Go straight to the biography of your choice by clicking on the appropriate link:
[Doug Wade] [Ernest Wadham] [Gary Wagner] [Alfred 'Topsy' Waldron] [Bill Walker] [Charles Walker] [Francis 'Dick' Walker] [Jack Walker] [Norman Walker] [William Walker] [David Wall] [George Wallace] [Neville Waller] [Steve Wallis] [Robert Walls] [Brian Walsh] [Paddy Walsh] [Paddy Y. Walsh] [Wayne Walsh] [Ernie Walton] [Gavin Wanganeen] [Bert Wansbrough] [Keith Warburton] [Alan Ware] [Norm Ware] [Donald Wares] [Tom Warhurst] [Ivor Warne-Smith] [Danny Warr] [Jim Washbourne] [Terry Waters] [Alan Watling] [Colin Watson] [Jim Watson] [Tim Watson] [Keith Watt] [Ricky Watt] [Rowland Watt] [Roy Watterston] [Albert Watts] [John Watts] [Neville Way] [Hendrick 'Taffy' Waye] [Tom Waye] [Richard Wearmouth] [Ronald Wearmouth] [George Weatherill] [Robert Weatherill] [Athol Webb] [Lindsay Webb] [Reynolds Webb] [Peter Webster] [Bill Wedding] [Sydney Ween] [Murray Weideman] [Dale Weightman] [Neville Weller] [Sean Wellman] [Greg Wells] [Jack Wells] [Peter Welsh] [Max Wenn] [Henry 'Leo' Wescott] [Roy West] [Jack Whelan] [Ken Whelan] [Marcus Whelan] [Ted Whelan] [Bill Whicker] [Mel Whinnen] [Ray Whitaker] [Alan White] [Barry White] [Darryl White] [Leslie White] [Lindsay White] [Robin White] [Sid White] [Charles Whitehead] [Reg Whitehead] [Malcolm Whitford] [Ted Whitten senior] [Alvan Whittle]
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Doug Wade (Geelong & North Melbourne)
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| Full
forwards do not need to be eye-catchingly brilliant in order to be
effective. Some, of course, such as Pratt,
Coleman, Robertson,
McKenna, Rait, Ablett
and Lloyd, were, or are, but the fact that brilliance is by no means an
index of effectiveness is emphatically demonstrated by the fact that many
of the most prolific goalkickers in the history of the game, including the
likes of Farmer, Coventry,
Naylor, Hudson,
Lockett, Dunstall
and Evans, could scarcely be described as easy on the
eye.
If Douglas Graeme Wade clearly belonged in this latter category, this is not to imply that his goal kicking exploits for Geelong and North Melbourne were not immensely crowd pleasing in their way. Capable if the need arose of flying high for big marks, he was much more in his element in the sort of one-on-one physical contests on which most league full backs thrived. Moreover, his trade mark screw punts could realise maximum reward from virtually any distance up to about 60 metres (on one occasion, Wade won the Craven Filter Champion Kick of Australia). A statistical summary of Doug Wade's most noteworthy achievements makes impressive reading:
When Geelong's 'Team of the Century' was chosen in 2001, arguably the easiest decision of all must have been placing Doug Wade at the goalfront. |
| Despite being built like the proverbial beanpole at 187cm and 71kg, Ern Wadham was a highly effective knock ruckman who made a significant contribution to Norwood's success during the 1920s. He made his league debut for the Redlegs in 1922, and at the end of the season helped them defeat West Adelaide 9.7 (61) to 2.16 (28) to claim their first flag for fifteen years. He also played in premiership teams in 1923 and 1929. His 7 interstate appearances for South Australia included games at both the 1924 Hobart and 1927 Melbourne carnivals. Appointed Norwood's captain-coach in 1931 he stood down, and indeed retired as a player, after a few games because he felt his form was no longer up to scratch. A successful professional runner away from football, he later carved out a noteworthy career as a sporting administrator, including more than twenty years as secretary of the Norwood Football Club. |
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by Murray Bird and Peter Blucher |
| Gary Wagner was a fleet-footed rover/wingman who won four best and fairest awards at Sandgate. He played 200-plus games over fifteen years and was a key member of the club's successful 1970's era, which included four premierships. Wagner represented Queensland on multiple occasions during the 1970s. |
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Alfred Waldron (Carlton & Norwood)
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| Alfred
'Topsy' Waldron was born in Mornington, Victoria, in 1857, and moved to
Melbourne with his family while still a youngster. While in
Melbourne he began to play football with a club called 'The
Montagues'. Looking back on that time almost half a century later,
Waldron observed:
"At that time football was more like 'stacks on the mill'. One man would get the ball and the others would try to deprive him of possession. The umpire would be a man chosen from the crowd that had gathered." (See footnote 1) Waldron began his senior football career with Albert Park, and then played briefly with Carlton, but it was only after joining Norwood that he developed into one of the genuine greats of the nineteenth century game. He was persuaded to head to Adelaide by a Norwood player, Alf McMichael, who happened to be a good personal friend. Waldron arrived at Norwood in 1879, the club's second year, joining forces with fellow former Carltonian Billy Dedman, who had topped the SAFA goal kicking list in 1878 and would do so again in 1879. Norwood was already a force in South Australian football, having won a premiership in its debut season, but Waldron's arrival made the team even stronger. Waldron was an exceptional footballer, capable of playing in virtually any position on the field, but it was his skill as a leader that truly set him apart from the crowd. He took over as Norwood captain in 1881, and all told enjoyed a club record total of ten seasons in charge in three separate stints. He was widely acknowledged, even in Victoria, as the finest captain of his day, a reputation he consolidated in decisive fashion in 1888 when he led his team to a 3-0 'Test' series drubbing of South Melbourne in a contest to find the champion club in Australia. Waldron himself regarded Norwood's 1888 combination as the finest he had seen in football, with players like 'the three Jacks' - Daly, Watson and Woods - being unmatched either before or since. He was also of the opinion that football in the 1880s was superior to the early twentieth century game because players back then were less inclined to resort to handball, presumably because the 'little mark' was still legal and very much in vogue (see footnote 2). 'Topsy' Waldron spent a total of fourteen seasons with the Redlegs, and was a member of seven premiership teams. He was selected to represent South Australia on 6 occasions, 3 of them as captain, during an era when intercolonial matches were only sporadically played. His omission from the AFL's much vaunted Hall of Fame spectacularly undermines its credibility as a supposedly objective benchmark of excellence in the game. |
Footnotes1. 'The Advertiser', 16/5/1910, page 11. Return to Main Text 2. Ibid., page 11. Return to Main Text |
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| Watching
recordings of matches played as long ago as the 1960s only a few players
immediately catch the eye as possessing the attributes necessary for
success in modern day, professional football. One such player is
Bill Walker, who combined an uncanny sense of knowing where the ball was,
and how to get it, with a rare, fastidious intelligence in its disposal
(albeit that, when kicking, he tended to favour either the drop kick or
the stab pass, a 'frailty' which a twenty-first century coaching team would
no doubt waste little time in eradicating).
