Go straight to the biography of your choice by clicking on the appropriate link:
[Geoff Raines] [Bill Rainoldi] [Alan Rait] [Graham Ramshaw] [Murray Rance] [Neil Randall] [John Randell] [Bert Rankin] [Cliff 'Ticker' Rankin] [David Rankin] [Edward 'Teddy' Rankin] [John Rantall] [Brett Ratten] [Dennis Rattigan] [Gordon Rattray] [George Rawle] [Michael Redden] [Jack 'Dinny' Reedman] [Jack Rees] [Edward 'Jack' Reeves] [John Reeves] [Les Reeves] [Sid Reeves] [Con Regan] [Jack Regan] [Shaun Rehn] [Jim Reid] [Noel Reid] [Lou Reiffel] [Jack Reilly] [John Reilly] [Ron Reimann] [Matthew Rendell] [Bert Renfrey] [Percy Renfrey] [Russell Renfrey] [George Renwick] [Allan 'Bull' Reval] ['Peter' Reville] [Clarrie Reynolds] [Dick Reynolds] [Peter Riccardi] [Colin Rice] [Laurie Richards] [Lin Richards] [Lou Richards] [Ron Richards] [Barry Richardson] [Jim Richardson] [Max Richardson] [Michael Richardson] [Vic Richardson] [Wayne Richardson] [Colin Richens] [Charles Ricketts] [Ian Ridley] [Roger Rigney] [Horrie Riley] [John Riley] [Maurice Rioli] [Edward Rippon] [Norman Rippon] [Don Roach] [Michael Roach] [Harold 'Tim' Robb] [Alf Roberts] [Brian Roberts] [John Roberts] [Lew Roberts] [Neil Roberts] [Neville Roberts] [Austin Robertson junior] [Austin Robertson senior] [Colin Robertson] [Ian Robertson] [John Robertson] [Keith Robertson] [Ralph Robertson] [Ralph G. Robertson] [Phil Robin] [Alec Robinson] [James Robison] [Barrie Robran] [Saverio Rocca] [Jack Rocchi] [Alby Rodda] [Richard 'Pat' Rodriguez] [Andrew Rogers] [Matthew Rogers] [Norm Rogers] [Ralph Rogerson] [Charles Roland] [José Romero] [Paul Roos] [Bob Rose] [Geoff Rosenow] [Keith Rosewarne] [Laurie Rosewarne] [Bob Ross] [Don Ross] [Jim Ross] [Lester Ross] [Jack Rough] [Barry Round] [Des Rowe] [Harold Rowe] [Havel Rowe] [Ted Rowell] [Ray Rowles] [Barry Rowlings] [Brian Royal] [Ernest Ruddock] [Harold Rumney] [Alex Ruscuklic] [Bob Rush] [William Russ] [Dick Russell] [Don Russell] [Peter Russo] [Alan Ruthven] [Alf 'Bulla' Ryan] [Bill Ryan] [Clem Ryan] [David Ryan] [Denis 'Dinny' Ryan] [John Ryan] [Leo Ryan] [Thomas Ryan]
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Geoff Raines (Richmond, Collingwood, Essendon, Brisbane)
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| Audaciously talented and tremendously damaging, centreman Geoff Raines hailed from Swan Hill and, after joining Richmond in 1976, rapidly developed into one of the most outstanding footballers of his era. A triple best and fairest winner with the Tigers, Raines was a key player, and some people's choice as best afield, as they annihilated Collingwood in the 1980 VFL grand final. A regular 'Big V' representative, he was selected in the 1980 All Australian team. At the close of the 1982 season, after 134 games and 53 goals for Richmond, he was traded to Collingwood, where he added 47 games and 24 goals over the next three and a half seasons, without ever consistently recapturing the form he had shown with the Tigers (he did, however, achieve selection in the 1985 All Australian team). It was a similar story with Essendon, for whom Raines played 14 games and kicked 2 goals in 1986, but with his last league club, Brisbane, where he played 59 games and booted 20 goals from 1987 to 1989, he again established himself as one of the most effective and eye-catching centremen in the game. When fit, and playing at peak form, there have been few better all round footballers in recent times than Geoff Raines, who was a recent worthy inclusion in Richmond's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
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| Popularly known as 'The Flea', West Perth's Bill Rainoldi was a top quality rover renowned for his pace, evasive skills, courage, and inch-perfect short passing. He commenced with the Cardinals in 1929, and by the following season was a regular in a side that struggled all year, and eventually finished last - albeit with the rather impressive record for a wooden spooner of 6 wins and a draw from 18 games. Things were soon to improve, however, and just two years later, with Rainoldi starring as first rover, West Perth won its first flag since 1905 thanks to a resounding 18.9 (117) to 11.8 (74) grand final defeat of East Perth. Further premierships followed in 1934 and 1935, with Rainoldi again a noteworthy contributor as first rover. He would almost certainly have enjoyed the distinction of appearing in four premiership teams, but an injury sustained in the 1941 2nd semi final kept him out of the Cardinals' winning grand final team against East Fremantle a fortnight later. Rainoldi would have liked to resume in 1942, but along with a number of team mates such as 'Fat' McDiarmid and Max Tetley he was forced into premature retirement when the WANFL decided to replace its senior competition with one restricted to players aged under eighteen. Bill Rainoldi had played a total of 228 league games. Other highlights of his career included winning the Cardinals' fairest and best award in 1931, and representing Western Australia on 3 occasions. When West Perth's official 'Team of the Century' was announced, Rainoldi's name was missing, an omission that some might regard as surprising. |
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Alan Rait (North Hobart & Footscray)
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| Prior
to the mergence of Peter
Hudson, the greatest full forward in Tasmanian football history was
undoubtedly Allan Rait. In his debut season with North
Hobart in 1927 he played mainly as a half forward flanker, but from
1928 onwards he found his true home at the goal front.
