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| Known descriptively as 'Jumbo', Geelong's Wally Sharland was recruited locally from Newtown, and made his senior VFL debut in 1920. Although he only managed 49 games in six seasons with the Pivotonians, he was widely considered to be one of the most accomplished ruckman of his day. He had the rare champions' ability of always appearing to have sufficient time to accomplish whatever maneuver he chose, and his all round skills were good. An accurate palmer of the ball, he could also function effectively as a ruck shepherd when required, using both his height (191cm - tall for the time) and weight (82.5kg) to good effect. The high regard in which Sharland was held is shown by his selection to represent the Big V on 4 occasions during his brief VFL career. Once that career was over he became a noted football writer. |
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| Powerfully built, but deceptively quick, Colin Sharp was a formidable presence in the Sturt backlines throughout an illustrious career that, but for the intervention of World War One, might have seen him play in excess of 200 senior games. Commencing in 1913, he quickly impressed with his strength, vigour and intelligence, and he was a key contributor two years later to the Double Blues' breakthrough premiership win. It was after the war, however, that he really came into his own as a player. After playing in a second premiership team in 1919, he won the club's best and fairest award the following year, and over the ensuing few seasons he became a regular member of South Australian interstate combinations. His 7 state appearances included games at the 1924 Hobart carnival. Sharp played in Sturt's losing challenge final team of 1924 against West Torrens, but missed the 1926 premiership victory over North Adelaide. He continued playing senior football for another couple of seasons, however, finally retiring in 1928 after a total of 152 league games. |
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James Sharp (Fitzroy & Collingwood)
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| One
of the truly great players of his era, James Sharp was best afield in Fitzroy's
1904 winning grand final team against Carlton.
He missed much of the following season through injury, but was back in
time to help the 'Roys to a second successive flag with a 13 point
challenge final defeat of Collingwood.
Quick, tenacious and a superb exponent of the drop kick, Sharp was a virtual ever present on the half back line of VFL interstate teams for most of his Fitzroy career. He was state captain from 1908 to 1910 and thus had the honour of leading the VFL to victory at the inaugural interstate championship series in Melbourne. Sharp left Fitzroy for Collingwood in 1911 and gave excellent service to the Magpies until he broke his shin midway through the following season. He stayed on at Collingwood as an administrator, and in 1913 was elected club president. Four years later he had the unique distinction of lining up for the club in a league match at Geelong after it was discovered that one of the selected players had failed to make the trip. He lasted only a matter of minutes before injuring a knee and being forced to leave the field. James Sharp played a total of 190 VFL games, 172 with Fitzroy between 1900 and 1910, and 18 for the Woods in 1911-12 and 1917. |
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Lerrel Sharp (Scottsdale, Collingwood, North Launceston)
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| Lerrel Sharp was a top quality defender who commenced his senior career with Scottsdale in the NTFA. In 1953, still aged just nineteen, he crossed to the VFL where he joined Collingwood. He spent seven seasons with the Magpies, for whom he quickly earned a reputation as one of the finest back pocket specialists in the competition. Boasting impeccable judgement, he was good both in the air and at ground level, and his clearing kicks were almost invariably penetrative and well-placed. At the end of his debut season he helped Collingwood to a 12 point grand final triumph against Geelong, and later played in the losing grand finals of 1955 and 1956 as well, both against Melbourne. He missed the 1958 grand final victory over the Demons with injury, however, and at the end of the following year, after 87 VFL games and 1 goal, plus 3 interstate matches for the VFL, he returned home to Tasmania where he joined North Launceston. In a five season stint with the Robins he performed with consistent brilliance, winning the club's best and fairest award in 1960 and 1963, an ABC-sponsored trophy for the best and fairest player in the NTFA in 1960, and appearing, invariably with distinction, in three grand finals for two premierships. He played intrastate football for the NTFA in 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1964. Lerrel Sharp was included on a half back flank in North Launceston's official 'Best Team 1945 to 1999'. |
| A talented wingman or half forward who made his Old Easts debut in 1903, and was a key member of no fewer than eight premiership teams prior to his retirement in 1917. Regarded by Dolph Heinrichs, writing in 1947, as "positively the finest wingman who has ever worn the blue and white jacket" (see footnote 1), he represented Western Australia at the 1908 Melbourne Carnival. His effectiveness around goal is clearly evidenced by his achievement in topping the league goal kicking list on four consecutive occasions from 1905-8. |
Footnotes1. East Fremantle Football Club: Celebrating 100 Years Of Tradition by Jack Lee, page 89. Return to Main Text |
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| John Sharrock was an abundantly talented footballer whose career was cruelly short-circuited by injury. Geelong recruited him from Tooleybuc and he made his debut in the premiership year of 1963, which culminated in his lining up for the Cats on a half forward flank in the grand final against Hawthorn. Strong overhead, a superb kick, and boasting exemplary ground skills, Sharrock was an eye-catching performer capable of turning a match single-handedly, as he did in the preliminary final of 1967 with 3 quick third quarter goals against Carlton. Although he played most of his VFL career as a half forward flanker he proved his adaptability in 1966 when he was shifted to full back to cover for the injured Roy West and ended up running third in the Brownlow. He made his interstate debut in 1968, but shortly afterwards a knee injury sustained while playing tennis brought his career to a peremptory end after just 94 games. |
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| Originally from Ballarat, David Shaw attended university in Melbourne and played football for University Blues, from where he was recruited by Essendon in 1959. A ready made senior player, he was dashing, robust, and exceptionally versatile, playing in literally every position on the ground during the course of his ten season, 176 game league career. The highlight of that career came in 1962 when, playing in a back pocket, he was among the Bombers' best players in a 13.12 (90) to 8.10 (58) grand final defeat of Carlton. He was also a member of the winning grand final team against St Kilda three years later but was forced to leave the fray early with a knee injury. His last game for the Dons was the 3 point grand final loss to Carlton in 1968 when he played on a half forward flank. Shaw later had two brief stints as an Essendon committeeman and was club president between 1993 and 1996. |
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Gary Shaw (Western Districts, Claremont, Collingwood, Brisbane)
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| An on baller whose play oozed class, Gary Shaw was at his peak during the early 1980s, tying for the Simpson Medal with South Fremantle's Maurice Rioli after Claremont's winning 1981 WAFL grand final, and maintaining his form throughout 1982 when he won the Tigers' fairest and best award. He also represented his adopted state in the interstate arena, and it is probable that at that point there were few more damaging individuals playing the game anywhere. Unfortunately, Shaw's best form deserted him to a large extent when he headed east to Collingwood in 1983, and he managed just 32 games in four seasons at Victoria Park. It was a similar story when he returned home to Queensland to join the fledgling Brisbane Bears in 1987 as he managed just 6 games for the year before being released. However, at his peak during 1981 and '82 he was as formidable a midfielder as any in the game. |
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Ray Shaw (Preston, Collingwood, Waverley)
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| In 1973, Ray Shaw joined Preston, the club for which his father Reg had played briefly in the 1950s, and proved an immediate and resounding success. Best afield or near best afield in almost every match for the year, he won both the Bullants' best and fairest award, and the Liston Trophy as the season's pre-eminent performer in the VFA. Clubs in the VFL were quick to take notice, and few people were surprised when the 1974 season saw him lining up with Collingwood. Over the ensuing eight seasons he compiled 146 senior games with the Magpies, and kicked precisely 200 goals, proving himself in the process to be one of the most damaging rovers in the league. He won a Copeland Trophy as Collingwood's best and fairest player in 1978, was club skipper in 1979-80, and played interstate football for the VFL in 1979. When Collingwood dropped him in 1981 he decided to return to Preston at the end of the year, and was promptly appointed as the club's captain-coach for 1982. Two years later he enjoyed long overdue premiership success when, playing his usual authoritative game in the centre, he steered the Bullants to a resounding 54 point 1st division grand final win over Frankston. It proved to be the last of his 87 senior games for the club. After leaving Preston he enjoyed success as a coach in suburban football before returning to the VFA as captain-coach of Waverley in 1986. He remained with the Panthers for two seasons, leading them to a losing grand final against Prahran in 1987. His form as a player was consistently good, and he finished equal 4th in the voting for the Field Trophy in his second year. |
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Reg Shaw (Brunswick & Preston)
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| Centreman Reg Shaw played 74 VFA games for Brunswick in the late 1940s, winning the club's best and fairest award in 1947. In addition, he finished 3rd in the Liston Trophy voting in both 1948 and 1949. In 1951 he became disillusioned with life with the Magpies and crossed to Preston where he added a final 9 VFA appearances. Reg Shaw's sons Neville, Ray and Tony all went on to enjoy senior football careers at the top level. |
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| Few
footballers have exemplified the Collingwood
spirit better than Tony Shaw. Despite being far from the most
naturally talented or athletic of players he approached the game with such
consummate courage, energy and determination that any weaknesses tended to
be obscured. Shaw joined the Magpies from Reservoir-Lakeside and
made his VFL debut in 1977. His approach to the game made him
well-loved by Collingwood fans, and although he struggled for a regular
game initially, by the early 1980s he was a fixture in the league side and
one of its most effective performers. He won a best and fairest
award in 1984, and three years later was appointed club captain, a role he
might have been born to occupy. Shaw's finest moment in football
came when he led the 'Pies to a grand final trouncing of Essendon
in 1990, winning the Norm
Smith Medal after a dynamic, gutsy, all action performance that at
times verged on the heroic. To cap things off, he won his second
Copeland Trophy that same year.