Walker, who was born at Huntley in New Zealand, made his debut with Swans in 1961 and over the course of the next sixteen seasons would go on to play a record 305 games for the club. His arrival at Bassendean coincided with that of Haydn Bunton junior, who, in his first three years in Western Australian football, would be responsible for masterminding the club's first five premierships. Bunton also shared the roving duties with Walker, who kicked 5.5 in Swans' debut premiership win in 1961, and was an integral member of the side as it established a new benchmark for football in the state. Ultimately, Swan Districts' pre-eminence could not last, but Walker remained at the forefront of the game throughout his career. Sandover Medallist three years in a row from 1965 to 1967, he was later awarded a 4th Medal (that of 1970) as part of the Westar Rules hierarchy's decision, in 1997, to bestow retrospective Medals on those players who had lost only on countback, or on the casting vote of the WANFL president. Bill Walker thus shares with Russell Ebert the record of being the only players to have won four separate major state awards in the same competition. When at the height of his prowess, between 1965 and 1970, it would be hard to dispute the contention that Walker was the finest player in the land. Apart from his four Sandovers, he finished 2nd and 5th in the other two seasons, averaging 19.3 votes per year; he was Swan Districts' club champion every year but one; and in interstate games he was almost invariably named in Western Australia's best players, winning a Simpson Medal against South Australia at Subiaco in 1967. Often mentioned in the same breath as another superlative Western Australian rover, Barry Cable, Walker shared many of the same attributes, but had an edge in pace, which arguably made him the more damaging player. |
| A tough centre half back who compensated for any skill deficiencies with his fearless, wholehearted approach, Charlie Walker was a key member of three East Perth premiership teams, and played precisely 100 games for the club between 1954 and 1960. Boasting an immensely strong upper body, he could fend opponents off with one hand, and his tackling was ferocious. He was good overhead, and capable of playing as a follower if needed, but his kicking was ordinary, or worse. He gave a fine performance as support ruckman to 'Polly' Farmer in the 1958 grand final win over East Fremantle, and was reliably effective across half back in both the 1956 and 1959 flag winning sides. Charlie Walker represented Western Australia twice against the Vics in 1957. |
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| A great clubman, Perth rover Dick Walker played 226 league games for the Redlegs between 1952 and 1964. He also made 10 appearances for Western Australia. Renowned for his cleverness, he won club fairest and best awards in 1955 and 1956, and was runner-up in 1963. He was one of the best players afield in Perth's 1955 grand final win over East Fremantle. Always dangerous when resting in the forward lines, he topped his club's goal kicking list in 1953 with 44 goals. During the 1961 season he took over as Redlegs captain-coach for a time; he also captained the side the following year, but had sadly retired by the time Perth re-emerged as a force under Mal Atwell in the mid 1960s. |
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| Geelong's Lara recruit Jack Walker made his VFL debut in 1930 and was on a wing when the Cats overcame Richmond in the following season's grand final. Tall and elegant, he passed the ball superbly with either foot, and was direct and purposeful in everything he did. A centreman or wingman for much of his seven season, 77 game league career, he was shifted to the backlines later on and continued to perform reliably. Jack Walker played interstate football for the VFL. |
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| Combining strength with great dexterity, Norm Walker was one in a sequence of fine ruckman produced by the Norwood Football Club during the 1940s, '50s and '60s. He won the club's best and fairest award in 1957, and showed his potency when resting in a forward pocket by twice topping the club's goal kicking list. Walker represented South Australia on 11 occasions, kicking 15 goals. |
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| In the era of the ruck shepherd, there
were few better exponents of the art than Fitzroy's William
Walker. An arch purveyor of strong arm tactics, it is more than a
little ironic that arguably his proudest moment in football
involved the deliberate and conscious eschewing of such an
approach. In 1913, Walker captained a vigorous, often
fearsomely aggressive Fitzroy team to the minor premiership, followed by
an emphatic semi final defeat of Collingwood.
In the final, however, opponents St Kilda
succeeded in notching up a shock win by employing precisely the same kind
of exaggeratedly brutal approach as the Roys had been utilising all
year. With the shoe on the other foot, so to speak, the Maroons were
all at sea, and so for the following week's challenge final Walker told
his men to avoid rough-house tactics at all costs, whatever the
provocation, and concentrate on the ball. His charges obeyed this
injunction to the letter, and Fitzroy won a famous victory.
