Go straight to the biography of your choice by clicking on the appropriate link:
[Bob Page] [George Paget] [Roy Pain] [Ambrose Palmer] [Stuart Palmer] [Des Panizza] [Albert Pannam] [Charlie Pannam senior] [John Pannenburg] [Max Papley] [Tony Parentich] [Colin Parham] [Denis Parham] [Jim Park] [Greg Parke] [Max Parker] [Eric Parkes] [David Parkin] [John Parkinson] [Percy Parratt] [Bob Parsons] [Sydney Parsons senior] [Dick Parton] [Barry Pascoe] [Malcolm Pascoe] [Robert Pascoe] [Harold Pash] [Jeff Pash] [Norman Pash] [Ian Paton] [Stanley Patten] [Mike Patterson] [Keith Pattinson] [Burnet 'Burnie' Payne] [Charlie Payne] [William Payne] [John Paynter] [Travis Payze] [Brian Peake] [Charles Pearson] [Neil Pearson] [John Peck] [Paul Peos] [Harold Perkins] [Val Perovic] [Ernie Perrett] [Bob Perry] [Charles Perry] [Michael Perry] [Ray Perry] [Gary Pert] [Victor Peters] [Noel Pettingill] [Gordon Phelan] [Peter Phillipou] [Brenton Phillips] [Bruce Phillips] [Fred 'Flops' Phillips] [Greg Phillips] [John Phillips] [Ron Phillips] [Dennis 'Fred' Phillis] [Wayne Phillis] [Bob Philp] [Clive Philp] [Peter Phipps] [Peter Pianto] [Martin Pike] [Glen Pill] [Jack Pimm] [Doug Pittard] [John Pitura] [John Platten] ['Mick' Pleass] [Bryan Ploenges] [Bill Plunkett] [Rod Podbury] [J. 'Snob' Polglaise] [Tony Polinelli] [Max Pontifex] [Ted Pool] [Reg Poole] [Allan Poore] [Horrie Pope] [Rodney Pope] [Roy Porter] [Jeff Potter] [Ted Potter] [Barry Potts] [William 'Tiger' Potts] [Joe Poulter] [Mike Poulter] [Ray Poulter] [Dennis Powell] [Bill Power] [Stephen Power] [Bob Pratt] [Alan Preen] [Barry Price] [Wally Price] [Matthew Primus] [George Prince] [Joe Prince] [Fred Pringle] [Don Prior] [Darrin Pritchard] [Kevin Pritchard] [Allen Prosser] [William Proudfoot] [Ross Prunster] [Andrew Purser] [Charlie Pyatt] [Len 'Apples' Pye] [Don Pyke] [Frank Pyke] [Ricky Quade] [John Quarrell] [Alan Quartermaine] [Bernie Quinlan] [Bob Quinn] [Jack Quinn] [Tom Quinn] [Bryan Quirk]
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| A tough, bullocking ruck-rover who was deceptively pacy, and a fine kick, Perth's Bob Page made a crucial contribution to the club's dominance of the WANFL during the mid to late 1960s. Page it was who did much of the hard work clearing space for the likes of Cable, Dalton, Brehaut and Jenzen to show off their skills. He made his league debut in 1965, and played a total of 132 games over seven seasons. He was a key member of Perth's 1966 and 1967 premiership teams, but missed the winning grand final of 1968 after sustaining an injury during the pre-match warm-up. He later played in the losing grand final of 1970 against South Fremantle. Bob Page represented Western Australia 8 times, including 2 of the state's 4 games at the 1966 Hobart carnival. Perth's 1966-7-8 premiership coach Mal Atwell felt that Page was unfortunate not to be selected in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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George Paget (South Melbourne, Wynnum, Brisbane) by Murray Bird and Peter Blucher |
| A
half back flanker cum rover who was fast, skilful and elusive and renowned
for his work ethic, George Paget commenced his career in Queensland in the
first game of the twentieth century, at the Botanical Gardens on 18 June
1904. He started his career at South
Melbourne before playing senior representative football in Adelaide
and Broken Hill. After a golden era in the 1880s in which there were
over 300 clubs in Queensland the sport faded, only to resurface with Paget
as a star player prior to World War One. He was part of the
successful Wynnum Gordon’s 1909 premiership, and also spent time at the
Brisbane and Ipswich clubs. Paget was a member of Queensland’s first
interstate team of the new era in 1904, and went on to play for the state
every season through until 1912, except 1911 as there were no interstate
games that year. He was vice-captain of
Queensland from 1905-09, and captained the state in 1910. In 1912,
he was part of a Brisbane representative team that played a series of
matches against Central Queensland and Mount Morgan. He received a
gold medal as best player of this series and his stellar play had Central
Queensland rugby enthusiasts lamenting … “We regretted George was not
a member of the rugby union – his pace, dash and judgement would earn
him a place in any rugby team in Queensland.”
George Paget was born on the Port Louis Island of Mauritius in 1871. His father was English, and his mother French Mauritian. His move to Queensland was precipitated by his employment as a drover. He drove cattle from South Australia up the Birdsville track to places such as Thargomindah, Windorah, Bedourie and Victoria River Downs. When at home he played for various Queensland clubs. He ultimately settled in Queensland, and started farming on the gold coast. |
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| An energetic and tenacious half forward flanker, Roy Pain often came to the fore when the going was at its most strenuous. His effectiveness was sometimes undermined by erratic kicking, but when on song he could be a highly damaging player. When West Torrens broke through for an inaugural league premiership with an 8 point challenge final victory over Sturt in 1924 (match briefly reviewed here), Roy Pain was among the victors' most noteworthy contributors. Although his career at the top level was only brief, he did achieve interstate selection for South Australia on one occasion. |
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| Best known as a boxer, in which he won Australian titles in three weight divisions, Ambrose Palmer was nevertheless a serviceable footballer as well, who would almost certainly have played more than the 83 VFL games he managed between 1933 and 1943 had his pugilistic commitments not frequently intervened. A tough, courageous rover, Palmer was not surprisingly often the target for 'special treatment' on the part of opponents, but he never rose to the bait. Richmond legend Jack Dyer described Palmer as one of Footscray's most dedicated players. |
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Stuart Palmer (South Adelaide)
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| South
Adelaide's games record
holder with 337 appearances, Stuart Palmer was rarely in the headlines,
but often in the best player lists, during his seventeen season stint with the
under-achieving Panthers.