In 1929, Rait 'topped the ton' for the first of four times, and the following year established a TANFL record of 152 goals for the season that was to stand until 1976, when superseded by Hudson. The 1930 season also saw Rait selected to represent Tasmania at the Adelaide carnival when, with 27 goals, he finished second on the goal kicking list to Bill Mohr of the VFL. In 1933, Alan Rait joined Mohr in the VFL when he was signed by Footscray. He played 18 games that year, and booted 59 goals to head the Tricolours' list, but an injury sustained early the following season brought his VFL career to an untimely end. After spending the remainder of the 1934 season back home in Tasmania recovering from his injury, Rait resumed with North Hobart in 1935 as captain-coach. The Robins lost that year's grand final to Roy Cazaly's New Town by 14 points, but made amends in 1936 by winning both the local and the state titles. Alan Rait put in one final season with North Hobart in 1937 before deciding to retire. All told, he booted 847 goals in league football in roughly 180 games. He topped the TANFL goal kicking list in all but two of his ten full seasons in the competition. |
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Graham Ramshaw (Perth & Fitzroy)
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| Boasting considerable natural talent and tremendous courage and determination Perth's Graham Ramshaw might well have been one of the all time greats had he supplemented these qualities with a dedicated approach to training. He was still a very good player, however, and his value to the team was enhanced by his ability to play in any key position. Ramshaw worked his way through the ranks at Perth, winning a fairest and best award with the Colts in 1962 before making his senior debut the following year. He was at full forward in the winning grand final of 1966 against East Perth, and at full back in the flag-winning combinations of 1967 and 1968. As a forward he could be brilliant at times, while as a defender he was doggedly determined and extremely resolute. His kicking with both feet was superb. He commenced with Perth in 1963, and impressed so much that he was promptly recruited by VFL club Fitzroy, where he played 4 senior games in 1964. Ramshaw returned to Perth the following year and, by the time he retired in 1973, had amassed 177 WANFL games with the club. |
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Murray Rance (Swan Districts, Footscray, West Coast)
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| Superbly built at 190cm and 85kg, Murray Rance was an excellent key position player who could dominate the play with his strong high marking. He began with Swan Districts in 1981 and was a member of the club's 1982-3-4 premiership-winning combinations. In 1984 he was a member of Western Australia's victorious Australian interstate championship side and was named in the All Australian team afterwards. Rance spent the 1986 and 1987 seasons with Footscray in the VFL, where he played 40 senior games and kicked 5 goals. He returned home to Western Australia in 1988 to join West Coast and his strong performances at centre half back were instrumental in the Eagles making the finals for the first time. Between 1988 and 1990 Murray Rance played a total of 57 VFL games and booted 7 goals for West Coast; he was captain of the side in 1989. Once his VFL career was over, he resumed with Swans, where he continued playing until July 1992, taking his final tally of WAFL games to 140; he kicked 26 goals. |
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Neil Randall (Subiaco & South Fremantle)
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| A highly skilled and elusive left footer, Neil Randall debuted with Subiaco in 1971 and was on a half forward flank in the club's winning grand final team against West Perth a couple of years later. A half forward specialist for most of his career, he topped the Lions' goal kicking list in 1975 with 43 goals. The following year, playing mainly as a rover, he won the club's fairest and best award. In 1980, after 152 WANFL games, Randall moved to South Fremantle where, despite sometimes struggling for form, he played on for three more years. |
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John Randell (Subiaco & East Perth)
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| Popularly known as 'Jack', John Randell (sometimes, as in the above photo, mis-rendered 'Randall') played a total of 107 WAFA/WAFL games during the first decade and a half of the twentieth century. He began at Subiaco in 1903, playing 79 games, but enjoying little team success. Things were scarcely better at East Perth, however, where he moved in 1910, and although the Royals reached that season's premiership play-ff, Randell was not a part of the action. Nevertheless, given the number of games he played (quite high for the period), he must surely have been a player of some quality, and it is perhaps surprising to note that he never represented Western Australia. |
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| Bert
Rankin debuted for Geelong in 1912, only two
seasons after his father, Edward Rankin,
had retired. A highly skilled and clever player, he inherited his
father's fleetness of foot and adroitness, as well as being a marvellous
exponent of the drop kick. He played his early football on the
forward lines before moving to the wing, where his exceptional pace could
be exploited to maximum effect. In 1917 he took over as the senior
side's centreman, and for the next seven seasons he was without peer in
the position anywhere in the land. When interstate football resumed
after the war, Bert Rankin became a regular fixture in VFL representative
sides, and was appointed captain in 1922. He and his brother Cliff
were the first siblings to play together in the same VFL combination.
In 1923, Rankin appeared set to embark on the most exciting phase of his VFL career when he was appointed captain of Geelong. However, late in the season his form deteriorated, and he was dropped, whereupon in a display of petulance that seems hard to credit nowadays he walked out on the club and never played again. In eleven seasons with the Pivotonians he played 132 senior games. He also played seven times for the VFL. |
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| Son
of former Geelong champion Teddy
Rankin, and brother of team mate Bert, Cliff 'Ticker' Rankin was one
of the last goalsneaks in the VFL to specialise in the place kick.
He made his league debut in late in the 1915 season but then missed the
better part of four years, during which time he played rugby while on war
service, before returning to Geelong in 1919. The following year he
began to make a name for himself as a clever and highly effective forward,
topping Geelong's goal kicking list for the first of four consecutive
times. In 1921, he booted 63 goals to overhaul Percy Martini's club
record of 51 established in 1910.
The keys to Rankin's success at the goal front were his astute awareness of where a ball was likely to spill to ground off the hands of a pack, and lethal accuracy when snap-shooting for goal from almost any angle, and with either foot. Later in his career he moved away from full forward to a forward pocket or the half forward line, but continued to prove equally effective. Appointed captain-coach of the Cats in 1925 he had the honour of leading them to their first ever league premiership that same year. In the grand final against Collingwood Rankin played in a forward pocket and was one of Geelong's best as he booted 5 of the side's 10 goals for the match. A regular VFL interstate representative, Cliff Rankin captained the Big V in 1926 against both South Australia and Western Australia. He continued at Geelong until the end of the 1928 season, having captain-coached the team from 1925-27. In 153 VFL games he kicked a total of 400 goals, adding a further 30 goals in 14 interstate appearances. |
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David Rankin (Fitzroy & East Fremantle)
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| Initially from Colac, David Rankin made his league debut with Fitzroy in 1980 but could only manage a total of 9 senior games in two seasons with the Lions. In 1982 he headed west where he joined East Fremantle and, after a tentative start, established himself as a useful player for the Sharks for most of the remainder of the decade. Gutsy and wholehearted in approach, and boasting considerable pace, he played mainly in the back pocket early in his career before developing into a fine wingman, in which position he lined up in the 1985 WAFL grand final (reviewed here) that saw East Fremantle narrowly edging out Subiaco. David Rankin had played 152 games for the Sharks by the time he retired in 1990. |
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| 'Teddy'
Rankin began with Geelong in 1891 and went
on to play well over 200 games for the club in almost 20 years of
service. He was the first Geelong player to notch up 100 VFL games,
an achievement that appears all the more meritorious when you consider
that he missed the entire 1898 season after contracting typhoid.
