Go straight to the biography of your choice by clicking on the appropriate link:
[Dennis Sachse] [Colin Saddington] [James Sadler] [Len Sallis] [Ian Salmon] [Paul Salmon] [Brian Sampson] [Darryl Sanders] [Brenton Sanderson] [Laurie Sandilands] [Phil Sandland] [Maurice Sankey] [Geoff Sara] [Jeff Sarau] [Eric Sarich] [Brian Sarre] [Peter Sartori] [Harry Saunders] [Brian Sawley] [David Saywell] [Paddy Scanlan] [William Scanlan] [Joseph Scanlon] [John Scarlett] [Keith Schaefer] [Andrew Schauble] [Wayne Schimmelbusch] [Bob Schmidt] [William Schmidt] [John Schneebichler] [Rick Schoff] [Ray Schofield] [Trevor Schofield] [Keith Schow] [Bruce Schultz] [John Schultz] [Bertram Schumacher] [Reg Schumann] [Peter Schwab] [Wayne Schwass] [Jack Scobie] [Allan Scott] [Brad Scott] [Don Scott] [Don W. Scott] [Gary Scott] [Graham Scott] [Ray Scott] [Walter Scott] [William Scott] [Percy Scown] [Clarrie Scrutton] [Paul Seal] [Charles Searl] [Doug Searl] [Malcolm Seddon] [Fred Seinor] [Ernie Sellars] [Bob Sellers] [Joe Sellwood] [Thomas Serjeant] [Leo Seward] [William Sewart] [Gregory Sewell] [Jim Sewell] [Ralph Sewer] [Jack Sexton] [Frank Seymour]
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Dennis Sachse (North Adelaide)
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| After a highly promising junior career
at the club, Dennis Sachse made his senior North Adelaide debut in 1967
when, after a slow start, he developed into the most potent spearhead in
the league that year. If team mate Barrie Robran was the SANFL recruit of the
year, 'the big fella' - all 189cm and 96kg of him - was not far
behind. He ended up playing in all but one of North's 22 matches for
the season, represented South Australia twice, and topped the competition's
goal kicking list with 90 goals. Using his considerable body
strength to excellent effect, he proved difficult for even the best full
backs to contain, and kicked a number of hefty swags of goals. In round 16 against
Woodville at Prospect, for example, he contributed 13 of the victorious Roosters' 22
goals for the game, a tally that was to remain his highest in league
football.
After 1967, sadly, Dennis Sachse's career entered something of a roller coaster phase. He managed 51 goals from a full season in 1968 to top North's list, but the next couple of seasons were virtual write-offs owing to a persistent knee injury. Prior to the start of the 1971 season Sachse actually retired, but a year later he was lured into making a return and, after commencing the season in the seconds, bounced back to play some of his best football since his debut season. He managed 71 goals in 1972, including 6 in the Roosters' grand final victory over Port Adelaide. In 1973 he kicked a career best 105 goals (2 fewer than Sturt's Ken Whelan), but over the next couple of years a career that had promised so much petered out disappointingly as Sachse's knee problems recurred. When he retired in 1975 he had played a total of 102 SANFL games, plus 2 for the state, and booted 358 club and 3 interstate match goals. |
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Colin Saddington (Richmond & Sturt)
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| Col Saddington was a quick, tough, no frills ruckman who knew how to use his body to good effect. He was also a more than capable backman. Richmond recruited him from Richmond City Juniors and he gave the Tigers good service in 103 VFL games between 1956 and 1962. In 1963 he transferred to Sturt but persistent injury problems restricted him to just 26 games in three seasons. |
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| James Sadler was an elusive, pacy and versatile player for Collingwood in 135 VFL games between 1908 and 1917. Originally from Allansford, he broke into the strong Magpie line-up as a half back flanker, but later played with equal success as a wingman and rover. When Collingwood overcame Carlton in the 1910 VFL grand final Sadler was in a back pocket. He went to the 1911 Adelaide carnival with the VFL side, and also donned the Big V jumper in 1912. |
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| Glenelg
boasted no finer player during its first fifteen years in league ranks
than five time best and fairest winner Len Sallis. In 1924 he joined
brother Cyril, who had made his league debut the previous season, at the
Bay Oval, and straight away his drive, dash and desperation made him a
force to be reckoned with.
Glenelg did not actually win its first game in league football until the opening round of the 1925 season, when it unexpectedly overcame reigning premier West Torrens. Len Sallis was a major contributor to that win, as he was almost a decade later when the Seasiders made an even bigger breakthrough, winning their first league premiership with an 18.15 (123) to 16.18 (114) defeat of Port Adelaide. In between, Sallis had earned interstate selection for South Australia on 13 occasions, including participation in the 1930 and 1933 carnivals, and established a reputation as a centreman and on field leader par excellence. In 1934, his form was so consistently brilliant that he was rated a favourite to land the Magarey Medal, only for the umpires to favour a team mate, George 'Bluey' Johnston, instead. Sallis could not have cared less; as far as he was concerned, the only prize in football worth pursuing was the one he helped his team mates procure against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday 6 October 1934. Len Sallis played on for another year after the premiership win, taking his final tally of league games to 172. His eminence as a Tiger was formally ratified in 2002 when he was selected as an inaugural member of the Glenelg Hall of Fame. |
| Ian
Salmon was a tall (194cm), solidly built (94.5kg) left footer from Leongatha
who took a while to find his feet at Footsc |
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Paul Salmon (Essendon & Hawthorn)
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| There
have been taller players than 205cm ruckman/forward Paul Salmon (though
not too many) but arguably none who have managed to use extreme height to
such potent effect, whether pursuing the ball around the field in the
traditional role of knock ruckman, or providing teammates up field with
an imposing marking target in he goal square.