Born in the northern English town of Nelson, Palmer moved with his family to Australia when aged 5, and made his South Adelaide debut in April 1969, shortly before his 18th birthday, when he came off the bench in the 2nd term to register a goal with his first kick in League football. The fact that South's opponents that day were Port Adelaide, and the venue Alberton, made the achievement even more meritorious, and when Palmer booted 4 goals from centre half forward the following week he was immediately hailed as a star in the making. At season's end, he won a media award for the best first year player in the SANFL. "I would have preferred to make an honest start and build a reputation," he later confided (see footnote 1), recalling how his career subsequently stalled for a few years before, under the astute coaching of Haydn Bunton junior, Palmer, along with South Adelaide, re-emerged as a force during the second half of the 1970s. Under Bunton, the 193cm, 85.5kg Palmer demonstrated his versatility, playing in a number of positions, including full back in the 1979 grand final, one of only two premiership play offs contested by the Panthers since the 2nd World War. A spectacular high mark and excellent reader of the play, Palmer was a regular member of South Australian interstate training squads during the late 1970s and early '80s, but made just 1 appearance, against Queensland in 1980. He was South Adelaide's skipper for three seasons, from 1982 to 1984. |
Footnotes1. 'SANFL Football Budget', volume 54, number 30, 29/9/79, page 11. Return to Main Text |
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| Ruckman Des Panizza played 145 senior games and kicked 100 goals for South Adelaide between 1950 and 1956 and from 1960 to 1962. He won the club's best and fairest award in 1960 and topped the club's goal kicking list the same year. He also represented South Australia 7 times, kicking 2 goals. According to the late Jeff Pash he was "perhaps the cleverest player of them all - that is to say clever with the biggest range of movements" (see footnote 1). Shorter than most opposition ruckman, he nevertheless won more than his share of hit-outs thanks to his unstinting aggressive energy and prodigious leaping ability. |
Footnotes1. The Pash Papers by Jeff Pash, page 171. Return to Main Text |
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Albert Pannam (Collingwood, Richmond, Oakleigh)
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| One
of the finest rovers of his generation, Alby Pannam was a product of
Abbotsford, one of Collingwood's most
fruitful recruiting grounds. He made his VFL debut with the Magpies
in 1933, and had played 181 senior games and booted 453 goals for the club
by the time he finished in 1945. Particularly renowned for his
adeptness near goal, he topped Collingwood's goal kicking list on three
occasions, and his best afield performance in the winning grand final of
1936 against South Melbourne was capped
with 5 of his team's 11 goals. Pannam also played in the premiership
win of 1935 against the same opposition, and in the losing grand finals of
1937 and 1938. Extremely small and light at 168cm and 63.5 kg, he
dodged and weaved brilliantly, but at the same time was not shy of 'mixing
it' whenever the need arose. Sometimes accused of his selfishness,
his value to the 'Woods was nevertheless considerable as he was always in
the thick of the action, and if he sometimes attempted to do too much this
was counterbalanced by his consistent effectiveness in negating the impact
of his direct opponent. A VFL interstate representative in both 1941
and 1945, Pannam won a Copeland Trophy as club best and fairest in 1942,
and served as skipper of the side in his final league season. In
1946 he crossed to Richmond as captain-coach of
the reserves, but he made a brief, 2 game senior comeback in 1947.
Between 1959 and 1963 he served as non-playing coach of Oakleigh
in the VFA, steering the side to its fifth senior flag in 1960.
Alby Pannam was the son of Charles Pannam senior, and the brother of Charles Pannam junior, both of whom also played league football for Collingwood. |
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Charlie Pannam senior (Collingwood, Richmond, Preston)
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| Charlie
Pannam senior was one of the chief architects of Collingwood's
famed short game - known as 'the system' - which was honed on a club trip
to Tasmania in 1902, and which centred on a newly invented kick, the stab
pass. Pannam was a master of this kick, but his pace, skill and
general nouse gave him plenty of other strings to his bow. He played
mainly as a wingman, but was also dangerous near goal, and in 1905 he
topped the VFL goal kicking list with 38 goals.
Pannam commenced his career with the Woods during the club's time in the VFA, and was heavily instrumental in the 6.9 to 5.10 premiership play-off victory of 1896 against South Melbourne (reviewed here). In 1907, Pannam joined VFA side Richmond, and helped that club gain admission to the league the following year. However, in 1909 he was passed over for the coaching job, and left in disgust. Pannam spent the 1909 season as captain-coach of VFA under-achievers Preston, before eventually returning to Richmond as non-playing coach in 1912. Charlie Pannam senior's sons, Charlie junior and Alby, both represented Collingwood with distinction between the wars (and, in Alby's case, also during World War Two), and the dynasty continued into a third generation with grand sons Ron and Lou Richards. |
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John Pannenburg (West Adelaide)
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| Dutch-born John Pannenburg was a solidly built 183cm, 85.5kg on-baller who gave West Adelaide good service in 107 league games between 1966 and 1974, booting 177 goals in the process. Strong overhead, and tough in the clinches, he was sometimes let down by poor disposal early in his career but this improved the longer he played. Pannenburg, who originally joined West from Mount Gambier, represented South Australia at the 1969 Adelaide carnival. |
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Max Papley (Moorabbin, South Melbourne, Williamstown)
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| Max
Papley's ostensibly lethargic approach masked a prodigious football
talent. Much of his best football was played during a 98 game stint
with Moorabbin which culminated in a 19.16
(130) to 9.12 (66) grand final trouncing of Sandringham.
Papley skippered the victors and was best afield with a 6 goal performance
from centre half forward. The following year he crossed to VFL club South
Melbourne where, playing mainly on the half forward line or across
centre, he enjoyed an auspicious but fleeting 59 game league career.
He also booted 66 goals, represented the VFL, and won South's 1966 best
and fairest award, but in 1968 he decided to return to the VFA as
captain-coach of 2nd division Williamstown.
Under Papley's command the Seagulls made the 1968 2nd division grand
final, but lost a high scoring thriller to Geelong
West by 2 goals. The following season, however, with Papley 'on
fire' as a ruck-rover, Williamstown made amends with a 15.14 (104) to
12.12 (84) grand final defeat of Sunshine.
The club's good form continued in 1970 in 1st division, and it ended the
year as the first ever club to reach the grand final the season after
securing promotion. The Seagulls were confident, having got to
within a goal of grand final opponent Prahran in
the 2nd semi final, but when the chips were down it was the Two Blues who
rose to the occasion, ultimately pulling away to win by a deceptively
comfortable margin of 50 points.
