to a new, higher level. For much of the 1950s he was a virtual ever present in VFL interstate sides and his gritty, tireless, never say die approach boasted all the hallmarks traditionally associated with the 'Big V'. Some of his best football came while resting in defence, and he would undoubtedly have made a fine key position defender had Fitzroy been able to spare him from the ruck. Gale was appointed Fitzroy captain in 1958 and continued in the role for the final four seasons of his VFL career. Once that career was over he became a football commentator on HSV7. |
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Brendon Gale (Penguin, Burnie, Richmond)
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| A vigorous and hard-working ruckman/forward, Brendon Gale performed consistently for Richmond throughout the 1990s and into the early years of the new decade. He was equally effective leading the ruck or holding down a key forward position, his aerial prowess and physical strength making him a match for almost any opponent. Never the most spectacular of players - a fact which doubtless prevented his entering the discussions all that often when Brownlow votes were allocated - his impact on games was nevertheless often considerable. Between 1990 and 2001 he played a total of 244 AFL games for the Tigers, kicking 209 goals. Brother Michael also appeared for the Tigers, while father Don was a star in Tasmania in the '50s and '60s. |
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Don Gale (Wynyard, Hobart, Burnie)
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| After
showing great promise as a schoolboy footballer, Don Gale was signed by Wynyard
in 1953. His early form was magnificent, and he was wooed by South
Melbourne, but was prevented from transferring by the TFL. In
1956, he sought a clearance again, and even re-located across the Bass
Strait, but the TFL would not budge. After a season spent playing
Sunday League football in Melbourne he returned to Tasmania and signed for
Hobart, but after just 12 months in the TFL he
was enticed back home to Wynyard.
The 1958 season proved to be one of Gale's best as he was selected to represent Tasmania at the centenary carnival in Melbourne and, after a series of superb performances in a back pocket, became the first ever NWFU footballer selected in an All Australian team. (Three years later, at Brisbane, Latrobe's Darrel Baldock would emulate the feat.) Gale was again selected for his state in 1959 when he played against the Vics in Devonport. Later that same year, however, he was forced to withdraw from the side which met West Australia at Hobart owing to injury. In 1960 Gale was a prominent contributor to arguably the most auspicious achievement in Tasmanian football history as the state side overcame a supposedly invincible VFL combination at York Park, Launceston. Tasmania led at every change en route to a 7 point success, with most newspapers listing either Stuart Spencer or Don Gale as best afield. (Match reviewed here.) The only remaining ambition for Don Gale at this stage in his career was to play in a premiership team, and a couple of seasons later, having crossed to Burnie as captain-coach, he finally achieved it. In 1961, Gale's first season at Burnie, the side had come agonisingly close, losing to arch rivals Cooee by 5 points, but in 1962 everything came together and Devonport was vanquished by 10 points. The only disappointment was losing the state premiership final against North Hobart. Having now achieved his main outstanding ambition, Don Gale chose to retire, despite being only 27 years of age. In later years, sons Brendon and Michael would keep the Gale name alive both at home and in Victoria. |
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| Len Gale was a wily and stylish rover who played 58 VFL games and booted 54 goals for Fitzroy between 1920 and 1924. He was a member of the Maroons' victorious 1922 challenge final team against Collingwood, but was missing from the line-up the following year when the Roys went under to Essendon. He was a prominent performer for his side during the 1924 round robin finals series which saw Fitzroy beat Richmond but lose to both Essendon and South Melbourne. |
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Adrian Gallagher (Carlton, Footscray, North Melbourne)
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| A tough, tenacious rover who was never flashy but almost invariably effective, Adrian 'Gags' Gallagher joined Carlton from Yarram, and was a key player for the Blues in 165 VFL games between 1964 and 1972, booting 236 goals. He developed a great understanding during that time with ruckman John Nicholls, and the pair were strongly instrumental in Carlton reaching four grand finals in five years, for premierships in 1968, 1970 and 1972. Gallagher's individual contribution was particularly noteworthy in 1970 when he won the club's best and fairest award. Four years earlier he had been the Blues' top goal kicker for the season with 24 goals. At the end of the 1972 season, Gallagher crossed to Footscray under the VFL's short-lived ten year rule, and, although undoubtedly a little past his best, gave the Bulldogs consistently good service in 54 games over three seasons, kicking 38 goals. In 1976 he transferred to North Melbourne, the club that it had been mooted he was going to join four years earlier, but he managed just 1 further senior game before calling it a day. |
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| Hailing from the famous football breeding ground of Assumption College, Footscray's Jim Gallagher was a relentless, extremely determined half back flanker who played the game close and hard. His reluctance to take risks is evidenced by his failure to kick a single goal during the course of his ten season, 151 game VFL career. A VFL interstate representative in 1954, he was on his customary half back flank when Footscray broke through for a first ever VFL premiership with a 15.12 (102) to 7.9 (51) grand final defeat of Melbourne. |
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Les Gallagher (St Kilda & Richmond)
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| Originally from amateur club Elsternwick, Les Gallagher commenced his VFL career with St Kilda, where he played mainly as a forward, without notable success. After 9 games and 14 goals for the club in 1924 and 1925 he crossed to Richmond, where he was to enjoy a much more productive time. The Tigers converted him into a centreman, and he occupied that position in both the 1927 and 1928 losing grand finals against Collingwood. A fine reader of the play, and boasting good disposal skills, he added totals of 62 games and 27 goals to his respective tallies while at Richmond, where he remained until 1929. |
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| Known, with mundane inevitability, as 'Gags', Norwood's Phil Gallagher was one of that club's most popular ever players in a 292 game league career that ran from 1973 to 1986. Quick, poised and skilful, he played most of those games as a wingman, but could also make a highly effective contribution as a centreman. He played in Redleg premiership teams in 1975, 1978 - when he kicked the match-winning goal in a 1 point victory over Sturt (reviewed here) - 1982 (as captain) and 1984. Gallagher's obviously wholehearted commitment to the club cause made him a firm favourite at the Parade. His 8 interstate matches for South Australia gave him a career total of precisely 300 senior games. Phil Gallagher's high reputation at Norwood was clearly evidenced with his selection on a wing in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Alan Galloway (North Adelaide)
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| Hard hitting and tenacious, sometimes almost to the point of recklessness, North Adelaide's Alan Galloway often found himself sidelined through injury, but always seemed to come up with the goods when it mattered most, such as in finals. He was one of North's best in the winning grand final of 1949 against West Torrens, and also performed creditably in the play-off of 1952 against Norwood, which the red and whites won by a record margin of 108 points. In the 1951 grand final against Port Adelaide he produced a performance rated by many as best on the ground, but could not prevent the Magpies getting home by 11 points. Between 1947 and 1953, Galloway played a total of 69 SANFL games for North, kicking 10 goals. |
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Cyril Gambetta (Hawthorn & St Kilda)
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| Without
doubt one of the finest St Kilda
footballers of the inter-war years, Cyril Gambetta eked out a 129 game VFL
career for himself despite suffering from badly bowed legs, which were a
legacy of an attack of polio while he was a youngster. He began his
senior career in the VFA with Hawthorn,
where he earned a reputation as a useful forward, but it was a full back
that he played for most of his time with the Saints. His judgement
and anticipation were first rate, and he was regarded as one of the best
high marks of his time. Gambetta arrived at St Kilda in 1922, and
played his last match in 1931, which meant that he only ever got to play
in one finals team. That was in a 1929 semi final against Carlton
in which the Saints trailed narrowly all day in going down by 8
points. Gambetta, who won his club's best and fairest award in 1925,
played interstate football twice for the VFL. The fact that he
played some of his early football with the Saints on the forward lines is
evidenced by his feat in kicking 75 goals during the course of his league
career.
One does not envy the St Kilda 'Team of the Century' selectors having to chose between Gambetta and the likes of Verdun Howell, Danny Frawley and Barry Lawrence for the coveted full back position in the side. In the end, they went for Howell, but there can be no doubt that Gambetta's contribution to the club, during an era that combined intermittent promise with repeated under-achievement, was noteworthy in the extreme. |
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| Jeff Gamble was tall, rangy and talented defender whose promising VFL career with Essendon career was brought to a premature end by a serious knee injury sustained in 1959, when he was aged just twenty-four. Although he tried to resume, he was never the same player, and he retired the following year after a total of 90 VFL games in eight seasons. Gamble played much of his early football as a follower but was better suited to a key defensive role. He was quick for his height (191cm), and relished the physical side of the game. |
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Joe Garbutt (Port Melbourne & St Kilda)
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| One of the Port Melbourne Football Club's most noteworthy identities, Joe Garbutt was also among the finest full backs in the VFA, and arguably Australia, for much of his seventeen season, 188 game top level career. All but 7 of those games were played with the Borough, for whom he made his debut in 1922. At the end of that year, Port won the premiership courtesy of a 2 point challenge final victory over Footscray, but sadly for Garbutt he had yet to establish himself as a regular senior player, and missed the game. Over the course of his career he would take part in 3 premiership deciding matches, but finish on the losing side every time. Strong overhead, a mighty kick, and blessed with tremendous pace for a big (185cm, 79kg) man, he proved his class on numerous occasions in inter-league matches against the VFL. Unfortunately, when he moved to the VFL himself with St Kilda in 1935 he was thirty-one years of age, and probably past his best. In any case, he managed just 7 senior games for the year before returning to Port Melbourne, where he continued playing for three more seasons. |
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| A clever, dashing, long kicking half forward flank specialist, Carlton's Cohuna recruit Ray Garby gave the Blues five seasons and 86 VFL games worth of service from 1946 to 1950. A member of his club's 1947 grand final winning side against Essendon, he also played two years later when the Dons turned the tables. Always dangerous near goal, Garby managed 125 majors during his league career. |
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| One
of many players to lose what would probably have been his best years to
war service, Jack Garden played briefly for Essendon
in 1915 before spending the next three years at the front in
Flanders. He resumed in the VFL in 1920, and promptly won the Same
Old's best and fairest award.
Short at just 165cm, and somewhat squat in build, Garden nevertheless had lightning acceleration and was ideally suited to the wing, which was where he played for most of his senior career. Between 1921-3 he was a regular Big V representative, and in the last of those years he starred for the Dons in their 17 point challenge final defeat of Fitzroy. He was similarly prominent the following year as Essendon went 'back to back' by winning the VFL's experimental 'round robin' finals series (see footnote 1). At the end of the 1926 season, after 115 VFL games, Garden left Essendon and joined Victorian Sub-District Football Association side Kew where, as captain-coach, he enjoyed immediate success, steering the side to the 1927 flag. |
Footnotes1. Despite a last round loss to Richmond, the Dons, courtesy of comfortable wins over Fitzroy and South Melbourne in their earlier matches, won the 1924 flag on percentage. The format itself did not prove popular, however, and was immediately dispensed with. Return to Main Text |
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Alex Gardiner (Footscray & Box Hill)
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| Speedy and intelligent, wingman Alex Gardiner gave Footscray good, if occasionally inconsistent, service in 91 VFL games between 1955 and 1962, He was a member of the Bulldogs' losing grand final team of 1961 against Hawthorn. In 1963, Gardiner was appointed captain-coach of VFA 2nd division side Box Hill, where he remained for five seasons. His form as a player during that time was excellent, and he ran 4th in the Field Trophy voting in his first season, was runner-up in 1964, and finished equal 3rd in 1966. |
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Jack Gardiner (Carlton, Melbourne, Cananore, North Hobart)
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| Jack
Gardiner's involvement in football lasted over half a century and took in
stints as a player, coach, umpire and administrator. The son of a
prominent Carlton player of the 1870s, he
commenced his own senior playing career with the Blues in 1900, but after
just 16 games in two seasons he crossed to Melbourne.
Slight of build, he nevertheless had the courage and skill necessary to
succeed, and during five and a half seasons and 69 games with the Redlegs
he established a reputation as one of the premier rovers in the league.
In 1908, Gardiner accepted the position of coach of the Tasmanian Football League, a role he combined with umpiring. After serving as Tasmania's coach at the inaugural interstate carnival in Melbourne he finished the 1908 season with his old club Melbourne, but the following year saw him back in Tasmania where he threw in his lot with Cananore. With Bruce Carter as playing-coach, and Gardiner as captain, the Canaries enjoyed unprecedented success over the next few seasons, winning premierships in 1909-10-11, and again in 1913. Gardiner's playing form was excellent, and he was a member of Tasmania's carnival team at Adelaide in 1911, helping the state to a commendable 3rd place courtesy to a large extent of a hard fought 5 point win over Western Australia. After the Great War, Jack Gardiner resumed at Cananore, this time as captain-coach, leading the team to further premierships in 1921 and 1922. In 1924 he transferred to North Hobart as captain-coach, before finally retiring as a player, aged forty-two, at the end of the following season. Remaining in Tasmania, Gardiner continued to be heavily involved in football in a variety of administrative roles for most of the next thirty years. He died in Hobart in 1967 at the age of eighty-four. |
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| Dependable,
reliable and solid are over-used terms in football, but they epitomised
Les Gardiner's approach throughout his ten season, 166 game VFL career
with Essendon. Most of those games
were spent either in a back pocket or across half back where the qualities
mentioned above, allied with great determination and tremendous pace, made
him extremely difficult to beat.
Gardiner debuted with the Dons in 1943, winning the club's best first year player award, but he was then forced to miss the entire 1944 season with a spinal injury. He resumed as good as new in 1945, and went on to be a key member of Essendon's premiership teams in 1946, 1949 and 1950. His performance in a back pocket in the 1950 grand final defeat of North Melbourne was particularly noteworthy. Always the consummate team man, Gardiner was the recipient in 1951-2-3 - his last three seasons of league football - of Essendon's most unselfish player award. |
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Vin Gardiner (Melbourne & Carlton)
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| After failing to impress during a brief stint with Melbourne in 1905, Vin Gardiner took a second stab at league football with Carlton a couple of years later. Despite standing only 168cm in height and weighing just over 60kg, he quickly showed himself to be a superb key position forward, going on to play a total of 157 games for the Blues over the course of the ensuing 11 seasons. He booted a total of 338 goals in his career, topping the VFL list with 46 in 1911, the same year in which he was chosen to represent the Big V at the Adelaide carnival. Many of the spectators who watched him in action during his peak described him as the most prodigious kick of a football for his inches they had ever seen. |
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Tom Garland (West Torrens & Port Adelaide)
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| Tom Garland commenced his league career with West Torrens in 1945, but managed just 1 senior game before transferring to Woodville in the amateur league. He spent the next half dozen seasons playing amateur football, helping Woodville to the 1946 A1 premiership, and regularly representing South Australia. In 1952 he was recruited by Port Adelaide, where he became the prototype for the strong, mobile ruckman-centre half forward type of player, much favoured by coach Fos Williams, who arguably came closest to full fruition in the person of his successor in the role, Ian Hannaford. Nevertheless, Garland, who played 136 games and kicked 86 goals for Port between 1952 and 1958 was no mean performer himself. He topped the Magpies' goal kicking list in 1954 with 44 goals, and was a member of premiership teams in 1955-6-7-8. Most of Garland's time was spent in the key forward position but his occasional forays into the ruck often met with spectacular, and on occasion match-winning, success. |
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| A stalwart of the Yarraville Football Club for close to two decades, George Garlick played for and coached both the seniors and the reserves, the latter to two flags, and was the winner of senior best and fairest awards in 1945 and 1947. Renowned for his prodigious kicking, he once beat VFL champions John Coleman, Dick Reynolds and Charlie Sutton in a long kicking competition. Garlick began his connection with Yarraville in 1939, and ended it in 1957, after which he was made a life member of the club. |
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Jack Garrick (Yarraville & South Melbourne)
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| Jack Garrick was a solid, durable ruckman who played initially for Yarraville and later for South Melbourne. Strong overhead, he worked tirelessly and was an important player for the Swans in 117 VFL games between 1948 and 1955. |
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Reg Garvin (Newtown, St Kilda, Prahran)
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| A member of New South
Wales’ 1933 Sydney carnival team,
follower Reg Garvin won the Phelan
Medal with NSWANFL premiers Newtown in 1936 before
heading for the ‘big time’ with St Kilda
the following year. As a fireman Garvin had little choice but to remain in
optimal shape physically and this probably helped him to compensate for any
deficiencies in skill resulting from his late start in the game. As a youngster
in Sydney he had played soccer and rugby but, in common with most of his
compatriots, regarded Australian football as a ‘foreign’ sport. Once exposed
to it, however, his determination, toughness and vigour quickly yielded
dividends and he ultimately took to the hurly burly of VFL football as though
born to it. Indeed, so thoroughgoing was his assimilation that he was appointed
captain-coach of the Saints in 1942, a position he held for two years. He was
also a VFL interstate representative and winner (in 1944) of St Kilda’s club
champion award.