A highly accomplished junior player, Salmon was a key member of Victoria's 1981 Teal Cup winning side, claiming the Larke Medal for best and fairest in the competition. During the initial phase of his his senior career, Salmon was Essendon's leading goalkicker on 7 occasions as well as forming a formidable ruck partnership with Simon Madden. A regular Big V representative (14 appearances) he won the Tassie Medal at the 1988 bicentennial carnival. On moving to Hawthorn in 1996 after 209 games and 509 goals for the Bombers Salmon seemingly gained a new lease of life and was instrumental in the Hawks' return to prominence after a number of lean years. He won his first ever club best and fairest award after his first season at Hawthorn and repeated the feat the following year. He also gained selection in the 1997 AFL All Australian team exactly a decade after the first of his two selections as an old style All Australian. Salmon retired at the end of the 2000 season after 285 senior games only to be tempted out of retirement a year later by his old mentor Kevin Sheedy who was anxious to bolster Essendon's big man department. After one last season in the 'big time', however, Salmon finally decided to hang up his boots for good. |
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Brian Sampson (Essendon & West Perth)
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| Tall
and lean, with great reach, Brian Sampson had a knack for getting in front
at aerial contests, and when he did he was virtually impossible to
beat. Unfortunately, his career was repeatedly undermined by injury,
but it still contained a fair number of memorable moments.
Sampson's first serious injury hitch, a potentially career threatening knee problem, arose while he was playing for Essendon Thirds in 1958. He made an unexpectedly swift and full recovery, however, and in 1959 was promoted to the seniors, where he played so well that he kept his place in the side for the finals. The Bombers ultimately reached the grand final against Melbourne, and for a quarter and a half Sampson was just about the best player on view. However, he fell awkwardly after taking a mark and badly wrenched his back, forcing him to withdraw from a match which, until then, had been evenly poised, but which the Demons would ultimately run away with by 37 points. Sampson returned to action in 1960 but before long he had injured his knee once again and was sidelined for most of the year. After that he struggled for consistency for a time, and when Essendon played off for the premiership against Carlton in 1962 he only scraped into the side as 19th man. Nevertheless, at least he got to participate in premiership celebrations on this occasion as the Dons won with ease. The undoubted highlight of Sampson's career came in 1965 when he was one of Essendon's best players throughout a finals series that culminated in a 14.21 (105) to 9.16 (70) grand final defeat of St Kilda. The early departure from the fray of the Saints' senior ruckman Alan Morrow left the way clear for Sampson to stamp his authority on the game, and he produced a best afield performance. Injury woes resurfaced in 1966 when he missed much of the season with shoulder problems and in 1967 he decided to embrace a new set of challenges when he sought, and was granted, a clearance to West Perth. Sampson spent three seasons with the Cardinals, with the last of his 50 senior games coming in the 1969 grand final defeat of East Perth, when he was 20th man. In 1968 he had represented Western Australia against his home state at the MCG. His Essendon career had comprised precisely 100 VFL games and 45 goals. |
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Darryl Sanders (Yeronga & Coorparoo) by Murray Bird and Peter Blucher |
| Darryl Sanders was an unselfish and powerful utility who started his 303 game career at full forward, finished at fullback, and played right down the spine, even rucking for Queensland once. He began with Yeronga at the age of fourteen, was part of the Coorparoo-Yeronga merger, and finished with Coorparoo. He was a member of 'Roos premiership sides in 1960, 1963 and 1964, and was the QAFL's leading goal kicker in 1954 with 92 goals. He represented Queensland over thirteen years from the age of seventeen in 1952 to 1964, playing 25 games, and once played alongside brothers Ley and Al in the same state side. |
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Brenton Sanderson (Sturt, Adelaide, Collingwood, Geelong)
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| After a stuttering start to his AFL career, Brenton Sanderson finally made good when he moved to Geelong in 1995. Prior to that he had played 53 SANFL games for Sturt, many of them after he had been signed by Adelaide where he managed just half a dozen AFL games in 1992 and 1993. In 1994 he was traded to Collingwood, but serious hamstring problems undermined his efforts, and he played just 4 games for the season before being traded to the Cats. From 1996 onwards he became a regular league player for Geelong, lining up mainly across half back, where his pace and tenacity allied with unwavering concentration and commitment enabled him to stymie the efforts of many ostensibly more talented opponents. He was not just a negative player either, as his probing, purposeful runs out of the backlines initiated many a Geelong attacking thrust. By the end of the millennium, Sanderson had developed into one of the most consistent and effective players in the Cats' line-up, as was evidenced by his 3rd place finishes in the club's 1998 and 2000 best and fairest award counts, followed by a win in 2001. After an injury-hit 2002 season he returned as good as ever in 2003 when he again ran 3rd in the best and fairest count. Towards the end of the 2004 season he was diagnosed with a heart irregularity which forced him out of Geelong's finals campaign. He returned in 2005, but added just 11 final games to bring his tally with the Cats to 195, before retiring. |
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Laurie Sandilands (Footscray & Collingwood)
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| Laurie Sandilands was a top quality key position forward who enjoyed an illustrious twelve season, 161 game VFL career with Footscray. Strong overhead, and adept at bringing smaller team mates into the play, he topped the Bulldogs' goal kicking list every year between 1972 and 1975. All told, he booted 228 goals for the 'Scray before crossing briefly to Collingwood in 1978 where he added 4 games and 6 goals in the last of his thirteen seasons in the big time. |
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Phil Sandland (North Adelaide)
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| In
1901, eighteen year old North Adelaide
centreman Phil Sandland won the Magarey
Medal after his only full season of senior football. Allegedly,
when told of his win, he was unsure of exactly how to react in that he
"had never heard of the Magarey Medal".