William Walker began with the Maroons in 1903 and gave sterling service in 168 games over the next twelve seasons. In addition to the 1913 premiership, he played in flag-winning sides in 1904-5, and in the losing grand finals of 1903 and 1906. Loathed by opponents and opposition supporters, he was hugely respected and admired at Fitzroy, winning the club's 1909 best and fairest award and, as alluded to above, captaining the side in his penultimate year. |
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David Wall (Fitzroy & Northcote)
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| David Wall joined Fitzroy from West Heidelberg and made his senior VFL debut in 1967. Over the ensuing decade he played a total of 132 league games, and kicked 120 goals. Serviceable and honest rather than flamboyantly skilled, the Lions used him in a variety of positions, but he played his best football on the forward line. After leaving Fitzroy at the end of the 1976 season he played briefly for Northcote in the VFA. |
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George Wallace (South Adelaide)
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| As an energetically dynamic rover, South Adelaide's George Wallace was a familiar and extremely popular figure around the club for no fewer than thirteen seasons, during which he tallied 127 senior games. He commenced his career in 1905, and had a pronounced immediate impact. A regular South Australian interstate representative during the early part of his career, his 8 state appearances included games at the inaugural Australasian championship series held in Melbourne in 1908. Unfortunately for Wallace, South was far and away the weakest team in the competition during his time with them, and only twice, in 1905 and 1915, did they even manage to qualify for the finals. On both occasions they bowed out of premiership contention at the first hurdle. One imagines that George Wallace would have featured consistently strongly in South's best and fairest voting during his career, but the club did not introduce such an award until three years after his retirement. |
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| Having played both Thirds and Seconds football with the club, Neville Waller proved to be a useful senior player for Collingwood in 84 VFL games between 1953 and 1958. During that time he played in a variety of different positions but tended to produce his best football when stationed in the backlines. He was at centre half back when the Magpies downed Geelong in the 1953 grand final, and played in a back pocket in the losing grand finals of 1955 and '56 against Melbourne. |
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| Footscray's Steve Wallis started his VFL career as a creative running centreman who combined with the likes of Doug Hawkins and Brian Royal to give the Bulldogs one of the most potent running brigades in the league. A prolific possession gatherer, he ran equal fourth in the Brownlow Medal voting in 1985, his third league season. Renowned for his strong use of the body, Wallis began to take on more defensive roles as his career progressed. He was an excellent tagger, and could also do a highly effective job anywhere in the backlines. He captained Footscray in 1989, and represented Victoria on 3 occasions. Between 1983 and 1996 he played a total of 261 V/AFL games and booted 57 goals. He might be considered a trifle unfortunate to have missed selection in the Bulldogs' official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Robert Walls (Carlton, Fitzroy, Brisbane)
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| From
the time he made his VFL debut as a sixteen year old Coburg High School
student in 1967, Carlton's Robert Walls
seemed destined for a noteworthy career. Lining up at full forward,
he booted a goal with his first kick in league football, the first of 347
he would amass in 219 games with the Blues. Some of his early
football was played in the backlines, and he was in a back pocket in the
1968 grand final when Carlton overcame Essendon
by 3 points, but it was as a centre half forward that he truly came into
his own. He topped Carlton's goal kicking list on two occasions, and
was a premiership player twice more, in 1970 and 1972. He
also represented the VFL on 4 occasions.
Lean and lithe, with long arms, Walls could regularly out-mark most opponents, but was equally adept at palming the ball to a team mate running past. He finished his playing career at Fitzroy where he added 41 games and 77 goals between 1978 and 1980. As a coach, Walls was astute, resourceful, and, overall, a success. He took a hitherto unfashionable Fitzroy side to three finals series in five seasons, led Carlton to a flag in 1987, and oversaw Brisbane's overdue emergence as a credible combination when he steered the team to its first ever finals campaign in 1995, its ninth league season. His prowess as a player was rewarded with inclusion in Carlton's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
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Brian Walsh (St Kilda & Werribee)
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| Brian Walsh was a dogged and extremely determined back pocket specialist who worked superbly in tandem with champion full back Verdun Howell. St Kilda recruited Walsh from Ormond in the VAFA and he gave excellent service in 129 VFL games between 1956 and 1964, unfortunately just missing the club's halcyon phase. He also represented the VFL against Tasmania in 1962. As a coach, Brian Walsh steered VFA 2nd division side Werribee to 4th place in 1981. His father, Dave Walsh, played with Essendon, Essendon Association and North Melbourne. |
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Paddy Walsh (Prahran & Brighton-Caulfield)
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| One
of the finest VFA centremen of his day, dual Prahran
best and fairest winner Paddy Walsh was a driving force behind that club's
1951 premiership triumph. Originally from Murrumbeena, for much of
his career Walsh was a near automatic selection in VFA representative
sides, including the team which went to the Brisbane
carnival in 1950, and scored a noteworthy win over South
Australia. Renowned as an inspirational on-field leader, Paddy Walsh
captained Prahran from 1949 to 1954, assuming the coaching duties as well
in the last two of those years. As a player he was highly skilled
and resourceful, strong overhead, and a fine kick.