A nippy, elusive rover for most of his career, Rankin shifted to the backlines when he began to slow down, and his anticipation and reading of the game made him one of the best defenders in the business. During a match played on a very wet day at the Brunswick Street Oval, Rankin embarked on a run with the ball during which, rather than attempting to bounce it on the greasy playing surface, he stooped to touch it to the ground every ten yards, a practice which soon became a commonplace feature of the game. Edward Rankin had two sons, Bert and Cliff, who both followed in their father's footsteps, representing both Geelong and the VFL with considerable distinction. |
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John Rantall (South Melbourne, North Melbourne, Fitzroy, Sherwood)
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| Despite
the fact that he scarcely looked like a league footballer, with skinny,
shrunken legs and an almost emaciated physique, John Rantall had few peers in the
VFL during his eighteen season, 336 game senior career with three
clubs. Recruited from Cobden, he began with South
Melbourne in 1963, and was selected to represent the VFL in his very
first season. He went on to play a total of 260 league games (a club
record) in two stints with South, most of them on a half back flank,
although it was as a back pocket that he achieved selection in the Swans
official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'.
Somewhat surprisingly, John Rantall never managed to win a best and fairest award while with South, a failure he rectified with North Melbourne in 1974 during a three season, 70 game stint with that club that culminated in membership of a premiership team in 1975. The 1976-9 seasons saw him back at the Swans, and in 1980 he rounded off his career with a brief, 6 game stint at Fitzroy. Renowned for his superb judgement and tremendous all round skills John Rantall was without doubt one of the best specialist half back flankers ever to have played this game, and further testimony to South Melbourne's perhaps unequalled record of producing bona fide, out and out champions. Prior to the 1982 season, Rantall was appointed coach of South Melbourne but the club's move to Sydney brought about a split which resulted in his being replaced by Ricky Quade. The following season saw him installed as coach of Sherwood for what was that club's debut season in the QAFL. In 2003 he was selected on his favoured half back flank in the Kangaroos' official 'Team of the Century'. |
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| A tough, 'in and under' type of player who was not always afforded the level of recognition he deserved, there was little that Carlton's Brett Ratten did not achieve in the game. A triple club best and fairest winner, he earned AFL All Australian selection in 2000 and 2001, was a key member of the Blues' 1995 premiership team, and captained the club in 2002 and for part of 2003. The epitome of durability for most of his career, from late in the 2001 season he began to suffer a series of debilitating injuries which ultimately led to his retirement in 2003 after 255 AFL games in fourteen seasons. |
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| Dennis
Rattigan was a calm, unflappable and highly effective defender in 157
games for Sturt during a predominantly
inauspicious decade, the 1950s. Former school master Jeff Pash's
memorable description of him warrants reproduction in full:
Rattigan - as quiet and unobtrusive a goalkeeper as he was a schoolboy - guards the goalsneak with fairness, absolute fidelity, and a lot of clean-cut ability (see footnote 1). Rattigan also represented South Australia on 9 occasions, including games at the 1956 Perth and 1958 Melbourne carnivals. After leaving Sturt he won a Mail Medal while playing for Willunga in the Southern Football Association. |
Footnotes1. The Pash Papers by Jeff Pash, page 216. Return to Main Text |
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Gordon Rattray (Fitzroy & Brighton)
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| A product of Wesley College, Gordon Rattray made his VFL debut with Fitzroy in 1917, while still a schoolboy. He went on to be one of the 'Roys best players in that year's challenge final against Collingwood, which the Magpies won by 35 points. After missing the entire 1918 season while on military duties, Rattray resumed his VFL career in 1919, and went on to establish himself as a key member of the Fitzroy side that would emerge as one of post-World War One football's principal powers. A half forward flank specialist who boasted commendable all round skills, and whose kicking was fêted as just about the best in the game at the time, he had played a total of 87 VFL games and kicked 65 goals by the time he retired in 1928. Among those games were the challenge finals of 1922 (won) and 1923 (lost) against Collingwood and Essendon respectively. Rattray, who won the Maroons' best and fairest trophy in 1921, was appointed club skipper in 1923, and again in his final season, when he also coached the side. He played interstate football for the VFL on 5 occasions. In 1925, Rattray was appointed playing coach of Brighton, a club that had been in the VFA since 1908 without ever contesting the finals. Under Rattray, Brighton rectified this in 1926 by finishing as runner-up to Coburg, a result that was duplicated in 1927. Rattray continued to show fine personal form as a player during his time with Brighton, playing for the most part as an attacking centre half back. |
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George Rawle (North Melbourne, Essendon Association, Essendon, Camberwell)
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| Despite
standing just 178cm in height, and being afflicted with a badly deformed
foot, George Rawle was a ruckman par excellence as he proved repeatedly
over the course of a fourteen season senior career in both the VFA and
VFL. Originally from Melrose United, he joined North
Melbourne in 1911 and before long, in harness with fellow ruckman Syd
Barker and rover Charlie
Hardy, was providing the club with arguably the premier first ruck
combination in the game.
Rawle was a member of North Melbourne premiership sides in 1914, 1915 and 1918. In 1921 he crossed to Essendon Association, and then returned to North as captain-coach the following year. In 1923 he was appointed coach of VFL club Essendon's seconds, but at the end of the season was a sensational last minute addition to the Dons' senior grand final side against Fitzroy. Aged thirty-three at the time, he remains the oldest debutant in V/AFL history. After 19 games and 4 goals for Essendon Rawle was appointed captain-coach of Camberwell in 1926 as the club made its debut in the VFA. He played 16 of the side's 18 matches for the year as it finished 9th out of 10 clubs. Rawle later returned to Essendon as a committee member. |
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Michael Redden (North Adelaide)
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| North
Adelaide's 'games played' record holder with 378 senior appearances
between 1978 and 1993, ruckman Mick Redden almost certainly racked up more
kilometres travelling to and from Adelaide for matches than any other
SANFL player of his, or indeed arguably any, generation. Being based
on a farming property near Orroroo, 300 kilometres north of the city,
Redden was rarely able to attend club training sessions, but over the
course of his sixteen season playing career travelled an estimated 260,000
kilometres just to get to matches.
Everyone at Prospect was no doubt delighted that he did, as for much of that time he was the cornerstone of the team. Neither quick nor particularly athletic, he more than compensated with his great energy, determination, indefatigable good humour, and refusal to succumb. North's best and fairest player in 1983, he was a key member of two premiership teams, and was a regular state representative (11 games). His departure at the end of the 1993 season left a hole that, so far, the club has been unable to fill. The value of Mick Redden's contribution to North was officially recognised in 2001 with his inclusion in the club's 'Team of the Century'. |
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Jack Reedman (South Adelaide, North Adelaide, West Adelaide)
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| 'Dinny'
Reedman was a superb all round sportsman who, in addition to his football
exploits, was a champion long distance swimmer, captained South
Australia's Sheffield Shield cricket team, and played cricket at Test
level against England in 1894-5.