Shaw's performances in later years were undermined to some extent by injury, but his mere presence on the field was often an inspiration to his team mates. He retired in 1994 after a club record 313 V/AFL games and 159 goals. He was later named on the interchange bench in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. Appointed Collingwood coach in 1996, Shaw endured four fruitless years at the helm before giving way to Mick Malthouse. Tony Shaw's father Reg Shaw was an accomplished VFA centreman during the 1940s and early 1950s, while brothers Ray and Neville were also useful players. |
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Jack Shea (Boulder City & Kalgoorlie Railways)
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| Arguably the least celebrated of the Shea brothers, Jack Shea was nevertheless a fine player, and never more so than in 1906 when, playing mainly as a wingman, he was arguably the most consistent player in the goldfields competition. After spending most of his career with Boulder City Jack Shea finished it, along with brother Paddy, at Railways. |
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Keith Shea (Carlton, Subiaco, Hawthorn)
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| Keith
Shea was one of the finest all round footballers of his generation.
He joined Carlton in 1932, and booted a
couple of goals from half forward right in that season's losing VFL grand
final against Richmond. Strong overhead,
he was also a powerful and highly accurate kick. Between 1932 and
1937 he played a total of 91 VFL games for the Blues, kicking 101
goals. He also represented the Big V in the interstate arena 10
times, including the two matches of the
Perth carnival of 1937 where he came to the attention of Subiaco
officials desirous of bolstering the strength of their team. The
1938 season found Shea in the West Australian capital playing for the
Maroons along with fellow former VFL champions Haydn
Bunton senior and Les
'Splinter' Hardiman. In two seasons he played 35 league games,
and represented Western Australia on 4 occasions, bolstering his
reputation as one of the most audaciously skilled and - in Austin
Robertson senior's words - 'spellbinding' players in the land.
After World War Two, Keith Shea resumed league football, this time with Hawthorn, where he spent the 1945 season as captain-coach, adding a final 8 VFL games to his tally before retiring. He continued as coach with the Mayblooms in 1946, but a dismal season which yielded just 3 wins from 19 games, and produced a wooden spoon, precipitated his departure. |
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Mark Shea (Fitzroy & Essendon)
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| After
a tentative start to his league career at Fitzroy,
where he played 24 games between 1902 and 1904, Mark Shea really hit his
straps after crossing to Essendon.
He spent five seasons at the Dons, and was club vice-captain for three of
them. Equally at home on a wing or a half back flank, he was gutsy,
quick and extremely reliable. He added 71 VFL games to his tally
while with Essendon for a career tally of 95; somewhat strangely, however,
he kicked only 1 goal.
Mark Shea was one of four brothers to play football of league standard: 'Paddy', like Mark, played for both Fitzroy and Essendon, as well as Boulder City, while Jack and Tom were both Boulder City stalwarts in the years leading up to World War One. After retiring as a player, Mark Shea served as an Essendon committee member. |
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Pat Shea (Fitzroy, Boulder City, Essendon, Essendon Association, Railways)
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| After
13 games with Fitzroy in 1904 'Paddy' Shea
followed a well-worn path westwards to the West Australian
goldfields. He spent the next three seasons playing for Boulder
City, carving out a reputation for himself as a cool and canny half
forward with excellent goal sense. An early exponent of the
'banana', or 'checkside' punt kick, he was widely regarded as the finest
player on the goldfields during his time there.
In 1908, Shea returned to Melbourne where he joined Essendon. He was an important player for the Same Old in 140 games over the next decade, including prominent performances in the 1911-12 grand final winning sides. He also spent a brief time back on the goldfields with Railways. After his retirement as a player he coached Essendon Association for a time. Brothers Jack, Mark and Tom all played football of league standard. |
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| At 90.5kg and 180cm Richmond's Maurie Sheahan was powerfully built but he also boasted plenty of pace, was strong overhead, and approached the game with formidable vigour and tenacity, making him close to the ideal full back, in which position he graced Richmond teams for most of his eight season, 120 game VFL career. A member of Tiger premiership-winning teams in 1932 and 1934 he also played in the losing sides of 1929 and 1933. Along with the likes of Martin Bolger, Basil McCormack and Jack Baggott Sheahan gave Richmond the most highly-rated VFL backline of the early 1930s. |
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Robert Shearman (Essendon, West Torrens, Sturt)
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| Aged
just sixteen, Aberfeldie product Robert Shearman made his VFL debut with Essendon
in 1956, and immediately impressed with his ability to take a strong mark,
his calmness under pressure, and most of all perhaps his prodigious drop
kicking. All told, he played a total of 64 games for the Bombers in
five seasons, including the losing grand finals of 1957 and 1959, in both of
which he was high on the best player lists.
In 1961, Shearman followed his former Essendon coach Dick Reynolds to West Torrens where he continued to improve as a player. He represented South Australia at the 1961 Brisbane carnival, winning All Australian selection, and captaining the Eagles in 1963 and 1964. In 1962 he won the prestigious 5AD Footballer of the Year Award. After just 70 matches for Torrens, however, he sought a move to Sturt, but was forced to stand out of football for the entire 1965 season before being granted a clearance. His arrival at Sturt was arguably just the catalyst the club needed to precipitate it to greatness. After finishing runner-up to Port Adelaide in 1965, the Blues, with Shearman a conspicuous contributor in the pivot, crushed the Magpies by 56 points in the 1966 grand final to secure their first flag for 26 years. Sturt went on to win further premierships in 1967-8-9-70 to make it a near record five in a row. Captain of the Double Blues from 1969 until his final year of 1972, Shearman added 121 league games for a career tally of 268, which included 13 interstate appearances for South Australia. His unrivalled kicking ability - he won the Craven Filter champion kick of Australia competition twice in the five years it ran - made him a genuine crowd puller, of whom Jeff Pash memorably wrote: The beauty of Shearman's game is that, for all the thrill of anticipation that visibly runs through the...... crowd when he gets the ball ('How far this time?') he, too, visibly sums up the situation before taking action. If he is hotly pressed he can pick the handball gap as surely as the best. He is quite at home in the short game with either foot, and he can choose cleverly from his immense drop kicking range. He is not one of those footballer's with the predictable response. (See footnote 1) |
Footnotes1. The Pash Papers: Australian Rules Football in South Australia 1950-1964 by Jeff Pash, page 178. Return to Main Text |
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Arthur 'Barney' Sheedy (East Fremantle & West Perth)
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| A
rare football talent who combined explosive pace with some of the most
adroit foot passing skills of his generation, 'Barney' Sheedy elicited
immense admiration and respect on the part of West Australian football
supporters of all persuasions throughout an illustrious if frequently
injury-undermined playing career that, various temporary 'retirements'
notwithstanding, lasted more than a decade and a half. Most of that
career - 107 games between 1918 and 1920, 1924 and 1932, and in 1934 - was
spent with East Fremantle, where he
achieved a status that verged on legendary. He also spent three
seasons at West Perth, and it was while
with the Cardinals that he helped Western Australia defeat both the VFL
and South Australia in Perth in 1921
to secure the state's first Australian championship win. Sheedy's 5
interstate appearances also included 3 games at the 1924
Hobart carnival, including a best afield performance in the victory
over South Australia.