After 129 games with the Saints Reg Garvin finished his senior career with Prahran in 1947. |
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Rex Garwood (New Town & New Norfolk)
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| One
of only two triple winners of the TANFL's best and fairest award (the other being
Len 'Apples'
Pye), Rex Garwood began his
senior football career with New Town as a 20
year old in 1950. Playing as either a half forward or in the ruck,
his talent was evident right from the start, and in 1951 he not only won
the first of his Leitch Medals but also landed 'The Mercury' newspaper's
Player of the Year Award, played representative football for the first
time both the TFL and Tasmania, tied for the Wander
Medal for the best player in intrastate matches, was New Town's
leading goal kicker with 37 goals, and was close to best afield in his
club's 71 point grand final annihilation of North
Hobart. So much for second season blues!
Two seasons later, the Magpies appointed Garwood as captain and he promptly led them to their second premiership in three seasons, with Garwood himself best afield in the grand final. Earlier in the year he had represented Tasmania at the 1953 Adelaide carnival. The 1954 season saw Garwood transfer to New Norfolk, who appointed him as captain-coach. The following year he captained Tasmania on its victorious tour of New South Wales and Canberra, while back at home he secured a second Leitch Medal. In 1956 he was again appointed captain of his state, this time for the interstate carnival in Perth. Garwood's tenure as New Norfolk coach ended in 1957, but he continued to give excellent service as a player, winning his third and final Leitch Medal in 1958. Somewhat surprisingly, he never won a club best and fairest award. He was, however, selected in both the Glenorchy/New Town, New Norfolk and official Tasmanian 'Teams of the Century'. |
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John Gastev (West Perth, West Coast, Brisbane)
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| Recruited from Tuart Hill, John Gastev made his league debut for West Perth midway through the 1983 season, and went on to play a total of 48 games and kick 60 goals for the club over the next three and a half years. In 1987 he was a member of West Coast's inaugural VFL squad, playing 30 games and kicking 31 goals before being somewhat surprisingly released to Brisbane in 1989. It was while with the Bears that Gastev played probably his best and most consistent football, winning club best and fairest awards in 1989 and 1992, and establishing a reputation as one of the toughest and most courageous on-ballers in the game. Renowned for his hard attack on the football, and his unflinching valour under enemy fire, Gastev was a firm favourite among Brisbane's fans, and one of the club's most important players during its formative years. He played a total of 113 games for the Bears between 1989 and 1994, kicking 41 goals. He also played 2 interstate games for Western Australia. |
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Charles Gaudion (Footscray, Coburg, North Melbourne, West Adelaide)
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| Charles Gaudion enjoyed a fine and varied career at four clubs. A strongly built, versatile footballer, he began with Footscray in 1926, and over the ensuing four seasons went on to play a total of 63 VFL games and kick 7 goals. He also played interstate football for the VFL. After spending the 1930 season with VFA side Coburg he resumed in the VFL the following year with North Melbourne, where he played 77 games and kicked 9 goals in seven seasons. His ability to play equally well in almost any key position ensured that he was one of the most highly regarded footballers of his time, as his evidenced by his selection in 'Big V' interstate sides every year between 1932 and 1936. He captained the VFL in 1936. In 1940, after two seasons out of league football, he accepted the position of coach at West Adelaide, steering the side to 6 wins and a draw from 17 matches (with the draw effectively causing the side to miss the finals). He also made one final senior appearance as a player. Gaudion's last involvement in top level football came in 1956 and 1957 when he coached his former club North Melbourne to 12th and 8th place finishes. Among his charges in the second of those seasons was his son, Michael Gaudion. |
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Michael Gaudion (North Melbourne)
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| After struggling initially to maintain a regular place in the senior side, North Melbourne's Mick Gaudion developed into one of the finest wingmen in the VFL. Early in his career he was tried in a number of positions, including the half forward flank and rover, with minimal success, but it was after being moved to the wing that his strengths - exhilarating pace, a lively football brain, and superb kicking to position - really came to the fore. He played interstate football for the VFL in 1960, and at the 1966 Hobart carnival. When he made his VFL debut in 1957 his famous father, Charles Gaudion, was coach of the side, which may have exacerbated the difficulties he experienced establishing himself. When he retired in 1967, Mick Gaudion had played a total of 152 league games, and booted 54 goals. |
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Hugh Gavin (Essendon, Boulder City, Essendon Association, Boulder Stars, Mines Rovers)
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| When
Hugh Gavin first broke into the Essendon
team he was seen as the natural replacement for champion full back 'Ned'
Officer, who was approaching the end of his illustrious career.
Sure enough, Gavin proved to be a fine full back, but it was after he was
moved to centre half back that he truly came into his own. Superb
overhead, and fast and sure at ground level, he rapidly became
acknowledged as the finest exponent of the position in Victoria. In
1897 he was a key factor in Essendon's securing the first ever VFL
premiership, while four years later his consummate display of all the
skills of the game earned him best afield honours in the grand final win
over Collingwood.
Gavin was now probably at his peak as a player, and in 1902 he represented the VFL, as he had done in 1900 and 1901, and would do again in 1904. In 1903 he ventured to the West Australian goldfields where he spent the season as captain-coach of Boulder City. After returning briefly to the Same Old in 1904 to take his final tally of VFL games to 108, Gavin spent a year as captain-coach of Essendon Association before heading back to Boulder, where he played for Boulder Stars, in 1906. The following year saw him fall victim to a strong wave of anti-professional feeling that swept through the GFA and he ended up being suspended for two years after frankly describing himself at an inquiry as a 'professional footballer'. Gavin still had plenty of fine football left in him, however. He resumed with Boulder City in 1909, and was a member of the club's premiership teams both that year and the next. In 1910 he captained a combined goldfields team that achieved a famous victory over Port Adelaide, while in 1911 he was chosen to skipper Western Australia's team at the Adelaide carnival. Hugh Gavin rounded off his illustrious career with participation in Mines Rovers' 1915 premiership-winning team. |
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Alan Geddes (Williamstown & Richmond)
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| After
three seasons at Williamstown, which
culminated in a losing grand final against Footscray,
Alan Geddes joined Richmond in 1925 and quickly
established a reputation as one of the finest wingmen in the VFL.
Indeed, some of the people who saw him in action at his peak went as far
as to describe him as the greatest wingman of all time, and he was fondly
and popularly known at Punt Road as 'Alan the Great'.
Like many bona fide champions, Geddes sometimes appeared to be travelling almost at half pace, but this was deceptive, and he was rarely caught in possession of the ball. Almost invariably one of the first names to be pencilled in when VFL state squads were selected, Geddes ran equal second in the 1926 Brownlow voting, and was the winner of Richmond's best and fairest award the same year. He played in six Tiger grand final sides, enjoying success in 1932 and 1934, before retiring at the end of the 1935 season after 182 VFL games. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Pacy, elusive and a fine left foot kick, Bob Geisler played 96 league games for North Adelaide between 1962 and 1969. In his second season, playing mainly on a half forward flank, he was one of the main reasons behind North's reaching the grand final, which they lost to Port Adelaide, and he was rewarded with the club's best and fairest award. He also made the state training squad that year, but in subsequent seasons he failed to build on his potential, although he was still capable of the odd burst of brilliance. Geisler was aged just twenty-six when he departed league ranks. |
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William Gent (Essendon Association & South Melbourne)
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| William Gent was an extremely talented rover whose VFL career was sullied by his bad behaviour on the field. After commencing his senior career with Essendon Association he joined South Melbourne in 1903, and the following year incurred a suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct that took in the remainder of the 1904 season and the whole of 1905. He returned in 1906, but was in trouble again late in the 1907 season when the Tribunal handed him a lifetime ban. This was later reduced, however, and he resumed briefly in 1908 to take his final tally of VFL games to 62. |
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Max George (Swan Districts, Fitzroy, Central District)
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| Full forward Max George's league career was comparatively short, but it had its memorable moments. In one game against West Perth in 1974, for example, he notched 14 goals. A spectacular high flier, and an excellent kick for goal, especially from distance, he topped the WANFL goal kicking ladder with 90 goals in 1974, having earlier headed Swans' list with 30 goals in 1969 and 46 in 1973. He played 3 interstate games for Western Australia, kicking 11 goals. In 1976 he moved to Fitzroy, where he booted 21 goals in 8 games. Always quick to pour scorn on interstate recruits, the Melbourne press branded him a 'flop', conveniently ignoring the obvious fact that a full forward needs good service in order to shine, something which the impoverished Fitzroy midfield of the mid-1970s was patently incapable of providing. After a season back in Western Australia with Geraldton, George moved to Central District, where he played a total of 33 SANFL games in 1978, 1979 and 1981, kicking 120 goals. He was the Bulldogs' top goal kicker in 1978 with 68 goals. |
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Always referred to as ‘Nugget’, Harold Gepp was a stalwart of East Perth’s majestic post-World War One combinations under Phil Matson. Gepp actually commenced his league career with the Royals in 1917, and by the time he bowed out after captaining the side to victory in the 1927 challenge final he had played a total of 162 WAFL games, kicking 131 goals. That 1927 triumph was achieved at the expense of East Fremantle, with Gepp having previously contributed to the victories of 1919 and 1920 against the same opposition, 1922 against West Perth, 1923 against Old Easts once more, and 1926 versus Subiaco as captain. Although primarily a forward, he could perform equally well either as a defender or across centre. He represented Western Australia in the interstate arena 3 times and also played for league combinations against visiting teams from South Australia and Victoria on 4 occasions. In 1928 Gepp was appointed coach of league ‘babies’ Claremont-Cottesloe whom he led, without much in the way of on-field success, until midway through the 1934 season. He also donned the boots on occasion when required, adding a final 16 WA(N)FL games to his tally. In 2006, ‘Nugget’ Gepp was named in a forward pocket in East Perth’s official ‘Team of the 20th Century 1906 to 1944’. |
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Daryl Gerlach (Essendon & Eastlake)
[Back to Top] |
| After
commencing his Essendon career in 1963
as a centreman, Daryl Gerlach was used in several positions before finding
his niche in a back pocket. He played in that position in the
winning grand final of 1965 against St Kilda,
and during the second half of the sixties was widely acknowledged as one
of the finest defenders in the game. He represented the VFL in
1967-8-9, and in 1970 won Essendon's best and fairest award, despite
having been one of five players who, before the season commenced,
threatened to walk out on the club over a payment dispute.
In 1973 and 1974 Gerlach captain-coached ACTAFL side Eastlake to 3rd and 2nd places on the ladder. In 1975 he continued with the club as a player. While in Canberra, he played for the ACT in representative games. After retiring as a player, Gerlach returned to Melbourne where he undertook a number of support and administrative roles at Essendon. |
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John Gerovich (South Fremantle)
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| Arguably
the most distinctive feature of Australian football is the high
mark. Virtually every other facet of the game is shared by other
sports, but the sight of a player taking a fingertip 'screamer' while
perched on the shoulders of an opponent is unique to footy, and players
who perfect this art are among the code's most celebrated and well
remembered.
John Gerovich, who played 221 league games for South Fremantle between 1955 and 1969, mastered the high flyer's art more comprehensively and eye-catchingly than most. The photograph of a skyscraping mark taken by Gerovich during the 1956 preliminary final against East Fremantle (shown here) remains one of the most visually stunning and indeed iconic in football history. The unfortunate 'step-ladder' was Ray French. John Gerovich was much more than just a spectacular aerialist, however, as he "had superb balance, a blistering turn of speed and the ability to kick goals from long distances with either foot" (see footnote 1). Equally at home at either centre half forward or the goalfront, he topped South Fremantle's list of goal kickers on eight occasions and the league list in 1956 (74 goals), 1960 (101) and 1961 (74). He booted 721 WANFL goals altogether, and was a regular interstate representative (18 games, 56 goals). When West Australia won the 1961 Brisbane carnival, John Gerovich played at full forward in all 3 matches, kicking 8 goals. Perhaps the most persuasive testimony as to Gerovich's brilliance came from Marty McDonnell, who coached South during the early '60s, and who had played at full back on the great Essendon full forward John Coleman. McDonnell's unequivocal assessment was that "Gerovich was the most sensational forward he had seen in Australia" (see footnote 2). |
Footnotes1. WA's Fabulous 40 - The Best 40 Footballers Over 40 Years by Alan East (ed.), page 79. Return to Main Text 2. Football Greats of Western Australia volume one by Anthony James, page 32. Return to Main Text |
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Jack Gervasoni (Fitzroy & Northcote)
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| Initially from Ballarat, Jack Gervasoni was a gifted rover who played 89 league games for Fitzroy between 1951 and 1956. He kicked 85 goals. Pacy, skilled and elusive, opponents underestimated him at their peril. In 1957, Gervasoni succeeded William Faul as coach of VFA club Northcote, but his two seasons at the helm produced just 6 wins from 38 matches. |
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| A talented centreline player or on-baller with a fearless, never-say-die approach, George Giannakis was a consistently eye catching performer for East Perth during a comparatively bleak era for the club. The Royals recruited him from Manjimup, and handed him a senior WAFL debut in 1985. Right from the outset it was clear that they had unearthed a player of quality - pacy, hard at the ball, and with a clear sense of what to do with it when he got it. A club fairest and best winner in 1987 and 1989, Giannakis would seem to have possessed all the qualities required of a budding V/AFL footballer, but he spent his entire 153 game senior career, which ended in 1993, in the WAFL. |
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Percy Gibb (Richmond & Collingwood)
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| Percy Gibb commenced his senior career in the VFA with Richmond where he proved himself a fast, elusive wingman of the highest order. He transferred to Collingwood in 1905, and was a stalwart of the Magpie line-up for the next ten seasons. He was on the wing in both the 1910 challenge final defeat of Carlton, and the loss to Essendon a year later. Gibb played a total of 157 VFL games and kicked 10 goals. He also represented the VFL. Once his playing days were over he served on the Collingwood committee. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Tom Gibbons was a prominent Norwood rover during the first decade of the twentieth century. It is not known exactly how many games he played for the club, but records do show that he began his career in 1903 and ended it in 1908. During that time he represented the Redlegs in the winning challenge finals of 1904 (reviewed here) and 1907, both against Port Adelaide. When Norwood defeated Carlton on the Adelaide Oval in 1907 to lift the championship of Australia, Tom Gibbons was one of the best players afield. He played interstate football for South Australia 3 times. |
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Ross Gibbs (West Perth & Glenelg)
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| Originally from Mirrabooka, Ross Gibbs was recruited by West Perth and made his WANFL debut in 1979. Initially used mainly as a back pocket player he eventually developed into a highly skilled and exciting ruck-rover, in which position he twice represented Western Australia. In 1984, after 97 senior games, he crossed to Glenelg where he reverted to his original back pocket position without compromising on either skill or excitement. In eleven seasons at the Bay Oval Gibbs played 253 league games and represented his adopted state once. A consistently eye-catching performer, he was a member of Glenelg premiership teams in 1985 and 1986. |
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| Extraordinarily popular among the West Torrens supporters, but often underrated by opposition fans, Bob Gibson was a pacy, tenacious but exquisitely fair player who began life as a rover before developing into a top class back pocket specialist. He played a total of 212 SANFL games for the Eagles between 1959 and 1972, kicking 61 goals (mostly during the early phase of his career). Despite his small stature (168cm, 70.5kg) he was strong overhead, often outmarking taller players, and his ball handling and judgement were superb. He must be considered somewhat unfortunate never to have been selected to represent his state. |
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Michael Gibson (Coorparoo, Fitzroy, Brisbane) by Murray Bird and Peter Blucher |
| A passionate homegrown Queenslander and All Australian junior, originally from Coorparoo, Michael Gibson played 3 VFL games with Fitzroy in 1985 before returning ‘home’. He was a Coorparoo premiership team member in 1984 and 1986, either side of his stint in Melbourne, and played a further 52 VFL games with the Brisbane Bears from 1987-91. He was an ever courageous and running half back flanker who was occasionally called into a key defensive role. Gibson played 15 times for Queensland. He later coached Coorparoo in the QAFL, and Springwood and Palm Beach at lower levels. |
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Don Gilbourne (North Adelaide)
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| Born
and raised in Prospect, it was almost inevitable that Don Gilbourne would
develop a strong desire to play league football for North
Adelaide, an ambition he satisfied when he lined up in the centre
against West Torrens at Kensington in round
13 1949. It proved to be a winning start, the red and whites edging
home by 4 points, and Gilbourne would go on to enjoy many more triumphs
during an illustrious, fourteen season 200 game SANFL career. Club
best and fairest in 1959, and a regular interstate representative (10
games), he played in three premiership teams, in 1949 (starting as 20th
man), 1952 and 1960. In the last of these, playing in a back pocket
- the position in which he finished his career, having spent most of it
playing either in the centre or at half forward - Gilbourne was close to
best afield.