As far as football was concerned, Reedman was involved at league level with three different clubs for a total of twenty-two years. He made his South Adelaide debut in 1884, and was a key member of the club's 1885 premiership side. Lanky but lithe, Reedman was formidable in the air and like a terrier when the ball hit the ground; however, it was his leadership qualities and tactical acumen which marked him out from the crowd. Captain of South Adelaide for eleven years, chief among his alleged innovations was a method for creating and then exploiting the loose man, a concept which, in some ways, could be regarded as the cornerstone of the modern game. He was an extremely durable footballer, assiduously maintaining high standards of personal physical fitness, and between 1889 and 1898 he did not miss a single game for his club. Reedman led South to a total of six premierships before being compelled, after the introduction of electorate football, to move to North Adelaide. In five seasons with North he oversaw another three premierships and later coached West Adelaide (as a non-player) to its first ever premiership in 1908. The season after his success with West, he returned to North Adelaide for one last season as a player, but it was an inauspicious finale as the red and whites finished second from bottom. Reedman's peak years as a player came during an era when intercolonial and interstate football was only intermittently played, but even so he represented South Australia 4 times. 'Dinny' Reedman was selected as a back pocket and change ruckman in South Adelaide's official 'Greatest Team'. |
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| An exhilaratingly pacy footballer, and widely regarded as one of the pre-eminent wingmen of his generation, Jack Rees was a key factor in North Adelaide's premiership wins of 1902 and 1905. On his day he had few peers either for skill or elusiveness, but he could be inconsistent. He represented South Australia 5 times. Once his football career was over he achieved prominence in local government. |
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Edward 'Jack' Reeves (Boulder City & Claremont)
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| After a somewhat inauspicious time at Boulder City - he was omitted from the club's 1935 grand final team for disciplinary reasons - 'Jack' Reeves went on to become a fine ruckman for Claremont in 96 WANFL games between 1936 and 1941 and in 1945-6. He was a key member of the Monts' three successive grand final-winning teams from 1938 to 1940, overcoming eyesight problems to produce displays of consummate courage and skill when it mattered most. His 4 interstate appearances for Western Australia included both matches at the 1937 Perth carnival when the home state came very close to securing the championship. Reeves spent much of his final season in league football as de facto coach of the club given that ostensible coach Johnny Leonard was frequently unavailable owing to business commitments. It was not a salutary end to his career, however, as Claremont finished last with just 3 wins from 19 games. |
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John Reeves (North Melbourne & St Kilda)
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| John Reeves was a strong, solid and consistent footballer who joined North Melbourne from Assumption College and played 102 VFL games for the club between 1948 and 1955, kicking 36 goals. He was in a back pocket and change ruckman in North's losing grand final team of 1950 against Essendon, and represented the VFL the following year. Midway through the 1955 season he transferred to St Kilda where he added a final 8 VFL games and 1 goal before retiring. |
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| North Melbourne has been blessed with many formidable defenders over the years, but few tougher or more hard-nosed than Les Reeves. Quick, tempestuous and highly aggressive, he relished the physical side of the game, and was extremely hard to beat one on one. Recruited from Wesley College, he was the archetypal no nonsense type of player whose twin objectives were to prevent his direct opponent from getting the ball, and to kick it as far as possible out of the danger zone if he happened to gain possession himself. He was on a half back flank when North lost to Essendon in the 1950 VFL grand final, and he played a total of 116 senior games for the club between 1946 and 1953. Once his senior career was over he served as playing coach of the club's reserves for a time. |
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Sid Reeves (Richmond & Hawthorn)
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| Sid Reeves, who played 110 senior games for Richmond between 1910 and 1919, was regarded as one of the best VFL centremen of his era. Quick, strong and tireless, he moved to VFA side Hawthorn in 1920 where he finished his career. |
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| Con Regan was a tremendously accomplished and versatile footballer for East Fremantle over 261 WANFL games between 1953 and 1965. Besides being one of the game's all time great full backs, he could hold down a key attacking role with almost equal aplomb, and indeed topped Old Easts' goal kicking list in 1955 with 65 goals. Con Regan represented his state on half a dozen occasions and was a member of East Fremantle's 1957 and 1965 premiership sides. He was placed at full back in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Jack Regan (Northcote, Collingwood, Kalgoorlie City)
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| Given
the fact that he played during an era replete with champion full forwards
Jack Regan's consistent success as a 'goalkeeper' lends a fair amount of
credence to claims that he was the greatest ever custodian of that
position. The main secret of his success was his uncanny aerial
judgement which enabled him repeatedly to out mark - often from seemingly
outlandish positions behind his man - even the Pratts,
Mohrs and Vallences of this world. As his career went on and his
confidence grew Regan's repertoire expanded to include strong rebounding
skills, vigorous - but always scrupulously fair - close checking, and an
accurate, penetrating kick.
Arguably Regan's most memorable performance in a glittering career came in the 1935 VFL grand final when his containment of star South Melbourne goalsneak Laurie Nash (who managed just a single goal for the game) was instrumental in securing the Magpies' 11.12 (78) to 7.16 (58) victory. Although full backs do not traditionally fare well in awards decided by central umpires, such as the Brownlow Medal, Regan was voted Champion of the Colony by members of the Victorian media in 1938. In 1947, Jack Regan was appointed captain-coach of GNFL club Kalgoorlie City, whom he steered to a flag in the second season of his three season stint. |
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Shaun Rehn (West Adelaide, Adelaide, Hawthorn)
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| When
fit, Adelaide's Shaun Rehn was arguably the
finest ruckman in the AFL for much of the 1990s. Unfortunately, he
suffered repeatedly from knee injuries, undergoing no fewer than three
complete knee constructions, so his best was only somewhat sporadically
displayed. Recruited from West
Adelaide, where he had played just 2 senior games in 1990, Rehn made
his AFL debut in 1991 and by season's end was being touted as a future
champion. At 203cm and 106kg it was no surprise that he was strong
overhead, but allied to this he showed exceptional ability at ground
level. In 1994 he achieved AFL
All Australian selection and won the Crows' best and fairest award,
but the following year saw him sustain the first of two serious knee
injuries in as many seasons, effectively halting his progress for two
years. His importance to the Adelaide cause was starkly demonstrated
in the premiership years of 1997 and 1998 when his consistently commanding
all round performances were integral to the club's success.