Sandland's memorable season comprised 14 Association games for North, plus both of South Australia's interstate matches for the year against the VFL. In 1902 he departed for Western Australia, where he 'went bush', although on a brief return visit to Adelaide later in the year he was rushed into North Adelaide's team for its premiership-deciding match against South Adelaide. Sandland promptly proved that he still had what it took with a fine display in North's crushing 9.14 (68) to 4.7 (31) win. Thereafter, apart from an appearance in 'Dinny' Reedman's testimonial match the following year, Phil Sandland never played senior football again. After the Reedman testimonial he returned to Western Australia where he lived until his death in 1970. Phil Sandland remains the youngest ever winner of what, for most of the twentieth century, was South Australian football's most prestigious individual award. |
| A relentlessly vigorous ruckman who relished the
physical side of the game, Maurice Sankey was the sort of player whose
value to his team greatly transcended his statistical, or even readily
observable, contribution. He
hailed from the football hotbed of north-west |
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| Equally at home as a wingman or across half back, Geoff Sara gave West Adelaide some good, if at times inconsistent, service in 138 league games between 1961 and 1971. Boasting plenty of pace and sure ground skills as well as being excellent overhead, he was a tremendous player to watch, and but for persistent injury could have eked out a significant reputation for himself. |
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Jeff Sarau (Sandringham, St Kilda, West Torrens, Frankston)
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| Jeff Sarau was a relentlessly tough ruckman who conceded inches to many of his opponents but who more than compensated for this with his aggressive, never say die attitude, coupled with his prodigious leaping ability. He played his early senior football with Sandringham in the VFA, playing 32 games and kicking 32 goals in 1971-2, but it was at St Kilda, where he made his VFL debut in 1973, that he made his name. A quick learner, he became a key player for the Saints during the mid-1970s, winning club best and fairest awards in 1975 and 1977. Despite suffering from numerous injuries over the course of his career there was never any question of his giving less than one hundred per cent. His time at St Kilda ended controversially when he was stripped of the club vice-captaincy prior to the start of the 1984 season and elected to transfer to West Torrens. He had played a total of 226 VFL games, and kicked 119 goals, besides representing Victoria twice. He was a success with the Eagles where he played 35 games in two years, winning the club's best and fairest award in his debut season. In 1986 Sarau joined Frankston where he enjoyed an excellent season, finishing runner-up in the Liston Trophy as the Dolphins reached the preliminary final. He was appointed captain-coach of the club in 1987, and spent three years at the helm, overseeing 4th, 8th and 5th place finishes. His coaching career came to an unsavoury end when he was sacked after incurring an eight week suspension for misdemeanours perpetrated during the course of a tempestuous elimination final loss to Springvale. |
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Eric Sarich (South Fremantle, Swan Districts, South Melbourne, East Fremantle, Subiaco)
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| The quintessential football journeyman,
Eric Sarich played with no fewer than five different league clubs during
his career, without ever giving the impression that he had settled
down. He commenced with South Fremantle in 1960, but was only ever a
fringe senior player at best, playing a mere half a dozen games in two
seasons. Haydn
Bunton junior saw something of value in him, however, and in 1962
Sarich found himself in new surroundings at Bassendean Oval, home of the
reigning WANFL premiers, Swan Districts. In three years with Swans
he improved markedly as a footballer, albeit without ever quite managing
to establish himself as a first choice senior player. Nevertheless,
in 1965, after 39 games for Swans, he opted to try his luck
in the VFL. The initial intention was that he should join Fitzroy, but
when that deal fell through he was quickly snapped up by South
Melbourne. Despite not being the most skilful of footballers,
Sarich adapted well to life in Australia's toughest football competition,
seemingly finding the hurly burly atmosphere of Victorian football more to his
liking than the open, flowing, skill-based West Australian
game. Tough, tenacious and brave, he excelled in those defensive
aspects of the game which had perhaps been undervalued by his coaches earlier in his
career. Many of his best performances came in games when his
attacking function was limited, with
his chief objective being to nullify an opposing star player.
In 1969 Sarich headed home to Western Australia when he was appointed captain-coach of East Fremantle. In his debut season the team managed just 8 wins from 21 games, but given that this was a 100% improvement on their 1968 showing it seems reasonable to suppose that Sarich was judged a success, or at any rate that he was maneuvering things in the right direction. An abysmal first half of the 1970 season, however, saw him unceremoniously dumped in favour of Harry Neesham. Sarich finished the season at Subiaco, where he added 14 league games to the 17 he had played with Old Easts. In 1971 he returned to South Melbourne for one last season of VFL football, taking his final tally of games with the club to 62. |
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| Brian
Sarre joined Subiaco from Albany and made
his league debut as an eighteen year old in 1960. Quick on the ground,
good in the air, and a thumping kick, he made the full back position his
own for more or less the next ten seasons, although he could also take a
turn in ruck or up forward if required. Football was very much in
the Sarre blood: Brian's brother John played 81 games for the Maroons from
1962-69, mainly as a ruckman, while their father had also enjoyed a 71
game league
career as a ruckman with Sturt.
Throughout what was a consistently dismal era for Subi, Sarre was a shining light. In 1963, after West Australia had succumbed to a shock home loss against Tasmania, he was called up to the state team for the first time for the clash with the VFL at Subiaco Oval. Although the visitors came from behind late in the game to sneak a 1 point win, Sarre's own performance was brilliant as he completely blanketed his star opponent Doug Wade to become the first ever Subiaco player to earn the Simpson Medal. Over the next four seasons, Sarre became a virtual ever-present in West Australian interstate teams. At the 1966 Hobart carnival he was the best full back on view, earning All Australian selection. When Brian Sarre retired in 1969 after 172 club and a dozen interstate games the closest he had come to a premiership was 3rd place in 1961. Ironically, under the expert guidance of 'the little master', Haydn Bunton junior, the team was just about to embark on its most successful spell since the 1920s, culminating in a 1973 premiership under Bunton's successor as coach, Ross Smith. Sarre's contribution to the club was not forgotten, however. In 1973 he was made a Life Member, and when Subiaco selected its greatest post-war team in 1976, Sarre was the almost inevitable choice as full back. |
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Peter Sartori (Swan Districts, Carlton, Fitzroy)
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| An abundantly talented footballer who was equally effective leading the rucks or acting as a focal point for his team's attacks at centre half forward, Peter Sartori was touted as the most promising youngster in Western Australia during the early part of a career that tantalisingly promised greatness, but was repeatedly undermined, and ultimately wrecked, by injury. Swan Districts recruited him from Redcliffe, and he made his league debut in 1981. Tall, agile, and boasting a first rate football brain, he impressed from the start, but midway through his second season, in a sign of things to come, he suffered a serious kidney injury while playing in an exhibition match at Esperance, and was unable to resume until 1983. That meant he missed the 1982 finals series, from which Swans emerged with their first flag in two decades. In 1983 and 1984 he made amends by helping his club to further premiership triumphs, with his dominant performances during the 1983 finals series in particular living long in the memories of those who witnessed them. Not surprisingly, Sartori's displays garnered some appreciative attention from clubs in Melbourne, and after a 1986 season that had seen him climax his 82 game, 119 goal Swans career with a club fairest and best award, he crossed to Carlton. Alas, his misfortune with injury was far from over, and in five seasons with the Blues he managed just 54 senior games. The best of these were inordinately impressive, but on other occasions it was clear that Sartori was not firing on all cylinders. It was a similar story after he transferred to Fitzroy in 1992. A fit, in form Sartori would have been a godsend to the struggling Lions, but 24 senior games in three seasons tells its own story. Peter Sartori's top level career also involved a couple of games for Western Australia. |
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Harry Saunders (Collingwood & Footscray)
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| Harry
Saunders played 133 VFL games for Collingwood
between 1916 and 1926, and was widely regarded as one of the finest
defenders of his era. In 1922 he was at the centre of a controversy
following a match against Carlton in
which he pole axed Alex Duncan. Not only was he found guilty at the
tribunal, and suspended for 6 games, but the police also took action and
fined him £5.