North Adelaide's annual report in its premiership year of 1952 described Gilbourne as "a sure-footed ground player, a fine mark, and one of the best drop kicks in the game". In 2001, Don Gilbourne was chosen in the left back pocket in North Adelaide's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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| After playing in Coburg's inaugural VFA side in 1925, Fred Gilby joined Carlton the following year and quickly established himself as a solid and reliable half back flanker. Boasting plenty of pace, he was a straight ahead type of player who never shirked, and indeed seemed to relish, a physical challenge. His 179 games for the Blues between 1926 and 1937 included the losing grand final of 1932 against Richmond. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Graham Gilchrist joined Carlton as a nineteen year old in 1952 and went on to give the club ten years of commendable service, during which he played 114 games and kicked 26 goals. A solid mark, pacy and boasting excellent disposal skills, he was ideally suited to a wing, which was where he played most of his football, although he could also hold down a flank position. The fact that he did everything with a minimum of fuss meant that his contribution often went unheralded, but there were few more effective wingmen in the VFL during the 1950s. |
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Robert Giles (South Melbourne)
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| After suggesting, early in his career, that he had the raw natural ability to develop into a bona fide champion, Bob Giles never really managed to fulfill his potential, although he was a serviceable player, mainly on a wing, in 67 VFL games for South Melbourne between 1949 and 1955. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Recruited from Yorketown, Tony Giles was a typically tough, gritty, reliable Port Adelaide footballer who played 190 senior games for the club, mainly on a half back flank, between 1975 and 1984. This included appearances in the winning grand finals of 1977 against Glenelg, 1979 against South Adelaide and 1981 against Glenelg. A South Australian interstate representative on 8 occasions, he earned selection in the 1983 All Australian team. |
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Barry Gill (Carlton & Williamstown)
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| Recruited by Carlton from Casterton, Barry Gill was somewhat less of a household name than many of his Blues team mates, but was nevertheless an important contributor to two premierships. Combining pace and toughness with a knack for getting the ball onto his boot both quickly and effectively, he was the archetypal no frills defender who seldom gave his opponent any latitude. He was on a half back flank when Carlton outlasted Essendon by 3 points in the 1968 grand final, and in his more accustomed position of back pocket two years later in the famous come from behind victory over Collingwood (reviewed here). He also played in the losing grand final of 1969 against Richmond. Barry Gill's senior VFL career comprised 132 games between 1964 and 1972. Gill spent the 1973 and 1974 seasons as captain-coach of VFA 1st division club Williamstown. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Dave Gill played 145 games for Port Adelaide in two stints: first of all, from 1957 to 1960, and then from 1962 to 1967. Somewhat more individualistic than many Magpie players of his era, Gill was the sort of player who made the game look easy. Equally at home on the ball or anywhere in the backlines, he was a member of Port Adelaide premiership teams in 1958-9, 1962-3 and 1965. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| A tough, tenacious and hard-hitting defender of the old school, Frank Gill could lay strong claim to having been the finest full back in Carlton's history. Originally from Wimmera League club Nhill, he spent fourteen seasons with the Blues, between 1929 and 1942, playing a total of 205 VFL games, and winning a best and fairest award in 1939. He was one of the best players afield when Carlton overcame Collingwood by 15 points in the 1938 VFL grand final, having also played well in the losing grand final against Richmond six years earlier. One of the longest kicks in the game, and brilliant overhead, he was a master of upsetting opponents using a range of surreptitious means that avoided attracting the ire of umpires. He was one of many top footballers to make the ultimate sacrifice during World War Two. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| John Gill joined Essendon from Longerenong Agricultural College and made an immediate impression, winning the Dons' best first year player award in his debut season. Superb overhead, he was the sort of player who could almost single-handedly dominate a game. He won Essendon's best and fairest player award in 1954, and was a regular VFL interstate representative. On two occasions, Gill was named in the prestigious 'Sporting Globe' Team of the Year. He played 107 VFL games for Essendon between 1951 and 1957, kicking 76 goals. He was only twenty-five when he retired, citing pressure of work as his reason. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Ian Gillett gave solid service to South Melbourne as a ruckman and in key positions at both ends of the ground during a 135 game VFL career which ran from 1951 to 1958. A forward during his first few seasons, he booted a total of 112 goals, including a club list topping 34 in 1953. As a ruckman he was strong, fearless and extremely team orientated. He won South's best and fairest award in 1956, the same season that team mate Fred Goldsmith won the Brownlow. Gillett played as a defender towards the end of his career, and almost always performed serviceably. |
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Brian Gilmore (Yarraville & Footscray)
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| At 193cm in height Brian Gilmore was one of the tallest players in both the VFA and VFL, where he played for Yarraville and Footscray respectively. A follower in Footscray's 1954 grand final-winning team, he gave the Bulldogs sterling service in 105 senior games between 1952 and 1958, with his tally of 61 goals during that time affording persuasive evidence that he was reasonably handy when resting up forward. Gilmore, a VFL representative player, went to Ganmain after his league career was over. |
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Tim Ginever (Port Adelaide & Port Adelaide Magpies)
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| If
you were to undertake a detailed objective assessment of Tim Ginever's
football ability - marking, kicking, pace, ball skills and so forth - you
might conceivably end up wondering how they could possibly be combined to
produce a player of league standard. Tim Ginever, however, was much
more than just an average league player; he was arguably one of the most
important SANFL footballers of the 1980s and 1990s, and provided
conclusively persuasive evidence that success in football is at least as
much attributable to mental as to physical capabilities. When Tim
Ginever entered the playing arena he became so consumed by white line
fever as to metamorphose, almost literally, into a completely different
person from the happy-go-lucky larrikin who confronted the TV cameras
during post-match interviews. Tough, intense, courageous and
dynamic, he was the heartbeat of a Port
Adelaide side that won no fewer than seven SANFL premierships between
1988 and 1996. For the flags of 1994-5-6 Ginever led from the front
as team captain, and the longer his 314 game league career went on, the
better he played. At the start, in fact, it was a struggle even to get into
the team: he made just one senior appearance in his debut season of 1983,
and managed only half a dozen games the next. Even when he became a
regular in 1985 there were no obvious indications that he was going to
develop into such an important and influential performer, but as soon as Port
began to make regular assaults on the premiership, Ginever came into his
own. During the 1990s in particular his trademark desperation, which
repeatedly seemed to involve treating his own body almost as an expendable piece of equipment, became
virtually indistinguishable from the
perpetually evolving Magpie ethos. Ginever won a best and fairest
award in 1994, his first year as club captain, was arguably best afield in
the 1995 grand final defeat of Central
District, was high among the best players in the both the winning 1996
and losing 1997 grand finals, and rounded off his playing career in style
with the 1997 best and fairest award. Somewhat surprisingly, he only
represented South Australia once, but this may in large part be
attributable to a tendency on the part of the state selectors to judge a
book on its cover rather than its contents. In any case, Ginever's
impact at Alberton was immeasurable, and his status there will no doubt
become, if it is not indeed already, correspondingly legendary. He
also afforded living proof that, as late as the 1990s at any rate, it was
not essential for a footballer to be playing in the AFL in order to enjoy
a high profile in the game.
Tim Ginever spent the 2005 season assisting Port Magpies senior coach Jack Cahill, and in 2006 he was installed as senior coach in his own right. |
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Don Glass (South Fremantle & Subiaco)
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| Don Glass commenced his senior WANFL career with South Fremantle's supremely powerful early 1950s combination, but he found it extremely hard to break into the side, and after just 14 games he crossed to Northam. In 1956, Subiaco invited him to have a second stab at league football, and he hit his straps immediately, proving himself over the next seven seasons and 136 games to be one of the competition's most versatile performers. Capable not only of filling, but of thriving in, virtually any position on the field, he was arguably Subiaco's most important and effective player of the late 1950s. Many of his best games were played at full forward, and he topped his club's goal kicking ladder on three occasions, with his tally of 83 in 1957 also good enough to head the league list. Voted Subiaco's fairest and best player in 1957 when he played mostly at the goal front, he repeated the achievement two years later as an archetypal 'spare parts' player, sometimes filling three or four different roles in the same match. Somewhat surprisingly for a footballer once described in 'The WANFL Football Budget' as "phenomenal", Don Glass was never selected to represent his state. |
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Eric Glass (East Fremantle, Melbourne, Williamstown)
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| Originally from Goomaling, Eric 'Tarzan' Glass combined a ferocious determination to win the ball with a touch of elegance when using it that often seems to typify left footers. He had boundless energy and enthusiasm, and was the sort of player who could turn a match almost single-handedly. He made his senior league debut with East Fremantle in 1927 and his 55 games with the club both that year and from 1930 to 1932 included the winning grand finals of 1930 (2 goals from full forward) and 1931 (2 goals from half forward right). Between 1933 and 1938 he played 78 VFL games and kicked 135 goals for Melbourne, topping the club's list with 56 goals in 1936. His final port of call was Williamstown, where he played with distinction, mainly as a follower, until after World War Two. He was a member of the Seagulls' 1939 and 1945 premiership combinations, played a total of 82 VFA games and kicked 54 goals, and in 2003 was included in the 1st ruck in the club's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'.. |
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Brian Gleeson (St Kilda & Coorparoo)
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| Brian
Gleeson's football career took him from the heights of ecstasy to the
depths of despair within the space of a few short months. In 1957,
his fourth season in the VFL, he produced displays of consistent all round
brilliance throughout the year to end up as an emphatic winner of both the
Brownlow Medal and
the St Kilda club champion award.
He also played 4 outstanding games for the VFL that year.
In 1958, St Kilda appointed the twenty-three year old Gleeson club captain, but in a pre-season practice match he injured a knee and never played VFL football again. Had he been able to continue, it is at least arguable that he would have developed into one of the football's all time greats as he was one of those rare players who appeared to have all the skills of the game at his disposal. A superb aerialist, he began his career as a strong marking centre half forward before developing into a first rate ruckman whose ability to direct his hit-outs to his rovers was second to none. Where he outshone most opposition ruckmen, however, was in his extraordinary, rover-like ability on the ground; small wonder the umpires latched onto him with such unanimity in his Brownlow year. After moving to Queensland on business, Gleeson attempted a comeback with Coorparoo in 1962. However, after just twelve minutes of his opening game he injured his other knee and that, as far as Brian Gleeson's football career was concerned, was that. |
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| A native of Kalgoorlie, where he was born in 1924, John Gleeson could scarcely avoid growing up in thrall to the national game. After playing briefly with Kalgoorlie City's Colts team he enlisted in the RAAF, and when he was discharged in 1946 he began attending university in Perth. Gleeson played 'A' grade amateur football for University between 1946 and 1948 and again in 1950, before moving to Canberra in August 1950 to work at the Patents Office. As far as football was concerned, he lined up with Turner, for whom he played the last 2 games of the 1950 season, initiating what was to prove a long and noteworthy association with the game in Canberra. In 1951 he was appointed captain-coach of Turner, and had the satisfaction of leading the side to a first ever finals appearance, while the following season saw him become the club's second Mulrooney Medallist, after 'Sammy' Maddigan. A deft ball handler and neat foot pass, John Gleeson was equally at home in the centre or roving, and won club best and fairest awards in 1951, 1953 and 1954. He also finished among the top three vote getters in the Mulrooney Medal every year between 1951 and 1954. Hardly surprisingly, he was a regular member of Canberra representative teams. Between 1955 and 1957 Gleeson turned his hand to umpiring but he resumed as a player in 1958. He ended up playing in excess of 100 senior games for Turner, and in both 1959 and 1961 won the President's Trophy as the best and fairest player in the CANFL's reserve grade. After retiring as a player in 1962 he continued to live in Canberra where he maintained a keen interest in football which included serving as an ACT selector in 1964-5. |
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Ross Glendinning (East Perth, North Melbourne, West Coast)
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| After
joining East Perth under the father-son rule
(Dad Angus played 69 games for the Royals in 1941 and from 1945 to 1951) Ross
Glendinning made his WANFL debut on ANZAC Day 1974 against Subiaco, and
immediately seemed right at home. Solidly built, he was nevertheless
extremely quick, could take a grab, and kicked beautifully with both feet.