It is for his achievements with Old Easts that 'Barney' Sheedy is best remembered, however. Although he was only a member of two league premiership sides (1918 and 1925), his influence at the club was enduring and significant. As a coach, he oversaw a flag in 1931 and a 4th place finish in 1935, and he continued to help behind the scenes as, at various times, secretary, assistant treasurer, and the club's WANFL delegate until after the second World War. |
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Jack Sheedy (East Fremantle, South Melbourne, Navy (NSW), East Perth)
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| Jack Sheedy commenced with
East
Fremantle in 1942, when the WANFL competition was conducted on an
under-age basis. In 1944 he played half a dozen VFL games for South
Melbourne when stationed in Melbourne on Naval duties. He also
represented Navy in the Sydney competition. He made his
senior debut with East Fremantle in 1946.
Tough, aggressive, and seldom far from controversy, Sheedy was without doubt one of the most colourful characters to have played the game. He was also a fine footballer, renowned as one of the best drop kicks in the business, a tremendous team player, and a superb exponent of handball. Equally damaging on the ball, in the centre, or anywhere in the forward lines, Sheedy was as adaptable as he was talented. He played a total of 210 games for Old Easts, winning a then record four Lynn Medals as the club's fairest and best player (although one of these was achieved in the under-age competition). He was also a member of the 1946 premiership team, captain-coached the club in 1949 and 1955, and was captain for four seasons. His all round contribution to the club was immense, and in 1997 he was included as captain in its official 'Team of the Century'. In 1956 Jack Sheedy crossed to East Perth as captain-coach, where he added another 122 league games in seven seasons. It was at East Perth that Sheedy blossomed as a coach, steering the Royals to no fewer than six straight grand finals for three wins. Under Sheedy's tutelage, players like Graham Farmer, Ted Kilmurray and Derek Chadwick emerged as top quality performers. In 2006, the immensity of Sheedy's contribution to the Royals was affirmed when he was selected as both coach and first rover in the club's official 'Team of the Century 1945 to 2005'. When Sheedy retired as a player, his total of 338 league appearances (plus 22 for Western Australia) was a record for the major football states. Nevertheless, had it not been for his frequent business at the league tribunal, that total would have been much higher. Perhaps the most famous tribunal visit occurred after his first match for East Perth. Reported twice by umpire Montgomery on charges of using abusive language and disputing an umpire's decision, Sheedy turned up at the tribunal hearing with a bible, on which he solemnly swore that he had not been the player responsible for either indiscretion. The members of the tribunal were not impressed, banning Sheedy for 4 matches, but the repercussions proved to be much broader, and to this day Jack Sheedy is popularly referred to as 'Reverend Jack'. While at East Perth, some of Sheedy's most volatile performances came against his former club. In 1958, the Royals were pitted against Old Easts in the second semi final, and 'The Reverend' responded to a verbal barb from 'Trizzie' Lawrence by employing his trademark right hook to lay his former team mate out cold. Hardly surprisingly, the tribunal members were far from amused, and Sheedy ended up watching the grand final re-match between the teams - which East Perth won by 2 points - from the sidelines. There is little doubt that Jack Sheedy was a first rate coach, supremely capable of eliciting the best from his charges. His coaching record at East Perth is second only to that of Phil Matson, and he enjoyed the added distinction of coaching Western Australia to victory at the 1961 Brisbane carnival. He was also one of the most noteworthy players of the 1940s and '50s, effortlessly blending supreme skill with formidable mental strength to emerge as one of the very few footballers genuinely deserving of the epithet 'champion'. The fact that controversy seemed to attend him at more or less every turn only serves to make his story all the more compulsively alluring. |
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Kevin Sheedy (Prahran, Richmond, Essendon)
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| When
the VFA broke its permit agreement with the VFL in 1965 it unwittingly
created a double edged sword which was to see it lose a large number of
promising young players to its rival. One such was Kevin Sheedy, a
nineteen year old centreman who had starred in Prahran's
1966 2nd division premiership win, and who crossed to Richmond
without a clearance the following year. Never the most elegant or
poised of footballers, his gutsy, hard-as-nails approach disguised a
masterful football brain which would later be put to supreme use as coach
of Essendon. As a player, it was evidenced in his uncanny ability to
achieve the wood on ostensibly more talented opponents, often by the
application of psychological methods which were not immediately
susceptible to scrutiny.
Kevin Sheedy played 251 VFL games for Richmond between 1967 and 1979, kicking 91 goals; he won a best and fairest award in 1976, and was the Tigers' captain in 1978. A member of premiership teams in 1969, 1973 and 1974, Sheedy helped literally revolutionise the game by perfecting the use of back-spin with handball, effectively inventing the technique that all modern players use by default. It was obvious that he was a coach in the making, and in 1981 he took over from Barry Davis at the helm of the club he had supported as a boy, Essendon. In just over a quarter of a century in charge of one of Australian football's bona fide power clubs Kevin Sheedy achieved everything the game has to offer, overseeing four premierships and being selected as All Australian or AFL All Australian coach on three occasions. In 2007, however, the powers that be at Essendon decided that it was time for a change, and at season's end Sheedy was replaced as coach by Matthew Knights. Notwithstanding the somewhat disappointing climax to his career with the Bombers, Kevin Sheedy remains one of the the greatest and most influential figures in the history of the game, a status unlikely to be diminished no matter what the future may bring. |
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Percy Sheehan (Fitzroy, Carlton, Richmond)
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| Percy
Sheehan began with Fitzroy in 1904 and,
playing as a follower, was a key member of that season's grand final
winning team against Carlton. In
the following season's premiership decider he showed his versatility by
putting in an equally accomplished performance on a half back flank as the
Maroons overcame arch rivals Collingwood in
a low scoring war of attrition by 13 points.
After 58 VFL games with Fitzroy, Sheehan moved to Carlton in 1910, and promptly helped the Blues reach that season's grand final against Collingwood. It proved to be one of the most brutally spiteful matches on records, with fierce, uncontrollable brawls erupting continually. From Sheehan's point of view it was a disastrous afternoon, for not only did Collingwood win with some comfort, but he was personally held to blame for much of the worst of the violence, and ended up being suspended for a season and a half. He returned late in the 1912 season with Richmond, but found it difficult to re-establish himself and, after 4 final VFL games, bringing his overall total to 78, he decided to call it a day. |
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| A hefty, formidable key position defender, Alan Shepherd joined Perth from Northam in 1926 and won his new club's fairest and best award in his debut season. He also finished fourth in the Sandover Medal voting, a result on which he improved in 1927 (third) and 1930 (runner-up). He made his interstate debut for Western Australia in 1929 and went on to make a total of 11 appearances, including games at the carnivals of 1930 in Adelaide and 1933 in Sydney. During what was a predominantly inglorious time for Perth, Alan Shepherd, who captained the club in 1932, remained a model of consistency, coolness and perseverance. In 1999 he was named at centre half back in Perth's official 'Team of the Century'. |
| Harry Sherlock’s status as one of the finest full backs of his era was formally acknowledged in 2006 with his selection in that position in East Perth’s official ‘Team of the Twentieth Century 1906 to 1944’. Sherlock commenced with the Royals – or ‘Young Easts’ as they tended to be known at the time – in 1914, and when he retired in 1928 he had played a total of 138 league games, including the premiership deciders of 1922 against West Perth, 1923 against East Fremantle, and 1926 against Subiaco. His interstate career comprised 16 appearances for Western Australia, including games at the 1924 and 1927 carnivals. |
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| Clarrie Sherry was a livewire wingman who played 75 VFL games for Fitzroy between 1918 and 1923. He was on a wing when the Maroons beat Collingwood in the 1922 challenge final, and again in that of 1923 when they lost to Essendon. Sherry played interstate football 3 times for the VFL. |
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| Bob Shields was an extremely athletic footballer who was a key factor in Perth's grand final victories over East Perth in 1966-7-8 in that, playing at centre half back, he tended to have the measure of Royals' champion Mal Brown. A fine and sometimes acrobatic aerialist, he was highly skilled and pacy, but also epitomised the toughness and resilience characteristic of teams coached by Mal Atwell. If he had a weakness, it was that his kicking could sometimes be slipshod, but in almost all other respects he was virtually the consummate team player. After starring at centre half back in Perth's triumvirate of premiership wins between 1966 and 1968, Shields played on a half forward flank in the losing grand final of 1970 against South Fremantle, and as a ruck-rover in the grand final loss to East Fremantle four years later. Between 1965 and 1974 he played a total of 187 senior games for the Demons, and kicked 58 goals. He represented Western Australia 7 times. Bob Shields was chosen on a half back flank in Perth's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
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| Sturt
defender Terry Short had the rare distinction, if that is the appropriate
word, of playing 250 league games, being a member of six consecutive grand
final teams (for five wins), and earning a club champion award, but never
once being selected to represent his state. Moreover, he played in
all six of those grand finals in the same position - half back flank -
that he manned with fortitude, pace, persistence and no small amount of skill
for almost his entire career.