A splendid mark and one of the finest kicks in the VFL at the time, he represented the VFL on 3 occasions and was a member of two Collingwood premiership teams. Late in the 1926 season he had a very brief stint as coach of Footscray. |
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| Brian Sawley was an accomplished all round footballer who really came to the fore when the going was willing. Between 1954 and 1964 he played a total of 134 league games for Norwood while his 11 interstate appearances included matches at the 1958 Melbourne carnival as well as both meetings with the VFL in 1963. South Australia won the first of these 1963 encounters, in Melbourne, by 7 points, with Sawley starring on a half forward flank. In the return match, however, he found himself at the centre of controversy after being unceremoniously flattened by the VFL's John Peck, who claimed that Sawley had kicked him. The VFL Tribunal clearly thought that mitigating circumstances had precipitated Peck's behaviour as they handed down what, on the face of it, appeared to be the absurdly lenient sentence of just two weeks' suspension. |
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David Saywell (Central District)
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| Known, perhaps inevitably, as 'Sally', David Saywell was a tall (192cm), thinly built half forward who knew how to use his cleverness, pace and height to numerous of possessions, as well as to kick plenty of goals. Saywell booted 380 goals for Central District in precisely 150 league games between 1969 and 1979 (missing the whole of 1975), topping the club's list twice, in 1970 with 50 goals, and in 1974 with 68. |
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Paddy Scanlan (South Melbourne, Footscray, North Melbourne)
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| Determined,
pacy and an exceptional kick, Paddy Scanlan was a consistently fine performer
for South Melbourne during a predominantly
inauspicious era for the club. He made his VFL debut in 1920, and
went on to play precisely 100 league games over the ensuing
seven seasons, kicking a total of 49 goals in the process. From 1923
until 1926 he was South's captain, before moving to Footscray
as captain-coach in 1927. His two seasons at the helm of the
Tricolours elicited 10th and 7th place finishes, with the latter
representing the club's best performance since entering the VFL in
1925. Scanlan added 33 games and 25 goals to his record while with
Footscray; he also represented the VFL a total of 4 times during his
career.
In 1930-31 he returned to South Melbourne as non-playing coach, steering the side to 7th position on the ladder in both years. His final VFL coaching stint was at North Melbourne between 1935 and 1937, but it was not an experience that Scanlan would look back upon with any great pleasure or pride, yielding as it did two wooden spoons and one near miss. |
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William Scanlan (Melbourne & Footscray)
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| William
Scanlan was a handy utility whose untidy style belied his general
effectiveness. He commenced
with Sandringham Centrals, from whom he was recruited by |
|
Joseph Scanlon (West Adelaide & South Adelaide)
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| A brilliant wingman who combined exceptional pace with a solid defensive game, Joe Scanlon played 72 league games and booted 9 goals for West Adelaide between 1919 and 1922 and in 1926 and 1927. Between 1923 and 1925 he played 35 games for South Adelaide, kicking 3 goals, as well as playing for South Australia at the 1924 Hobart carnival. His last senior game was Westies' 10.11 (71) to 8.10 (58) challenge final victory over North Adelaide in 1927. He played a total of 10 interstate games, earning frequent mentions in dispatches. |
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John Scarlett (Geelong, South Melbourne, Geelong West)
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| In
a twelve season, 212 game career with Geelong
and South Melbourne John Scarlett proved
himself one of the most dependable full backs in the VFL. Equally
capable of taking a big mark or spoiling forcefully Scarlett was not
averse to taking a run on the ball or spending some time in the forward
lines. Scarlett's failure to win a club best and fairest award or
poll heavily in the Brownlow
should not disguise the fact that his play was frequently
eye-catching in the extreme; his careering runs out of the backline
carrying the ball, for example, were as spectacularly effective as any.
After 183 games with Geelong between 1967 and 1977 he was the subject of a highly unusual transfer arrangement whereby he joined finals qualifier South Melbourne 'on loan'. The arrangement was ostensibly for the duration of the finals, but after the Swans capitulated to Richmond in the elimination final the clubs unexpectedly agreed to make the deal permanent. John Scarlett is best remembered as a Geelong player, however, and it is therefore highly appropriate that his son, Matthew Scarlett, later continued the family tradition at Skilled Stadium. |
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Keith Schaefer (South Melbourne)
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| Keith Schaefer was a highly skilled centreman who was a swift and fluent mover and whose foot passing was quite exceptional. He arrived at South Melbourne from South Surfers, and made the first of an eventual 102 VFL appearances in 1947. He rapidly developed into a key member of South's side, and in 1948 was selected to represent the VFL in the interstate arena. He enjoyed an exceptional year in 1952, winning his club's best and fairest award, but only a year later, still several months shy of his twenty-fifth birthday, he retired. |
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Andrew Schauble (Collingwood & Sydney)
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| A product of Xavier College, Andrew Schauble was taken by Collingwood at pick number 8 in the 1993 National Draft. In five seasons with the Magpies, he played a total of 79 games, mainly as a defender, where he impressed with his ability to shut down talented opponents. He moved to Sydney in 2000 and after an outstanding debut season landed the club's best and fairest award. Thereafter, apart from 2003 when he managed a full season, his appearances were restricted by injury, but he was almost invariably a committed and effective performer when selected. After managing just 4 games in 2005 to take his final tally with the Swans to 88, Andrew Schauble opted to retire. |
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Wayne Schimmelbusch (Brunswick & North Melbourne)
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| Under
the heading 'Good Things, They Say, Come In Small Packages', 'Football
Life' for September 1973 announced "pencil thin North
Melbourne star Wayne Schimmelbusch" as its recruit of the year
"just ahead of another two trimly-built youngsters - Richmond's
Robert Lamb and Melbourne's Robert
Flower" (see footnote 1). 'Schimma', as
he rapidly became known, and Flower would eventually become bona fide
legends of the game, with the North Melbourne man playing more games for
his club than anyone else. He entered the VFL as a ready-made league
footballer, having won the previous year's Field
Trophy during his second season with Brunswick,
where he had played mainly as a ruck-rover Possessing an abundance
of skill and drive, Schimmelbusch also seemingly knew no fear, regularly
risking serious injury for the sake of the team by hurling himself into
intense physical contests against bigger, brawnier opponents.