Max Papley's significance in the history of the Williamstown Football Club was emphasised in May 2003 when he was selected as centreman in the Seagulls' official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
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Tony Parentich (South Fremantle)
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| Tony
Parentich made his debut for South
Fremantle in 1952 and at the end of the season was one of the best
players afield as South came from 5 goals down at half time to beat West
Perth 12.19 (91) to 10.10 (70) in the WANFL grand final. Twelve
months later, against the same opponent, Parentich's display was equally
auspicious in a somewhat more convincing 59 point win. Earlier that
same season, at the Adelaide carnival,
he had made the first of an eventual half a dozen interstate appearances
for Western Australia, the last two of which came at the
Melbourne centenary carnival five years later.
Pacy, purposeful and abundantly skilled, Parentich was beyond question one of the finest centremen to play league football during the 1950s. Besides the aforementioned 1953 and 1954 premiership teams, he played in the 78 point grand final annihilation of arch rivals East Fremantle, and in the losing grand final of 1956 against East Perth when he was again one of South's best. In addition to centre, Parentich was an equally fine wingman or half forward flanker. Winner of his club's fairest and best trophy in 1957, he had played a total of 162 official senior games by the time he retired in 1959. He had also played a fair number of 'unofficial' senior games for South, mainly against teams from interstate. In one such game, against a South Australian number 2 state side on the Adelaide Oval in 1954, Parentich's flawless display in the centre was the main difference between the teams, with South proving their status as arguably the finest club team in Australia at the time by winning by 7 points. |
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| Whilst probably not quite in the very top bracket among Port Adelaide footballers of the Fos Williams era, Colin Parham was nevertheless a highly accomplished player who was capable of bursts of genuine, eye-catching brilliance. Playing mainly on a half back flank, he combined ultra reliability with an adventurous spirit that often saw him embark on prolonged, surging runs downfield. Parham was a member of two Magpie grand final-winning teams - against North Adelaide in 1951, and against West Adelaide three years later - and was named high in the best player lists after both games. He played a total of 115 SANFL games between 1948 and 1957, and was perhaps a touch unfortunate not to achieve state selection. |
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| Denis Parham was a hard working, energetic footballer who gave South Adelaide sound service in 149 league games between 1952 and 1961. He booted 68 goals. Two years after his retirement as a player he shared the South Adelaide coaching with Bill Sutherland, laying the foundations for the team that was to secure a premiership under Neil Kerley in 1964. |
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| Heftily built, Carlton defender Jim Park was nevertheless quick, surprisingly agile, and excellent in the air. He is probably best remembered for his dogged display in the 1938 VFL grand final when he restricted champion Collingwood forward Ron Todd to just 3 goals, thereby making a significant contribution to the Blues' eventual 15 point win. Park played a total of 128 senior games for Carlton between 1932 and 1940, and was a VFL interstate representative in 1938. He died in action during World War Two. |
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Greg Parke (Melbourne, Footscray, Norwood, Fitzroy)
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| Hailing from Bentleigh, Greg Parke joined Melbourne in 1968, and soon developed into a fine centre half forward. Especially renowned for his superlative high marking, he led the VFL in marks taken in 1970 with 238, which at the time was a record for that particular statistic since reliable records had begun in 1965, and would remain so until 1980, when narrowly overhauled by Gary Dempsey, who took 241. Parke topped Melbourne's goal kicking in 1972 with 62 goals, but began to struggle for consistency after that and was transferred to Footscray in 1974. He produced many fine performances for the Bulldogs and was a leading light in the club's 1974 finals campaign. Parke finished his career with a season at Norwood in 1976, followed by a season with Fitzroy. In all, he played a total of 189 league games, comprising 119 with Melbourne, 37 for Footscray, 18 at Norwood, and 15 for Fitzroy. |
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Max Parker (Footscray, Woodville, North Adelaide)
[Click to enlarge] The following profile appears on the excellent Legends Of SANFL website, and is reproduced here by kind permission of the site author and owner Peter McConnell. |
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Max Parker was one of the most inspirational players to pull on the Woodville guernsey. Originally
hailing from the Victorian country town of Parker's
size and mobility at centre half forward made him a handful for any
opponent. He eventually settled into a defensive role and it was
here that he was a stalwart for many years. He and Lindsay
Heaven held fast against rampaging attacks during the dark years of
the early 80s. Later in his career, he was a tireless ruckman. A
man of few words, and never one to mince them, he left Woodville after a
disagreement to join |
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Eric Parkes (Yarraville & North Melbourne)
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| Eric Parkes was a solid, imperturbable defender who, during the immediate post-war period, gave fine service to, first, Yarraville and later North Melbourne. During the VFL phase of his career he played a total of 74 senior games and kicked 3 goals between 1949 and 1955. |
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David Parkin (Hawthorn, Subiaco, Carlton, Fitzroy)
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| As
a footballer, Hawthorn's David Parkin
was a tough, no-nonsense, straight ahead back pocket player who, in many
ways, epitomised the approach of his coach, John
Kennedy, to the
game. Indeed, if Kennedy had a favoured disciple, it was Parkin, who
played a total of 211 VFL games for the Hawks between 1961 and 1974,
winning a best and fairest award in 1965. Between 1969 and 1973 he
captained the club, with his proudest moment coming when he led his side
to a 1971 grand final win over St Kilda,
putting in a near best afield performance to boot.
In 1975, David Parkin joined Subiaco as captain-coach, but endured an unsuccessful time, only managing to play 8 league games, and witnessing his charges finishing just one place off the bottom of the ladder. It must have been a useful education, however, for when he took over the coaching reins at Hawthorn a couple of years later he proved an immediate success, steering the Hawks to 3rd place in his debut season and a premiership the year after. Parkin's success at Hawthorn was perhaps attributable to a mixture of sameness and originality, for while he shared his predecessor Kennedy's passion for fitness and hard work, in terms of personality he was very different. Whereas Kennedy was very much the disciplinarian, whose word was law, Parkin adopted a much more modern, consensus based approach in which the views of players were always welcome. Ultimately, however, he may have been a little in advance of his time - either that, or he was still coming to grips with the formula - for Hawthorn struggled in 1979 and 1980 (10 wins each year) and when, at the end of the 1980 season, Parkin crossed to Carlton it was neither an entirely unexpected nor a particularly amicable divorce. Just by way of demonstrating that there was nothing wrong with his coaching methods, Parkin immediately took the Blues to back to back premierships, and he has since gone on to be prove himself one of the most highly respected and successful coaches in the game, winning a 4th senior flag in 1995, during his second stint with the Blues. Interspersed between his two spells at Carlton, Parkin spent the 1986-88 seasons at Fitzroy, where he further emphasised his credentials by getting the perennially underachieving Lions to a preliminary final in his debut year. Over the course of a twenty-three season, 518 game V/AFL coaching career that yielded a 59.3% success rate David Parkin's coaching style remained essentially the same, mirroring the disciplined, hard-working, industrious mentality that characterised David Parkin the player. Nowadays, meticulous preparation which incorporates detailed analyses of opposing teams' strengths and weaknesses is a taken for granted 'given' at every AFL club, but prior to Parkin things were typically handled much less assiduously; in a sense, he was the first V/AFL coach for whom the classroom became at least as important as the training track, and for that reason alone he is worthy of a prominent place in the annals of football history. |
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John Parkinson (Claremont & Collingwood)
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| Recruited
from a local junior competition, John 'Buzz' Parkinson made his league
debut with Claremont in 1963. A
slimly built, nimble rover, he was a prominent contributor to the
following year's 4 point grand final victory over East
Fremantle. His best season was 1967, when he tied with Bill
Walker of Swans for the Sandover
Medal, and was the winner of Claremont's fairest and best
trophy. He also topped the Tigers' goal kicking list for the first
of three times. Parkinson was particularly renowned for his goal kicking
prowess: he could snap goals from almost any angle, an ability honed under
the attentive tutelage of coach Jim
Conway, himself an acknowledged former master of the art.