A local product, Short captained the Colonel Light Gardens Primary School team before moving on to Unley High School and then Sturt's Colts. His best and fairest award came in his third season of league football, 1963, and if he tended to be somewhat overshadowed by certain of his more illustrious team mates over the course of the remaining nine years of his career, he was certainly never over-awed. A superb reader of the play, he provided excellent rebound and drive, and opponents under-estimated him at their peril. Legendary Sturt coach Jack Oatey certainly knew Short's value, including him on a half back flank - where else? - in his 'Vintage 21', a combination comprising the best players to be coached by him during his twenty-one year tenure at Unley. |
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Gray 'Mick' Sibun (South Melbourne)
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| A local product, Gray Sibun - generally known as 'Mick' - commenced his league career with South Melbourne in 1950 and went on to give the club seven years of consistently effective service, mainly as a rover. During that time he played 111 senior games and kicked 88 goals. He also played interstate football for the VFL. |
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Allan Sidebottom (Swan Districts & St Kilda)
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| More lightly built than his older brother Garry, Allan Sidebottom was also less physical in his approach, but at his best was no less effective. He played for most of his career, which comprised 98 games for Swan Districts between 1977 and 1982 and in 1988, 55 games for St Kilda between 1983 and 1987, and 1 state of origin game for Western Australia, as a ruckman. Perhaps his finest moment came with a starring role for Swans in their 18.19 (127) to 11.12 (78) grand final victory over Claremont in 1982. Two years earlier, he had also been a member of Swans' losing grand final team against South Fremantle. |
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Garry Sidebottom (Swan Districts, St Kilda, Geelong, Fitzroy)
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| A
powerful, bustling centre half forward or ruckman, Garry Sidebottom began
and ended his career with Swan Districts,
where he won fairest and best awards in 1976 and 1985, as well as topping
the club's goal kicking list with 77 goals in the latter year.
During his initial stint with Swans between 1973 and 1977 the side tended
to struggle, and it was therefore somewhat ironic that, during his seven
seasons away, it enjoyed almost perennial flirtation with premiership
honours, which it secured on three occasions. The last of those
occasions was in 1984, the season before Sidebottom's return to Bassendean.
When Swans next procured a flag, in 1990, Sidebottom had retired as a
player.
Sidebottom's time away from Bassendean was spent in Victoria, where he played for mediocre VFL sides St Kilda (54 games, 1978-80), Geelong (7 games, 1981) and Fitzroy (43 games, 1982-4). Only with the Lions, in 1983-4, did he enjoy a taste of finals action, but all three of the matches in which he played were lost. Garry Sidebottom kicked 145 goals during his time in the VFL, including 56 to top St Kilda's list in 1979. If Garry Sidebottom's uninhibited style of play could sometimes prove a liability - he was certainly no stranger to the Tribunal - overall there can be little doubt that his benefits to the team far outweighed any detrimental impact. Fifteen times a West Australian interstate representative, Garry Sidebottom was selected at centre half forward in Swan Districts' official 'Team of the Century'. |
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| During the course of a war-interrupted VFL career that saw him excel at both ends of the ground with two clubs, Ken Sier fell just short of the elusive 100 game barrier. He commenced at Fitzroy in 1940, but at the end of the following season he embarked on a period of military service and did not resume until 1944. In that season's grand final he lined up at full forward and booted 3 goals as the Maroons beat Richmond 9.12 (66) to 7.9 (51) to secure their last ever VFL premiership. In 1948, after 59 games and 61 goals for Fitzroy, Sier crossed to Richmond, where he developed into a fine full back, renowned for his clever spoiling, prodigious drop kicking and well-timed, breakneck runs out of the backline. He had added 38 VFL games and 13 goals for the Tigers by the time he retired in 1950. |
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| Tough
as proverbial old boots, with a single-minded, obdurate determination to
match, Sergio Silvagni was an almost permanent fixture in Carlton
sides for well over a decade. All told, between 1958 and 1971, he
played a total of 238 VFL games, and booted 134 goals, winning club best
and fairest awards in 1962 and 1968, and captaining the Blues in 1964. Arguably one of the most
unkempt looking footballers ever to play the game, he was nevertheless
extraordinarily effective, and his vigorously wholehearted style made him
one of the most readily identifiable, and popular, players of his
era. He also boasted rather more skill than he was sometimes given
credit for, and his exceptional judgement, both of the bouncing ball and
of the ball in the air, ensured that he was more often than not in the
right place at the right time. Once there, his adamantine grip
combined with lightning fast reflexes almost invariably ensured that,
within seconds, the ball was nestling safely in the arms of a team mate,
courtesy of a typically crisp, decisive Silvagni pass.
Serg Silvagni represented the VFL in 1962-3, and was a member of Carlton's 1968 and 1970 premiership teams. After his retirement as a player, he served as a Blues selector for many years. His son Steve also played with distinction for the Blues. |
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| The son of former Blues champion Sergio Silvagni, Stephen Silvagni grew up immersed in the Carlton culture, and it was scarcely a surprise when he followed in his father's footsteps and made his Carlton debut, aged seventeen, in 1985. Popularly known as 'SOS' (son of Serge), Silvagni was a highly energetic, resourceful footballer who was regarded as one of the finest full backs of his day. He could also do a job in the forward lines, however, and some of his most memorable displays came after he was thrown into attack in an effort to bolster the team's performance. A dual club best and fairest winner, Silvagni was hampered by injury for much of his career which makes the consistent brilliance he displayed all the more remarkable. Clear evidence of that consistent brilliance was afforded by his selection in no fewer than five AFL All Australian teams. A key member of the Blues' 1995 premiership-winning team, he played a total of 312 V/AFL games, and kicked 202 goals, between 1985 and 2001. In 1996 the AFL selected Silvagni as full back in its official 'Team of the Century', a decision which aroused considerable controversy at the time, but which nevertheless served to highlight how highly the player was thought of in certain quarters. |
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| After arriving at Hawthorn from Cohuna, Roy Simmonds made his senior VFL debut in 1950. Immensely tough, durable and courageous, he went on to become one of the Hawks foremost footballers of the 1950s, although his career ended on a sour note when he failed to gain selection in the 1961 grand final-winning team. By that stage he had played 192 VFL games and kicked 78 goals, winning a club best and fairest award in 1956, and playing in a variety of different positions with equal effectiveness. The majority of his football, however, was played on a half back flank, where he was rugged, aggressive and extremely hard to beat. His distribution of the ball was sometimes slipshod, but the almost fanatical nature of his commitment to the team cause could never be doubted. Roy Simmonds played interstate football for the VFL on 4 occasions, all at the 1956 Perth carnival. In 2003 he was chosen as an interchange player in Hawthorn's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Wayne Simms (Perth & Swan Districts)
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| Recruited by Perth from Canning in 1979, ruckman Wayne Simms commenced his league career in a blaze of glory, earning state selection as a nineteen year old in his debut season. Tall (193cm) and hefty (95kg), he was the optimum build for a ruckman, and knew how to use his physique to good advantage. However, a serious knee injury which necessitated a full reconstruction undermined his progress, and he never recaptured his early form. In 1985, after 69 games for the Demons, he transferred to Swan Districts in search of a fresh challenge, but his knee problems continued to inhibit him and he retired a couple of seasons later after playing just 10 games for his new club. |
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Norman Simpson (Essendon & Yarraville)
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| Norman Simpson was a clever and pacy left footer who joined Essendon from North Melbourne Juniors, and played 77 VFL games for the club between 1925 and 1932. He kicked 29 goals. A wingman for most of his career, he boasted plenty of skill, and was exceptionally strong overhead. A popular figure at Essendon, he finished second in the club's 1926 best and fairest count, and represented the VFL against the Bendigo League in 1929. Once his VFL career was over he played briefly with VFA side Yarraville. |
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| A hard working, determined footballer who was a prolific kick getter, John Sims played mainly either on the ball or across centre during the course of a 107 game league career with East Fremantle between 1976 and 1982. One of many fine products of the club's Geraldton zone, where he played with Rovers, he was on a wing in the winning grand final of 1979 against arch rivals South Fremantle. At just 167cm and 68.5kg, Sims was one of the smallest West Australian players of his era. |
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| Bob
Simunsen was a tremendously talented footballer who, because he played for
SANFL minnows Woodville, was often unfairly
underrated. Had he played for Sturt
or Port Adelaide there is little doubt that he would have been regarded as
a superstar.