Perhaps the biggest surprise relating to Wayne Schimmelsbusch's illustrious fifteen season VFL career is that he never won North Melbourne's best and fairest award. He did, however, captain the club for eight successive seasons, top the club's goal kicking list in 1976 with 43 goals, and play in the Kangas' first two league premiership teams. He also represented the 'Big V' 11 times, including 4 games as captain. Equally at home on a wing or at half forward, he was selected in the latter position in the Kangaroos' official 'Team of the Century'. Had it not been for a serious knee injury sustained against Sydney midway through the 1987 season 'Schimma' might easily have carried on playing at the top level for at least another season. As it was, despite making strenuous efforts to resume, he was eventually forced to admit defeat, and retired. Three years after his retirement, he returned to North as coach, but after narrowly failing to get the team into the finals in his first two seasons, things declined alarmingly. In 1992, the Roos finished 12th with just 7 wins, and when they opened the following year with a humiliating annihilation at the hands of Adelaide in the AFL's pre-season competition, the club hierarchy felt compelled to replace him with Denis Pagan, a move which eventually bore spectacular fruit in the shape of two premierships. Despite being ostensibly forced into the background, however, there is little doubt that one of the happiest observers of these triumphs would have been the man with a strong claim to having been the greatest individual contributor to the North Melbourne cause over the years, Wayne Schimmelbusch. |
Footnotes1. 'Football Life', September 1973, inside front cover. Return to Main Text |
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| Bob
Schmidt made his SANFL debut with South
Adelaide in 1962 and went on to play 164 club and 11 interstate games over the next ten
seasons. Combining toughness with outstanding football ability in
ample measure, he was one of the best half backs of his generation.
He was a key contributor to a rare Panthers premiership in 1964, and the
following year - arguably his best in football - helped South Australia to
a stunning 64 point defeat of the VFL at Adelaide Oval as well as winning
the Knuckey Cup, South's best and fairest award.
The loss of a finger in 1966 scarcely slowed Schmidt down, and he was chosen to represent South Australia at the Hobart carnival, where his performance against the VFL in a losing team was particularly praiseworthy. After 1966 South Adelaide tended to struggle but Bob Schmidt was always a worthy contributor. His worth to the club was later recognised by inclusion, on a half back flank, in its official 'Greatest Team'. |
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William Schmidt (Richmond & St Kilda)
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| Beginning with Richmond during the closing phase of that club's VFA career, William Schmidt carved out an illustrious career for himself as a centreman with a predilection for wandering all over the ground in search of kicks. Sometimes accused of being selfish - centreline players were supposed to remain in their positions during this period in the game's history - Schmidt must nevertheless have given good value as he was a mainstay of Richmond and St Kilda sides for the better part of a decade and a half. Renowned for his slick ball handling skills and tremendous evasive ability, Schmidt was a member of Richmond's inaugural VFL side in 1908 and went on to play a total of 75 VFL games for the club between 1908 and 1911 and in 1921. In between he starred at St Kilda over the course of 90 games from 1912 to 1914 and between 1918 and 1920. His tally of 138 league goals testifies to his penchant for roaming. Schmidt later coached Richmond for one season in 1933 when he was successful in getting the Tigers to the grand final where they lost to South Melbourne. |
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John Schneebichler (South Adelaide & Glenelg)
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| Boasting a trademark unkempt appearance that perhaps belied the extent of his commitment and ability, John Schneebichler was a workmanlike and thoroughly dependable league footballer who enjoyed a successful fourteen season, 259 game, 377 goal SANFL career at two clubs. All but 25 of those games were played for South Adelaide, where he rose through the ranks before making his senior debut in 1975. Capable of playing in a variety of positions, he carried out whatever function was asked of him with a minimum of fuss and plenty of fortitude and grit. He was a member of the Panthers' losing grand final team against Port Adelaide in 1979, and was the club's leading goal kicker with 65 goals in 1983. After captaining South in his last three seasons at the club he crossed to Glenelg, hoping to play in a premiership team, but although the Bays reached the grand final, they were vanquished by Port Adelaide. In addition to his club games, John Schneebichler played 5 times for South Australia. |
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| Like
his West Australian interstate adversary Ken
Bagley, against whom he played at Hobart in the
1966 carnival, Rick Schoff was the quintessential 'jack of all
trades'. Selected as All
Australian centre half back after both the 1966 and 1969
carnivals, he occupied virtually
every position on the ground, to almost equally good effect, for his club,
Sturt, for whom he played 215 games between
1959 and 1971. He also represented South Australia 13 times.
Blond-haired and stocky of build, Schoff was frequently, if predictably, likened to a 'tank' during his career, a cliché which unfortunately concentrated on one aspect of his game at the expense of others, and perhaps in part explains why, in spite of his noteworthy achievements in the interstate arena, he tended to be somewhat underrated. One person who certainly did not underrate him was his frequent interstate opponent John Nicholls, who observed that Schoff "was a fearless tear through player, who drove the ball forward with left foot kicks. A fine mark, he was a great stopper - I have seen him take Robert Walls apart and I've also seen him nullify Royce Hart" (see footnote 1). Schoff was equally effective as an attacking player, and in important games he was often used by coach Jack Oatey as the fulcrum of the Sturt attack, where his excellent positioning sense allied to great body strength repeatedly enabled him to gain possession under even the most intense duress before squeezing out telling handballs to team mates running past. Injured in 1966 when the Double Blues won their first premiership for twenty-six years, Rick Schoff gained more than ample consolation in each of the ensuing four seasons with influential grand final performances as the side went on to make it a near record five flags in a row. |
Footnotes1. Big Nick by John Nicholls with Ian McDonald, page 179. Return to Main Text |
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| In
the decade or so following the end of World War Two, West
Perth fielded some of the finest teams in the club's history. In
the eight season period between 1946 and 1953 the side contested every
grand final bar one, for premierships in 1949 and 1951. Full back in
both of those grand final-winning teams was Ray Schofield, rated by many
as one of the finest West Australian players never to win a Sandover
Medal. His consistent brilliance is clearly shown by his
achievement in winning fairest and best awards in 1948-50-53-54-55 at a
time when the club also boasted players of the calibre of Fred
Buttsworth, 'Pops'
Heal, John Loughridge and
Ray Scott. Hardly surprisingly,
Schofield was a 'shoe-in' for West Australian state teams for much of his
career, playing a total of 21 interstate matches including appearances at
the 1950 and 1953
carnivals. He amply
demonstrated his
versatility in interstate football, being used as a half back flanker or
in the forward lines in addition to his more customary role of full back.