Rehn's last two seasons with the Crows were cruelly undermined by a third major knee injury, incurred in 1999, and he seldom recaptured his best form. After 134 games and 55 goals for Adelaide he crossed to Hawthorn in 2001 where he added 33 games and 7 goals over the final two seasons of his AFL career. In 2003, Shaun Rehn was appointed non-playing coach of West Adelaide, steering the side to a losing grand final against Central District in his first season. He resigned a couple of games from the end of a dismal 2005 season that yielded the club's first wooden spoon since 1979. The following year saw him at Brisbane, where he assumed an assistant coaching role under Leigh Matthews. |
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Jim Reid (South Melbourne & Claremont)
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| A
long-striding wingman or half forward, Jim Reid began his senior league
career at South Melbourne where he played
36 games, and was a member of the club's losing grand final teams against Collingwood
in 1935-6. However, it was with Claremont,
where he added another 107 games in a war-interrupted stint from 1937 to
1946 that he had the greatest impact. For many Claremont supporters
who can still recall the club's great pre-World War Two teams, "the
sight of Reid sprinting down the wing outpacing numerous opponents and
capping his dash with a magnificent running drop kick at goal is an image
that is more easily called to mind than any other of that era" (see
footnote 1).
Jim Reid's arrival in the west coincided with, and helped shape, Claremont's emergence as a league power for the first time in its history. The side won three consecutive grand finals between 1937 and 1939, with Reid making significant contributions to the first two, but missing the third through injury. He won the Claremont fairest and best award on two occasions, in 1939 and 1940. Always a crowd-pleasing player, he represented his adopted state against both South Australia and his state of origin at the 1937 Perth carnival. After retiring as a player he was made a life member of the club. |
Footnotes1. The Tigers' Tale by Kevin Casey, page 46. Return to Main Text |
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| North Hobart's Noel 'Nogger' Reid was the first post-war TANFL footballer to notch 200 league games. A champion rover and centreman who late in his career was transformed into a top quality back pocket player, he ended his senior career in 1956 with 213 TANFL games to his credit, plus 35 intrastate representative appearances, and 8 state games for Tasmania. His state appearances included games at both the 1947 Hobart and 1950 Brisbane carnivals. Always cool under pressure, Reid boasted all the skills of the game, and was extremely strong and quick. He won the Leitch Medal for best and fairest in the TANFL in 1945, his very first senior season. In August 2000 'Nogger' Reid was selected in North Hobart's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Lou Reiffel (Melbourne & South Melbourne)
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| Extremely diminutive for a league footballer at just 165cm and barely 62kg, Lou Reiffel was a dual premiership player with Ballarat Imperial before moving to the VFL with Melbourne in 1936. An extremely adept ground player, and dangerous near goal, he played 35 games and kicked 73 goals for the Fuchsias before crossing to South Melbourne midway through the 1939 season. He was South's top goal kicker in 1940 with 33 goals, and altogether booted 45 goals in 29 games for the club. He retired at the conclusion of the 1941 season. |
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Jack Reilly (South Fremantle & Mines Rovers)
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| Jack Reilly senior's playing career spanned World War Two and he was a key figure in South Fremantle's legendary 1947 and 1948 premiership teams. Nicknamed 'Corp', "Reilly was a ruckman who was smaller than most of the opposing followers of his day, but he more than made up for those disadvantages by his ruggedness and unlimited stamina" (see footnote 1). A club fairest and best winner in 1945, Reilly represented the state 10 times. He played 204 WAFL games, and also spent a season with Mines Rovers in 1940 which yielded both a premiership and the Larcombe Medal as the GNFL's best all round player. |
Footnotes1. The South Fremantle Story 1900-1975 Volume 2 by Frank Harrison and Jack Lee, page 11. Return to Main Text |
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John Reilly (South Fremantle, Carlton, Footscray)
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| A tall, strong marking forward, John Reilly began his league career with South Fremantle before embarking on an eight year stint in the VFL which comprised spells with Carlton (39 games from 1962-5) and Footscray (55 games, 1966-9). While with the Blues coach Ron Barassi transformed him into a full back, and he continued as a defender on his return home to South Fremantle in 1970. Showing all the benefits of his time in the nation's premier football competition he achieved selection in Western Australia's interstate team for the first time, and at the end of the year had the satisfaction of playing in a premiership-winning team as South comfortably overcame Perth. |
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Ron Reimann (Norwood & South Adelaide)
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| Tough, dependable and superb overhead, Ron Reimann was one of Norwood's, and the SANFL's, best defenders of the 1950s. His career with the Redlegs ran from 1948 to 1957 and saw him play a total of 156 league games. He won a best and fairest in 1956, and captained the side the following year. In 1958-9 he added another 34 league games to his tally as captain-coach of perennial strugglers South Adelaide but his overall success rate while at the helm was a rankly inauspicious 26.4%. |
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Matthew Rendell (West Torrens, Fitzroy, Brisbane)
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| Matt Rendell began his league career with West Torrens where he played 79 SANFL games and kicked 39 goals between 1977 and 1980. He spent the next eleven seasons at Fitzroy, carving out a reputation for himself as one of the most consistent and imposing ruckmen in the VFL. Of massive build at 200cm and 102kg he was a dominant figure both at ruck contests and in general play around the ground. He won the Lions best and fairest award in 1982 and 1983, and captained the club from 1985 to 1987. A regular South Australian state of origin representative, Rendell achieved All Australian selection twice. At the end of the 1991 season, after 164 games and 104 goals for Fitzroy, he was intent on retirement, but Brisbane persuaded him to head north for one last season in which he added 13 games and 7 goals to his tally. |
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Bert Renfrey (North Adelaide, Norwood, West Broken Hill, Boulder City, West Perth, St Kilda, Sturt, South Adelaide)
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| Bert
Renfrey's name is forever associated in the minds of South Australian
football fans with arguably the greatest achievement in the state's entire
football history: the emphatic 1911
Adelaide carnival win. Renfrey it was who captained the
croweaters during that series, the highlight of a varied career that saw
him involved in senior football in four states.