Some of Simunsen's best years as a player came when circumstances restricted him to seconds football. Between 1959 and 1963, Woodville served an 'apprenticeship' in the SANFL's 'B' competition, and so that was where Simunsen was forced to play much of his early football. His prowess was evident from the time he began with Woodville's thirds in 1959; after winning the Tomkins Medal for best and fairest in that competition he provided conclusive proof that he was a player of league standard by finishing in the top two places in the seconds Magarey Medal voting in each of the next four seasons. After coming second to North Adelaide's Charles Heading in 1960, Simunsen won the next couple of Medals before finishing runner-up again, this time to Gary Window of Central District, in 1963. The 1964 season brought Woodville's long anticipated debut in the 'big time', with Simunsen enjoying the unprecedented honour of being named club captain despite never having previously played a league game. Although only three wins were recorded for the season, all against fellow newcomers Centrals, Simunsen himself enjoyed a tremendous year in which he proved himself at least the equal, and very often the master, of every other centreman in the league. Not surprisingly, he won the Woodpeckers' inaugural best and fairest award, and there seems little doubt that he was on course to repeat the success the following year, only for an injury sustained during his interstate debut against the VFL to force him onto the sidelines for the second half of the year. The 1966 season saw Simunsen chosen in South Australia's squad for the Hobart carnival, but the state selectors only regarded him as second choice behind West Adelaide's Robert Day for the all important centre position. Day, indeed, played superbly in Hobart, being named at centre in the All Australian team, but when he was rested from the team for the game against Tasmania, Simunsen stepped in and gave arguably the best individual performance by a South Australian player during the entire championships. Back home again, Simunsen continued in tremendous form. He ended up not only winning another Woodville club champion award, but finishing second to Norwood's Ron Kneebone in the Magarey Medal count. Simunsen's third best and fairest award in four years the following season only served to emphasise the fact that his brilliance was reinforced by consistency. As a player, Bob Simunsen was tremendously quick, especially over that crucial first five metres or so, he kicked superbly with either foot, and his ball handling was first class. It is one of the vagaries of football that virtually every league standard premiership team in history has included players of considerably less ability than Simunsen, but in football, as in life, rewards and recognition often stem much more from geography and circumstance than they do from actual ability or talent. |
| Sydney
'Spec' Sinclair was
one of many talented West Australian footballers to lose potentially the
best years of their careers to war. Nevertheless, his achievements were
not inconsiderable. Commencing with Swan
Districts when the club took its bows in the WANFL competition in 1934
(although he did not actually play in the very first game) he quickly
stamped himself as a performer of genuine quality and consistency. Twice
runner up for the Sandover
Medal and a dual club fairest and best award winner he played a total
of 128 WANFL games for Swans between 1934 and 1940 and in 1945, kicking 53
goals.
Sinclair was a genuine big game performer as he proved with consistently fine performances for Western Australia, whom he represented 7 times. Unfortunately, his big game experience at club level was limited to the first semi final of 1938 in which Swans were arguably the better side for much of the match only for Old Easts’ superior experience to tell in the end, and get them over the line by a point. |
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| Perth's Charlie Skehan was a determined and powerful footballer with excellent defensive qualities who also boasted considerable pace and stamina. During the first half of his career he played mainly as a follower, but later he also produced many fine games across the half back line. A Western Australian interstate representative on 11 occasions, including games at the 1956 Perth carnival, Skehan was a key player for Perth in the winning grand final of 1955 against East Fremantle (reviewed here). He lined up as a follower on that occasion, changing in the back pocket with Gordon Shepherd. His senior WANFL career with the Redlegs comprised 187 games between 1953 and 1963. |
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Bob Skilton (South Melbourne & Port Melbourne)
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| Few
players have personified old fashioned 'G and D' to the extent of
tenacious former South Melbourne rover Bob
Skilton. In 238 games with the Swans he never gave less than the
optimum in terms of effort. It was the same story when he donned the
VFL state jumper, and towards the end of his career when he fulfilled a
boyhood dream in representing his beloved Port
Melbourne.
One legacy of this attitude was the exceptional number of injuries - often several in the same game - sustained by Skilton during the course of his career. A more measurable legacy came in the shape of three Brownlow Medals and an incredible nine South Melbourne best and fairest awards. Not that Skilton's approach lacked finesse. He was, in fact, a highly skilled, pre-eminently two-sided footballer in an era when this was still very much the exception to the rule. Roving to losing South Melbourne rucks for much of his career he turned this to his advantage by developing an unparalleled ability to anticipate the direction of the opposing ruckman's taps. By contrast, roving to the likes of John Schultz, 'Polly' Farmer and John Nicholls in interstate matches must have seemed the height of luxury. Skilton often remarked that he would have traded every one of his Brownlows to have played in one premiership but the closest he got was South's losing 1st semi final against St Kilda in 1970. |
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Lyle Skinner (Central District & North Melbourne)
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| Early
in Lyle Skinner's league career, after he had produced a blistering
display in the centre for Central District
against Glenelg at the Bay Oval, his
opponent on the day, Ken
Eustice, was wont to declare that Skinner could go on to "be
anything he wanted in football" - rare praise indeed from one of the
finest South Australian footballers of his generation. Skinner
continued to be an important player for the Bulldogs for another decade,
and when he retired in 1979 he had played a total of 213 SANFL games over
the better part of fourteen seasons. He also played a couple of VFL
games for North Melbourne while briefly
stationed in Victoria on National Service. However, it would
probably be fair to suggest that he never really fulfilled the potential
that Eustice spotted during that game in 1969. That said, how many
of us would give our right arms to experience the thrill of playing just 1
game of league football, let alone being a creditable performer in well in
excess of 200?
Lyle Skinner maintained his involvement in football after retiring as a player. For example, as recently as 2005 he served as coach of prominent Hills Football League side Lobethal. |
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| A tenacious and talented half forward and rover, Alf Skuse was a consistently fine contributor to the South Adelaide cause in 139 SANFL games between 1962 and 1970. He was on a half forward flank, and one of the best players afield, as the Panthers downed Port Adelaide by 27 points in the 1964 grand final. Skuse was South's top goal kicker in 1966 with 38 goals. He played 8 times for South Australia, including matches at the 1966 Hobart carnival. Jeff Pash once described him as "a ready made rover from the beginning, with all the required virtues, including pace" (see footnote 1). Indeed, he was widely considered to be the quickest half forward flank specialist in the SANFL for much of his career (see footnote 2), and it was only arguably his tendency to spray his kicks that ultimately robbed him of out and out champion status. (In one six match sequence during the 1966 season, for instance, he booted 6.25.) |
Footnotes1. The Pash Papers by Jeff Pash, page 178. Return to Main Text 2. See, for example, the 'SA Football Budget', 17/5/69, page 18. Return to Main Text |
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Bill Skwirowski (Swan Districts)
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| After joining Swan Districts from Collie, Bill Skwirowski commenced his league career with Swan Districts in 1975 as a wingman. However, before long he had been transformed into one of the best nullifying defenders in the game, and it was as a tagger that he played a key role in Swans' emergence as a power club during the early 1980s. Later in his career, he showed his versatility by playing with success in more attacking roles. His Swans senior career, which ended in 1988, comprised 207 games and saw him boot 31 goals. He was in the back pocket in the losing grand final of 1980 against South Fremantle as well as in the premiership teams of 1982-3-4. He represented Western Australia against South Australia in 1985. |
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| Originally from United Methodists in the Church Union Association, Geelong utility Joe Slater was considered to be one of the foremost players of his day, and was named on a half back flank in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. Strong overhead, and boasting phenomenal pace, he was capable of performing effectively as a forward or across centre, but it was as a defender that, by common consent, he played most of his best football. Between 1906 and 1914 Slater played a total of 108 VFL games, and kicked 17 goals. He represented the VFL twice. Having quit football in order to enlist, he lost his life while serving his country in World War One. |
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Keith Slater (Swan Districts & Subiaco)
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| Keith
Slater is probably best remembered for a Herculean ruck performance for Swan
Districts in the 1961 WANFL grand final against East
Perth. The fact that his opposing ruckman that day was none
other than Graham
'Polly' Farmer, arguably the greatest player in the entire history of
the game, made it all the more meritorious. Slater's effort in
overcoming Farmer - with, it has to be acknowledged, considerable help
from Fred Castledine - was the single biggest reason that Swans were able to
overturn both the form book and the odds and secure their first ever league
premiership. Not surprisingly, he was rewarded with the Simpson
Medal.