Among the main highlights in Western Australian club football during the late '40s and early '50s were the clashes between arguably the strongest teams of the period, West Perth and South Fremantle. One of the things that made these games so fascinating was the individual confrontation between Schofield and the greatest goal kicker of his era, Bernie Naylor. The South spearhead kicked more than his share of goals in these contests, but the converse of this was he that he also lowered his colours to Schofield more than to any other opponent. No more nor less intrinsically talented than many other league full backs of his day, Ray Schofield rose above them because of his fanatical, never say die approach. Quite simply, he never knew when he was beaten - and, indeed, as many Cardinals fans of long standing will tell you, he very seldom was. |
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Trevor Schofield (West Perth & Claremont)
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| Trevor Schofield was a top class rover with West Perth during the 1950s. His 147 WANFL games included appearances in three grand finals: a win in 1951, and losses in 1952 and 1953, all against South Fremantle. His only interstate appearance came in 1952 at Subiaco Oval when he helped Western Australia overcome a 5 goal three quarter time deficit to beat South Australia by 2 points. Always a threat when resting in a forward pocket, Schofield topped the Cardinals' goal kicking list in 1956 with 43 goals. He ended his league career by playing 19 games for Claremont in 1959. |
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Keith Schow (Queanbeyan, Queanbeyan-Acton, Collingwood, St George, Turner)
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| The
oldest of three brothers to play for Queanbeyan,
Keith Schow was a talented defender who, aged nineteen, featured in a three way
tie for the 1950 Mulrooney
Medal as well as winning his club's best and fairest award. In
1951 he headed to Collingwood where he spent the next couple of seasons
before returning home to play with the recently merged Queanbeyan-Acton
combination. Known popularly as the 'combine', this side enjoyed
considerable success during its brief, five year existence, and Keith
Schow was a prominent contributor to its 1953 and 1954 premiership
successes. A regular Canberra representative player, Keith Schow
participated in the 1950 Australian
interstate championship series in Brisbane, while in 1955 he was
chosen as vice captain of the Canberra team which lost at home against
Tasmania.
Between 1956 and 1958 Schow was captain-coach of St George, steering the Dragons to the finals in two out of the three seasons. He was also selected to represent New South Wales in interstate games. Upon returning to a now autonomous Queanbeyan club in 1959 Keith Schow took on the duties of captain-coach but in three seasons at the helm was unable to get the Tigers over the line for a premiership. The closest they came was runners up to Ainslie in 1961. The following season saw Schow on the move yet again, this time to Turner, where he spent the final three seasons of a career which had seen him occupy the full back position with as much poise and distinction as any Canberra player before or since. According to Barbara Marshall in her superb chronicle of the history of football in the ACT, The National Game in the National Capital: 60 Years of Achievement, Keith Schow "was a sound positional player and a brilliant high mark (although only 178 centimetres tall). He had great pace and his dashing style of play was an inspiration to his team mates. Perhaps the best known feature of Keith's game was his long driving drop kicks, particularly from the kick outs." (See footnote 1) |
Footnotes1. The National Game in the National Capital: 60 Years of Achievement by Barbara Marshall, page 72. Return to Main Text |
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| Norwood's
most prolific and celebrated full forward, with 689 goals in 124 matches
between 1933 and 1941, Bruce Schultz was perhaps a touch unfortunate that
his career coincided to a large extent with that of arguably the greatest
full forward of all time, North
Adelaide's Ken Farmer.
Nevertheless, Schultz's 'goals per game' average of 5.4 compares more
favourably with Farmer's all time record of 6.3 than anyone else's, and
this alone bears stark testimony to his prowess. His half
a dozen interstate appearances netted him 23 goals.
Quite thinly built and tall, Schultz was quick on the lead, a fine overhead mark, and - it almost goes without saying - an extremely accurate kick. He topped Norwood's goal kicking on five occasions, and was the SANFL's leading goal kicker in his final season when he 'topped the ton' for the one and only time in his career. His hundredth goal that year actually came as early as round 13, but moments later he succumbed to a serious knee injury which put paid not only to his season and career, but also to his prospects of overhauling Farmer's SANFL record tally of 134 goals in a season. Indeed, had Schultz managed to play the remainder of Norwood's matches in 1941, and maintained his goals per game average, he would have stood a realistic chance of establishing a record that not even Scott Hodges, with his total of 153 goals in 1990, would have been able to overhaul. Given all this, Bruce Schultz's position at the goalfront in Norwood's official 'Team of the Century' was, one ventures to suppose, as good as guaranteed. |
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| Renowned
as much for his fairness as for his brilliance, there can have been few
more fitting recipients of the Charles
Brownlow Medal than Footscray's
'gentle giant', John Schultz.
