VICTORIAN TEAM OF THE 20TH CENTURY

1st Ruck

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Ruckman - John Nicholls (Carlton - captain)

John Nicholls was one of if not the greatest ruckmen of all time simply because he knew how to use his abilities and physique - which in and of themselves were far from extraordinary - to the best possible effect.  Not blessed with the supreme all round skills of a Graham Farmer, or the mountainous height of a Len Thompson, nor yet the fearsome aggressiveness of a Jack Dyer, Nicholls was nevertheless consistently able to out-maneuvre opposing ruckmen of all physical types and attributes.  Moreover, he had an uncanny and arguably unequalled knack of extracting the maximum advantage from almost any on field situation, no matter how ostensibly inimical.

None of the above should be taken as implying that John Nicholls was a player devoid of skill, however.  Without wishing to become embroiled in a philosophical consideration of the nature of skill it is nevertheless worth pointing out for example that, unlike Farmer, say, Nicholls was very much a two-sided player.  Furthermore, his kicking was accurate and penetrative, and he handled the ball cleanly.  Whilst not possessed of blinding pace his astute judgement repeatedly enabled him to make position ahead of speedier opponents.  And while not given to indiscriminate violence his "piercing blue eyes gave the most frightening stare in football".  [see footnote 1]

All of which has the effect of intensifying the irony surrounding Nicholls' method of entry to League football, for it was actually John's brother Don - a centreman or defender - who was the original target of Carlton's recruitment team.  It was only after the boys' father intervened that it was agreed to let both brothers try out with the Blues.

Don Nicholls - no mean player himself - lasted 6 seasons and played 77 games with Carlton.  By the time his 'baby brother' retired in 1974 after 18 seasons at Princes Park he had enjoyed arguably the most illustrious career of any Carlton champion.  Just about the only honour to elude him was the Brownlow Medal (although he was runner-up in 1966). A member of more VFL interstate teams (31) than any other player, 'Big Nick' gained All Australian selection after both the 1966 Hobart and 1969 Adelaide carnivals, being selected as captain on the latter occasion.  On no fewer than 5 occasions - a club record - he was chosen as Carlton's club champion.  As Blues skipper he held the premiership cup aloft after the grand finals of 1968, 1970 and 1972, having coached the team to the flag in the last named season.  With 328 club games by the time of his retirement Nicholls established another Carlton record (later broken by Bruce Doull).

Bare statistics tell only part of the story, however.  For those who saw John Nicholls in action it is the memories of a unique and irreplaceable talent which endure.      

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Ruck-rover - Roy Cazaly (St Kilda, South Melbourne, City, Preston, North Hobart, New Town, Camberwell)

To some extent, Roy Cazaly's name - used as a battle cry by Australian troops during the second World War - is almost synonymous with the sport of Australian football.  It is somewhat ironic therefore that he was remembered for his time at St Kilda (where he played 99 games between 1910 and 1920) as "just another footballer", only eking out a reputation as a 'superstar' when he joined South Melbourne in 1921.  While at South he added another 99 senior games, made his Big V debut (going on to play 13 times), topped the club goalkicking list on 2 occasions, and won the best and fairest award in 1926.  Less tangibly, he established a reputation as Victorian football's foremost aerialist, giving rise to the time-honoured catch cry 'Up there Cazaly!'

Cazaly was more than just a brilliant aerialist, however.  A non-smoking teetotaller he was ahead of his time as far as fitness went, and he combined superb physical conditioning with an acute football brain.  The former enabled him to play well over 400 senior games in Victoria and Tasmania, while the latter was on eminent display during a highly successful 7 premiership coaching career.  Additional details about Roy Cazaly's career can be found in the entries on South Launceston, St Kilda, Sydney and Glenorchy as well as at Ross Smith's excellent website at http://au.geocities.com/sportandhistory/football.html.

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Rover - Dick Reynolds (Essendon)

'King Dick' as he was known was one of football's archetypal gentlemen - a much needed antithesis to the likes of Don 'Mopsy' Fraser, Leigh Matthews, David Granger and 'Mad Mal' Brown.  At 179cm and 82.5kg he was tall and quite heavily built for a rover and seldom came off second best in the physical exchanges.  He was a fine high mark and possessed of supreme balance and ball handling ability, and although not the greatest kick he was dangerous near goals averaging well over a goal a game over the course of a 19 season, 320 game VFL career.

Later in that career Reynolds developed into an excellent half forward flank/ruck-rover type who went a long way towards defining that role for future generations.  Extreme fairness coupled with an indefatigable brilliance ensured that 'King Dick' attracted a significant amount of attention - of the right sort - from the men in white: he was one of just 2 Victorians (and indeed only 4 players in total) to win 3 Brownlow Medals, polling a career total of 154 votes (8th on the all time list).  He was also the quintessential team man and leader, captain-coaching the Dons to 2 premierships, and skippering the Big V in 6 of his 19 interstate appearances.  His leadership qualities remained in evidence after his retirement as a player as he guided Essendon to 2 further flags.

Further information about Dick Reynolds' career can be found in the entry on Essendon.

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Footnotes

1.  From The Encyclopedia of League Footballers: Every AFL/VFL Player Since 1897 by Jim Main and Russell Holmesby, page 325.  Back to Main Text