In 1960, after being away from the VFA scene for six years, Walsh made a one match return with Prahran in order to qualify as a ten year player, and the following season saw him installed as the club's non-playing coach. The VFA introduced a two division system in 1961, with the Two Blues consigned to the lower flight. After missing the finals on percentage in Walsh's debut season as coach, the Two Blues battled their way through to the following year's grand final, only to crash to an embarrassing 60 point defeat at the hands of Dandenong. After being replaced as senior coach in 1963 by former Melbourne player Dennis Jones, Paddy Walsh had a brief stint as coach of fellow second division side Brighton-Caulfield. |
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Paddy Y. Walsh (City-Launceston & Essendon)
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| Originally from Ledgerwood in northern Tasmania, Paddy Walsh played a couple of NTFA games for City before being recruited by Essendon. A left footer, he was a slimly built 183cm in height, and was regarded as "a new breed of more mobile, fast moving, rugged big men that Essendon had and he was big and powerful with plenty of dash and good on the ground" (see footnote 1). He gave the Dons some excellent service over the course of a ten season, 115 game VFL career. Equally at home as a follower or across half back, Walsh was extremely highly regarded by his contemporaries, and made no fewer than a dozen appearances in a 'Big V' jumper. He was voted Essendon's best and fairest player in 1933, the season before a serious knee injury undermined the closing phase of his career. He finally called it a day at the end of the 1936 season. |
Footnotes1. Those Magnificent Men by Michael Maplestone, page 87. Return to Main Text |
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Wayne Walsh (Richmond & South Melbourne)
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| Wayne Walsh began his senior VFL career with Richmond in 1968 but he was unable to force his way into the powerful Tiger line-up on a regular basis, and after just 5 games he was cleared to South Melbourne. From 1969 until midway through the 1972 season he played 63 games for the Swans, earning a reputation as a top quality defender, and representing the 'Big V' in 1970. In 1972, however, he fell out with coach Norm Smith and quit the club, whereupon Richmond snatched him up again. His second stint at Punt Road was much more successful than the first, and he represented the club in the losing grand final of 1972 against Carlton, and the wins in 1973 and 1974 against Carlton and North Melbourne respectively. By the time he retired in 1977 he had proved himself a fine performer in 88 VFL games for the Tigers, and his problems during his initial stint with the club had been well and truly forgotten. |
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| Playing
either in the centre or as a defender, Ernie Walton was a key member of Carlton's
late VFA and early VFL teams. Skipper of the Blues in 1898 and 1899,
he also represented the VFL in intercolonial and interstate matches.
A skilful player who handled the ball well and was an excellent place
kick, Walton was a shining light for Carlton in an era that did not yield
much in the way of success. In his debut season of 1894, for
example, the Blues only managed 2 wins, and the club's eventual admission
to the VFL three years later was less a tribute to its on-field playing
strength, which remained negligible, than a matter of expediency relating
to its geographical location near the heart of Melbourne.
In Walton's eleventh and last season, however, and Carlton's eighth in the VFL, the club finally emerged from the doldrums by qualifying for the finals for the first ever time. With Walton in a back pocket, the Blues scored a nail-biting 3 point win over Essendon in a semi final before succumbing to Fitzroy by 4 goals in the premiership decider. Presumably feeling content that the club was, at long last, in a position of emerging strength, Ernie Walton retired. He later served Carlton in a variety of administrative roles. |
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Gavin Wanganeen (Port Adelaide, Essendon, Port Adelaide Magpies)
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| Gavin
Wanganeen, who retired from top level football midway through the 2006
season after well in excess of 300 senior games, was undoubtedly one of
the finest and most instantly recognisable footballers of recent
times. Originally from Port Lincoln, he played briefly with
Salisbury North after moving to Adelaide, before commencing his league
career with Port Adelaide in 1990, when
his 24 games for the year included the winning grand final against Glenelg
(reviewed here). Crossing
to Essendon in the AFL in 1991, he
appeared to adapt to the big stage with consummate ease, and two years
later was a crucial cog in the 'Baby Bombers' machine that won the flag in
highly impressive fashion with a 20.13 (133) to 13.11 (89) grand final
demolition of Carlton. Earlier that
year he had been a member of the South Australian state of origin team
that secured the national championship in memorable fashion thanks to a 2
goal win over Victoria on the MCG. The 1993 season was also
memorable on a personal note as he became Essendon's first Brownlow
Medallist for seventeen years.
With his distinctive low to the ground running style Wanganeen combined exquisite talent with explosive, if occasionally wayward, aggression. Most commonly used as a rebound defender, he was also, on occasion, a damaging on-baller, and had a keen eye for goal when used in the forward lines. The sort of player who leads naturally by example, he returned to South Australia in 1997 when he was appointed Port Adelaide's inaugural AFL captain, a role he retained for four seasons. If his form with the Power tended to be somewhat inconsistent at first he came good in no uncertain terms in 2003 when he not only landed his club's best and fairest award but came within a single vote of a second Brownlow Medal. His proudest moment in a Power jumper, however, came the following season, when his 4 goals made a significant contribution to his club's first ever AFL flag courtesy of a 17.11 (113) to 10.13 (73) grand final victory over Brisbane. In 2005, along with many of his team mates, Wanganeen appeared to suffer something of a premiership hangover, and in 2006 he managed just 1 game to bring up the magical 300 figure before eventually deciding that his body had had enough. His final game of senior football came on 20 May 2006 for Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL. Five times an AFL All Australian, Wanganeen was the first indigenous footballer to amass 300 games (127 with the Bombers, 173 for Port) at AFL level. Even more significantly, however, he was revered, and will be remembered with affection and esteem, at two top level clubs, with the high regard in which he was held at Essendon in particular being emphasised by his inclusion, in a back pocket, in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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| Best remembered for his stirring display after being shifted from centre half back to centre half forward during the 1955 grand final win over East Fremantle (reviewed here), Perth's Bert Wansbrough, who was vice-captain that day, was an important player for the Redlegs in 127 games between 1952 and 1958. Powerfully built, he used his strength to good effect both at ground level and in the air. He could play well in any key position, and boasted considerable flair for such a big man. During his career, Wansborough booted a total of 167 goals, including tallies of 56 in 1956 and 69 the following year to top Perth's list. He represented Western Australia 4 times, including 1 match (against South Australia) at the 1956 Perth carnival. In 1999, Bert Wansbrough was placed on a half back flank in Perth's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Keith Warburton (Brighton & Carlton)
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| Described
as "an acrobat in football boots" (see footnote 1),
full forward Keith Warburton was one of the primary reasons behind Brighton's
emergence as a post-war VFA power. In 90 games for the Penguins he
booted 317 goals, topping the competition's list with 101 in 1949.