Recruited by the Bulldogs after he had played just 16 games with country side Boort, having played previously with Caulfield Grammarians in the VAFA, Schultz made his VFL debut in 1958 against Collingwood, and within 20 seconds of the opening bounce he was lying prostrate, unconscious, the victim of a Harry Sullivan back-hander. Despite this strenuous introduction to league ranks, however, Schultz himself was never known to resort to underhanded activities of any kind during an illustrious eleven season, 188 game VFL career that saw him widely recognised by his fellow ruckmen as the most challenging and difficult opponent in the game. During the early 1960s in particular Schultz stood head and shoulders, if not literally, then certainly in terms of impact and effectiveness, over every other ruckman in the VFL. His Brownlow Medal win in 1960 was universally acclaimed, as were his invariably superlative performances in a Big V jumper (24 of them in all), which at the 1961 Brisbane carnival earned him an All Australian blazer. Much more than just an effective knock ruckman, "Schultz was acclaimed for good tackling, elegant marking and hard, fair bumping" (see footnote 1). He was also supremely fit and durable, on one occasion playing a club record 169 consecutive games. Voted the Bulldogs' best and fairest player on five occasions, Schultz was Footscray through and through, and would have loved nothing better than to help his team to a flag. The closest he came, however, was in 1961, when the Bulldogs made the grand final, but were overturned by Hawthorn. Schultz, who was the best ruckman on the ground, did everything he could to inspire his team mates to victory, but the Hawks were too fit and too strong. Schultz retired at the end of the 1968 season, still aged only twenty-nine, but keen to develop the family's grocery business. Fittingly for a man who was notorious for his fairness, and indeed was never once reported, 'Gentleman' John Schultz later served on the league tribunal. |
Footnotes1. Unleashed: A History of the Footscray Football Club by John Lack, Chris McConville, Michael Small, Damien Wright, page 207. Return to Main Text |
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| Despite his lightweight frame and boyish appearance, Bert Schumacher was a tigerish and highly effective rover for Norwood in 104 league games between 1920 and 1927. During that time he contributed to three senior premierships. His only interstate match for South Australia came at the Adelaide Oval against the VFL in 1923, when he was a late replacement for the injured Bobbie Barnes, and helped his side to a resounding victory by 47 points. |
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| Port Adelaide has produced a large number of top quality full backs, and Reg Schumann loses nothing in comparison with the best of them. Tough, resolute and dependable, he made his debut for the Magpies in 1939, and was a member of that year's winning grand final team against West Torrens. By the time he retired in 1950 he had played a total of 114 league games without once registering a goal. He won Port's best and fairest award in 1940, and captained the club in 1949. His 7 interstate appearances for South Australia included games at the 1947 Hobart carnival. |
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| An
unspectacular but important member of Hawthorn's
great 1980s combinations, Peter Schwab played a total of 171 VFL games and
kicked 38 goals between 1980 and 1991. Originally from Bennettswood,
he was not the sort of player to poll heavily in the Brownlow
Medal or attract bundles of best and fairest votes, but his ability to
limit the effectiveness of star opposition players made him a vital cog in
the Hawk machine. Schwab was a member of half a dozen grand final
teams during the course of his career, including the winning sides of
1983, 1986 and 1988 when, playing in the centre, he was one of the finest
players on view. He would also have played in the winning grand
final of 1989 had he not been serving a rare suspension.
Nine years after his retirement as a player, Peter Schwab returned to Hawthorn as senior coach, having early spent time as Allan Jeans' assistant at Richmond. His first couple of seasons in the Hawks' hot-seat were extremely promising, yielding finals participation for 6th and 4th place finishes, but after that the wheels fell off spectacularly. After overseeing 10th and 9th place finishes in 2001 and 2002 respectively, Schwab ended up being sacked as coach towards the end of a dismal 2004 season that ultimately produced just 4 wins and an ignominious second to last place on the ladder. |
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Wayne Schwass (North Melbourne & Sydney)
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| Recruited
by North Melbourne from South
Warrnambool, New Zealand-born Wayne Schwass
was an exceptional junior talent who won the 1987 Morrish Medal for the
best and fairest player in the VFL under nineteens competition. That same
year he captained the Kangaroos to the VFL under nineteen premiership, before
making his senior debut in 1988.
Over the course of a ten season, 184 game career with North Schwass was indisputably, and consistently, one of that club's leading lights, winning the club champion award, the Syd Barker Medal, in 1994 and 1995, and being one of the best players afield in the 1996 grand final victory over Sydney. Ironically, a couple of seasons later Schwass found himself shunted to Sydney in exchange for Shannon Grant, but any thoughts that he may have passed his 'sell by date' were rapidly dispelled. In 1999 he enjoyed arguably his finest season to date, winning the Swans best and fairest award, and earning AFL All Australian selection. A Victorian state of origin representative on several occasions, Schwass was an elegant, purposeful left footer who knew where the ball was and utilised it impeccably. Possessing evasive skills of the highest order, Schwass nevertheless was not averse to 'mixing it' when occasion demanded. He remained an integral part of the Sydney engine room until persistent injuries and a diminished desire to play at the top level led to his retirement, after 98 games for the club, in 2002. |
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Jack Scobie (South Melbourne, East Fremantle, Carlton)
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| A
hard-running defender whose main shortcoming was a tendency to put on
weight, Jack Scobie nevertheless enjoyed a fine VFL career with two
clubs. Most of that career was spent with South
Melbourne, where he played 75 games between 1909 and 1913 including
the grand finals of 1909 (won against Carlton)
and 1912 (lost to Essendon). At
his peak, he was widely considered to be the finest full back in Victoria.
Scobie left South Melbourne at the end of the 1913 season, and joined East Fremantle. From 1914 to 1918 he played a total of 61 WAFL games, including winning grand finals in his first and last seasons. Dolph Heinrichs wrote of Scobie, "Of all the splendid exponents in East Fremantle's colours during its (first) 50 years, I made Jack Scobie as absolutely its most fully equipped and fully accomplished player" (see footnote 1). Scobie re-ignited his VFL career briefly with Carlton in 1919 where he added a final 11 senior games. |
Footnotes1. Celebrating 100 Years Of Tradition by Jack Lee, page 79. Return to Main Text |
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Allan Scott (North Launceston, Cananore, St Kilda, New Town)
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| A powerful overhead mark, and a thumping
kick, Allan Scott played with distinction in both northern and southern
Tasmania, as well as on the mainland, for well over a decade after the
cessation of hostilities in World War One. Originally from
Launceston, he played alongside twin brother Don at North
Launceston from 1919 to 1925. Equally at home leading the ruck
or in any key position, he was a significant contributor to Robins
premierships in 1923 and 1925, and was a member of Tasmania's 1924
Hobart carnival side.