In 1971, John Parkinson decided to try his luck with Collingwood, but a broken collarbone restricted him to just 3 senior VFL appearances. He returned to Claremont in 1972 and played two further seasons for a career total of 156 WANFL games. He also represented Western Australia 3 times, a total which would have been much higher had his career not coincided with those of such legendary rovers as Bill Walker and Barry Cable. |
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Percy Parratt (Fitzroy, Carlton, Geelong)
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| One
of Fitzroy's all time greats, Percy Parratt
was once memorably described as "the evocation of football
brains" (see footnote 1). He utilised those
brains to commendable effect as a player at the Maroons in 196 games over
14 seasons, and somewhat less effectively as a coach at three different
VFL clubs at various times between 1913 and 1935. Ironically, his
only actual success as a coach, at least in terms of premiership
procurement, came in the very first of those seasons as, in a desperately
fought challenge final, the Maroons just managed to hold off a fast
finishing St Kilda to edge home by 11
points. Playing on a half forward flank, Parratt was a conspicuous
motivational force, particularly during the frenetic dying minutes of the
game, and was listed high among Fitzroy's best players.
One of the most audaciously talented half forward specialists of his era, Parratt was notorious for playing wide of his opponent, and for using the ball impeccably. He played in another two premiership teams for Fitzroy during his career, kicking 3 goals against both Carlton and Collingwood in the grand finals of 1916 and 1922 respectively. He also played against Essendon in the losing grand final of 1923, his last game in a Maroon jumper. The following year saw him installed as coach of Carlton, but he lasted just one season after failing to inspire any improvement over the previous year's 7th place finish. Percy Parratt's last VFL appointment came eleven seasons later, and was similarly ineffective as he signally failed to get the best out of a talented Geelong combination which, with few changes in personnel, was to win a premiership just two seasons later. He may not have been a great coach, but he was certainly a committed and enthusiastic one, while as a player he was among the very finest of his era. He was also one of only a few Fitzroy players to play in three premiership teams. In 2002 he was selected on the interchange bench in the Lions' official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
Footnotes1. Un-sourced quote given in The Encyclopedia of League Footballers by Jim Main and Russell Holmesby, page 344. Return to Main Text |
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Bob Parsons (New Town/Glenorchy, Penguin, Clarence)
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| Known
as 'The mighty Atom' during his playing career, Bob Parsons gave
tremendous service to Tasmanian football as both a player and a coach for
the better part of three decades. He began with New
Town prior to World War Two before embarking on military service
abroad. After returning home in 1945 he joined forces with Jack
Rough and Bill Fox to provide New Town with one of the greatest ruck
combinations seen in Tasmanian football.
A member of premiership sides in 1948-9, Parsons played a total of 95 TANFL games with New Town. He later played with Clarence (6 games) and Penguin (70 games). A regular interstate and representative player, arguably the greatest achievement in Bob Parsons' career came when he topped the goal kicking at the 1950 Brisbane carnival. With 14 goals in 4 games, Parsons finished 2 ahead of Bill Hutchison of the VFL, while renowned full forward John Coleman could manage only 9 goals for the series. Had an All Australian team been selected after the championships there seems little doubt that Parsons would have been included. Parsons also represented Tasmania at the Adelaide carnival three years later, and it was there, in recognition of his alacrity, courage and verve, that the nickname of 'The Mighty Atom' was first conferred upon him. After his retirement as a player, Bob Parsons was a successful coach, with his greatest accomplishment coming in 1965 when he steered Glenorchy (see footnote 1) to both the TANFL and state premierships. He is a member of Penguin's official 'Team of the Century', but not, perhaps surprisingly, Glenorchy's. |
Footnotes1. New Town became Glenorchy in 1957. Return to Main Text |
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Sydney Parsons senior (Perth & East Fremantle)
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| Sydney Parsons senior was a talented centreman who began his senior career at Perth, where he played 15 WAFA games in 1904. He then moved to East Fremantle where he added 91 games from 1905 to 1912, as well as in 1915 and 1918. He was in the centre when Old Easts lost to Perth in the 1907 grand final, and again in 1908 and 1909 when the tables were turned. In 1910 he played for a representative WAFL combination against a visiting Port Adelaide team. His son, Sydney Parsons junior, played 24 league games for East Fremantle between 1924 and 1927. |
| A
classical centre half forward of the 'old school', Windsor's
Dick Parton was a superb aerialist and tremendous drop kick who acted as
the fulcrum of his entire team's forward line. In a war interrupted
career he was a member of no fewer than eight Windsor premiership teams and
was a virtual ever present in Queensland interstate teams between 1937 and
1952. On one famous occasion he booted 9 goals in an interstate
match against arch rivals New South Wales.
As Parton's career went on he simply got better, as evidenced by his 1949 Grogan Medal win. As a youngster he preferred rugby league, but that code's loss was football's gain, and it is doubtful if Queensland football has ever witnessed a more imposing on field presence. |
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Barry Pascoe (North Adelaide, North Melbourne, St Kilda)
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| Smaller than brother
Bob, Barry Pascoe
was a brilliant ruck-rover who could win kicks at will. After just
25 games for North Adelaide he
sought to follow his brother to VFL side North
Melbourne in 1966. The Roosters, not surprisingly, were
reluctant to release him after such scant service, but after standing out
of the game for twelve months he finally won a clearance.