Born in South Australia, Ethelbert Lussome Renfrey made his league football debut with North Adelaide, aged just sixteen, in 1895. He spent four seasons with the red and whites before moving to the much stronger Norwood side, where a series of eye-catching performances earned him his inter-colonial debut against the VFL in 1899. Two years later he was on the move again, this time to West Broken Hill, which at the time boasted arguably the strongest side outside the three major football states (see footnote 1). After playing in West Broken Hill premiership sides in 1901 and 1903, Renfrey headed west, initially to Kalgoorlie, where he spent the 1904 season playing for Boulder City, and then, after accepting a contract to play for West Perth for two seasons, to the coast. The Cardinals, who were captained by another South Australian in Bill Plunkett, had a very strong team at this time, and in Renfrey's first season they won the flag after overcoming East Fremantle in a replayed grand final. Renfrey attracted much acclaim for the quality of his performances: he was speedy - twice running second in the Stawell Gift - gutsy, and skilful, and could handle a variety of positions. In 1906 he was widely regarded as the most accomplished player in the competition, and West Perth sorely missed him when he was forced to drop out of the grand final team against East Fremantle because of injury. Old Easts won with ease, and the following year Bert Renfrey headed back east for a season in the VFL with St Kilda. Once again, he came under notice for some fine performances as he helped the Saints to qualify for the VFL major round for the first ever time, but he was unable to prevent a substantial loss to eventual premier Carlton in a semi final. An attractive offer from West Broken Hill saw Renfrey back there in 1908, although he returned to Melbourne midway through the year as a member of the New South Wales state side which competed at the Melbourne carnival. It was while he was at the carnival that he was approached by Arthur Thomas from Sturt who was endeavouring to attract proven footballers to his club using the best bait possible - the promise of employment and accommodation, courtesy of club benefactor John Dempsey. The 1909 season saw Renfrey at Unley Oval as one of a group of players quickly dubbed 'Dempsey's Immigrants'. Other members of the group included Harry Cumberland (St Kilda), Albert Heinrichs (East Fremantle), Phil Matson (Boulder City), Francis 'Driver' Dunne (South Fremantle), Joe Bushell (North Fremantle) and the South Melbourne pair of Percy Champion and Alphonse Wood. All were to prove instrumental in varying measure in lifting Sturt out of the doldrums, but it was to be Renfrey who would leave the most enduring legacy. Captain of the club from his debut season until 1913, he also coached the side from 1910-13. Inspirational and dashing, he was one of the first players selected in South Australian state teams during this period, making a total of 11 appearances in all, and his tremendous performances during the 1911 carnival were a significant factor in the home state's ultimate success. Renfrey's Sturt career ended in acrimonious fashion during a 1913 season that began spectacularly for the Blues who topped the ladder after round 6 with 5 wins. However, when they succumbed to a fast finishing West Adelaide side by 11 points a couple of weeks later the knives were suddenly out for the Sturt skipper, whom some team mates accused of 'playing dead'. The matter was not finally resolved until after the following week's match against North Adelaide, which featured a number of heated on field exchanges between Renfrey and several of his team mates. After the match, which Sturt lost by 7 points, a fight broke out between Renfrey and one of his fellow 'Immigrants', Albert Heinrichs. The encounter was fierce, prolonged, but ultimately inconclusive. However, it had the effect of convincing the committee that Renfrey had lost the loyalty of his troops, and so he was replaced as captain by Murray Brannigan. When Sturt finally broke through for its inaugural league premiership a couple of seasons later, Bert Renfrey, the man who had arguably done more than anyone else to steer the club on an ascendant course, was no longer involved. His final contribution to league football came with a brief pre-World War One stint as coach of South Adelaide. Ninety years after his retirement as a player, Bert Renfrey's significance in the history of the Sturt Football Club was officially recognised by his inclusion in the club's 'Team of the Century'. |
Footnotes1. When Australia achieved nationhood in 1901, the formerly separate colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia became the new nation's constituent states. Return to Main Text |
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Percy Renfrey (South Fremantle)
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| Known
as 'Skeeter', Percy Renfrey joined South
Fremantle in 1936, the same season that saw former East
Fremantle full back Jack Jones take over as the club's senior coach.
South struggled during Renfrey's first couple of years before developing
into a power in the final three seasons before the WANFL senior
competition went into mothballs because of World War Two. In 1940,
Renfrey was an ever present member of a side that reached the grand final
against Claremont, managed 29 scoring
shots to 26, but still went down by 17 points. He lined up in a back
pocket on that occasion, as he was to do in the overwhelming majority of
his 125 league appearances.
The WANFL resumed full scale post-war competition in 1945, but Renfrey did not return to South until the following year. In 1947 he was close to best afield in his customary back pocket position as the southerners edged out West Perth by 15 points in a hotly contested grand final, thereby claiming their first flag for thirty years. This proved to be the pinnacle of 'Skeeter' Renfrey's career, as although he continued at the club for several more years, he was never again a regular, first choice senior player. |
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| Known as 'Hooker', Geelong's Russell Renfrey was a tough, durable follower whose consistency is evidenced by the fact that he was never once selected for the reserves. Not tall for a ruckman at just 180cm he was nevertheless extremely adept at using his body to maneuver himself into prime position to win the tap, and he rarely lowered his colours over the course of an entire game. Later in his career he moved from being a knock ruckman in the traditional sense to a more modern ruck-rover type, à la Barassi. Renfrey was selected to represent the VFL in 1948, and was a key figure in the Cats 1951 and 1952 premiership-winning teams. Originally recruited from Drysdale in the Geelong and District Football League, he played 201 VFL games for Geelong between 1946 and 1956, booting 165 goals. |
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George Renwick (Boulder City, Carlton, West Perth)
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| George Renwick was a top class rover who played for three clubs of league standard in addition to representing Western Australia on 4 occasions at the 1908 Melbourne carnival. He played for Boulder City during a highly successful phase in that club's history, and was frequently among the goldfields best players during representative fixtures. He also played briefly with both West Perth and Carlton. |
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Allan Reval (Port Adelaide & Glenelg)
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| When
Allan 'Bull' Reval combined with Bob
Quinn in Port Adelaide's redoubtable combinations of the 1930s the
pair effectively revolutionised certain aspects of how the game was
played. When Bob McLean arrived from Norwood
in 1939, he was swiftly admitted to an inner circle which, but for the
war, must surely have dominated the South Australian game for most of the
next decade.