With Warburton at the goal front, the Penguins attracted sizeable crowds
to their games, and qualified for the finals for a club record-equalling
three times in succession (see footnote 2). In
the 1948 grand final against Williamstown,
Warburton was heavily concussed during the first half, but later returned
to the fray to help his team to a 9 point triumph.
The 1951 season saw Keith Warburton at Carlton, where he hit the headlines with an opening round bag of 7 goals. He went on to play 74 games in five seasons with the Blues, amassing 91 goals (including 48 in his debut year when he topped the club's list), but his career - and indeed his life - almost came to a premature end in 1952. After playing in that season's losing 1st semi final against Fitzroy he attended a club dance during the evening, and collapsed. It transpired that the cause was a hefty blow to the abdomen received during the course of the afternoon's game, and it was only after receiving several blood transfusions that he recovered. Once his playing career was over, however, he had to have a kidney removed. |
Footnotes1. The Pioneers by Marc Fiddian, page 124. Return to Main Text 2. Between 1926 and 1928 Brighton finished 2nd, 2nd and 3rd; in Warburton's time it was premiers (1949), followed by two consecutive third places. Return to Main Text |
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| Nicknamed 'Darkie', Alan Ware played with distinction for Manuka and at senior representative level for Canberra during the 1930s. He was the winner of the 1939 Mulrooney Medal. A member of the first ever ACT schoolboys representative team in 1929, Ware made his senior debut for Manuka three years later. Although not especially robust, his tremendous anticipation and superb marking ability made him a redoubtable opponent anywhere in the back lines, but especially in the two key defensive positions. Twice selected as Manuka's best and fairest player, 'Darkie' Ware was also chosen in two Canberra representative teams, against Tasmania in 1938, and against New South Wales the following year. Unfortunately, World War Two then arrived to nip his blossoming career in the bud, although he did return for one final season at Manuka in 1946, taking his final total of senior games to 158. |
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| Norm
Ware was a clever and unusually pacy and mobile big man who contributed an
enormous amount to the development of Footscray
as a league force during the 1930s and 1940s. As a ruckman, he was
hard to beat in the air, but the fact that he also moved like a rover made
him a doubly valuable player. Later in his career he moved onto the
forward lines with telling effect, topping Footscray's goal kicking list
with 51 goals in 1942.
Recruited by Footscray from Sale, Ware made his VFL debut in 1932, and won the first of his five club best and fairest awards two years later. Always scrupulously fair, he was held in the utmost esteem by his team mates, and earned the admiration of opponents. He captained Footscray in 1940 and was captain-coach in 1941-42. In 1941 he made history by becoming the first, and to date only, playing coach to win the Brownlow Medal. At the age of thirty he was also, at the time, the oldest player to have won the Medal. Ware's 199th and last VFL game was the 1946 1st semi final against Melbourne. Footscray lost, but Ware went out in style, booting 4 goals for a final career tally of 219. In 2002, Ware's importance in the history of Footscray was recognised when he was selected in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Donald Wares (South Fremantle)
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| Ruckman Don Wares was a key member of the superb South Fremantle sides of the late 1940s and early '50s, playing a total of 107 league games for the club, including three winning grand finals. He also represented a Western Australian no. 2 state side in 1947. Wares made his senior debut when the WANFL reverted to senior competition after three seasons of under-age football in 1945. He quickly stamped himself as a player of considerable promise by playing 18 of South's 23 matches for the year, including the losing grand final against East Fremantle. Thereafter, until his retirement at the conclusion of the 1951 season, only injury prevented him from taking his place in the much-vaunted line-up. The undoubted highlights of his career were his appearances in the aforementioned victorious grand finals, with his performances against West Perth in 1948 and 1950 earning him prominent mention in dispatches. He was also better than serviceable in the 1947 defeat of the Cardinals. |
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| A solid, strong marking and eminently reliable key position defender who could also do a serviceable job on the forward lines, Tom Warhurst was a key player for Norwood both before and immediately after World War Two. He debuted with the club in 1935, won a best and fairest award in 1939, and was captain for part of the 1940 season, which was his last before embarking on military service. When full scale football resumed in 1945 Warhurst played a big part in helping the Redlegs emerge as a force. In 1946 he was at full back, and one of his side's best players, in a 13.14 (92) to 9.10 (64) grand final defeat of Port Adelaide. When he retired the following year he had played a total of 94 league games, plus 3 for South Australia. |
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Ivor Warne-Smith (Melbourne & Latrobe)
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| Born
at Lavender Bay, Sydney in 1897, Ivor Warne-Smith's football reputation
was established in Tasmania and Victoria. One of the most revered
names in the football history of both states, Warne-Smith was actually
something of a reluctant footballer. After 8 games with Melbourne
in 1919 he re-located to the Latrobe region of Tasmania, not because of
football, but in order to take up share farming. His football
prowess was noticed during informal lunch time end to end kicking sessions
at Atkinson's sale yards and he was invited to join Latrobe;
however, because of the pressure of work on the farm it was not until
midway through the 1920 season that he accepted the invitation.