In 1975 he finished as a runner up to team mate Alan Quartermaine in the Sandover Medal and VFL talent scouts began to take notice. Courted by several Victorian clubs, Glendinning ultimately opted to join North Melbourne in time for the 1977 season, but East Perth, understandably, refused to clear him. Having played only 46 WANFL games the Royals' hierarchy felt that Glendinning owed them at least another season, and so, after sitting out of the game until July, the prodigal son returned to play out the remainder of the year with East Perth. The understanding was that, in return for this comparatively meagre display of loyalty, Glendinning would be cleared to the Kangaroos in 1978, and this indeed was what transpired. Sadly for Glendinning, playing the 1977 season with East Perth instead of North Melbourne meant involvement in a losing WANFL grand final team rather than, possibly, a VFL premiership. Glendinning did get to front up at the MCG on that 'one day in September' the following year, but North lost to Hawthorn, and it would be the club's last grand final appearance for two decades. Possessing all the physical attributes necessary to succeed, the only question mark was over his mental qualities. Here, too, however, it soon emerged that North Melbourne had procured a winner. If beaten early, he would almost invariably fight back with tenacity and resolve; only seldom - if ever - was Glendinning comprehensively beaten over four quarters of football. Twice North Melbourne's club champion, Glendinning also caught the eyes of the umpires, finishing 2nd in the 1982 Brownlow, and winning the award the following year. He proved himself extremely versatile, playing in a number of positions with the 'Roos, although it would probably be fair to suggest that he was most widely renowned as a defender. Ross Glendinning was a regular interstate representative, and, with 13 appearances, holds the record for the most state of origin games for Western Australia. In 1987 he returned to his home state to join the newly formed West Coast Football Club which would be participating in the VFL that year. Playing mainly in key forward roles he topped the Eagles' goal kicking list in both 1987 and 1988, before retiring. Ross Glendinning's auspicious league career involved a total of 286 games comprising 56 for East Perth, 190 for North Melbourne, and 40 with the Eagles. He was chosen at centre half back in both the Kangaroos' official 'Team of the Century' and East Perth's equivalent combination for the period from 1945 to 2005. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Allan Goad was a gutsy, tenacious on-baller who was not always a first choice for Hawthorn's senior side, but usually did well when selected. He made his Hawks debut in 1972, having been recruited from Korumburra, and the highlight of his career came in the 1976 grand final against North Melbourne when he shared the roving with Leigh Matthews, and contributed a couple of goals to Hawthorn's eventual 30 point win. He overcame a serious knee injury in 1978 to continue playing for another four seasons and when he retired had played a total of 138 VFL games and kicked 129 goals. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| After
playing a single game for South
Fremantle in 1900, Bill Goddard joined North Fremantle
a couple of seasons later, and gave the club five years of fine service,
mainly as a half back flanker. He also represented Western Australia
on its eastern states tour of 1904. Crossing to Victoria
in 1907 he went on to establish himself as one of the foremost centremen
in the game. He was particularly prominent during his debut season
with South Melbourne, and was sadly missed
during that season's grand final, which the southerners lost to Carlton.
After 28 games with South, Goddard had brief stints with Carlton
(including the losing 1910 grand final), St
Kilda, and Port Melbourne, before returning west.
The closing phase of Bill Goddard's career proved to be the most auspicious. Lining up with East Fremantle, he helped the side to three grand final appearances in four seasons, although only one of these - against South Fremantle in 1914 - was won. An injury sustained in 1918 forced him to miss that year's winning grand final against East Perth, and he subsequently retired, with 130 WAFA/L games to his credit. |
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Charlie Goding (South Melbourne & Essendon Association)
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| Charlie Goding played 65 games over 6 seasons for South, initially as a defender, but later as a clever and elusive forward. He was at centre half back when South Melbourne lost the 1899 grand final to Fitzroy by a point, and also played in the backlines for the VFL against South Australia in 1901. Goding later played in the VFA with Essendon Association. |
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Bill Goggin (Geelong, Geelong West, Footscray)
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| Blessed
with blistering pace, extraordinary courage, and deft ball handling skills
Geelong's Bill Goggin was without doubt one
of the finest rovers in the history of the game. Best remembered for
his partnership with West Australian ruckman Graham
'Polly' Farmer - an alliance which greatly bolstered both players'
reputations - Goggin had an equally profound impact on numerous other
colleagues, not least full forward Doug
Wade, whose prolific goal kicking achievements owed much to the the bountiful
supply of bullet-like stab passes emanating from the boot of the
diminutive (175cm, 70kg) number 35.
Goggin arrived at Kardinia Park from North Geelong in 1957, and after a season in the under nineteens, he made his senior debut the following year. Always at his best on the bigger grounds, where his uncanny ability to run at full pelt without seemingly breaking stride came to the fore, he was in superb form on the MCG during the 1963 finals series, culminating in a 23 possession, 'do as you please' performance in Geelong's grand final rout of Hawthorn. Twice voted the Cats best and fairest player, the distinctively blond-haired Goggin had played 248 VFL games, plus 14 matches for the state, by the time he crossed to Geelong West as captain-coach in 1972. In his debut season with the Roosters he steered them to an unbeaten 2nd division premiership, and over the next three years he oversaw continued development that would eventually yield a 1st division flag in 1975. By that stage, however, Goggin had retired as a player, and was coaching from the sidelines. From 1976-8 he undertook a similar role at Footscray, but after a promising debut first season the form of the side fell away disappointingly. Goggin spent the 1979 season back at Geelong West, and got the side as far as a losing 1st division grand final. In 1980 he returned to Geelong as coach but, in three seasons at the helm, was unable to steer a talented side beyond the preliminary final. Goggin, who in 2001 was the perhaps inevitable choice as first rover in Geelong's official 'Team of the Century', later coached Victoria's state of origin team. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Christened Alan, but invariably known as 'Dick', Goldin joined Preston in 1947 and was a useful performer from the start, playing all of the Bullants' games that season en route to a career total of 103 spanning half a dozen seasons. Unfortunately for Goldin, he was one of a select few players of quality at Preston during the late 1940s and early '50s, and the club failed even to qualify for the finals during his time with them. Captain of the Bullants for part of the 1951 season, Goldin went on to captain-coach the club's seconds team once his senior career was over. |
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Frank Golding (West Perth & Sturt)
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| Born
in Perth in 1890, Frank Golding belonged to a family of thirteen
children. From an early age, he exhibited great sporting prowess,
particularly at his favourite game, which was soccer. Later on, he
began to display considerable talent in cricket and football as well,
making his league debut in the latter sport with West
Perth in 1906 while still to reach his sixteenth birthday. Two years
later, he was named in the West Australian squad for the
inaugural Australian championship series in Melbourne, but was forced
to withdraw because of injury. At the end of the season an
acquaintance, Austin Diamond, persuaded him to concentrate on cricket, and
shortly afterwards Golding accepted an offer to play for the South
Melbourne Cricket Club.
Golding never reached Melbourne because, while staying in Adelaide en route, he ran into his former West Perth skipper Bill Plunkett, who had returned home to play with his original club Norwood. Plunkett prevailed on Golding to have a meeting with a Norwood club official with a view to signing for the Redlegs, but the Norwood official never showed up. In the meantime, Golding bumped into another old acquaintance in the shape of former South Fremantle footballer 'Diver' Dunne, who had moved across to Adelaide in order to play for Sturt. After hearing from Dunne about the exciting recent developments at Sturt which, thanks to the patronage of local tramways manager John Dempsey, had already seen the arrival at the club of high profile players like Harry Cumberland, Albert Heinrichs, Phil Matson, Bert Renfrey, Alphonse Wood, Joe Bushell and Percy Champion, Golding decided to forego his cricketing aspirations in favour of a football career at Unley. Cricket's loss was very much football's gain, as over the ensuing two decades Frank Golding would proceed to eke out a reputation for himself as one of Sturt's, and South Australia's, greatest ever footballers. For most of his league career he played as a full forward, topping the Double Blues' goal kicking list on half a dozen occasions, and the SAFL's, with 30 goals, in 1920. Arguably his greatest performances came late in his career, however, when he had transformed himself into an astute, intelligent and highly effective full back. A member of Sturt premiership teams in 1915 (the club's first) at centre half forward, 1919 at full forward, and 1926 as a full back, Golding was captain in 1921, and captain-coach between 1925 and his retirement as a player at the end of the 1927 season. His total of 210 games stood as a league record for many years, while no Sturt player has ever exceeded his tally of 28 interstate matches. His sixteen season league career with the Double Blues saw him amass 240 goals, while he also booted 31 goals for South Australia. When the Double Blues named their official 'Team of the Century' there was only really one possible choice for the full back position - Francis Hallet Golding. |
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Fred Goldsmith (South Melbourne & Port Melbourne)
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| After
struggling to make the grade as a half forward flanker, South
Melbourne's Spotswood recruit Fred Goldsmith found an unexpected niche
at full back midway through his second VFL season. From that point
on, he never looked back, and his status among the greats of the game was
emphasised in 1955 when he became the first full back to win the Brownlow
Medal. Spectacular overhead and difficult to beat on the ground,
Goldsmith also boasted the trademark full back's penchant for prodigious,
accurate kicking. Later in his VFL career, he returned to the
forward lines to good effect. After 119 VFL games and 107 goals for
South from 1951 to 1959 Goldsmith joined Ovens and Murray Football League
side Albury as captain-coach, remaining there for seven seasons. He
returned to the city with Port Melbourne
in 1966 - the very season, ironically, that Albury managed to secure its
first flag in a decade - but added just 9 VFA games to his tally.
Fred Goldsmith was selected on the interchange bench in the official Sydney/South Melbourne 'Team of the Century'. |
|
George Goninon (Burnie, Essendon, Geelong)
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| Full forward George Goninon began his senior career with Essendon Stars before joining Burnie in the NWFU, where his 67 goals in 1947 was good enough to top the competition's goal kicking list. Recruited by Essendon the following year he found it hard to establish himself because of the presence of John Coleman, and he managed just 9 senior VFL games (for 11 goals) in three seasons before crossing to Geelong. Given the responsibility of spearheading the Cats' attack, Goninon came into his own and, in four and a half seasons he accumulated 278 goals from 78 games. Favouring the then somewhat unfashionable drop punt when kicking for goal, he was renowned as one of the most accurate kicks in the league. He topped the VFL goal kicking list with 86 goals in 1951 and was a member of Geelong premiership teams both that year and the next. |
|
Arthur Gooch (Collingwood & Box Hill)
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| Arthur Gooch was a serviceable ruckman and defender who joined Collingwood from Preston Boys Club and played 76 VFL games, kicking 12 goals, between 1950 and 1956. Some of his best football was played in a back pocket minding the opposition's resting ruckman. However, he was also a fine foil for the likes of Mick Twomey and Neil Mann when rucking. Gooch was a member of the Magpies' winning grand final team against Geelong in 1953, and also played in the losing grand finals of 1952, also against Geelong, and 1955 against Melbourne. In 1957 he joined Box Hill where he spent two seasons, playing a total of 31 senior VFA games, and winning a best and fairest award in his last year. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| During
a time when Sturt had few really
outstanding players, Tony Goodchild was a formidable presence, whether on
the forward line or, more occasionally, in the ruck. A solid rather
than spectacular mark, he kicked extremely well, and his enormous physical
strength made him hard to beat at ground level. He played a total of
132 SANFL games for the Double Blues between 1953 and 1962, kicking 127
goals, and booted 12 goals in 7 interstate appearances for South
Australia. He won Sturt's best and fairest award in both 1956 and 1957,
and captained the side in 1958-9.
According to Jeff Pash, Goodchild was "the hardiest marker of them all. He gets grimly to that front position, sets himself, and stays there. Strength, with that characteristic habit of determination, does it" (see footnote 1). Tony Goodchild was selected on a half forward flank in Sturt's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
Footnotes1. The Pash Papers by Jeff Pash, page 112. Return to Main Text |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Frank Goode was a useful all round footballer who played 73 VFL games and kicked 107 goals for North Melbourne between 1961 and 1967. Prior to that he had played with Moe and Heyfield. He produced his best form during the second half of his career, when he played mostly at full forward. He was North's top goal kicker with 38 goals in 1965 and 49 the following year. He retired in 1968, at the age of twenty-eight, in order to travel overseas. |
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| Recruited from Heidelberg, Edward Goodger gave Fitzroy ten seasons of sterling service, initially mainly as a follower, and later in various defensive positions. Powerful, dashing, and with impeccable judgement, he played a total of 149 VFL games for the Roys between 1949 and 1958. His final senior game was the 1958 1st semi final in which Fitzroy went down to North Melbourne by 4 points, with Goodger one of the best players on view. Once his league days were over, he joined Ivanhoe. |
|
Barry Goodingham (North Melbourne, South Melbourne, Woodville)
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| Recruited
from Edithvale-Aspendale, Barry Goodingham was a solid and forceful
ruckman who, like more than one of his contemporaries, gloried in the Addams
Family-derived nickname 'Lurch'. North Melbourne handed
him his VFL debut in 1967 and he went on to play 158 games and boot 47
goals for the Roos, culminating in an appearance on the bench in the
club's historic 1975 premiership team. In 1976-7 he added a further
30 VFL games plus a dozen goals for South
Melbourne.
The 1978 season saw Goodingham at Woodville where he another 48 league games in three seasons. The second and third of those seasons saw him occupy the role of senior coach in which capacity he experienced both the 'highs' (the club's first finals qualification in 1979) and 'lows' ( an almost inevitable wooden spoon the following year). Tall, rangy and long-reaching, Goodingham almost always at least held his own in the ruck contests, but was somewhat less effective around the ground. His style may have been awkward, but he nevertheless put everything into his football, and it is hard to ask any player for more than that. |
| Strong overhead, and abundantly skilled, Bert Gook was equally effective as a centreman or full forward. He played 143 league games for Perth between 1933 and 1940, kicking in the region of 500 goals. He topped the Redlegs' goal kicking list every year between 1934 and 1939, and twice booted in excess of 100 goals for the season. His tally of 102 goals in 1939 was good enough to top the WANFL goal kicking list, while his haul of 16 in a match against West Perth at Leederville that same year remains a club record. In his final league season, playing mainly as a centreman, he showed what an accomplished all round footballer he was by taking out Perth's fairest and best award. Gook represented Western Australia in 7 interstate matches in which he kicked a total of 20 goals. In 1999, Bert Gook was granted the coveted full forward position in Perth's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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| Probably as well known for his dapper demeanour off the field as for his undoubted talents on it, John Goold was a distinctive and popular figure at Carlton for the better part of a decade. Recruited from Healesville, he made his VFL debut in 1963, but struggled at first to find his feet. In 1965 he began to perform with consistent brilliance and was selected to represent the VFL. Quick, tenacious and tireless, he played most of his career across half back, but could turn his hand to any defensive position. He was a superb high mark, who played many of his best games in finals, or when representing the 'Big V', which he did at the 1966 Hobart carnival (earning All Australian selection, and finishing 2nd in the voting for the Tassie Medal) and in 1968 in addition to 1965. He was at centre half back in the 1968 grand final as the Blues beat Essendon, and on a half back flank two years later when Collingwood was vanquished. The 1970 grand final (reviewed here) proved to be the last of his 108 VFL games as he opted to retire in order to concentrate on his fashion business. |
|
Wayne Gordon (Preston, Collingwood, Melbourne)
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| Probably best remembered today for his heroic battle with cancer that ended tragically at the age of just twenty-nine, Wayne Gordon also provided pleasant memories for the supporters of three football clubs. He commenced his senior career with Preston in 1973, having worked his way up from the club's Thirds. A series of fine performances with the Bullants captured the attention of Collingwood, and at the end of the 1973 season he crossed to Victoria Park where he enjoyed a five season, 67 game, 23 goal senior stint. Most of those games, including the drawn and replayed grand finals of 1977, were played as a wingman, in which position he was dynamic and dashing, but subject to occasional bouts of almost manic aggression. In 1979 Gordon crossed to Melbourne where he spent his final three seasons in the game, playing 34 games and kicking 5 goals, before being forced to retire on health grounds. |
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|
| Eric Gorman was a top quality full forward who amassed a club record 555 goals over the course of his nine season, 163 game league career with Swan Districts. After playing a handful of games in 1961, he made his mark in spectacular fashion in the second round of the 1961 season when he booted 6 goals in a high scoring 2 point win over Perth at Bassendean. When he kicked another 6 the following week it seemed clear that a major new talent had arrived. By season's end, Gorman had accumulated a total of 93 goals, and had played in a premiership team. He went on to top Swans' goal kicking list on seven consecutive occasions, with his highest tally being 97 goals in 1965. Probably his most memorable game came in the winning 1963 grand final against East Fremantle when he contributed 9 of his side's 17 goals in what many observers regarded as a best afield performance. The Simpson Medal, however, went to Gorman's team mate, Ken Bagley. Nine goals remains a record tally for one player in a WA(N)FL grand final. Perhaps surprisingly, Eric Gorman only made 1 interstate appearance for Western Australia, kicking 4 of the home state's 9 goals in a 16 point loss to South Australia at Subiaco. |
|
|
| Highly
regarded throughout Australia during his World War One interrupted playing
career, Cananore's Horrie Gorringe was the epitome of the ‘text book’ rover.