Stoutly built, 'Bull' Reval was too hefty for a rover, but not tall enough to engage in ruck contests; however, his supreme fitness, intelligent positioning ability, powerful running, and excellent team skills made him ideally suited to operate as on-baller, as part of the ruck division, which typically comprised a pair of tall followers, or ruckmen, who jointly contested the hit-outs, and a much smaller, nippier player, the rover. Reval, in effect, replaced the second follower with an intermediate player - a 'ruck-rover', if you will. Combining the mobility, skill and adroitness of a rover with the strength and some of the aerial prowess of a ruckman, Reval virtually gave Port Adelaide two players for the price of one. He also possessed that acute and unteachable team sense that almost invariably knows not only exactly where each proximate team mate is, but which of them is best placed to receive the ball. In concert with team mates like Quinn, Lew Roberts, Tom Kelleway and Ken Obst, Reval was adept at using handball to maneuver the ball out of tight situations in order to facilitate its transmission further downfield. He was also an excellent kick, whether over distance, or in stabbing the ball short "exactly into the next man's hands" (see footnote 1). According to Jeff Pash, the Reval stab pass was - with apologies for the limp pun - a 'revelation', "having speed, range and direction plus an elegance that you might not have expected in that hot, anxious, hurrying champion" (see footnote 2). Allan Reval made his league debut with the Magpies in 1932, and went on to play a total of 187 SANFL games over the next fourteen seasons, which included 21 games with the Port Adelaide-West Torrens combined team that played between 1942 and 1944. He also played 13 interstate matches for South Australia. A member of premiership teams in 1936-37 and 1939, he won Port Adelaide's top individual award in 1939. However, his importance stems not so much from personal achievements as from the impact which, in combination with Bob Quinn and Tom Kelleway (and later Bob McLean), he had on South Australian - and indeed Australian - football. 'Revolutionary' is an over-used term, but in the case of Port Adelaide's proto-ruck-rover Allan 'Bull' Reval it is an adequate description of the magnitude of his influence. After his retirement as a player, Reval coached Glenelg for a season in 1949, implementing a number of significant measures which assisted his successor, Johnny Taylor, to steer the Tigers to the 1950 grand final. |
Footnotes1. The Pash Papers by Jeff Pash, page 49. Return to Main Text 2. Ibid., page 49. Return to Main Text |
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H.J. 'Peter' Reville (South Melbourne, Coburg, Fitzroy)
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| 'Peter'
Reville, who made his VFL debut for South
Melbourne in 1925, and went on to play a total of 156 senior games for
the club, was widely acknowledged as one of the finest utility players of
his time. A good mark, and excellent kick, he booted a total of 207
goals for South, and was a key member of the club's winning 1933 grand
final team against Richmond. Reville's
last game with the southerners was the premiership play-off of the
following year when his admirable all round performance as a half
forward-cum-follower was insufficient to prevent the Tigers achieving
their revenge. Never one to take a backward step, Reville was also
reported no fewer than three times during the match, but he escaped
suspension by electing to depart the VFL scene and join Coburg
as captain-coach.
After a successful three season stint with Coburg, during which time he tied with Preston's Bert Hyde for the 1936 Recorder Cup, Reville resumed his VFL career in 1938, this time with Fitzroy. Still a handy player, he added 22 games and 27 goals to his tally over the ensuing couple of seasons before finally retiring. |
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Clarrie Reynolds (East Fremantle, Boulder City, Kalgoorlie City)
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| Clarrie
Reynolds was a diminutive but highly effective rover who was a driving
force behind the first three of East
Fremantle's four flags in a row between 1928 and 1931. The keys
to his success were extraordinary pace allied to great resilience, making
him extremely hard to suppress. His most memorable season was 1930,
when he won the Lynn Medal for Old Easts' fairest and best player, and was
best afield in the derby grand final win over South
Fremantle. After
138 games for East Fremantle between 1927 and 1930 and from 1932 to 1935,
plus 2 for Western Australia, Reynolds decided that he needed a fresh
challenge, and joined Boulder City in the
GNFL as captain-coach. He enjoyed his time with the Tigers, but
failed to steer the side to a flag. It was a different story at his
next port of call, however. After World War Two, Reynolds spent some
time as coach of Kalgoorlie City's
junior team, before progressing to the seniors, who he promptly steered to
an unprecedented two successive premierships in 1953-4.
After retiring from football, Clarrie Reynolds remained on the goldfields, claiming "It's the greatest place in the world, as far as I'm concerned" (see footnote 1). |
Footnotes1. Quoted in Gravel Rash by Les Everett, page 88. Return to Main Text |
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Dick Reynolds (Essendon & West Torrens)
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| 'King
Dick' as he was known was one of football's archetypal gentlemen - a much
needed antithesis to the likes of Don 'Mopsy'
Fraser,
Leigh
Matthews, Bob
Chitty and 'Mad
Mal' Brown. At 179cm and 82.5kg he was tall and quite heavily
built for a rover and seldom came off second best in the physical
exchanges. He was a fine high mark and possessed of supreme balance
and ball handling ability, and although not the greatest kick he was
dangerous near goals averaging well over a goal a game over the course of
a nineteen season, 320 game VFL career.
Later in that career Reynolds developed into an excellent half forward flank/ruck-rover type who went a long way towards defining that role for future generations. Extreme fairness coupled with an indefatigable brilliance ensured that 'King Dick' attracted a significant amount of attention - of the right sort - from the men in white: he was one of just two Victorians (and indeed only four players in total) to win three Brownlow Medals, polling a career total of 154 votes (8th on the all time list). He was also the quintessential team man and leader, captain-coaching the Dons to two premierships, and skippering the Big V in 6 of his 19 interstate appearances. His leadership qualities remained in evidence after his retirement as a player as he guided Essendon to two further flags before embarking on a less successful three season stint as coach of West Torrens. Several years after Reynolds' retirement as a player one of his most illustrious contemporaries, the great Haydn Bunton senior, paid him this fulsome tribute: In my estimation Dick stood out shoulder high as the best footballer ever to pull on a boot during the years I played in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia. When his turn came to captain Essendon, Dick soon demonstrated that he was a great leader as well as a great footballer. He never had to shout at his players. He showed them by example and led them out of many possible defeats to victory. He was a big rover and therefore was a better high mark than was thought. In the air he stretched up. On the ground he had the greatest gift a rover can have, the ability to play low, gather the ball and sweep through and on without the opposition having a chance to up-end him. The man who plays the ball low does not have to contend with crazy bounces. He nips off the bounce and gains at least half a yard in pace. For a big man, Dick was an expert at playing low. I have seen better foot passers than Dick, but he was a wizard at hand-passing. He was deadly with a shot from 30-40 yards out. He might have been weaving in circles, but on gaining the ball he straightened up and, facing the goal squarely, seldom missed. (See footnote 1) Further information about Dick Reynolds' career can be found in the entry on Essendon. |
Footnotes1. As told to Hec de Lacy of 'The Sporting Globe'. Return to Main Text |
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| Without doubt one of the pre-eminent Geelong footballers of the 1990s, Peter Riccardi, who joined the Cats from Geelong West-St Peter's, would almost certainly have enjoyed premiership success with the club had he counted another two or three players of similar energy, passion and skill among his team mates. As it was, he played in a losing grand final against West Coast at the end of his debut season of 1992, and went on to do so twice more during a career encompassing 288 games over fifteen seasons. Boasting exhilarating pace and a pounding left foot kick, Riccardi was capable of changing the course of a match with an explosion of brilliance. He slowed down as his career went on, but became more adaptable, and arguably a better player all round. Had he a touch more consistency to his game he would have been universally acclaimed as a champion. Individual career highlights included three top three finishes in Geelong's best and fairest award, including a win in 1998. Former club great Bob 'Woofa' Davis said of Riccardi after the player announced his retirement in 2006, "I think Peter has been a magnificent player for the Geelong Football Club and I'm positive that every one of the teammates he's played with would regard him as one of the best players they played with". |
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Colin Rice (Geelong & Glenelg)
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| Geelong
recruited Colin Rice from Swan Hill and he made his VFL debut in
1957. Nicknamed 'Sago', he was a strong, determined type of player
who excelled initially in a back pocket, and later as second rover to Bill
Goggin. He won the Cats' best and fairest award in 1959, and also
deputised for captain Ron Hovey for 7 games during the 1960 season when
Hovey was injured. The last of Colin Rice's 97 games for Geelong was
the victorious 1963 grand final against Hawthorn.