Pascoe spent just a single season with the Kangaroos. At the end of the 1967 season his brother Bob was sacked following a pay dispute and transferred to St Kilda. Once again, Barry followed hard on his brother's heels, and in three seasons with the Saints he began to emerge as a genuinely formidable talent. Tragically, however, his career came to a peremptory conclusion after just 81 senior games (25 SANFL, 56 VFL) when he suffered a serious knee injury. |
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Malcolm Pascoe (Essendon & Hobart)
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| Still a few weeks short of his sixteenth birthday, Mal Pascoe joined Essendon from Essendon Bombers in 1949, and spent the next four seasons working his way through the club's junior ranks. In 1952 he starred in the Dons' 7.14 (56) to 4.5 (29) seconds grand final win over Collingwood. Strong overhead, and a prodigious drop kick, he played a total of 94 VFL games between 1953 and 1958, including the losing grand final of 1957 against Melbourne when he shared the ruck-roving duties with Hugh Mitchell. In 1959 he accepted the post of captain-coach of TANFL side Hobart, where he enjoyed a dream debut season that saw him represent the state, win the William Leitch Medal for best and fairest in the competition, top the league's goal kicking list with 75 goals, and steer his side to a 9.14 (68) to 2.9 (27) grand final defeat of New Norfolk. Shortly after the grand final he steered Hobart to its first and only state championship title courtesy of a 14.11 (95) to 9.14 (68) victory over Burnie. He led the Tigers to a second successive TANFL flag in 1960, and also topped the league's goal kicking list again, this time with 57 majors. A third local premiership followed three years later, and Pascoe stayed at the helm until the end of the 1965 season, making him Hobart's longest serving senior coach up to that point. He continued as a player under his successor John Watts, and his final tally of 177 TANFL games included a starring role in the Tigers' heart-stopping 10.14 (74) to 11.7 (73) grand final defeat of Glenorchy in 1966. In 1978 he returned to Hobart as non-playing coach and was in charge for two seasons. The importance of Mal Pascoe's contribution to Hobart was later recognised with his inclusion, as first ruckman, in the club's official 'Greatest Team 1947 to 2002'. |
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Robert Pascoe (North Adelaide, North Melbourne, St Kilda, Burnie)
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| Hefty, robust and imposing, Bob Pascoe
began his league career at North
Adelaide, and his 97 senior games for the club between 1959 and 1963
included membership of its winning grand final team
against Norwood in 1960. In 1962 he
was selected to represent South Australia, but was forced to miss out
after incurring a suspension.
Pascoe's best football was played during his time at North Melbourne between 1964 and 1967. During the early part of the 1966 season he was widely acknowledged as the 'form' big man in the VFL, and selection in the Big V carnival squad for Hobart followed. Just as four years earlier in his home state, however, Pascoe ended up missing out, this time after suffering a broken leg. When Pascoe returned to football in 1967 he quickly rediscovered his best form, ultimately running third in North's best and fairest voting. With brother Barry, newly arrived from North Adelaide, he gave the 'Roos a solid first ruck combination. However, at season's end he ran foul of the club's authorities and was sacked. The following year found both Pascoe brothers at St Kilda, with Bob overcoming a controversial start - he was suspended by the club for twelve weeks during his debut season - to give commendable service in 31 games over three years. The final phase of Bob Pascoe's career took place in Tasmania where he captain-coached NWFU side Burnie between 1971 and 1973. During that time he played a total of 44 club games, besides representing the NWFU every year, and captaining Tasmania against the VFL in Hobart in 1973. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Harold Pash was an important contributor to North Adelaide's first ever 'glory era'. Playing initially mainly as a wingman, and later as a rover, he was quick, intelligent, and always picked up plenty of kicks. He appeared alongside his brother Norman in the club's 1900 and 1905 premiership teams, as well as in the losing grand final of 1906. Harold Pash was the uncle of North's 1939 Magarey Medallist, Jeff Pash. |
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[Click to enlarge] |
| Jeff Pash came from a football, and more
particularly a North Adelaide,
background, as both of his uncles, Norman and
Harold, played with
distinction for the club for over a decade, with Norman also representing South
Australia. After playing amateur football for a couple of
years, Jeff Pash followed in his uncles' footsteps by lining up with the
red and whites against Port Adelaide at
Alberton in the opening league match of the 1938 season. It was not
a winning start, as the Magpies edged home by 17 points, but the
twenty-two year old Pash served notice that he was destined for an
illustrious league career with a performance full of guile, vim and
adroitness. He went on to win North's best and fairest award that
year, a success he repeated after an even more auspicious 1939 season
which also saw him land South Australian football's most celebrated
individual award, the Magarey
Medal. Pash actually tied for the award in the first instance
with West Adelaide's Ray McArthur,
whereupon the SANFL conducted a poll among all of the field umpires who
had officiated in at least one match involving each player as a means of
determining the winner. That winner was Pash, but almost sixty years
later the SANFL awarded retrospective Magarey Medals to all players who
had originally lost either on a countback or by means of a vote of some
kind,
including McArthur.