Quick, elusive and highly skilled, he could dispose of the ball with equal
precision using either foot. He was also extremely tough, often taking the
field carrying injuries that would have sidelined lesser men. Gorringe
represented Tasmania in the interstate arena on numerous occasions,
including the 1924 and 1927 carnivals.
At the Hobart carnival of 1924 he
was voted Tasmania’s best player when he more than held his own against
the very best that the mainland state sides could throw at him. A year
earlier he had been one of the best players afield in the TFL’s
famous victory over a South Australian combination on the Adelaide Oval.
Champion Collingwood goalsneak Gordon
Coventry called Gorringe "a super footballer" – rare
praise indeed coming from a Victorian – while revered all round sports
personality Victor Richardson was another to hold the "nippy
rover" in the highest esteem.
When AFL Tasmania announced its Tasmanian 'Team of the Century' in 2004, Horrie Gorringe was included in a forward pocket. The following year saw him named as an inaugural icon in Tasmanian Football's official Hall of Fame. |
| Jim Gosnell began his league career with West Perth in 1918. In 1919 he moved to Kalgoorlie Railways where he spent two years, returning to the Cardinals a much more accomplished all round player. He made his interstate debut for Western Australia in 1922, and went on to make a total of 15 state appearances. In 1924 he won the Sandover Medal. Highly proficient at all the defensive aspects of the game, Gosnell joined with fellow Sandover Medallists Harold Boyd and Jim Craig to give the Cardinals arguably the finest half back line in Australia at the time. He won West Perth's fairest and best award in 1927, and captained the club the following year. In 1930 he returned to Kalgoorlie Railways where he rounded off his career in style by winning the Dillon Medal awarded to the best and fairest player in the goldfields competition. Jim Gosnell was a worthy inclusion in West Perth's official 'Team of the Century'. |
|
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| Jim Gosse enjoyed a memorable playing career with Norwood between 1894 and 1905, helping the side to premierships in his first and penultimate seasons, as well as in 1901. It is not known precisely how many senior club games he played during that time, but it is known that he represented South Australia 4 times in an era when intercolonial and interstate matches took place only sporadically. Gosse, who played or most of his career as a ruckman, captained the Redlegs in his final season, but they slumped from premiers the previous year to 3rd. Fifteen years after retiring as a player, Gosse became Norwood club president, a position he retained for twenty years. In 1936 he donated the South Australian centenary premiership cup to the SANFL. Knighted after World War Two for his services to the state, Gosse once memorably declared "I think the Australian game of football is the finest thing in existence for the public to look at". |
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| A poised and elegant left footer, Doug Gott, who hailed from Ivanhoe in the VAFA, overcame a serious knee injury early in his VFL career to develop into a highly useful player for Collingwood. He began and ended that career as a defender, but in between played many games at centre half forward. He began with the 'Pies in 1969, and the last of his 97 senior appearances came in the drawn 1977 grand final against North Melbourne. Late in that game he sustained a cracked kneecap from which he never fully recovered, although he did manage a handful of reserves games in 1978. His nine season VFL career saw him play a total of 97 matches, kicking 26 goals. He later returned to his original club, Ivanhoe, for whom he both played in and coached losing grand final teams. |
|
Martin Gotz (Port Melbourne, Perth, East Fremantle, Carlton)
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| In
addition to being a highly determined, resourceful and effective rover,
Martin Gotz (sometimes spelt 'Goetz') was also something of a character who, according to his
daughter-in-law, never did a day's paid work in his life, preferring to
make a living form his main passion, gambling. As a footballer, Gotz
gave Carlton seven seasons and 106
seasons of excellent service, laced with controversy. He began with
the Blues in 1906, but after starring all year was forced to sit out the
grand final win over Fitzroy with
injury. He made amends in 1907-8, however, with key roles in the
club's second and third successive premiership wins. Major
controversy arose in 1912 when he sought a clearance to St
Kilda; when this was refused, he opted to sit out of football for the
year, but in 1913 he was back for one final season with the Blues.
Gotz had commenced his senior playing career with Port Melbourne in 1902, and that was where he finished it in 1914, having played a total of 30 VFA games for the club. In 1903 he had moved to Western Australia and played a dozen games that year for Perth, before crossing to East Fremantle the following season. Gotz played a total of 14 games for Old Easts, culminating in participation, on a half back flank, in the club's 1904 grand final defeat of his former side Perth. In 1905 he resumed briefly with Port Melbourne before embarking on the VFL phase of his career at Carlton. |
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Alf Gough (Carlton, Geelong, Essendon Association)
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| Popularly known as 'Mac', Alf Gough was a strong, resourceful follower who joined Carlton from Barwon in 1903 but managed only one senior game. Two years later, however, he enjoyed a much more successful stab at VFL football, playing 44 games and kicking 13 goals in three seasons with Geelong. After leaving the Pivotonians Gough joined Essendon Association, and was heavily instrumental in the club's emergence as a power. In both 1911 and 1912 he was a key member of the Dreadnoughts' VFA premiership teams. |
|
by Murray Bird and Peter Blucher |
| Tom Gould was a brilliant centreline player cum rover who was very quick in thought and deed, and challenges 'Freckles' Phelan as the best Kedron player of all time. A brilliant schoolboy player, he won the Grogan Medal in 1963 by an equal league record 11 votes as an eighteen year old, and took the league's top honour again in 1965. Gould represented Queensland 4 times in an era of limited interstate football. |
|
Steven Goulding (North Launceston, North Melbourne, Claremont) |
| Steven Goulding had already played league football with both North Launceston and North Melbourne (2 games) by the time he commenced his WAFL career with Claremont in 1982. He went on to play a total of 122 games in six seasons with the Tigers, besides earning state selection for Western Australia twice. Goulding was a hard working on baller or centreman whose delivery skills were first rate. He returned home to North Launceston in 1989 and was successful in claiming the club's best and fairest player award both that season and the next. |
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| Jim Grace began with Fitzroy in 1890 and made an immediate impression as a strong marking, straight kicking forward, topping the VFA goal kicking list with 49 goals in his debut season, and again with 37 the following year. Thereafter he was used mainly as a follower, often in concert with his younger brother Mick, and when the VFL commenced in 1897 he was instrumental in helping establish the Maroons as an early league power. In 1898, when Fitzroy won its first VFL flag with a grand final defeat of Essendon, Jim Grace was awarded a gold medal as the club's outstanding player for the season. He was again prominent the following year as the Maroons went 'back to back' courtesy of a 1 point win over South Melbourne in the premiership decider. He bowed out of the game midway through the 1900 season. |
|
Mick Grace (Fitzroy, Carlton, Brighton, St Kilda)
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| Mick
Grace was a bona fide champion with the ability to play equally well both
on the ball and as a key position forward. Possessing that special champion's
ability of combining overall consistency with enhanced excellence when the stakes
are at their highest, such as during finals or interstate games, Grace was
best afield for the Maroons in their winning grand final of 1898, and also
made telling contributions to premiership wins in 1899 (Fitzroy), 1906 and
1907 (both Carlton). He is known to have won at least two club best
and fairest awards while with Fitzroy. In 1906 he topped the VFL goal
kicking list for the year with 50 goals.
Grace fronted up for Carlton in the 1907 finals series having spent much of the season playing for Brighton. In 1908, his last season at league level, he helped St Kilda to qualify for the VFL major round for only the second time, but was unable to inspire his new team mates to victory against his old in a one-sided semi final that saw the Blues romp home by nearly 10 goals. Mick Grace moved to New South Wales in 1909, where he continued to play for a time, but in 1912 he contracted tuberculosis, and within a matter of months he was dead. |
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| Best remembered for his prodigious kicking - he was indisputably one of the longest kicks of recent times - Ben Graham was also a fine all round footballer, who was a telling and often inspirational performer for Geelong in 219 AFL games between 1993 and 2004. He captained the Cats from 2000 to 2002, and was the club's joint top goal kicker in 2001 with 33 goals, although he played for most of his career as a defender. In 1999, after winning Geelong's best and fairest award, he was touted as one of the hottest properties in the game, but towards the end of his career he seemed to lose his way a little. At the end of the 2004 season he forsook Australian football for the athletically and aesthetically inferior - if potentially somewhat more lucrative - sport of gridiron. |
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| Robust,
relentless and with pace to burn, Bob 'Dobbie' Graham was a back pocket
specialist supreme who gave East Perth
estimable service in 211 league games between 1959 and 1971. He was
arguably the best West Australian back pocket player of his generation,
and represented his state on 11 occasions, including games at both the 1961
Brisbane and 1969 Adelaide carnivals.
The sort of player who often reserved his very best for when it mattered
most, such as the grand finals of 1961, 1966-7-8-9, and 1971 (he was a
reserve for the 1960 grand final), it was something of a minor football
tragedy that he never once played in a premiership team. (When East
Perth won the 1959 premiership, Graham was still finding his way as a
player, and did not feature on grand final day.)
In June 2006, he was included on the interchange bench in East Perth's official 'Team of the Century 1945 to 2005'. |
|
[Click to enlarge] |
| Originally
from Swansea, on Tasmania's east coast, Des Graham joined North
Hobart in 1957 and went on to play a total of 229 games for the club,
including four winning grand finals, over the course of the ensuing fifteen
years. Quietly spoken off the field, he belied this with his tough,
hard-as-nails approach on it, and his final tally of league appearances
would have been much higher had it not been for several enforced
'holidays' courtesy of the tribunal.
In the year 2000, Des Graham was selected as a member of North Hobart's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
|
Ernie Graham (South Fremantle)
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| One of half a dozen pre-war South Fremantle footballers to resume in 1945, Ernie Graham's importance to the club's emergence as Western Australia's, and arguably Australia's, pre-eminent football force would be hard to exaggerate. He took his league bows in 1940, and was a member that year of South's losing grand final side against Claremont. After the war, he developed into "a full back built along the lines of a young oak tree" (see footnote 1), boasting a keen football brain and an energetic determination that refused to countenance second best. Undoubtedly one of the finest defenders of his era, he had played a total of 115 league games by the time he retired at the end of the 1949 season. Besides the 1940 grand final, he appeared in the losing one of 1945 against East Fremantle, and in the triumphs of 1947 and 1948 against West Perth. He represented Western Australia against South Australia in 1946. |
Footnotes1. The South Fremantle Story Volume One by Frank Harrison and Jack Lee, page 195. Return to Main Text |
|
Jack Graham (South Melbourne & South Adelaide)
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| One
of the last VFL players to use the place kick, Jack Graham was a clever
and often commanding ruckman or utility who gave South
Melbourne sterling service in 227 games over sixteen seasons. He was
at centre half back in South Melbourne's losing grand final team of 1936,
and led the rucks in the 1945
Bloodbath grand final.
Winner of South's best and fairest award in 1945, he also topped the club's goal kicking list twice. He was a regular VFL interstate team member for the three years immediately before and after World War Two. After leaving the VFL at the end of the 1949 season he coached in the Victorian country but taking up a similar role with South Adelaide in 1955. Despite being aged over thirty-nine he made a brief comeback as a player that year but was unable to prevent the club slumping to the wooden spoon. |
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| John Graham was a consistently competent, if somewhat unspectacular, footballer, whose contribution to the club cause was perhaps sometimes taken for granted. Much of his best football was played across half back, where he tended to concentrate on limiting the effectiveness of his direct opponent rather than attempting to take eye catching marks or make dazzling dashes downfield. Graham, who was captain of his club in 1971 under Alan Greer, played a total of 204 league games for West Torrens between 1961 and 1974. |
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Mark Graham (Hawthorn & Richmond)
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| Mark Graham was a solidly consistent performer for Hawthorn in 223 AFL games between 1993 and 2004. Most of those games were played in defence, where his strength overhead and courage in the clinches made him a conspicuous and effective contributor to the team cause. As his career went on he developed into a highly respected on-field leader who marshalled the Hawk backlines with great efficiency and purpose. Occasionally used in a marking role up forward, he kicked a total of 63 goals during his career. Arguably his best season came in 2001 when he ran second in the club's best and fairest award and was a key factor in the team's getting as far as the preliminary final and ultimately finishing 4th. In 2005, Mark Graham crossed to Richmond, where he added a final 20 AFL games to his tally before retiring at season's end. |
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Michael Graham (Sturt & St Marys)
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| Known
as 'The Flash', Sturt's Michael Graham was undoubtedly one of the most exciting
footballers of the 1970s. He made his SANFL debut in 1971, and went
on to play 282 club games over the ensuing fifteen seasons. His
emergence coincided with a period of transition for Sturt, which had been
far and away the dominant club in South Australia since the
mid-1960s. With Graham very much to the fore, the club returned as a
force from 1973 onwards, winning flags in 1974 and 1976, and finishing
runner-up to Norwood in 1978. Second
to Barrie Robran in the
1973 Magarey Medal
count, Michael Graham somewhat surprisingly never won Sturt's best and
fairest award, often seeming to reserve his most damaging performances for when it really
mattered, such as in finals games, or the 11 interstate matches that he
played.
During the summer months, Graham played in Darwin with St Marys, where he established a reputation as one of the finest players ever seen in the NTFL. Winner of the 1973-4 Nichols Medal, he landed Saints' top award the same season, and played in two NTFL premiership teams. Best remembered as a half forward flanker, in which position he gained selection in Sturt's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century', he was also an excellent wingman or centreman. |
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Phil Graham (Central District)
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| An exciting if sometimes inconsistent half forward flanker or wingman, Phil Graham was a familiar and popular presence at Central District for a dozen seasons. Recruited locally from the Elizabeth Football Club, he played a total of 196 SANFL games and kicked 167 goals for the Bulldogs between 1978 and 1989. |
|
David Granger (Port Adelaide & St Kilda)
|
| Known
with memorable explicitness, in South Australia at any rate, as 'Grave
Danger', Port Adelaide's David Granger was
either what football needs most, or what it needs least, depending on your
overall philosophy of the game. Had he played during the 1930s he
would probably have been called an arch-enforcer. He shirked no
challenges, took no prisoners, and was wholly content to transgress the
laws of the game if he could get away with it, hopefully whilst
simultaneously limiting or eliminating an opponent's contribution to the
game. He did precisely this during the 1981 SANFL grand final
against Glenelg when he single-handedly
ended the career of Neville 'Twiggy' Caldwell with a premeditated
king-hit. Similarly, almost a year later, in the 1982 preliminary
final, he broke Stephen Barratt's leg, as well as incurring a suspension of ten
weeks, which in effect put an end to his own league football career, after
being found guilty of striking Graham
Cornes. Port Adelaide fans would claim, with considerable
justification, that Granger was often on the receiving end of some pretty
stern treatment himself, but seldom if ever received support from the men
in white.