He also booted 87 goals.
In 1964, Rice ventured to South Australia where he joined Glenelg. Many former VFL stars have ventured to either the SANFL or WA(N)FL and succeeded only in sullying their previously high reputations (see footnote 1), but Colin Rice gave sterling service to the Bays over 36 games in a two season stint that yielded 64 goals and the 1964 club champion award. He also played for South Australia on half a dozen occasions, kicking 11 goals. |
Footnotes1. One instinctively demurs from naming names, but in a bid to get the arguments and recriminations underway, how about these? SANFL: Max Kruse (South Melbourne/Sydney, Glenelg), Adrian Battiston (Sydney, Melbourne, Glenelg), Ray Boyanich (Richmond, Woodville), Geoff Blethyn (Essendon, Port Adelaide), Syd Jackson (Carlton, Glenelg), Bill Barrot (Richmond, Carlton, St Kilda, West Torrens); WA(N)FL: Darryl Griffiths (St Kilda, Claremont), Neville Fields (Essendon, East Perth), Ken Newlands (Geelong, East Fremantle), Kevin O'Keeffe (Fitzroy, East Perth), Darryl Sutton (North Melbourne, Swan Districts), Vin Cattogio (Carlton, Melbourne, Sydney, Subiaco) Return to Main Text |
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Laurie Richards (West Perth, Fitzroy, Woodville)
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| A
spectacular high-flier with a keen goal sense, West Australian Laurie
Richards was one of a rare group of individuals to enjoy a top-line career
encompassing all three main football states. Recruited locally by
West Perth he made his senior debut in 1966 and finished the year as his
club's top goal kicker with 36 goals. Although he was normally used
at the goalfront, Richards was adaptable, often giving highly effective service
on the ball, for example.
The 1969 season saw him topping his club's goal kicking list for a second time, with the last 7 of his 72 goals for the year coming in the grand final demolition of East Perth. The Cardinals' 21.21 (147) to 10.14 (74) win that day was memorable for many things, but ask anyone who was at the game what sticks in their mind the most and chances are it will be Richards' exhilarating aerobatics on the forward line (an excellent example of which can be viewed in the above photograph). Among those taking admiring note of the Richards Air Show that day were representatives of VFL club Fitzroy, which was where Richards would spend the second phase of his career, from 1971 to 1974. After a slow start to his time with the Lions he developed into a consistently damaging performer whose talent was recognised in 1973 with selection in the VFL team that scored a 4 point win over South Australia on the Adelaide Oval. Many of his best games with Fitzroy were played on the ball or in the centre, but he could also be a valuable forward as his tally of 69 goals in 79 games attests. Runner-up in the Lions' best and fairest award voting in 1972, he was given the vice-captaincy the following year, affording clear evidence of the high regard in which he was held. In 1975 Laurie Richards crossed to Woodville in the SANFL where he added another 32 senior games in two seasons, booting 38 goals. After that, he returned home to West Perth, taking his final tally of games with the club to 119 by the time he finished in 1979. His form over these three seasons was excellent, and in 1978 he was chosen to represent Western Australia against the Victorians at Subiaco. Richards' final port of call was Woodville once more, for whom he played another 18 games and kicked 26 goals in 1981. |
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Lindsay Richards (East Fremantle, Boulder City, South Melbourne)
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| Hailing
from Boulder, Lindsay 'Blue' Richards was a bona fide goldfields football
legend. He played a season with East
Fremantle in 1927, but returned the following year to the goldfields,
where he lined up with Boulder City.
Richards won the competition fairest and best award that season and was a
member of the Tigers' premiership team. In 1929 he resumed with Old
Easts where, despite standing just 180cm in height, he developed into one
of the most commanding centre half backs in the game. He was a
member of East Fremantle premiership teams in 1929, 1930 and 1931, played
for Western Australia at the 1930
Adelaide carnival, and in 1931 became the club's first ever Sandover
Medallist, eliciting this praise from 'The Western Mail':
He.......is an ideal Sandover Medallist. Fair and clean in his methods, he shows great dash, fine marking ability and never hesitates to kick the ball as far away from danger as possible. (See footnote 1) Richards also won the Lynn Medal as club fairest and best in 1931, but the following year, after a total of 59 games with Old Easts, he ventured back to the goldfields and two more premiership seasons with Boulder City. The final phase of Lin Richards' career saw him confronting his greatest challenge as he became a member of the famous 'foreign legion' at South Melbourne. It was a challenge successfully negotiated as he played at centre half back in the southerners' grand finals of 1934 and 1935, both of which were unfortunately lost. In 1936 he retired in order to take up a business opportunity in Broken Hill, but towards the end of the season South sent him an SOS urging that he line up for them during the finals. Richards, who had kept himself fit during the year, although he had not played, decided to have one last stab at VFL football, and ended up starring in a back pocket as South went under on grand final day for the third successive time. After the game, which was the ninth consecutive premiership decider in which Richards had played, he returned to Broken Hill, and hung up his boots for good. He had played a total of 39 VFL games. In 1997, Lindsay 'Blue' Richards was selected as a member of East Fremantle's official 'Team of the Century'. |
Footnotes1. Cited in Gravel Rash by Les Everett, page 75. Return to Main Text |