Jeff Pash's league career was interrupted from 1941 to 1943 when he had to move to Port Augusta because of teaching commitments, but in 1944 he resumed with the Norwood-North Adelaide combined team that won that year's flag. The resumption of full-scale league football the following year saw Pash, playing mainly across half forward or on a wing, continuing where he had left off five years earlier, albeit in a team that tended to struggle. In 1948 it seemed his career was as good as over as, aged thirty-two, his form deteriorated and he was dropped to North's Association team (effectively its reserves). However, following the appointment of former team mate Ken Farmer as coach in 1949 Pash was given another chance, on which he seized with great tenacity and eagerness. In what proved to be a dream finale to his career, he played his best and most consistent football since his Magarey Medal win to help the club to its first flag for almost two decades. In the grand final against West Torrens he was moved from a half forward flank into the centre when the game still hung in the balance and provided a match-winning lift to his team that enabled it to pull away to win by a deceptively comfortable margin of 23 points. Jeff Pash, in his final game of league football, was most observers' choice as the best player afield, although in those days there was no Jack Oatey Medal with which to reward him. Once his football career - which included 4 interstate appearances for South Australia - was over Pash continued to provide sterling service to the sport he loved as a football writer for 'The News'. From 1950 to 1964 his eloquent and informed commentaries on the game delighted football supporters of all persuasions, and the summary of his writings that was recently published as The Pash Papers arguably constitutes the most important and certainly one of the most vividly evocative appraisals of the game in South Australia during that particular era. |
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| Speedy, clever and resourceful, Norman Pash was a key member of the North Adelaide teams which dominated South Australian football during the early years of the twentieth century. Most of his football was played as a wingman, but he was quite versatile, and was sometimes used in the forward lines to good effect. When North won their first ever premiership with a 4.3 (27) to 1.8 (14) grand final defeat of South Adelaide in 1900, Pash lined up at full forward. Two years later he was in his more accustomed position on a wing as the red and whites secured their second flag with another grand final victory over South, this time somewhat more comfortably, 9.14 (68) to 4.7 (31). In 1905, Pash was on a wing in North's third premiership-winning side, too, with Port Adelaide providing the opposition on that occasion. After an evenly fought opening term, North pulled away to win easily, 6.8 (44) to 1.6 (14), with Norm Pash capping off an excellent season with a typically energetic and damaging performance on right centre wing. During an era when South Australia's interstate opposition was most commonly provided by the VFA, Pash represented his state 4 times. His death in 1952 cast something of a shadow over an otherwise extremely memorable year for North Adelaide, which took out that season's premiership against Norwood by what, at the time, was a grand final record margin of 108 points. |
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Ian Paton (Hawthorn & South Launceston)
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| Hard working, resolute, and the consummate team player, ruckman Ian Paton gave Hawthorn ten years of reliable service which included involvement in two winning grand finals. He joined the Hawks from Scotch College in Tasmania and made his VFL debut in the premiership year of 1976. Paton was not selected for that season's grand final, but two years later he was a member of the team which downed North Melbourne in the premiership decider by 3 goals. After Don Scott retired at the end of the 1981 season, Paton assumed principal ruck duties for the team, and he was first ruckman when the Hawks annihilated Essendon by 83 points in the 1983 grand final. He also played in the losing grand fin al the next year against the same opposition. The last of Ian Paton's 155 VFL games came in 1985. He spent the 1986 season captaining Hawthorn's reserves, and in 1987 returned home to Tasmania where he was appointed captain-coach of South Launceston, which was about to commence its second season in the recently formed TFL Statewide competition. The Bulldogs were not particularly successful under Paton's coaching, but from the personal point of view his playing form was consistently superb, leading to club best and fairest trophies in 1987, 1988 and 1990. |
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| Stan Patten joined West Torrens from the Cornwall Football Club in 1913 and was a prominent league ruckman on either side of World War One. He also played for Torrens in the patriotic competition which ran between 1916 and 1918 when the SAFL went into recess owing to the war. In 1918 he captain-coached the side to a patriotic league premiership courtesy of a grand final win over West Adelaide. When full scale league football resumed in 1919 Patten continued as club captain under the coaching of his former pre-war team mate Bert Filsell, and the pair spent three seasons working together to lay the foundations of Torrens' first ever senior premiership in 1924. Always a commanding and assured on-field presence, Stan Patten was chosen to represent South Australia at the 1914 Sydney carnival, when it seems probable that he played in all 5 of the state's matches. (Unfortunately, however, this cannot be definitively proved as team sheets for the series are no longer extant.) |
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Michael Patterson (Richmond, North Adelaide, St Kilda, Frankston)
[Click to enlarge] |
| Memorably
dubbed 'Swamp Fox' by Lou Richards, apparently because "he reckoned
that when I was in a pack there'd always be a couple of bodies strewn
beneath me" (see footnote 1), Mike Patterson was a
doggedly resolute ruckman who played 152 VFL games for Richmond
between 1959 and 1969. His finest two hours in a black and yellow
jumper came when he deputised to telling effect for suspended team mate
Neville Crow in the 1967 grand final against Geelong.
Opposed by legendary ruckman 'Polly'
Farmer, Patterson performed
heroically to stymie the 'Big Cat's' impact, and make a sterling
contribution to his team's 9 point victory.
In 1970, Patterson crossed to North Adelaide as captain-coach, and over the next couple of seasons he gradually introduced a heightened level of toughness to the Roosters' game, transforming them from flamboyantly talented but ultimately vulnerable flag contenders to back to back premiers in 1971-2. A VFL side in all but name, North also famously secured the Australian club championship under Patterson's guidance with a stirring 1 point win over Carlton in 1972 (reviewed here). After steering North Adelaide to a 7 point grand final loss against Glenelg in 1973 (click here for details), Patterson retired as a player, but stayed on as non-playing coach of the club for another two years. He was considerably less effective in this capacity, however, both at North, and later in the VFL with St Kilda (1978-80), in the VFA with Frankston (1981-3), and back in the VFL with Richmond (1984). In 2001, shortly before his premature death, Mike Patterson, the first Victorian to steer an SANFL club to a premiership, was selected as coach of North Adelaide's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
Footnotes1. Patterson quoted in North Adelaide's Greatest by the North Adelaide Football Club History Committee, page 61. Return to Main Text |
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Keith Pattinson (Glenelg & Nightcliff)
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| After making his way through the grades at Glenelg, Keith Pattinson made his senior debut in 1965, but struggled for several years to maintain a regular place in the team. In 1969 he hit a purple patch to coincide with the Bays mounting their first realistic bid for premiership honours for almost two decades. A chunky, energetic rover, he picked up plenty of possessions, and usually used the ball intelligently. He made his only state appearance for South Australia at the 1969 Adelaide carnival when he was picked as first rover against Tasmania. Unfortunately, after the carnival his form dipped slightly, as did Glenelg's, and although the team ended up making the grand final, it lost heavily to Sturt. Over the last two years of his league career, Pattinson's form was cruelly undermined by injury, and he was never quite the same player again as he had been during the first half of the 1969 season. When he left Glenelg in 1971 he had played a total of 91 SANFL games, and kicked 109 goals. Included in those games was the losing grand final of 1970, once again against Sturt. Pattinson went on to play senior football for Nightcliff in the NTFL, captaining the side in 1972-3, and producing a fine display in the losing 1973-4 grand final against Waratahs. |
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Burnet 'Burnie' Payne (Hobart & St Kilda)
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| Burnet
Thomas Payne - invariably referred to as 'Burnie' - was without doubt one
of the all time greats of the Hobart Football Club,
and indeed of Tasmanian football in general. He made his league
debut for the Tigers as a sixteen year old in 1956, and when he finally
retired in 1973 he had played a total of 253 league games, including 15 in
the VFL. His time at Hobart saw him participate in winning grand
finals in 1959, 1960, 1963 and 1966, win William
Leitch Medals in 1965 and 1966, and represent Tasmania on a club
record (held jointly with Trevor
Leo) 16 occasions, including games at the 1966
and 1969 carnivals.