Aside from his apparent problems of self-control and over-abundant white line fever, David Granger was actually a fine footballer, direct, but highly skilled, even poised, and explosively effective. He joined the Magpies in 1975, but suspensions and injuries meant that he was never really able to regard himself as a regular. Nevertheless, was at centre half forward in both the 1977 and 1981 grand final teams against Glenelg, playing a key role each time in the team's eventual wins by 8 and 51 points respectively. Granger actually commenced his football career in Victoria where he played under 19s football with St Kilda. In 1979 he returned briefly to the Saints and played 3 VFL senior games before resuming his SANFL career with the Magpies in 1980. |
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David Grant (City-South, St Kilda, Melbourne)
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| After playing briefly with City-South David Grant was snapped up by St Kilda where, after a slow start to his VFL career, he developed into a top notch utility player. A superb, one grab mark, he boasted excellent all round skills and was more often than not able to camouflage an apparent lack of pace by a combination of great anticipation and relentless will-to-win. Much of his best football was played as a defender, but he could do a job up forward or on the ball when required. A Tasmanian state of origin representative, he achieved AFL All Australian selection in 1991. Between 1984 and 1995 he played a total of 191 V/AFL games, and kicked 75 goals. In 1996 he crossed to Melbourne but his career with the Demons failed to ignite and he managed just 7 games for the season before retiring. |
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Samuel Gravenall (St Kilda & North Fremantle)
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| A top quality forward who knew how to keep himself out of trouble whilst obtaining plenty of possessions, Samuel Gravenall's league career consisted of three separate season long stints at St Kilda broken by a three year sojourn in Western Australia with North Fremantle. He played with the Saints in 1903, 1906 and 1910 for a total of 30 VFL games, and was club captain in the last of those seasons. With North Fremantle he played a total of 41 senior games between 1907 and 1909, while in 1908 he was an ever-present in Western Australia's Melbourne carnival team. |
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| Wingman Brian Gray was a Swan Districts stalwart for the better part of thirteen seasons. He commenced with the club in 1951, and played the last of his 205 WANFL games in the victorious 1963 grand final against East Fremantle. During that time he booted 87 goals. Somewhat surprisingly, despite being one of the most highly rated wingmen in the state for much of his career, Gray was never selected to represent Western Australia. The closest he came was in 1959 when he was initially included in a state touring party to South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, but then was forced to withdraw owing to injury. During Gray's first ten seasons in the game his club never once qualified for the finals, and indeed finished last no fewer than half a dozen times. The arrival of Haydn Bunton junior as coach in 1961, however, saw Swans transformed almost overnight from easybeats to world-beaters, and simultaneously ensured that Gray's career ended in a blaze of glory, with participation in the premiership teams of 1961-2-3. Brian Gray sadly died in 2003. |
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William Gray (Richmond & Fitzroy)
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| After failing to make the grade at Richmond - he managed just 3 senior games there in two seasons - Bill Gray moved to Fitzroy where he showed himself to be a defender of considerable quality. Playing mainly across half back, he exuded confidence and self belief, and had plenty of dash. Strongly built and energetic, he played a total of 87 VFL games for the Roys between 1932 and 1938. |
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Barney Grecian (Geelong, Essendon, West Perth)
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| Barney Grecian began his senior football career with a brief stint at Geelong before joining Essendon in 1893. In three seasons with the Same Old he proved himself a wingman of the highest quality, boasting great flair, good ball handling ability, and exhilarating pace. He was a key contributor to Essendon's premiership wins in both 1893 and 1894. In 1896, Grecian headed to Western Australia to join the swelling numbers of Victorian ex-patriot footballers taking advantage of the comparatively more buoyant economy that existed there in the wake of the Coolgardie-Kalgoorlie gold finds of 1892 and 1893 respectively. He joined West Perth, and was heavily instrumental in that club's emergence as a major power in West Australian football. Taking over as captain in 1897 he steered the Cardinals to their first ever flag, a success that was repeated two seasons later. In 1898, West Perth finished second, just half a win behind premiers Fremantle. In five seasons with the Cardinals Grecian played 65 games, and was club captain between 1897 and 1900. The importance of his contribution to football in Western Australia, at a time when it was still struggling to establish itself as the colony's major winter sporting preoccupation, was considerable, and was recognised more than a century later with his inclusion as an inaugural inductee in the WA Football Hall of Fame. |
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Albert Green (Geelong & Norwood)
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| In
1898, Albert Green achieved a kind of football immortality when he became
the inaugural winner of league football's longest running major individual award,
the Magarey Medal.
Born in Medindie, New South Wales, Green moved to Adelaide with his family soon afterwards. From a very young age he demonstrated considerable sporting prowess. In 1889 he was sent as a boarder to Geelong Grammar School where he became captain of the cricket and football teams, besides exhibiting excellence at athletics, shooting, tennis and rowing. In 1892, his final year at the school, he managed to to find the time to play 13 games of VFA football with Geelong, where he impressed on a half back flank or as a rover. In 1893, Alby Green returned home to South Australia. As far as football was concerned, he threw in his lot with Norwood, and quickly showed himself to be a supremely skilled, and almost preternaturally fair, performer, whether roving or in the centre. He was a key member of Norwood's 1894 premiership side but by 1897, debilitated by illness, he appeared to be past his best, despite being aged just twenty-three. In 1898, however, Green recaptured his very best form, and his combination of consistent, match-winning brilliance and impeccable sportsmanship made him a logical choice for an award designated as being for the best and fairest player in the competition. Green was presented with the Magarey Medal at the SAFA's annual meeting in April 1899, and promptly retired. The SAFA had introduced a compulsory electorate rule that year which would have meant Green leaving Norwood, and this he refused to do; consequently football supporters in South Australia were denied the prospect of perhaps another five years of eye-catching performances from one of the colony's most gifted footballers. |
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| Arthur Green was Subiaco to the core. Recruited from Holyoake in 1915, he spent the period from 1916 to 1918 serving in the AIF, before resuming his football career with the Maroons in 1919. When he retired at the end of the 1928 season he had played 187 league games. Pacy, determined and assured, he was one of the finest defenders of the 1920s. He won a Subiaco fairest and best award - one of the first to be presented by the club - in 1925, and was a member of both the 1915 and 1924 premiership teams. His 17 interstate appearances for Western Australia included both of the state's matches at the 1921 Perth carnival, from which the sandgropers emerged triumphant. In 1930, Arthur Green returned to Subi as non-playing coach, and was responsible for guiding the team to the premiership play-offs of 1931 and 1933. Both, unfortunately, were lost. Green retired as coach at the end of the 1934 season, but made an unsuccessful one season comeback in 1940. He served as a club committeeman in 1939, 1941 and 1942. |
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Doug Green (East Fremantle & South Melbourne)
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| Like
all great defenders, Doug Green combined an ability to keep even the most
talented of opponents tightly under wraps with an instinctive awareness of
when it was most appropriate to embark on a dashing downfield
foray.
Green made his East Fremantle debut as an eighteen year old in 1970, when his tremendous fitness allied to great courage and dogged determination marked him out as a player of enormous potential. He made his interstate debut at the 1972 Perth carnival, and won Old Easts' top individual award, the Lynn Medal, the following year. In 1974 he was at centre half back as the side overcame Perth by 22 points in the grand final to lift its first flag in nine years. Green's leadership qualities were recognised in 1975 when he took over from the departing Graham Melrose as East Fremantle's captain. The following year saw him take over as state captain and in 1977 he had the great satisfaction of leading Western Australia to a 7 point win over South Australia in Adelaide. Not only was it the sandgropers' first win on South Australian soil since 1938, it came in a match that had been specially arranged to commemorate the centenary of the SANFL. In 1979, Doug Green was among the best players afield as East Fremantle downed 'derby' rivals South Fremantle by 33 points in front of a record grand final crowd of 52,781. Shortly afterwards, Green announced his retirement. Midway through the following season, however, Green received a surprise SOS call from struggling VFL side South Melbourne, who were in desperate need of greater experience in their backlines. Despite not having played or even handled a football for months, Green travelled over to Melbourne and gave the Swans solid service for the remainder of the year. All told, Doug Green played a total of precisely 200 senior games: 180 with East Fremantle, half a dozen for South Melbourne, and 14 for West Australia. His tremendous consistency is evidenced by the fact that, in addition to his 1973 Lynn Medal, he was runner-up in the award on no fewer than 6 occasions. |
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Fred Green (Essendon, Navy, St Kilda)
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| After
playing junior football for Brunswick United, Fred Green was recruited by Essendon,
for whom he made his senior debut, aged eighteen, in 1939. He was a
virtual ever-present during his first three seasons in league football
before naval duties began to limit his appearances. In 1944-5 he was
stationed in Canberra, and was appointed captain of CANFL side Navy.
Despite being only 178cm tall he played much of his football as a knock
ruckman, compensating for a lack of height with his great strength and
tirelessness. While with Navy he played in a premiership team in
1944 and won the Mulrooney
Medal the following year.
On returning to Melbourne, Green resumed league football, initially with Essendon in 1946, and thereafter at St Kilda, where, from 1947 to 1951, he added another 58 VFL games to the 49 he had played with the Dons. He captained the club in 1949-50 and was playing coach in 1951. A St Kilda annual report described him as a "tireless ruckman, his marking and clearing dashes being the hallmark of his game, but he was not a really good kick". After he assumed the captaincy he adopted the role of on-field enforcer, with protection of smaller team mates and 'evening up' paramount among his duties. |
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| George Green was a consistently useful performer for Collingwood in 76 VFL games between 1903 and 1908, during which he kicked 16 goals. In the losing challenge final of 1905 against Fitzroy, playing in his preferred position on a wing, he was arguably the Woods' best player. |
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| Quiet and unassuming off the field, Gordon Green gave Carlton invaluable service on it during a war-interrupted 92 game league career that began in 1912 and ended after the losing challenge final of 1921. Despite being of diminutive stature, he often played at full forward during the early part of his career, including the 1914 grand final, in which the Blues overcame a wayward South Melbourne by 6 points. In his final year of league football he took over the club captaincy, as well as the all important centre position, which had been vacated at the end of the previous year by Rod McGregor. The Blues enjoyed a marvellous home and away season in 1921, losing just 1 match, and drawing 2, but came undone against Richmond in the finals, leaving Green with the slim satisfaction of having skippered one of the finest VFL sides not to win a flag. |
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Jack Green (Carlton & Hawthorn)
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| A
powerful, purposeful footballer who marked well, knew how to use his body,
and was a fine, straight kick, Jack Green gave excellent service to two
league clubs in a career lasting eight seasons. After kicking 118
goals for University Blacks during the
club's 1928 premiership campaign, he commenced his VFL career with Carlton
in 1929, and played in every key position on the field at some stage
during his 85 VFL games with the club between then and 1933. His
best season was probably 1932 when he achieved state selection, and was a
driving force behind the Blues' march to the finals. However, an
injury sustained during the preliminary final mauling of Collingwood
kept him out of the decisive match of the year against Richmond,
and the Blues fell short by just 9 points. Speculation is ultimately
pointless, but there would almost certainly have been a lot of Carlton
supporters convinced that the presence in their side of a fit Jack Green
would have been enough to tip the balance in the Blues' favour.
Unfortunately for Green, he never got the opportunity to put things right by playing in a grand final. After one final season with Carlton he crossed to Hawthorn where he played out the final three seasons of his league career. Chiefly used at the goalfront by the Mayblooms, he topped their goal kicking list in 1934 with 80 goals, and 1935 with 63. His 1934 tally stood as a Hawthorn record until eclipsed by the great Peter Hudson in 1968. All told, Green amassed 167 goals over the course of his 40 game stint at Glenferrie to add to the 112 kicked during his time with the Blues. A second state jumper in 1935 emphasised the high regard in which he was held. |
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Jack T. Green (Geelong & Collingwood)
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| After managing just 2 games with Geelong during his first stab at league football in 1908, Jack Green enjoyed considerably greater success after joining Collingwood three years later. In his first season with the Woods he played on a half back flank in a losing grand final against Essendon, a position he also occupied six years later when the side comfortably overcame Fitzroy to secure its 4th league flag. Vigorous, determined and exceptionally reliable, Green played 109 league games for the Magpies and also represented the VFL. His son, Jack junior, later also played for Collingwood. |
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Laurie Green (South Fremantle)
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| South Fremantle's Laurie Green was an extremely elusive half forward who teamed superbly with the club's champion full forward, Bernie Naylor. He made his senior debut in 1948, and was among the best players afield when South withstood the challenge of West Perth in that season's grand final. In 1949 he played for Western Australia and won his club's fairest and best award. During the first half of the 1950s, South Fremantle was the dominant force in West Australian football, and Laurie Green played a major role in bringing that about. He was at centre half forward in the winning grand finals of 1950 against Perth and 1953 against West Perth, and also played in the loss against the Cardinals in 1951. Injury kept him out of the 1952 grand final defeat of West Perth, and it was injury which brought his league career to a premature end. Seven games into the 1954 season, in a match against West Perth at Fremantle Oval, he received a heavy blow which proved to be so damaging that it eventually necessitated the removal of a kidney. He had played precisely 100 WANFL games by this time, and, but for the injury, might reasonably have been expected to add almost as many again. |
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| One of many prominent VFL footballers over the years to hail from with amateur club Old Xaverians, Mike Green, who crossed to Richmond in 1966, was a superb ruckman whose importance to the Tigers was emphasised by his selection in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. Awesome in the air, fluently mobile, and an excellent kick, he was the archetypal big game player who played an important role in Richmond premierships in 1969, 1973 and 1974, after having been 19th man in the 1967 flag win. Had it not been for the demands of a law career, which caused him to retire temporarily in 1972, and permanently three years later, Mike Green might well have carved out a niche for himself among the game's bona fide all time greats. When he finally called it a day, aged twenty-seven, he had played a total of 146 VFL games and kicked 83 goals between 1966 and 1971, and from 1973 to 1975. |
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Ralph Green (Sturt, Carlton, West Perth)
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| A
full forward early in his 182 game, 63 goal league career, which commenced
in 1930, Ralph Green later developed into one of the finest full backs in
the game. He was also a somewhat unfortunate footballer, missing
both of the premiership triumphs enjoyed by Sturt
during the course of that career. In 1932, when the Blues overcame North
Adelaide in the grand final, he spent the season with Carlton
in the VFL, while eight years later he was injured, and had to watch from
the sidelines, as his team mates overcame South
Adelaide. Even his time in the VFL was laced with misfortune as
he endured an injury troubled season which restricted him to just 5
appearances and forced him to miss his club's losing grand final encounter
with Richmond. Green's did experience
premiership success on one occasion in his career, however, when he lined up
at half forward right for West Perth in
that club's 1934 grand final defeat of East Fremantle. Green spent the 1934
season with the Cardinals, playing 20 games and kicking 17 goals. As a full back, Ralph Green was dogged, athletic, sound overhead and, most eye-catchingly of all, one of the finest and most prodigious kicks of his day. North Adelaide's champion full forward Ken Farmer allegedly regarded Green as his toughest opponent. A South Australian representative at the 1933 Sydney carnival, Green played a total of 7 interstate matches, kicking 4 goals. He captain-coached Sturt in 1941, and was playing coach in 1945, his final league season. |
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Stephen Green (East Fremantle)
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| Comparatively short at 172cm, but well built (81kg) and strong, Stephen Green gave East Fremantle good, if occasionally inconsistent service, mainly as a ruck-rover, in 185 league games between 1976 and 1987. Always willing to do the hard things, he also used the ball with consummate skill, was extremely tenacious, and was the quintessential team player. A member of East Fremantle premiership sides in 1979 and 1985, he was capable of doing a more than serviceable job across half back or in the centre in addition to his more customary on ball role. |
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Russell Greene (St Kilda & Hawthorn)
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| Recruited from Frankston Peninsula, Russell Greene made his VFL debut for St Kilda as a sixteen year old in 1974. He played 120 league games for the Saints, and kicked 52 goals, impressing as a pacy, hard running player with plenty of intelligence and resourcefulness. He performed even better with Hawthorn, where he moved in 1980, winning a club best and fairest in 1984, and playing in three premiership teams. He also captained Victoria, and achieved All Australian selection in 1985. Greene retired in 1988 after 184 VFL games and 82 goals for the Hawks. |
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John Greening (Cooee, Collingwood, Port Melbourne, Penguin, East Devonport)
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| Despite
being arguably one of the most sublimely gifted footballers of his
generation, John Greening tends to be remembered today more for being on
the receiving end of one of the most callous and cowardly on-field
assaults in the game's history. The attack took place during the
opening moments of Collingwood's round 14
clash with St Kilda at Moorabbin in
1972.