During four and a half seasons with the Diehards he proved himself an accomplished footballer in all conditions and in a variety of positions. In 1922 he took over as club coach and led the side to two flags in three years. He also performed with distinction in inter-league games, winning the Parry Medal in 1924. Warne-Smith returned to Melbourne as a twenty-seven year old in 1925 and his quick thinking, two-sided play made an immediate impact. In 1926 he won the Brownlow Medal and, playing at centre, was one of the best players afield as the Fuchsias swamped minor premier Collingwood by 57 points in the challenge final to claim their first premiership since 1900. It was to be the only VFL flag of Warne-Smith's career. However, he did win another Brownlow in 1928 to become the first dual winner of the award. In recognition of his weighty contribution to Tasmanian football, Ivor Warne-Smith was, in June 2004, included in that state's official 'Team of the Century', having four years earlier being chosen at centre half forward in Melbourne's equivalent team. |
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Danny Warr (Preston, St Kilda, Eastlake, Turner)
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| Recruited from a local church side, rover Danny Warr made his senior debut with Preston in 1923 when the club was competing in the VJFA. The side went top that year, and three years later rejoined the VFA after an absence of fifteen years. Warr continued with the Bullants until 1928 when he crossed to VFL side St Kilda, where he made an extremely favourable impression in 37 games over two seasons, during which he booted 47 goals. The 1930 season saw him undertaking the financially lucrative role of captain-coach of Rochester in the Bendigo League, but a yearning for a higher standard of football saw him back with Preston in 1931 where he continued for another six seasons. Warr's entire VFA playing career comprised 144 senior games during which he kicked 317 goals. It was a distinguished career, entailing Recorder Cup and club best and fairest trophy wins in 1934, and club leading goal kicker awards in 1932-3-4-5. The only disappointment was probably his failure to play in a VFA premiership team. Warr captain-coached the Bullants in 1935, and two years later embarked on another stint of coaching in the country, this time with Hampden League club Camperdown. After the war, he coached Finley in 1946 before spending eight seasons in Canberra, coaching Eastlake (1947-50 and 1952-3) and Turner (1951). His proudest moment was overseeing Eastlake's 1948 premiership victory, which came via a 22.16 (148) to 10.8 (68) mauling of Manuka. Extremely highly regarded in ACT football circles, Warr coached Canberra representative teams in 1948, 1950 and 1951, and also served as a selector once his coaching career had finished. |
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| Dashing, reliable and extremely consistent, East Perth's Jim Washbourne was one of the finest half back flank specialists of his generation. He made his debut for the Royals in 1945, and won the club's fairest and best award the following year. In 1949 he made the first of an eventual 9 interstate appearances for Western Australia, and in 1950 finished third in the Sandover Medal voting. For most of his career, East Perth tended to struggle, managing just one finals appearance between 1945 and 1955. The second half of the 1950s, however, proved to be something of a golden age for the club and it contested every grand final between 1956 and 1961. Jim Washbourne was there for the first two of these grand finals, the win over South Fremantle in 1956, and the loss to East Fremantle in 1957. He was listed high among his team's best players after both games. The grand final clash with Old Easts proved to be the last of Washbourne's 173 WANFL appearances. His importance to the club was endorsed in 2006 with his selection on a half back flank in the Royals' official 'Team of the Century 1945 to 2005. |
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Terry Waters (Dandenong & Collingwood)
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| Terry Waters began his senior football career with Dandenong for whom, as a seventeen year old, he starred with 4 goals in the losing 2nd Division grand final of 1961 against Northcote. Two years later, when the Redlegs achieved promotion courtesy of a hefty grand final win over Prahran, Waters, who had spent the majority of the 1962 season standing out of football in a bid to win a clearance to VFL club Collingwood, had moved on. As a player with the Magpies he achieved virtually everything the game had to offer except for a premiership: the club captaincy in 1970 and part of 1971, a Copeland Trophy in 1966, All Australian selection after the 1969 Adelaide carnival, a near best afield performance in the losing grand final of 1966, and Collingwood's leading goal kicker trophy in 1963 (50 goals) and 1964 (43). Highly versatile, he spent most of the early part of his career on the forward lines before transforming himself into a resilient, hard running defender who marked superbly whatever the conditions. In all, he played 163 VFL games and booted 182 goals for the Woods between 1963 and 1972. |
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| Extremely pacy and tenacious, Alan Watling was an important player for West Perth throughout his 284 game league career. Initially used mainly as a wingman, he later developed into a fine ruck-rover. Strong overhead, his disposal skills were impeccable, and he was a prominent contributor to the Cardinals' winning grand final efforts in 1969, 1971 and 1975. Watling represented Western Australia on 5 occasions, earning All Australian selection after the 1972 Perth carnival. In October 2000 he was named on the interchange bench in West Perth's official 'Team of the Century'. |
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Colin Watson (Port Melbourne & St Kilda)
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| After
playing a handful of games with VFA side Port
Melbourne in 1919, Colin Watson, who had been brought to the city from
South Warrnambool by Roy
Cazaly, crossed to St Kilda in the
VFL where he went on to enjoy a highly illustrious, if stuttering, league
career. That stuttering began after just 3 games of his debut season
when acrimonious in-fighting on the Saints' committee persuaded Watson to
up stumps and return home to the country. He returned to St Kilda in
mid-1922, however, and soon treated football fans to the full range of his
capabilities: stockily built, he was
extraordinarily quick, both of mind and limb, and approached the game with
a robustness which was as wholehearted as it was bereft of any kind of
malice or spite. Equally at home on the half back line or across the
centre, Watson peaked in 1924-5, earning carnival
selection for the VFL and a club best and fairest award in the former year, and
scoring a resounding win in the Brownlow
Medal in the latter.