The fact that he won only one club best and fairest award during his
career seems, on the face of it, rather surprising, but is really just an
indication of the abundance of talent present at Hobart during the 1950s,
'60s and '70s.
Clever, elusive and with pace to burn, there were few more eye-catching rovers than 'Burnie' Payne when he was on song. Many of his best performances came when the stakes were at their highest, such as his best afield displays in the 1963 and 1966 grand finals. (The above photograph, which shows Payne at the far left, was taken during the latter match.) In 1964 he transferred to the 'big time' with St Kilda and enjoyed a fine season, playing 15 VFL games and kicking 27 goals as well as earning frequent mention in dispatches. However, he was forced by family reasons to return home to Tasmania in 1965, thereby depriving the Saints of a potential star, whilst simultaneously giving Tasmanian football fans the rare opportunity of seeing one of the finest footballers in the country playing out his career in their own backyard. Once his TANFL career was over, 'Burnie' Payne spent three seasons as coach of Kingston, which at the time was a member of the Huon Football Association. His status as one of the greatest ever players in the history of the Hobart Football Club was emphasised just after the turn of the century with his inclusion as first rover in the Tigers' official 'Greatest Team 1947 to 2002'. |
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Charlie Payne (Essendon & North Adelaide)
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| Originally
from Hampden Football League club Terang, Essendon's Charlie Payne
made his Essendon debut in 1962 as a seventeen year old. Initially
playing mainly on the forward lines, he topped the Bombers' goal kicking
list in his debut season with 39 goals, a feat he repeated the following
year (with 36). For the majority of his 184 game, 128 goal VFL
career, however, he played as either a follower or a defender, roles to
which his mobility, verve and toughness rendered him eminently suitable.
In 1962, when Essendon overcame Carlton by 32 points in the grand final, Payne contributed a couple of goals from full forward. Three years later, when St Kilda provided the Dons' victims, he played a sound game in a back pocket. He also played in two losing grand finals, one with the Bombers, and one with North Adelaide. Charlie Payne joined the reigning Australian champions North Adelaide in 1973 and, in what proved to be his final league season, added a further 18 senior games to give him a career total in excess of 200. |
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| William Payne gave great service to Carlton over 127 VFL games between 1904 and 1912, but ended up resigning prematurely from the club after alleging he had been treated unfairly. He spent the 1913 season playing in the country for Ararat. A pacy, strong marking, long kicking half back for most of his career, Payne was among the best players afield when the Blues thrashed Fitzroy by 49 points in the 1906 VFL grand final. He was also a member of the 1907-8 premiership teams, as well as the losing grand final teams of 1909-10. Quite what the ill treatment was that precipitated his departure from Carlton is unclear, but the fact that the Blues slumped from 3rd place, after a strong premiership challenge, in 1912 to a distant 6th the following year suggests that they, and not William Payne, were the major losers in the affair. |
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John Paynter (Glenelg & Sturt)
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| Playing mainly as a ruck-rover, John Paynter was always a tidy, even elegant footballer, who improved and became more influential as his long career went on. He joined Glenelg from Brighton High School and, after making his league debut in 1980, went on to become a regular in the side for three years. During that time he played 70 SANFL games, including the losing grand finals of 1981 and 1982, and kicked 82 goals. In 1983 he crossed to Sturt and was a key member of the team for the next ten years, playing 246 games and kicking 249 goals, winning three club best and fairest awards, and serving as captain in his last two seasons. He also represented the state on 6 occasions, and was undoubtedly one of the finest South Australian footballers of his generation not to cross to the VFL. |
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Travis Payze (St Kilda & Dandenong)
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| St Kilda's Travis 'Bongo' Payze made his VFL debut in 1966 as a full forward, but he struggled to make the grade, mainly because of his wayward kicking for goal. Only after he was converted to a ruck-rover in 1970 did he begin to hit his straps, and indeed for several years he was one of the finest on-ballers in the competition. Renowned for the ease with which he garnered possessions, Payze played for the victorious VFL team at the 1972 Perth carnival, and was rewarded for a series of excellent performances with All Australian selection. In 1975, after 127 games and 73 goals for St Kilda, he joined Dandenong as captain-coach, leading his new side to consecutive losing 1st Division grand finals. He later undertook a variety of administrative roles back at St Kilda, including president. |
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Brian Peake (East Fremantle, Geelong, Perth)
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| Brian
Peake made his East Fremantle debut on
29 April 1972 against Perth, and immediately
caught the eye as much for his mature temperament and toughness as for his
undoubted football ability.
Peake truly began to blossom as a player in 1973 when he made his interstate debut, and in the following season's winning grand final he was many observers' choice as best afield, although the Simpson Medal was split between team mate Gibellini and Pretty of Perth. Quick, tough, aggressive, and displaying tremendous endurance, Brian Peake was a dominant force for East Fremantle throughout the 1970s, winning the club's fairest and best award an incredible 5 times in succession between 1976 and 1980, as well as a Sandover Medal in 1977. He was a prominent contributor to the club's 1979 grand final defeat of arch rivals South Fremantle, and his performances for Western Australia were also of the highest order. In one game against Victoria in 1978 he had 23 kicks compared to 2 by his illustrious opponent, dual Brownlow Medallist Keith Greig. At the 1979 state of origin carnival in Perth Peake skippered the Western Australians to victory and was rewarded with a Tassie Medal and captaincy of the All Australian team. He was also named an All Australian after the 1980 Adelaide carnival. Persuaded by these achievements that Peake was the finest footballer in the land Geelong officials enticed him to Kardinia Park in 1981 where he would play 66 games over the next four seasons. Peake returned home in 1985 with plenty of football left in him, and immediately helped the Sharks to their first flag since 1979. The following year he was again chosen as skipper of the All Australian team after leading the Sandgropers to their sixth national title. A sixth Lynn Medal as East Fremantle's club champion in 1987 was the icing on the cake towards the end of a remarkable career, which ultimately finished in 1990 with a brief 10 game stint with Perth. |
| Described
as a 'human meteor', Essendon's champion
of the 1880s Charlie 'Commotion' Pearson was alleged to have developed a
new style of marking, whereby he "would sail over the heads of his
earth-bound opponents, arms outstretched in great feats of aerobatics, to
the dismay of old timers, and the fears of the public" (see
footnote 1). Prior to this, players had typically marked the
ball either on the chest, or with arms stretched out in front of the
body. Pearson's new method soon caught on, both among team
mates and opponents, and so the most distinctively spectacular feature of
the Australian game was born.