Greening had just taken the first mark of the match, and had kicked the
ball long towards the Collingwood goal square. While most people's
attention was focused on the goal mouth scramble ensuing from Greening's
kick, Greening himself was lying prostrate on the turf, having been
unceremoniously decked seconds after getting rid of the ball. The
perpetrator, Jim
O'Dea, was not reported at the time, but was later identified after
the VFL implemented an enquiry in response to an official complaint from
the Magpies. That complaint arose after the full extent of the
injuries sustained by Greening became clear. Comatose for a full
twenty-four hours, Greening did not regain full consciousness for several
days. He was diagnosed as suffering from cerebral concussion, and
doctors fully expected him to be permanently disabled. Indeed, for a
time, his life was in real danger. That he not only recovered, but
returned to the football field, was little short of miraculous.
Meanwhile, Greening's assailant was suspended by the VFL tribunal for 10 matches, a sentence which many football lovers, and not just Collingwood fans, considered grossly inadequate. Some football supporters even ceased to follow the game in disgust. Born in Burnie on 20 December 1950, John Greening was wooed to the mainland by Collingwood in early 1967, not long after his sixteenth birthday, and having played just a handful of senior games for Cooee. After half a dozen games for the club's under nineteens he was promoted to the reserves, where he impressed to the extent of being selected for a VFL reserves combination that defeated New South Wales. He made his senior debut the following year against Hawthorn, and from then until the fateful clash with St Kilda he was a virtual ever present. Supremely balanced, agile and abundantly skilled, there seemed no limit to what he might have achieved. Reflecting on his injury almost two decades later, Greening ruefully declared, "If it hadn't happened I reckon I'd still be playing and would have pushed Michael Tuck aside (for most VFL games)". As it was, Greening did return to football less than two years after the incident that came to bear his name, but after an adrenalin-fuelled comeback game in which he amassed 24 possessions to be close to best afield, his form deteriorated. Before long, he came to realise that he no longer had the intense inner hunger to succeed that was so essential at the game's highest level. His Collingwood career came to an end in 1976 after 107 VFL games and 70 goals, and although he rediscovered elements of his best form during subsequent stints with Port Melbourne, Penguin and East Devonport there can be little doubt that both John Greening, and the sport of football itself, sustained inordinate damage on the afternoon of Saturday 8 July 1972. |
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Malcolm Greenslade (Sturt, Richmond, Glenelg)
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| Although
he never once topped the SANFL's goal kicking ladder for a season Malcolm
Greenslade was, at the time of his retirement, the sixth highest aggregate
goal kicker in the league's history, testimony to his consistency over
what was a long and illustrious career. That career began extremely
quietly with just a couple of league appearances for Sturt
in 1966 while the club's ranks were temporarily depleted during the
Hobart carnival. The 1967 season saw him claim a regular place
in the team, however, and he immediately proved his worth by winning the
Double Blues' goal kicking award for the first of seven times. His
finest hour probably came in the 1969 grand final when he kicked 9 of
Sturt's 24 goals against Glenelg.
A member of Sturt premiership teams in 1967, 1969 and 1970, Greenslade was sufficiently versatile to cope with the emergence of team mate Ken Whelan as the 'full forward of the moment' in 1973-4-5 by playing with equal effectiveness elsewhere, mainly across half forward. When Whelan's star dimmed, Greenslade enjoyed another couple of seasons at full forward. After 215 games for Sturt, Greenslade spent the 1978 season in amateur football before resuming his league career at Glenelg in 1979. In three seasons with the Bays, during which he played mainly as a half back flanker, he added another 24 SANFL games to his tally. Earlier in his career he had represented South Australia 4 times, while in 1971 he had played a couple of VFL games for Richmond during a National Service stint in Victoria. |
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Robin Greenwood (Essendon, Claremont, Kedron)
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| An extremely combative and courageous rover, Rob Greenwood joined Essendon from Pascoe Vale and made his VFL debut in 1967. Although he may have lacked a metre or so in pace he more than compensated for this with his great endeavour which served the Bombers well in 62 games from 1967 to 1971, during which he booted 70 goals. In 1972 he crossed to Claremont where fine form in his debut season earned him selection in the Western Australian squad for the Perth carnival. After 41 games in four seasons he was on the move again, this time to Kedron where he spent the 1976 season, his last in major state league football, as captain-coach. |
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Alan Greer (Port Adelaide & West Torrens)
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| Rugged, enterprising and of something of an attacking bent, half back flanker Alan Greer was an often unsung hero of the first part of Fos Williams' majestic reign as Port Adelaide coach. Greer actually took his bows in 1946, and went on to play 173 SANFL games over the course of the ensuing eleven seasons. Arguably the best of those games came in the 1951 grand final against North Adelaide when he was most observers' selection as the finest player on view. An interstate representative on a couple of occasions for South Australia, Greer also played for Port in its winning grand final of 1954 against West Adelaide. In 1971 and 1972 he coached West Torrens to consecutive 7th place finishes. |
Edward Greeves (Geelong)
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|
Glorying in the memorably distinctive nickname 'Carji', Edward Goodrich Greeves was immortalised when, in 1924, he won the first ever Brownlow Medal awarded to the best and fairest player in the Victorian Football League. The name 'Carji' was reputedly bestowed on Greeves by a friend of the family, Michael Scott, a golfer from New South Wales. When Scott visited the Greeves family shortly after the youngster's birth, he thought he could detect a resemblance between the infant, who was allegedly quite dark-skinned, and a famous local entertainer who went by the name of 'Carjilo, the Rajah of Bong'. The nickname 'Carji' stuck, perhaps in part because it provided a convenient way to distinguish between the boy and his father, himself a former Geelong footballer of note, who also went by the name of Edward. A natural sportsman, Edward Greeves excelled at cricket, tennis and rowing, but most especially at football. Geelong wanted him to line up for them while he was still at school, but the school authorities refused to allow it. He had to wait until 1923 to make his debut, quickly developing into one of the most eye-catching centremen in the game. The prime reason that Greeves was so eye-catching was his kicking style, which was said to be one of the most classically perfect ever seen. Schoolboys all over Geelong would practise for hours trying to emulate it. Moreover, in an era when genuinely two-sided footballers were the exception rather than the rule, Greeves could kick with either foot with almost equal facility and expertise. In 1924, the twenty year old Greeves' career blossomed when he was selected to represent the VFL at the Hobart carnival and, of course, won the inaugural Brownlow. With his elegant style of play ensuring that he always caught the umpire's eye, Greeves also later ran second in the Medal on three occasions in an era when only the best player afield received votes. In 1928, well over half a century before Darren Bennett, Greeves spent nearly seven months in the USA, four of them as kicking coach for the University of Southern California's gridiron team, the Trojans (and not the University of South Carolina, as many sources wrongly suggest). Although he was not the first Australian footballer to have an impact on the American game - that honour resides with Pat O'Dea - he was the first such footballer to be deliberately 'head-hunted' by the Americans, and the first to travel to the USA for purposes specifically and exclusively to do with gridiron. While in California, Greeves was reportedly a great success, earning a gold medal for his services, and was indeed offered the opportunity to remain, but the 1929 VFL season saw him resuming his career with the Cats, for whom he went on to play a total of 137 games in eleven seasons, with premierships in 1925 and 1931 the highlights. Other noteworthy features of Greeves' football career include the facts that he never wore proper football boots, preferring ordinary boots of very soft leather, and he played the entirety of his VFL career as an amateur. Once his VFL career was over, Greeves maintained his involvement in football by coaching first Warracknabeal, and later Ararat. His importance in the history of the Geelong Football Club was highlighted in 2001 when he was included, as centreman, in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. The Cats' annual best and fairest award is currently named in his honour. |
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Art Gregory (West Melbourne & Footscray)
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| Best remembered for kicking the winning goal three minutes from the end of Footscray's 1 point win over North Melbourne in the 1913 VFA premiership decider (reviewed here), Art Gregory was a strongly built, extremely talented ruckman who never stopped trying. He started his senior career with West Melbourne, and was a member in 1906 of the club's only ever VFA flag-winning combination, a success which came, ironically enough, against the club at which Gregory would spend the majority of his career, Footscray. Gregory moved to Footscray just two years later in fact, after West Melbourne had ostensibly amalgamated with North Melbourne, and in his debut season with the Tricolours he helped them to a 9.10 (64) to 6.4 (40) victory over Brunswick in the final. One of four brothers to play for Footscray, Gregory was popularly nicknamed 'Lofty'. Regarded as one of the finest drop kicks in the game, he was among the Tricolours' best in the aforementioned premiership clinching match of 1913, and played his last game for the club in 1919. After his retirement as a player he continued to serve the club in a variety of off-field roles. |
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| Although he had to struggle hard to make his way up the pecking order at West Perth Bill Gregory was a highly dependable defender who almost invariably did well when selected. He commenced with the club in 1947, and between then and 1953 went on to play a total of 85 senior games, including appearances in the winning grand final of 1951, and the losing ones of 1952 and 1953, all of which featured South Fremantle as the opposition. |
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Keith Greig (Brunswick & North Melbourne)
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| Dual
Brownlow Medallist
Keith Greig was one of the most exciting footballers of his era.
Following a brief stint with Brunswick he
embarked on a glittering 300 game career with North
Melbourne during which his trademark long stride became one of
football's most familiar sights. Winner of the Brownlow
Medal in both 1973 and 1974, he somewhat ironically failed to land
North Melbourne's club champion award in both years, before ultimately
breaking through in 1980.
A Big V representative on 13 occasions, Greig was equally proficient as a wingman or on a half back flank. He was one of North's best - on a wing - in its drought-breaking grand final defeat of Hawthorn in 1975 (the club's first premiership since its VFA days), and was also among the best in the 'Roos' grand final losses of 1974 and 1976. Perhaps the major disappointment of his career came in 1977 when, as club skipper, he was absent because of injury from both the grand final and grand final replay against Collingwood, which yielded North's second VFL flag. Injury also blighted the later stages of Greig's career so that once he reached the 300 game milestone it was of little surprise to anyone when he announced his retirement. |
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| Although he was a Claremont player for six seasons, from 1961-2, 1964-5 and 1967-8, because of persistent niggling injuries John Grieve only managed to play 44 league games. He is well remembered by Tigers fans of that era, however, largely on the strength of his prodigious kicking. When playing at full back, he "frequently stunned both team-mates and opponents alike with his towering drop kicks that sailed over their heads" (see footnote 1). |
Footnotes1. The Tigers' Tale by Kevin Casey, page 129. Return to Main Text |
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William Griffith (Essendon & Essendon Association)
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| Aged
just sixteen when he arrived at Essendon
from Essendon District, William Griffith went on to enjoy an eventful and
highly illustrious fifteen season, 185 game VFL career that saw him
participate in three premiership teams. He also represented the VFL
in both 1901 and 1902. An immensely reliable footballer who kicked
superbly, Griffith played for most of his career as a full back, despite
weighing only about 70kg. He could also rove, and it was as a rover
that he starred in the Same Old's 6.7 (43) to 2.4 (16) defeat of Collingwood
in the 1901 premiership decider. A decade later, in 1911, he was at
full back when Collingwood was again vanquished on grand final day, and
the following year saw him play in his third flag-winning team, again at
full back, as South Melbourne was
vanquished. Although he was a highly respected figure at Essendon,
and indeed served as club captain between 1907 and 1909, he often courted
controversy. In 1905, for example, he attempted to procure a
clearance to Carlton, while four years
later he fought off an attempt by the club committee to strip him of the
captaincy after he was involved in a somewhat embarrassing fracas with
team mate Len Bowe. During the 1912 season, he was dropped from the
Essendon team after demanding higher match fees.
William Griffith rounded off his senior career in 1915 when he served as captain-coach of Essendon Association, but the Dreadnoughts endured a poor year to finish eighth in a ten team competition, after having contested the finals in each of the previous seven seasons. |
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Daryl Griffiths (St Kilda & Claremont)
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| After
an extraordinarily eventful league debut which saw him snag a goal with
his first kick, only to cop a broken collarbone moments later after being
felled by Essendon's Ian 'Bluey'
Shelton, St Kilda's Daryl Griffiths went
on to develop into one of the finest utilities in the game. Whether
playing on the half back line, as a ruck-rover, or standing in for Ian
Stewart in the centre, Griffiths was almost invariably effective, with
his versatility adding enormously to the flexibility of the side. In
the historic 1966 grand final
against Collingwood, Griffiths played on the
ball, and was a constant source of drive and creativity for the Saints,
who won a heart-stopping game by a single point.
Between 1967 and 1970, Daryl Griffiths played probably the best football of his career, gaining regular selection in VFL representative teams, and winning the 1970 club champion award - no mean achievement given the star-studded nature of the St Kilda line-up at the time. At the end of the 1970 season, however, he stunned club officials by requesting a clearance to South Fremantle. This, quite naturally, was refused, but Griffiths showed his determination by opting to stand out of football for twelve months in order to obtain an 'open' clearance. At the end of that time, however, South Fremantle's interest had cooled, and he ended up joining fellow Victorians such as Colin Tully, Peter Hines, John Evans and Bob Greenwood at Claremont. In 1972 and '73, his last two league seasons, Daryl Griffiths continued to play some fine football, although the consensus appears to be that, overall, he failed to do complete justice to his illustrious reputation. He was a member of Claremont's losing grand final team against East Perth in 1972, and the following year represented his adopted state against the VFL. He retired with a total of 165 games of league football to his credit, 123 with St Kilda from 1963 to 1970, and 42 with the Tigers. In 2002 he was chosen on a half back flank in St Kilda's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Max Griffiths (New Town/Glenorchy)
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| A dominating key position forward who was strong overhead and a fine kick, Max Griffiths was a major factor in New Town's (and Glenorchy's) dominance of the TANFL during the 1950s, taking part in victorious grand finals in 1953, 1955, 1956 and 1958. He was also an important player for Tasmania in interstate games, of which he played a total of 10, including appearances at both the 1956 Perth and 1958 Melbourne carnivals. Griffiths topped his club's goal kicking list in 1954 with 55 goals, 1955 (52), 1956 (42) and 1959 (28). He won its best and fairest award in 1959. A regular TFL intrastate representative, he won the Weller Arnold Medal in 1955, the first player from New Town to be so honoured. |
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| A
superbly skilled and scrupulously fair centreman, Geelong's
Dick Grigg was felt by some to be the best player in the VFL for much of
his eleven season, 194 game career. A near automatic state selection, he
marked brilliantly, had tremendous pace, and was one of the best kicks in
the game.