In 1926, he accepted the position of captain-coach of Stawell, but the Saints, perhaps not surprisingly, refused to clear him. After standing out of football for a year, Watson crossed to a different country club, Maryborough, without a clearance, and the Ballarat Football League was disqualified by the VFL as a consequence. Watson stayed in the country, initially with Maryborough, and later with his original club, South Warrnambool, for seven years, but in 1933, aged thirty-three, he was enticed back to the 'big time' by St Kilda. Quickly picking up where he had left off in his Brownlow Medal year, Watson was one of the Saints' best in 1933, and was included in the VFL state squad for the Sydney carnival. In 1934 he captain-coached the Saints to 7th place on the ladder - their best return for five years - but after just one match of the 1935 season, which took his total number of VFL appearances to 93, the lure of the country proved to much, and he returned home for good. |
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Jim Watson (Carlton & Fitzroy)
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| Jim Watson was a solid and dependable defender who was a stalwart at Carlton for the better part of a decade. After taking some time to establish himself, he earned a reputation as one of the VFL's finest full backs. His Blues career entailed 91 senior games in 1921 and from 1923 to 1929. Midway through the 1921 season he crossed to Fitzroy, where he added another half a dozen league appearances. Watson was twice chosen to represent the VFL in inter-league matches. |
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Tim Watson (Essendon & St Kilda)
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| Indisputably
one of Essendon's greatest sons,
Dimboola-born Tim Watson made his senior league debut in 1977 aged just
fifteen years and 305 days, making him the third youngest V/AFL debutant in
history. During the course of a seventeen season, 307 game career he
was perpetually at the forefront of the game, winning Bomber best and
fairest awards in 1980, 1985, 1988 and 1989, and helping the club secure
three premierships. He boasted tremendous pace and balance allied to
finely tuned aggression and vigour, and his ball handling skills were
second to none. A regular Victorian state of origin representative,
his best ever season came in 1989 when he ran third in the Brownlow
Medal voting and picked up numerous media awards. Two seasons
later he temporarily retired, claiming his body had had enough, but he
made a much vaunted comeback in 1993 when he was a steadying influence in
a youthful Bomber combination that surprised many pundits by taking out
that year's flag.
After finally retiring at the end of the 1994 season Tim Watson carved out an impressive media career for himself before returning to football briefly in 1999-2000 as senior coach of St Kilda. After overseeing 10th and 16th place finishes, however, the 2001 season saw him resuming his media activities. Watson was chosen as a ruck-rover in Essendon's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'. |
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| Keith
Watt was handed his league debut by Subiaco
midway through the 1970 season and immediately stamped himself as a
footballer of abundant promise. Boasting lightning reflexes, immense
drive and determination, and copious all round skills, there seemed little
reason to doubt that the Lions had unearthed a future champion.
Ultimately, however, although he ended up playing state football, winning
a club fairest and best award, and contributing to a premiership, it was
hard not to draw the conclusion that he under-achieved. When he
retired from the game in 1978 at the age of just twenty-three he had
played a mere 71 games. Football, to Keith Watt, had never been
anything more than a game, or a pleasing diversion, and one presumes he
had little or no interest in buying into the football-as-business ethos
that emerged during the 1970s.
During the early part of his career there was arguably no better rover in the WANFL than Watt, who had the rare ability to blow a game wide open in a few minutes of dazzling, blistering skill. He was equally capable of blowing ice cold, however, a case in point being the 1972 season which saw him produce several displays of real genius interspersed with others that were so lack lustre that he ended up spending almost half the year in the reserves. The crowning achievement of Watt's career was his form in the 1973 finals series, particularly the preliminary final and grand final. In the former he was an almost universal choice as best afield as he contributed 3 goals to the Lions' 10 point defeat of East Perth; on grand final day he was even more damaging near goal, bagging 4 goals, and equally inspirational around the ground as Subi downed West Perth to claim their first flag in almost half a century. Watt's form continued good in 1974, but after that he seemed to lose his way, or perhaps his interest, and was never quite the same player again. He actually first announced his retirement in 1976, but was coaxed back for a final 9 games two seasons later. |
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Ricky Watt (Collingwood, Coburg, Penguin, East Devonport)
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| Although his achievements were by no means negligible, Ricky Watt's senior career with Collingwood was, to a considerable extent, a story of what might have been. He commenced with the Magpies in 1963 while still aged just sixteen, and immediately impressed as a tall, pacy, confident all rounder who shaped as a champion full forward of the future. Unfortunately, a series of severe injuries put paid to his entire 1965 season, and although he made a comeback he always faced an uphill struggle to maintain the high standards he had set himself. For a time during the 1969 season he looked as though he might be putting the worst of his troubles behind him and, after being chosen to represent the VFL, he performed brilliantly at the the Adelaide carnival, from which he went away with an All Australian blazer. Injury woes resurfaced in 1970, however, and his last game in a Collingwood jumper proved to be the 1970 losing grand final against Carlton (reviewed here) when he was named as nineteenth man. After missing the entire 1971 season he resumed briefly with Coburg in the VFA in 1972, and then spent the ensuing season captain-coaching NWFU side Penguin. Watt then moved to East Devonport, under the coaching of Graeme Lee, where in 1975 he was successful in winning both a Wander Medal and his club's best and fairest award. |
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Rowland Watt (Essendon Association & Essendon)
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| Originally from Rochester, Rowland Watt spent the 1921 season with Essendon Association, which proved to be the club's last. In 1922 he crossed to Essendon in the VFL where he would become a member of the club's famed 'Mosquito Fleet' which formed the nucleus of the 1923 and 1924 premiership-winning combinations. In the 1923 challenge final win over Fitzroy he was one of the Dons' best as a wingman; he also played many fine games both as a half forward flanker and a rover. Despite standing only 163cm in height he was renowned as much for his aerial prowess as his ground skills, and he was also a fine kick. When he retired in 1931 he had played a total of 140 VFL games and kicked 41 goals and had played in the 1924 premiership side as well as that of 1923. Rowland Watt's younger brother Rod also played briefly with Essendon, and later for Coburg in the VFA. |
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Roy Watterston (Newtown, Queanbeyan-Acton, Acton, Eastlake)
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| Originally
from the Perth district of Subiaco, Roy Watterston did not commence his
senior football career until he was discharged from the army in 1946, by
which time he was aged twenty-three. On leaving the army he decided
to settle in Sydney, and for six of the ensuing seven seasons he lined up
for a Newtown side that had just won a
premiership, and would go on to win the next five in succession as
well. Watterston was a member of the club's 1946-7-8 and 1950
flag-winning combinations, but in 1949 he captain-coached Griffin in the
Riverina. A regular New South Wales representative player, he
captained the state at the 1950
Brisbane carnival.