After a season in Victorian country football, Scott returned to Tasmania in 1927 and joined TFL club Cananore, where he remained for two years. In his first season with the club he was a member of both local and state premiership-winning teams, and also travelled to Melbourne as part of the Tasmanian carnival team. In 1929 he ventured to Melbourne on a more permanent basis when he joined St Kilda, establishing himself in two seasons and 32 games in the VFL as a powerful and sometimes spectacular player. When the Saints enjoyed all too rare participation in the major round in 1929, Allan Scott was one of their best players in a narrow 1st semi final loss to Carlton. Returning to the Apple Isle in 1931 he assumed the reins as captain-coach of his original club, North Launceston, and immediately masterminded a premiership. After a total of 133 games for the Robins he travelled to the south of the island in 1933 for one last season of league football as captain-coach of New Town. |
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Brad Scott (Hawthorn & Brisbane)
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| Brad Scott made his senior AFL debut for Hawthorn in 1997, the year after winning the club's reserves best and fairest award. He was an ever present for the Hawks in what proved to be his only season at senior level with the club, but it was with Brisbane, where he moved in 1998, that his full potential was unleashed. Often playing in the same team as his twin brother Chris, he developed into formidably resolute on-baller with a penchant for keeping tight wraps on his opponent, who as often as not was one of the opposing team's pivotal performers. When the Lions broke through for their inaugural premiership in 2001 courtesy of a 15.18 (108) to 12.10 (82) grand final defeat of Essendon, Scott was one of their handiest performers. He was also a significant contributor to the following year's grand final defeat of Collingwood, but a broken leg sustained in the last home and away match of 2002 tragically ruined his hopes of participating in a hat trick of premiership victories. Injuries, indeed, were the major bugbear faced by Scott throughout his league career, and the chief reason that, when he retired late in the 2006 season, he had only played 164 AFL games in ten seasons. All but 22 of those games came with Brisbane. |
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Don Scott (West Perth, South Melbourne, Swan Districts, Waverley)
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| Don
Scott made his league debut for West Perth
as an eighteen year old in 1948, and his impact was immediate and
pronounced. Later that year he was 20th man in Western Australia's
16.16 (112) to 10.14 (74) interstate match win over the VFL at Subiaco
Oval, while three days later, when the sides met again, he lined up in a
back pocket. The sandgropers once more won convincingly, giving
Scott the enviable record of a 100% success rate against the Big V during
his interstate career, which ended there and then.
One presumes there were members of the visiting Victorian party in 1948 who took note of Scott's precocious talent, for two years later he was lining up for South Melbourne in the VFL. Between 1950 and 1954 he played a total of 83 senior games and booted 58 goals, impressing equally as a defender or ruckman. Scott returned to West Perth as the club's captain-coach in 1955, taking his final tally of WANFL games with the Cardinals to 43 whilst steering them to 4th position on the ladder. In 1956 he crossed to Swan Districts, also as captain-coach, but the side managed just 5 wins from 19 matches to finish last. Midway through the following season, when another wooden spoon looked likely, Scott and the Swans parted company. In 1961, he was appointed captain-coach of Waverley, which had just been admitted to the VFA's newly formed 2nd division. Scott moulded the Panthers into a competitive combination right from the outset. They won 8 out of 18 matches in their debut season, and in 1962 missed the finals only on percentage. Scott, who had finished 3rd in both the Field Trophy and the 2nd division goal kicking list (with 57 goals) in 1961, stood down as coach in 1963, but continued to perform effectively as a player under his successor, Ian Thorogood. |
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Don W. Scott (Box Hill, Hawthorn, South Adelaide)
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| Former
Hawthorn coach John Kennedy once
famously said that he never criticised his champion ruckman Don Scott for
making mistakes "because they were only caused by trying too
hard". Certainly few players of the time could match the former
Box Hill star for determination. Despite
conceding several centimetres to most opponents he was highly accomplished
at the art of using his weight effectively, and his immense fitness meant
that he often finished games leaping high above his taller adversaries.
Scott's aggressively determined approach helped make him a highly effective on field leader, and he captained the Hawks to the 1976 and 1978 premierships, having earlier been a member of the 1971 flag-winning team. He represented the VFL and Victoria on numerous occasions. After retiring as a player, Don Scott had a brief, abjectly unsuccessful stint as coach of South Adelaide in 1985. He later embarked on a much more successful media career. |
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| Pacy, strong overhead, and an excellent kick, South Fremantle utility Gary Scott was a prominent member of that club's sides during the late 1950s and throughout the '60s. Hailing originally from Mandurah, he was a model of reliability and steadiness who spent three seasons as South's captain. His immense adaptability made him a near automatic choice for Western Australia for much of his career (he made 11 state appearances), and his final tally of 255 WANFL games between 1957 and 1969 was, at the time of his retirement, a club record (since overhauled by Tom Grljusich and Marty Atkins). Scott won South Fremantle's 1964 fairest and best award, while his feat of playing 205 consecutive senior games at one stage of his career broke the long standing Australian record (for the major state leagues) held by Richmond's Jack 'Skinny' Titus. Gary Scott's younger brother Graham also enjoyed a noteworthy career with South Fremantle, as well as in the VFL. |
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Graham Scott (South Fremantle, St Kilda, Melbourne)
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| A pacy, elusive, strong marking forward, and the younger brother of Gary Scott, Graham Scott played 117 league games for South Fremantle between 1966 and 1971. An awkward but normally effective kick, he booted 4 goals from full forward in South's 15.7 (97) to 6.18 (54) defeat of Perth in the 1970 grand final, and, with tallies of 59 and 97 goals, was his club's top goal kicker in 1970 and 1971. His 1971 tally was especially meritorious as South managed just 9 wins from 21 matches for the year to finish 6th. During the first half of his WANFL career, Scott played mainly as a half forward flanker, including 5 interstate appearances for Western Australia. He embarked on a three year stint in the VFL in 1972, playing 18 games and kicking 14 goals for St Kilda both that year and the next, and adding a final 8 games and 4 goals for Melbourne in 1974. |
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| No
finer full forward has lined up in the red and blue of West
Perth than Ray Scott, who topped the Cardinals' goal kicking list on
eight consecutive occasions from 1948. A strong marking player of remarkable
consistency and reliability, had his career not coincided to a
considerable extent with that of South
Fremantle's legendary sharp shooter Bernie
Naylor, his reputation would almost certainly have been even
weightier.
Ray Scott booted a total of 901 goals for West Perth during a 198 game league career that saw him defy the challenge of Naylor to top the WAFL goal kicking list in 1951 with 141 goals. Four years later, after Naylor had departed the scene, he did so again with 83 goals. His best single season though was 1953 when he managed 143 goals, 24 shy of Naylor's all time record tally of 167. Scott 'topped the ton' on four occasions, and invariably kicked at least twice as many goals as behinds. In one game against Perth in 1953 he booted a club record 15 goals. After his retirement as a player, Ray Scott coached briefly in Wagga Wagga before embarking on an illustrious 141 game umpiring career which included three WANFL grand finals. When the Falcons announced their official 'Team of the Century' in October 2000, Ray Scott was, one presumes, an almost automatic inclusion. |
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Walter Scott (Norwood, West Adelaide, Glenelg, Sturt)
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