Pearson, who worked on an outback sheep station in Queensland, only played intermittently for the Same Old, and never trained. Despite this, his performances in 1886 were so consistently brilliant that he was voted Champion of the Colony. There was much more to Pearson's game than just high marking, and former Essendon player Alf Young, writing in the 1920s, described him as the best all round player he had seen, better even than Albert Thurgood. |
Footnotes1. Flying Higher by Michael Maplestone, page 31. Return to Main Text |
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| An effervescent and highly aggressive winger, Neil Pearson provided Hawthorn with ten seasons and 133 VFL games of first rate service. He was also a regular VFL representative player. Recruited from Brighton Technical School, Pearson debuted for the Hawks in 1945, and while still registered as a senior player in 1954 he coached the club's seconds. It was while he was serving in that capacity that he won the Gardiner Medal for the best and fairest player in the seconds competition. The sort of player who was always on the move, Pearson eschewed the 'prop and kick' style of play that was still somewhat fashionable during his career for a more dynamic, play-on approach. |
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John Peck (Hawthorn & Port Melbourne)
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| Best
remembered as a full forward, Hawthorn's
John Peck was tried, with varying success, in several different positions
- ruck, centre half back, centre half forward - before finding his true
niche at the goal front. Powerful, intelligent, pacy and a thumping
kick, Peck topped Hawthorn's goal kicking list on every year between 1961
and 1966, and was the VFL's top goal kicker in 1963 with 75 goals, 1964
(68) and 1965 (56). Nicknamed 'Gregory' (after the actor Gregory
Peck), as much for his habit of staging exaggeratedly for frees as for the
obvious play on words, he showed great
courage in overcoming the handicap of asthma to play successfully at the
top level. In all, he played 213 VFL games and kicked 475 goals for
the Hawks, and was vice-captain of the historic 1961 premiership team, the
club's first. He also played interstate football for the VFL, and
after one match against South Australia in Adelaide in 1963 he found
himself at the centre of a controversy when his callous felling of Brian
Sawley incurred only a two week suspension at the hands of a sympathetic
VFL Tribunal which presumably considered that Peck had reacted to
extenuating circumstances.
In 1967 John Peck was cleared to Port Melbourne, where he played mainly as a ruckman. The last of his 19 games for the club was that year's losing VFA grand final against Dandenong. |
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Paul Peos (East Perth, West Coast, Brisbane)
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| Originally from Manjimup, Paul Peos was recruited by East Perth after making a big impression as a member of Western Australia's Teal Cup team. He made his debut for the Royals in 1986, and at the end of the year, after being the only rookie in the league to play in all his team's matches for the season, was chosen in West Coast's inaugural VFL squad. Between 1987 and 1992 he alternated between the Eagles and Royals, earning plaudits for his strong marking, coolness under duress, and exemplary conversion rate when playing in the forward lines. At the end of the 1992 season he was traded to Brisbane where he played 33 games in two seasons, kicking 40 goals. Returning to Western Australia in 1995 he again divided his time between West Coast in the national and East Perth in the local competition. When the Eagles released him at the end of the of the 1995 season he had played a total of 55 V/AFL games and booted 33 goals for the club. In 1996, freed from his AFL commitments, he produced an excellent season of football in the WAFL, earning himself the Royals' fairest and best award. He continued with East Perth for one further season before hanging up his boots with 121 senior games and 59 goals to his name. He represented Western Australia once. |
|
by Murray Bird and Peter Blucher |
| Harold 'Toby' Perkins was the best centre half back of his era and, with Dick Parton, the backbone of Windsor's magnificent five premierships in a row from 1936-40. He represented Queensland from 1934-40. His son, also nicknamed Toby, played 200 games for Wilston-Grange in the 1950s and 1960s, and his grandson also played with the Gorillas. |
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Val Perovic (St Kilda & Carlton)
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| Recruited from North Ballarat, Val Perovic commenced his VFL career with St Kilda in 1973 as a wingman, and was widely regarded as one of the recruits of the year. In subsequent years he developed into a tough, highly disciplined defender, representing Victoria at centre half back in 1978. After 77 league games for the Saints he moved to Carlton at the end of the 1979 season as part of the trade that saw Alex Jesaulenko moving in the opposite direction. While with the Blues he played some of the best football of his career, earning state selection once more, and playing in a back pocket in both the 1981 and 1982 premiership wins. In the 1982 grand final defeat of Richmond he was one of the best players afield. Perovic retired in 1985 after 97 VFL games for the Blues. |
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Ernie Perrett (Port Melbourne)
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| Boasting the memorable nickname of 'Codger', Ernie Perrett gave stolid and sometimes spectacular service to Port Melbourne in 123 VFA games during the late 1920s and early 1930s. A follower during the early part of his career, he later became a successful defender. Arguably his most noteworthy performance came in the grand final of 1929, when his Herculean ruck performance was just about the only measurable resistance offered by the Borough to a display of consummate power and skill by Northcote. Sadly, Port's 42 point reversal in that game was the closest 'Codger' Perrett would come to participating in a premiership win. |
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Bob Perry (Moorabbin & Woodville)
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| A smooth mover, and a deft user of the ball, Bob Perry commenced his senior football career with Merino-Digby in Victoria's western Districts competition. In 1958, aged twenty, he played with Richmond, but, despite displaying consistently good form in the Seconds, failed to break into the senior team. He then moved to Moorabbin where he rapidly established himself as one of the finest centremen in the VFA. In six seasons with the Kangaroos he played more than 70 senior games and was a key figure in the club's rise to prominence during the early 1960s. He was in the centre in both the 1 point grand final loss to Sandringham in 1962, and in the revenge win by 64 points a year later. Perry joined Woodville in 1964 and was a stabilising influence in that club's debut season in the SANFL. He went on to play a total of 54 league games over three seasons before being appointed captain-coach of the seconds. Still a talented and highly influential player, he won the 1967 seconds Magarey Medal, and continued playing until 1969. |
| One of a select band of Christian clergymen to have played top level football, Charles 'Red Wing' Perry enjoyed a 58 game league career with Norwood on either side of World War One. Boasting a thick crop of vibrant red hair - hence his nickname - Perry, a Methodist minister, was an ebullient, pacy player who was always in the thick of the action. Capable of playing in a variety of positions, he marked and kicked superbly, and was the consummate team player. In 1915 he tied for the Magarey Medal with South Adelaide's 'Dinky' Barry and 'Shine' Hosking of Port Adelaide |