Slater played 167 games with Swan Districts, beginning in 1955, and culminating in the club's third grand final win in succession in 1963. He was a regular member of West Australian interstate teams (21 appearances), and was frequently used to good effect as a centre half forward rather than in his usual position of ruckman. He played for his state at both the 1961 and 1966 carnivals, the latter while he was in his third and final year at Subiaco as captain-coach. Slater's 52 games with the Lions gave him a career tally of 219. He won three fairest and best awards while at Swans, and came third in the Sandover Medal voting on three occasions. The quintessential big game player, the importance of his contribution to Swan Districts' success during the Bunton era was immense. Besides football, Slater also excelled at cricket, representing Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, and playing once for Australia. He also had the ignominious experience of being called for throwing on one occasion. |
| Boasting a combination of unbridled, effervescent enthusiasm and considerable all round football ability, all packed into one of the most diminutive frames in league football at the time, West Adelaide's Bernie Slattery was a familiar and popular feature of the post-war SANFL scene for the better part of a decade. He was also one of the speediest players of his generation, and enjoyed an extra-curricular career as a professional sprinter. A wingman for most of his time in football, although he could also do a useful job in the forward lines, he made his senior debut for West in 1946, having worked his way up through the club's junior ranks. In the 1947 grand final, playing as a 'crumbing' forward pocket and change rover, he contributed a couple of goals to Westies' 10.15 (75) to 5.15 (45) defeat of Norwood, and throughout the remainder of his career he often excelled in finals matches. Slattery, who represented South Australia 5 times, including games at the 1950 Brisbane carnival, was his club's leading goal kicker in 1950 with 28 goals. He interrupted his league career in 1952 to coach Kybolite, and again four years later to coach South Gambier. At the time of his retirement in 1957 he had played 154 SANFL games and kicked 163 goals. He later coached an assortment of both metropolitan area and country teams, including West Adelaide's Seconds for a time. |
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| Jim Slaven was a solid performer for West Torrens, mainly on a wing, in 137 SANFL games between 1951 and 1963. He represented South Australia once. The season after his retirement as a player he was appointed coach of the Eagles. He spent two years in the role, producing sides that played fast, open football but were unable to challenge for the premiership. |
| On
28 October 1916 Lieutenant Bruce Sloss captained a side representing the
Australian International Force's Third Division to a narrow victory over a
Combined Training Units team in a special exhibition match held at the
Queen's Club, London, a venue more commonly associated with tennis.
Among the crowd, which was variously estimated at between 3,000 and 8,000,
were the future King Edward VIII (then Prince of Wales), and King Manuel
of Portugal. The match received a great deal of publicity, and was
arguably the most important game of Australian football played outside
Australia up to that point. Just nine weeks after the match,
Lieutenant Sloss was killed by a shell while on active service in
Armentieres, northern France. He was twenty-eight.
Just under ten years earlier, Sloss had played his first game of league football for Essendon. Despite seemingly possessing all the attributes necessary to succeed at the top level - a superb physique, tremendous stamina, and excellent all round skills - he managed just 3 games in almost two seasons with the Same Old and found himself consigned to the virtual football scrapheap with VFA under-achiever Brighton. In 1910, however, South Melbourne offered him a second chance at league level, and this time he made the most of it. Indeed, by his second season with the southerners he was being widely touted as one of the finest followers in the game, a status he emphasised by winning that year's prestigious Champion of the Colony award. By the time he enlisted in the AIF he had played a total of 81 VFL games for South, and booted 44 goals. His last league game was the 1914 grand final, in which he was one of his side's best players in a 6 point loss to Carlton. Two years earlier, Sloss had played against Essendon in another losing grand final. He was also a VFL carnival representative at Sydney in 1914. Bruce Sloss was widely known as an impassioned patriot, and was once described as a footballer who would make an excellent soldier; after he had paid the ultimate soldier's price, his death was given, if anything, even greater poignancy - which the press at home was quick to extract mileage from - when his comrades found a small Australian flag tucked away in his clothing. |
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| Ken Smale arrived at Collingwood with a glowing reputation acquired as a prolific full forward with Warracknabeal. However, although he made a solid start to his VFL career he never fully managed to justify his high reputation, Between 1955 and 1958 Smale played a total of 60 league games, kicking 98 goals. He topped the Magpies' goal kicking list with 36 goals in his debut season, and 35 the following year, and was a member of the club's losing grand final team against Melbourne in 1955. Three years later, when the 'Pies scored their noteworthy upset grand final win over the Demons, Smale was on the bench for what proved to be his last game of league football. |
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| Wilfred
'Chicken' Smallhorn's proudest possession was a best and fairest medal -
known as 'the Brownlow' - won while participating in a scratch competition
in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War Two. Smallhorn
was a guest of the Japanese for three years, during which time he and many
of his fellow Australian prisoners regularly amused and amazed their
guards by willingly submitting their fatigued, underfed and often ill
bodies to the self-inflicted 'torture' of a two hour game of Australian
football. As far as the men were concerned, however, the boost to
morale gleaned from this activity far outweighed any negative physical
impact.
Smallhorn's achievement in being acclaimed as the best and fairest player in such a competition is all the more remarkable when you consider that his normal playing weight during his VFL days was only 62kg. One shudders to imagine what he must have weighed during his wartime internment. Recruited from Collingwood Technical School, Smallhorn made his VFL debut with Fitzroy in 1930. Built like a stick man in a Lowry painting, he had a long, loping stride which carried him over the ground at a deceptively expeditious pace. He was also adept at extracting the ball from the tightest of packs and making use of it intelligently. Moreover, the nickname 'Chicken' assuredly had nothing to do with his disposition or demeanour. Despite the fact that he played in losing sides for most of his eleven season, 150 game VFL career, Smallhorn regularly caught the eyes of the umpires when Brownlow votes were apportioned. Winner of the award - the real one, that is - in 1933, he finished among the top ten vote getters on another four occasions. When you consider that one of his team mates for much of his career was arguably the greatest vote magnet in the history of the game, Haydn Bunton senior, the accomplishment becomes even more impressive. Smallhorn played for most of his career as a wingman, in which position he also represented the VFL. His failure to win a Fitzroy best and fairest award might seem baffling until you realise that the club only made such an award on two occasions during the 1930s. |
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Nigel Smart (South Adelaide & Adelaide)
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| A player of considerable verve, panache and athleticism, Nigel Smart was without doubt one of the greatest players in the short history of the Adelaide Crows. He began his senior career with South Adelaide, where he played 68 SANFL games between 1988 and 1990, and was a member in 1991 of the Crows' inaugural AFL squad. Over the ensuing fourteen seasons he played a club record 278 AFL games, and was a prominent contributor to two premiership wins. An AFL All Australian in 1991, 1993 and 1998, he could function effectively at either end of the ground, or across centre, but it was as a defender that he spent the majority of his career, and probably played his best football. |
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George Smeaton (Richmond & Oakleigh)
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| A defender of the highest quality, George Smeaton played 149 VFL games and kicked 36 goals for Richmond between 1935 and 1946. He also represented the VFL in 1941. He was at full back in the Tigers' losing grand final teams of 1940, 1942 and 1944, and indeed was close to best afield in the 15 point loss to Fitzroy in 1944, but unfortunately missed the victorious 1943 finals series because of a temporary services posting to New South Wales. While there, he took up rugby league, earning rave reviews for his penchant for long drop goals. In 1947 Smeaton joined Oakleigh as captain-coach and, after a mediocre first couple of years, steered the side to a losing grand final against Williamstown in 1949. He then oversaw premierships as non-playing coach in 1950 and 1952. |
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Bernie Smith (West Adelaide & Geelong)
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| A
centreman during his career with West
Adelaide as well as during the early part of his VFL stint with Geelong,
Bernie Smith is better remembered as one of the greatest back pockets in the
history of the game. Moved to the back pocket by coach Reg Hickey in
1951, he went on to win both the club best and fairest award and the Brownlow
Medal that same season, while for good measure he was among the Cats'
best in their grand final defeat of Essendon.