After officially retiring in 1914 he was persuaded to resume briefly when Geelong qualified for the 1921 major round, but unfortunately he proved unable to stop Richmond dumping the Cats from contention in the 1st semi final. |
| Harry Grigg enjoyed a long league career with Perth during which he stamped himself as one of the finest centremen in the game. He won at least one fairest and best award with the club – in 1927 – but there might conceivably have been others as full records for seven of his fourteen seasons in the game cannot be traced. He played a total of 202 senior games between 1923 and 1936. Grigg’s interstate career comprised 8 games including appearances at the 1933 Sydney carnival. He also played 3 times for league combinations against visiting club teams from interstate. |
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Ken Grimley (Wilston Grange, Fitzroy, Coorparoo) by Murray Bird and Peter Blucher |
| Ken Grimley was a powerful ruckman/key forward with Wilston Grange and Coorparoo. A member of Grange's first premiership side in 1955, he went to Fitzroy in 1957 and kicked 6 goals on debut, but only lasted one year (9 games) in the VFL. Grimley played in six consecutive QAFL grand finals for Coorparoo between 1959 and 1964, having joined the Roos in 1960, and finished his career back at Grange. He represented Queensland 22 times, and was captain of the undefeated State teams in 1963-4. He won the Grogan Medal in 1964, was runner-up in 1961, and was QAFL leading goal kicker in 1956. He and son Brett are the only Queensland father/son combination to play VFL football. |
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Dick Grimmond (Richmond & North Hobart)
[Click to enlarge] |
| Originally from Albury, Dick Grimmond gave Richmond highly consistent and reliable service in 102 senior VFL games between 1959 and 1964, kicking 6 goals. Most of his football was played on the wing. In 1965 he crossed to North Hobart as captain-coach where he spent two seasons, getting his charges as far as the grand final, which they lost to Glenorchy, in the first of them. During his time with Richmond he had played once for the VFL and he represented Tasmania both in 1965 and at the 1966 Hobart carnival. |
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Tom Grimshaw (South Melbourne & Footscray)
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| South
Melbourne recruited Tom Grimshaw from Footscray juniors in 1908, and
he gave the side good service, mainly as a half back flanker, in 81 VFL
games over five seasons. He was a member of South's winning grand
final team against Carlton in 1909, but
when the red and whites next made the premiership decider three years
later he was missing with a knee injury.
In 1913, Grimshaw crossed to Footscray in the VFA and played in a premiership team in his first season. The following year he was widely regarded as one of the Tricolours' best in a losing grand final against North Melbourne. However, rumours that certain players, including Grimshaw, had deliberately played below their best in return for financial inducement gradually gained popularity if not quite credence over the course of the summer months, and prior to the start of the 1915 season Tom Grimshaw, along with four of his team mates, was unceremoniously sacked, bringing a sad end to an otherwise fine career. As for whether or not any of the Footscray players actually did 'play dead' in the 1914 grand final, we shall probably never know. |
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Trevor Grimwood (Port Adelaide & West Adelaide)
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| The epitome of the 'honest Aussie battler', Trevor Grimwood struggled for many years to prove himself as an Australian footballer, and was ultimately rewarded with a Magarey Medal. After failing to crack it for a senior game with Norwood in 1965 and 1966, he spent the next four seasons playing for his home town club, Meadows. In 1971 he was signed by Port Adelaide, but in three seasons at the club he managed just 33 games, and although he played well on occasion, he was never a first choice player. When Port coach Fos Williams crossed to West Adelaide in 1974, he persuaded Grimwood to join him, and over the ensuing four seasons the tough, hard-working and combative rover gradually came into his own. In 1976, he played the best and most consistent football of his career, winning West's best and fairest award, and finishing in third place in the Magarey Medal. The following year, although inconvenienced by a persistent hamstring injury, he did even better, polling a highly commendable 32 Magarey Medal votes to win the award by a clear ten vote margin from his former Port Adelaide team mate Max James. Having established himself as one of South Australia's premier players, Grimwood might have been expected to kick on, but in 1978 and 1979 his hamstring problems got steadily worse, undermining his performances to the extent that he only managed 4 senior games in the latter year. In 1980, after 102 games for Westies, Trevor Grimwood returned to Meadows, where he finished his career as a player. |
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Tom Grljusich (South Fremantle & Central District)
[Click to enlarge] |
| As
a strongly built key position player and occasional ruckman, Tom Grljusich
played what at the time of his retirement was a record 258 league games for South
Fremantle (since overhauled by Marty
Atkins) and another 49 for Central
District, besides representing both Western Australia and South
Australia in the interstate arena. He combined excellent aerial
ability with an astute native football intelligence that was best
exemplified by his deft and damaging use of handball. As a
youngster, he idolised East Perth's Graham
'Polly' Farmer, consciously adopting many of that player's trademark
traits and techniques, and if he was never perhaps quite on Farmer's level
as a player, he nevertheless attracted considerable admiration from the
purists as well as adulation from the fans thanks to his insatiably
wholehearted approach to the game. If he had a weakness, it was that
his kicking tended to be somewhat less reliable than his handball, so that
on occasion he would disappoint supporters by winning the hard ball
against all the odds, only to surrender it immediately with an ill
directed kick.
During his short stay with Centrals, Grljusich won a best and fairest trophy in 1966 and a leading goal kicker award, with 33 goals, the following year. At South Freo, he won fairest and best awards in 1968 and 1972, and was the club's top goal kicker, with 36 goals, in 1967. However, the highlight of his career was undoubtedly the 1970 WANFL grand final when he was one of the best performers on view as South Fremantle broke a sixteen year premiership drought with a 15.7 (97) to 6.18 (54) defeat of Perth. After retiring as a player, Grljusich served as South Freo's runner for a time. In May 2004 he was selected in Central District's official 'Best Team 1964 to 2003'. |
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William Grundy (East Perth, Footscray, Mines Rovers, South Fremantle)
[Click to enlarge] |
| Billy Grundy was a diminutive but highly talented rover who never settled at one club for very long, and who should, perhaps, have achieved a good deal more in the game than he did. He commenced his senior league career in 1931 at East Perth, where he played 13 games and kicked 19 goals for a team that ran third. Arguably his best football came during a 28 game stint at Footscray in the VFL in 1933-4, when he impressed as a wingman in addition to his more usual roving role. Pacy, clever and a superb kick, he was ready made VFL player, but wanderlust proved to be more of a motivating factor than the lure of top level football. The 1937 season saw Grundy playing for a Mines Rovers team that ended up winning the GNFL premiership, while his final 17 games at league level came with South Fremantle the following year. |
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John 'Jackie' Guhl (East Perth)
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| In 1924 'Jackie' Guhl followed his brother Avery to Subiaco, but, unable to break into the powerful Maroons combination, he returned home. The following year he was invited to try out with East Perth, a team that was ostensibly on the wane after its record-breaking five premierships in a row sequence from 1919 to 1923. The Royals brains trust saw something in the willowy wingman that they liked, and included him in the starting line-up for the opening match of the season against Perth, which proved to be the first of an eventual then club record 234 senior appearances over fourteen seasons which included the premiership wins of 1926, 1927 and 1936. Smaller and lighter than most opposing wingmen, he triumphed by a combination of subtle, silken skills and the happy knack of frequently managing to be at the fall of the ball. The West Australian selectors thought so highly of him that they included him in no fewer than 21 state teams, the most by an East Perth player until the arrival on the scene two decades later of a certain Graham 'Polly' Farmer. Guhl captained the Royals in 1933, a season which saw them finish 4th. It is perhaps a little surprising to note that he never won his club's fairest and best award, but he did tend to poll well in the Sandover Medal, finishing joint runner-up to team mate 'Staunch' Owens in his debut season, and running fourth in a very high class field in 1932. Moreover, his frequent inclusion in best player lists for finals and other important matches emphasises just how important he was to the club. That importance was later highlighted by his selection as a wingman in East Perth's official 'Team of the Century 1906-1944'. |
| Syd
Guildford is the QAFL games record holder with a total of 333 senior
appearances officially credited to him between 1963 and 1981, all with Wilston
Grange. However, league records were not assiduously maintained
prior to 1965, and it is likely that Guildford's actual tally of games was
higher, perhaps in the order of 360-365. He also played 31 times for Queensland, beginning in 1964, and culminating
in the inaugural state
of origin championships in Perth in 1979. Guildford trained with
Carlton in 1966, but never moved south because of a moratorium which
existed during the 1960s precluding southern states clubs from weakening
the game in Queensland by poaching the state's best players. There
is little doubt that he would have been a success in the VFL had he
elected, and been allowed, to go there. Of medium build
(180cm, 74.5kg), he was equally at home on a wing or a half back flank,
and combined scrupulous fairness - he was never once reported - with
tremendous determination and courage. He played in Wilston
Grange's losing 1977 grand final side whilst suffering from a broken
jaw, having earlier enjoyed premiership success in both 1969 and 1972, on
the latter occasion as captain. He captain-coached the Grange for a
couple of seasons in the '70s, and was a dual winner of the club's best
and fairest award as well as finishing second on five occasions.
In 1979, Kevin Sheedy was assistant coach of the Queensland state team, and his impressions of Syd Guildford could scarcely have been more favourable. Writing in 'Inside Football' a couple of years later he recalled: During my time in football I've seen three great trainers who have really stood out. They are Francis Bourke (Richmond), Mark Williams (SA, now with Collingwood) and Syd Guildford (Queensland). These three have always given 110 per cent in concentration, effort and enthusiasm at training. You could sense that playing top football meant something magnificent to them, as though it was a unique achievement in their lives. The annual best and fairest award in AFL Queensland's state league competition is named the Syd Guildford Medal in Guildford's honour. Given his achievements and obvious talent, and particularly bearing in mind the fact that the QAFL was the highest level of competition open to him for much of his career, it is more than a little disappointing that Syd Guildford has so far not been deemed worthy for inclusion in the AFL's much vaunted, but in truth almost wholly Vic-centric, Hall of Fame. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Danny Guinane began and ended his Richmond career in flag-winning seasons, but he had the misfortune never to play in a premiership side. He had yet to establish himself in the senior side when the Tigers overcame South Melbourne in the 1934 grand final, while nine years later, when Essendon was vanquished, he had fallen out of favour. In between, however, he enjoyed an excellent, 102 game VFL career as a dashing and clever defender. His son Paddy Guinane also played for Richmond. |
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Paddy Guinane (Richmond, Dandenong, Caulfield)
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| The son of former Richmond defender Danny Guinane, Paddy Guinane followed in his father's footsteps with a 146 game VFL career with the Tigers between 1959 and 1968. Unlike his father, however, he played most of his football on the forward lines (although he also played, at some time or another, in virtually every position on the field), and his 216 career goals included tallies of 50 in 1966 and 41 two years later which were good enough to top Richmond's list. A firm favourite among the Punt Road faithful because of his obviously wholehearted commitment to the Tiger cause, Guinane was a strong mark and a booming, if sometimes erratic, kick. He played one interstate match for the VFL. In 1969 he transferred to VFA 1st division side Dandenong, where he spent two seasons and proved a real draw-card. He then joined former team mates Tony Jewell and Neville Crowe at Caulfield, where Jewell had assumed the coaching reins. In 1973, Guinane was at centre half forward as the Bears downed Brunswick by 22 points in the VFA's 2nd division grand final, thereby winning the only senior flag in their twenty-three year involvement in the competition. Had he managed to achieve greater consistency during his career he might today be remembered as one of the greatest centre half forwards of all time. |
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Stewart Gull (South Melbourne & Melbourne)
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| Players with boxing pedigrees, such as Stewart Gull, often find themselves the focus of excessive physical attention on the football field; Footscray's Ambrose Palmer, for example, who won Australian titles in three weight divisions, came in for far more than his fair share of cowardly intimidation, to which he steadfastly refused to respond in kind. Gull, however, never had any such problems, perhaps because it was obvious that he was more than capable of looking after himself. He was also a highly capable footballer, playing 87 VFL games and kicking 157 goals for South Melbourne, who he joined from North Ballarat, between 1972 and 1978. Most of those games were played as a key position forward. In 1979 he crossed to Melbourne but in his second game for the Demons he crashed into a goal post and broke his collar bone, whereupon he retired from the game. |
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Frank Gumbleton (North Melbourne)
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| Originally from Ganmain, North Melbourne defender Frank Gumbleton was typically referred to during his career with terms like 'dependable', 'reliable' and 'honest'. However, he also boasted a fair amount of skill, and was an important player for the 'Roos during arguably the club's greatest era. His 147 VFL games between 1970 and 1979 included the grand finals of 1975 (won), 1976 (lost), and 1977 (both the drawn game, and North's win in the replay). Gumbleton lined up in the back pocket in all these matches, as he did in the winning championship of Australia decider against Norwood in Adelaide in 1975. |
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William Gunn (Williamstown & South Melbourne)
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| After commencing with the powerful Williamstown side in the VFA, Billy Gunn crossed to South Melbourne in 1952 where he quickly established a reputation as an energetic, elusive and damaging forward. A regular VFL interstate representative, Gunn captained South in 1955, and but for a succession of niggling injuries, and a refusal to play carnival football, even after being selected, because of work commitments, might easily have acquired a reputation as one of the game's all time greats. As it was, he managed just 104 VFL games in eight seasons. |
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Wally Gunnyon (South Fremantle, St Kilda, Oakleigh)
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| Wally Gunnyon played briefly with South Fremantle prior to World War One, but it was when he resumed in 1919 after several years of military service that he really began to make his mark. A half forward for most of the West Australian phase of his career, he marked and kicked well, and was extremely elusive and tactically astute. He represented the victorious Western Australian side at the 1921 Perth carnival, and played well at centre half forward in both the state's games. In 1922 he crossed to St Kilda where he played 63 games in six seasons, showing particularly admirable form after being shifted to the backlines in 1925. When Oakleigh entered the VFA in 1927 Wally Gunnyon was one of several footballers of high repute brought to the club in a bid to help it establish itself quickly. The policy worked, but by the time the Purple and Golds annexed their first premiership in 1930 Gunnyon had retired as a player. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Although Hugh Guthrie's league career was comparatively brief - 69 games for Claremont between 1937 and 1941 - he did manage to accomplish the two things that rank highest on nearly every footballer's wish list: play in a premiership team, in 1940, and win a club fairest and best award, the following year. Most of Guthrie's football, including the victorious 1940 grand final against South Fremantle, was played as a half back flanker. He was unfortunate that Western Australia did not play any interstate games in 1940 and 1941 because his form in both years was certainly good enough to have attracted the attention of the state selectors. |
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Eric Guy (Oakleigh & St Kilda)
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| The
quintessential straight ahead type of player who took no prisoners, Eric
Guy was nevertheless scrupulously fair. He commenced his senior
career with Oakleigh, where he played 91 games
in five seasons, without necessarily always being a first choice. In
1952, for example, Guy missed the opportunity to play in a premiership
team when he failed to gain selection for the Purple and Golds' victorious
grand final encounter with Port Melbourne.
Aged twenty-four, Eric Guy crossed to St Kilda in 1957 unsure as to whether he was likely to succeed. He need not have worried, as he rapidly acquired a reputation as one of the VFL's most redoubtable - and effective - enforcers. Perhaps not surprisingly, he soon found himself nicknamed 'The Tank', a label which stayed with him throughout his six season, 93 game league career. Vice-captain of the Saints for three of those years, Guy was also a triple interstate representative for the VFL. A ruck-rover for most of his time in the VFA, Eric Guy finished his career with St Kilda as a ruthlessly resolute half back flanker. Wherever he played, he gave value for money, and was a firm favourite with the fans. |
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Peter Guy (Mordialloc & Southport) by Murray Bird and Peter Blucher |
| A gangly ruckman originally from Mordialloc, Peter Guy was a priority recruit by Southport from Coolangatta for their entry to the QAFL in 1983. He won the Sharks' first two QAFL best and fairest awards in 1983-4, and tied for the 1983 Grogan Medal with Sherwood's Bill Pierce. He played in premiership sides in 1983, 1985 and 1987, and was number one QAFL ruckman of the mid-to -late 1980s. A State team stalwart, Guy wore the Maroons jumper 13 times during the successful 1980s era. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| St Kilda's Jim Guyatt was an accomplished all round footballer who would undoubtedly have been a decided asset during the club's halcyon era of the mid to late 1960s and early 1970s. Tragically, however, his blossoming career was brought to a premature end by a serious knee injury when he was aged just twenty-four. By that time, Guyatt, who made his VFL debut in 1957, had played 114 games and kicked 22 goals in just under eight seasons. Solidly built, and extremely speedy, he could play in a variety of positions, but produced his best football as a ruck-rover. His kicking, whether short passing to a team mate, or over distance, was superb. He played twice for the VFL in 1962, and was again included in the state squad in 1964, his last season. |