Smith was ideally suited to a back pocket because he was pacy, had good ground skills, marked well, was always cool under pressure, and had superb judgement. Opposition coaches came to view him as Geelong's first line of attack, and in what was a virtually unprecedented move for the times he was often subjected to what would now be called tagging. Bernie Smith played 55 games with West Adelaide between 1945 and 1947, winning a best and fairest award in his final season. His last game for Westies was the winning grand final of 1947 against Norwood, in which he was widely acknowledged as the best player afield. He won two best and fairest trophies during 183 games in eleven seasons with Geelong, played in two premiership sides, was named in the inaugural All Australian side after the 1953 Adelaide carnival, and was captain of the Cats for part of 1950 and the whole of 1954. In 2001, he was selected in the back pocket in Geelong's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Bradley Smith (East Perth, North Melbourne, East Fremantle)
|
| A tough, vigorous defender or on-baller whose robust style of play was comparable to that of the best Victorians, Bradley Smith was an outstanding servant of the East Perth Football Club over 222 WANFL games during the late 1960s through to the 1970s. He was a ruck-rover when the Royals broke a long sequence of 'outs' by downing Claremont in the 1972 grand final. Smith, who represented Western Australia 7 times, crossed to North Melbourne in 1974 and 1975 and played 24 games, including the losing VFL grand final of 1974 against Richmond. He resumed with East Perth in 1976 and continued for three more seasons before being recruited as playing coach by East Fremantle in 1979. Smith's impact was immediate as he instilled significantly greater passion, steel and resolve into a talented team, inspiring them to take out the 1979 flag with a spectacular 43 point grand final win over arch rival South Fremantle. His legacy to the club was soured somewhat the following year, however, as he oversaw a dismal effort which was only marginally good enough to avoid the wooden spoon. Smith added 3 league games during his time with Old Easts for a final career tally of 225. His importance to the Royals was officially recognised in June 2006 with his inclusion in the club's 'Team of the Century 1945 to 2005'. |
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| Colin Smith, who played 215 league games between 1934 and 1949, was the first West Adelaide footballer to achieve the 200 game benchmark. Despite his tank-like build (he was 180cm tall, and weighed 98.5kg) he played most of his career as a knock ruckman, combining great strength and guile with perhaps surprising aerial prowess. His ruck partner for much of his career was another 'Collingwood six-footer', Johnny Taylor. Smith won Westies' best and fairest award in 1938, was club captain in 1940-41, and played in the winning grand final of 1947 against Norwood. His 9 interstate match appearances included games at the 1947 Hobart carnival. |
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Dave Smith (Essendon & Richmond)
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| Dave
Smith was a brilliant all rounder who played in virtually every position
on the field for Essendon, and who
captained the club's 1911 flag-winning side. Earlier, prior to the
arrival of Jack
Worrall, he had occupied a role at the club which might reasonably be
described as bearing virtually all the hallmarks of a coach, although the
actual term was not then in vogue. He was also an excellent
cricketer, and his selection in Australia's Test team to tour England in
1912 robbed him of the chance of playing in back to back
premierships.
A powerful and clever player, he was strong in the air, fleet of foot, and was particularly noted for his superb kicking. Nicknamed 'Soaker', Dave Smith was a member of the VFL's 1911 carnival team, and played a total of 142 games for the Dons between 1903 and 1911, and in 1913. He later played 1 game for Richmond before retiring. |
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Frank Smith (Prahran & Melbourne)
|
| Recruited from Armadale Juniors in 1924,
Frank Smith spent the majority of his first two seasons at Prahran
in the
seconds, before finally establishing himself as a senior player in
1926. Once allegedly described by team mates as "the
prettiest footballer you'd ever see" (see footnote 1),
Smith's chief forté was his exquisite foot passing ability. He was
also extremely quick, handled the ball well, and was the consummate team
player. In 1927 he became the first ever Two Blues player to win the
Recorder Cup, and would
doubtless have been the recipient of numerous club best and fairest
trophies had such awards been in existence during his career (see
footnote 2).
Smith spent the 1931 and '32 seasons at Melbourne where he played 14 VFL games before returning 'home' to Prahran to complete his career. In 1937 he was on a wing as the Two Blues broke their premiership duck with a 12.13 (85) to 11.17 (83) grand final defeat of Brunswick, and the last of his club record 248 appearances for the club came during 1941, which was the VFA's final season before going into wartime recess. There will have been few surprises among old time supporters of the club when, in 2003, Frank Smith was chosen on a wing in the Two Blues' official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
Footnotes1. The Blue Boys by Marc Fiddian, page 97. Return to Main Text 2. Prahran's club champion award was inaugurated in 1940. Return to Main Text |
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| After playing in Subiaco's B-grade premiership team in 1928, rover Geoff Smith made his senior debut for the club the following year. With the presence in the team of an admirable role model in Johnny Leonard, Smith soon developed into a classy performer, who was strongly instrumental in the Maroons' reaching the 1931 and 1933 grand finals. Speedy and slick, Smith was always a danger near goal, and topped the club's goal kicking list in 1930 with 30 goals. He also won the Subiaco fairest and best award in 1933 and 1934. His 4 interstate appearances for Western Australia included matches at the 1933 Sydney carnival. Geoff Smith retired early, at the end of a 1934 season that had seen him captain his club. He later lost his life in World War Two. |
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Glenville Smith (Claremont-Cottesloe/Claremont)
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| Memorably
nicknamed 'Gunboat', Glen Smith, unsurprisingly, was not wont to take any
prisoners while out on the football field. A member of Claremont-Cottesloe's
inaugural league team in 1926, he continued with the club for ten seasons,
playing a total of 111 senior games. In modern day parlance he would
be described as a tagger in that he was frequently required to sacrifice
his own game by concentrating on curbing the influence of one of the
opposition team's stars. His method of doing this left much to be
desired in terms of its sophistication, and certainly did not endear him
to fans of opposing sides, but it was effective. In one match
against East Fremantle he was given the
job of keeping 'Nipper'
Truscott, Old Easts' champion centreman, quiet. His approach to
the task left little to the imagination, and even less to chance: Truscott
made an early departure from the fray aboard a stretcher, and the
seventeen remaining East Fremantle players spent the rest of the match
trying to even the score.
Smith's relentlessly vigorous approach belied his somewhat meagre physical stature. Moreover, away from football he earned a living as a tailor, a vocation in which meticulous attention to detail is paramount, and there is scant room for heavy-handedness. Not that the club was averse to putting this talent to use, too; in 1926 it engaged Smith to produce the team's shorts. |
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Greg Smith (Collingwood, Sydney, Central District)
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| Known as 'The Bionic Man' because of his apparent imperviousness to injuries, Greg Smith was recruited by Collingwood from East Wagga and made his VFL debut in 1980. Tough, courageous, and hyper resilient, he went on to play 96 games and kick 64 goals for the Magpies before crossing to Sydney in 1985. While with the Swans he added 31 games and 7 goals in two seasons. His next port of call was Central District where he played exactly 100 SANFL games and booted 90 goals from 1987 to 1992. A firm favourite at Elizabeth, he won the Bulldogs' best and fairest award in 1988, and captained the club in his last two seasons. |
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Hec Smith (Cananore, Launceston, Longford, City)
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| One
of several top class Tasmanian-born rovers to emerge during the 1920s, Hec
Smith actually began playing football while he was away at boarding school
in Melbourne. Although he was already fourteen years of age at the
time, he demonstrated an extraordinary natural aptitude for the game, and
after returning home to Tasmania he commenced playing with Cananore
when the TFL resumed operation after World War One. Along with the
likes of Horrie
Gorringe, Jack
Charlesworth, Jack
Gardiner and Fred
Pringle, Smith gave the Canaries an extremely powerful team which
landed the 'double' of local and state flags in 1921 and '22. Smith
himself won the club's best and fairest award in 1921, but two years later
he was on the move to Launceston, where he
spent three seasons before being appointed captain-coach of Longford,
which was making its NTFA debut.
A polished performer, either as a wingman or, more usually, as a rover, Hec Smith was not afraid of 'mixing it' with taller, heavier opponents when the going got tough. His potent brand of leadership from the front was instrumental in rapidly transforming Longford from competition makeweights to legitimate premiership challengers, but the minor premiership in 1931 was as close as the club got to a flag during Smith's stint at the helm. Hec Smith's final move took place in 1932, when he assumed the captain-coach's mantle at City, to immediate and telling effect. In his debut season with the club it carried all before it in securing both the local flag, and the state title, the latter by virtue of a thrilling 6 point win over North Hobart. Maintaining the consistently exemplary form he had demonstrated throughout his career, Smith was selected in Tasmania's 1933 Sydney carnival team, having earlier played at both Melbourne (1927) and Adelaide (1930). He continued playing until the end of the 1934 season, whereupon he maintained his direct involvement with football by serving the NTFA in a number of administrative roles. Hec Smith's name was perpetuated after his death by the naming of the NTFA's annual best and fairest Medal, as well as a grandstand at North Hobart Oval, in his honour. In 2006, he was added as a legend to Tasmanian Football's official Hall of Fame. |
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| A footballer of considerable class and poise, Howard Smith was arguably among the greatest players to appear for St Kilda during that club's early years in the VFL. Between 1898 and 1904 (an era when the club only once finished off the bottom) he played a total of 95 senior games and booted 6 goals. Most of his games were played on the wing, in which position he also represented the VFL in an 8.10 (58) to 3.6 (24) win over South Australia in Melbourne in 1899. Smith combined the exceptional pace expected of a VFL wingman with exemplary disposal skills, and was one of the few Saints players of the time who could regularly be expected to win his position. |
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| Ruckman James Smith was a stalwart member of St Kilda's early VFL combinations, and the first player from the club to play 100 league games. All told, he played a total of 127 games for the Saints between 1899 and 1906, and in 1908, and represented the VFL in 1900 and 1901. In 1907 he acted as an umpire. After his retirement as a player Smith had three brief stints as coach of St Kilda before moving north to Queensland. |
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John Smith (North Melbourne & Melbourne)
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| A clever rover or half forward flanker, Smith commenced his senior career with North Melbourne in the VFA, captaining the side to a runners-up berth in 1905, as well as for part of the 1906 season. Later in that 1906 season he crossed to Melbourne where he played 52 VFL games and kicked 26 goals over the ensuing four and a half seasons. He finished his senior career in Tasmania where, prior to World War Two, he spent time as coach of, first, Launceston, and later Cananore. |
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| Evincing a rare combination of blistering pace and remarkable steadiness and assurance, Les Smith gave consistently useful service to Geelong in 123 VFL games, during which he kicked 17 goals, between 1921 and 1929. The air of authority he tended to exude led to his being given the nickname 'Guv'. He arrived at Corio Oval from local club Newtown, and was used mainly as a wingman or rover initially, before finding his true niche in the back pocket, which was where he lined up in the victorious challenge final of 1925 against Collingwood. Late in his career he developed a fine understanding with arguably the Cats' greatest ever full back in George 'Jocka' Todd. Smith's decision making was first rate, and he was regarded as one of the hardest defenders to obtain kicks against in the VFL. |
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Norm Smith (Melbourne & Fitzroy)
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| After
a fine 210 game, 540 goal playing career with Melbourne
between 1934 and 1948, Norm Smith served a three season coaching
apprenticeship with Fitzroy (during the
first two of which he played a further 17 games and kicked another 26
goals) before returning 'home' in 1952 to succeed Alan La Fontaine at the
helm of his old club. His achievements with the Demons would become
legendary: five flags between 1955 and 1960 and a 6th in 1964 during a
sequence of eleven successive finals appearances for an overall success rate
during the period of more than 73%. Today, the medal awarded to the
best player afield in each season's AFL grand final is named in his
honour.
An astute football thinker, the flame-haired Smith also possessed a fiery temperament which saw him skirt controversy on various occasions during his career. The most notable such occurrence took place in the middle of the 1965 season when, following a slump in form by the Demons which saw them lose 3 out of 4 matches after winning their first 8, he was sensationally - indeed, most would say precipitously - sacked, only to be just as sensationally reinstated a week later after the side had been beaten yet again. The whole affair clearly took its toll on Smith, however, and he would only once again - in 1970, at the fresh pastures of the Lake Oval - steer a side into the major round. Nevertheless, it is with the irrepressible Melbourne sides of the 1950s and early 1960s that his name has rightly become synonymous. Smith's premature death in 1973 at the age of fifty-eight robbed the game of one of its premier strategists, motivators and personalities. |
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Ray Smith (Western Districts, Essendon, Melbourne)
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| Despite
suffering from the disquieting disadvantage of coming from a rugby union
background, Ray Smith developed into a top line defender who became the
first Queenslander to play 100 VFL games. Aged just fifteen when he made
his senior debut, he abandoned football for rugby league for a spell, and
in 1970 played in a Queensland premiership team with Valleys. He
returned to football the following year when recruited by Essendon,
and went on to spend the next four and a half seasons with the Bombers,
playing 77 games, before transferring to Melbourne,
for whom he brought up the elusive century of VFL games in 1976. He
retired at the end of the 1976 season.
Ray Smith's name has been immortalised by the Brisbane Lions, whose 100 game players have their names inscribed on the 'Ray Smith Honour Board'. |
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Ross Smith (St Kilda & Subiaco)
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| Despite
having obvious courage and ability Ross Smith did not genuinely hit his straps as a footballer for about five years after commencing his senior VFL
career with St Kilda in 1961.
Originally from Hampton Rovers, he
went on to play a total of 234 games for the Saints in two stints, ending
in 1975, and in between he added 39 WANFL games while captain-coaching
Subiaco in 1973-4. Best remembered for his 1967 Brownlow
Medal win (see footnote 1), he also won St Kilda's
premier award the same year, as well as in 1971. Under his guidance,
Subiaco won its first West Australian
premiership since 1924 with a hard fought 32 point grand final defeat of West
Perth. Smith had earlier played a key role in St Kilda's
inaugural VFL premiership win in 1966, and counted VFL and Western
Australian interstate representation among his many football
honours. At the 1972 Perth
carnival, he captained the 'Big V' to success. His final games
with St Kilda were played in 1975 when he was serving as the club's
assistant coach. He assumed full scale coaching duties in his own
right in 1977 but the Saints endured a woeful season that saw them land
the wooden spoon.
Not surprisingly, Ross Smith was chosen as first rover in St Kilda's official 'Team of the Century'. |
Footnotes1. Smith won the award with 24 votes - four times as many as he had procured in all the previous six seasons combined. Return to Main Text |
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Shaun Smith (Ainslie, North Melbourne, Werribee, Melbourne)
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| Captain
of the ACT's 1986 Teal Cup team, Shaun Smith achieved All Australian
selection, and later in the year, having made his ACTAFL debut with Ainslie,
he also represented the ACT at senior level.
In 1988 he was a member of the ACT's state of origin team at the bicentennial
interstate championship series in Adelaide, and after spending
most of the season at home with Ainslie, topped the league's goal kicking
list with 71 goals.
A year earlier, Smith had ostensibly joined North Melbourne, but his senior career with the club did not begin in earnest until 1989. Ultimately, he went on to play a total of 47 games and kick 38 goals in an injury impeded 6 season stint. Delisted by the 'Roos at the end of the 1992 season, he spent the next couple of years at Werribee before returning to the AFL with Melbourne in 1995, a season that would go down as far and away the most memorable of his career. In the final home and away match of the year, the Demons were playing Brisbane at the Gabba, with the winners assured of participation in that season's finals. Although Melbourne ultimately lost the match, the most talked about event afterwards was a spectacular, skyscraping mark taken in the Dees' goal square by none other than Shaun Smith. Some even went so far as to dub it 'the mark of the century'. Shaun Smith had always been a superb aerialist, which perhaps in part explains his susceptibility to injury, so the mark ought not really to have taken anyone by surprise. However, he was much more than just a high flier. Always the epitome of courage and desperation, he showed late in his AFL career that, had circumstances been different, he could have become one of the game's all time great full backs. In one particular match against Geelong at Kardinia Park, he kept the redoubtable Gary Ablett, then at the peak of his prowess as a sharp shooter, goal less. Time was fast catching up with Smith, however, and in 1998 Melbourne delisted him. Nevertheless, he continued to perform with great energy and effectiveness at Werribee where he remained a listed player until 2004. |
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| After progressing through the club's junior ranks, Fitzroy's Leo Smyth made his senior VFL debut in 1954, and over the next five seasons played a total of 56 games and kicked 25 goals. He may not have been in the very highest rank as a player but he was consistent and tidy in everything he did and developed an excellent understanding with his team mates. He played for most of his career as a wingman, but he was also used to good effect on the ball at times. |