The 1952 season saw Watterston join the recently formed Queanbeyan-Acton Combine in the CANFL, and after being appointed captain-coach the following season he was immediately successful in steering the side to a premiership. In 1954 he repeated the dose but the next year, Watterston's last as captain-coach, the Combine lost a hard fought grand final to Manuka. The 1956 season brought another flag with Watterston continuing as a player under new coach Lindsay White. According to 'The Canberra Times', Roy Watterston was "the best post-war player to have appeared in Canberra". Despite standing just 185cm in height he played for most of his career as a knock ruckman, exhibiting a combination of great strength, fluidity of movement, tremendous kicking ability, and aerial prowess of the highest order. He played in every Canberra representative side between 1952 and 1957, won Mulrooney Medals in 1953 and 1954, making him the first dual winner of the award, and was voted the Combine's best and fairest player in 1953 and 1955. When the Combine was dismantled in 1957 Watterston continued his CANFL career with Acton before crossing to Eastlake in 1958 where he spent the final three seasons of his senior career. In 1961 he captain-coached Eastlake's reserves to a flag. |
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Albert Watts (Midland Junction & Perth)
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| Albert Watts was a sure-footed, reliable defender with a natural penchant for leadership. He commenced his league career at Midland Junction, where he played a total of 22 senior games between 1914 and 1917. He then moved to Perth, where he added a further 144 league appearances between 1919 and 1929, serving as captain in his final four seasons. Between 1927 and 1929 he also coached the side. The 1920s was an extremely bleak decade for the Redlegs, however, and only once, in 1920, did they even contest the finals. The fact that Watts was scarcely to blame for this under-achievement was emphasised in 1926 and 1927 when he skippered the Western Australian state team to six wins from eight matches, including two victories in three games against the VFL. |
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John Watts (East Perth, Geelong, Hobart)
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| John
Watts was a solidly built and robust defender and occasional ruckman who
added a certain energetic toughness to East Perth's
ultra-talented 1950s and early 1960s combinations. He was at full
back when the Royals won flags in 1956 and 1958-9, and while less
conspicuous than the likes of Farmer,
Kilmurray and Sheedy was
arguably an equally important contributor to the wins.
Between 1954 and 1962 Watts played 166 league games. He also represented Western Australia on a dozen occasions. In 1963 he joined former East Perth team mate 'Polly' Farmer at Geelong, and his resolute style represented a critical addition to the mix in terms of the club's premiership credentials. Watts was a key contributor from a back pocket as the Cats won that season's grand final against Hawthorn, the team widely regarded as the toughest in the VFL. John Watts spent three seasons with Geelong, playing a total of 52 VFL games, before captain-coaching TANFL side Hobart between 1966 and 1968. In his first season with the Tigers he steered them to a nerve-jangling 1 point grand final win over Glenorchy. He was a key player throughout that years finals series, with his performances epitomised by some noteworthy fingertip marks in defence, and prodigious clearing kicks. Watts played a total of 55 senior games while with Hobart, comprising 53 for his club, and two intrastate representative games for the TANFL. In 1966, he was selected in Tasmania's squad for the Hobart carnival, but was forced to withdraw owing to injury. |
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Neville Way (Boulder-City, St Kilda, Norwood)
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| After playing with Goldfields league side Boulder City in 1940 and 1941 Neville Way played 8 VFL games for St Kilda while stationed in Melbourne in 1942. However, he made his name as a follower/forward for Norwood where he played 87 games (including several for the Norwood-North Adelaide combined wartime team) between 1944 and 1950. One of his finest performances came in South Australia's 52 point interstate victory over the VFL in 1945, to which he contributed 7 goals. Way twice topped Norwood's goal kicking, and was a joint runner-up in the 1947 Magarey Medal, albeit that he finished 11 votes adrift in the voting behind the winner, Bob Hank of West Torrens. Way's 9 interstate games for South Australia saw him bag a total of 19 goals. |
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Hendrick Waye (Sturt)
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| Renowned almost as much for his weekly sixty mile round trip by buggy from Willunga to Adelaide to play for the Double Blues as for his formidable rucking talent, 'Taffy' Waye won the 1903 Magarey Medal. Many of his best performances came while representing South Australia in the interstate arena, which he did on 8 occasions. A sound mark, and dangerous near goal, Waye was Sturt's top, or joint top, goalkicker on five occasions. He played a total of 71 league games for the club between 1903 and 1910 having commenced his senior football with his home town club, Willunga. |
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Tom Waye (Port Adelaide & Footscray)
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| A tough, resolute big man who seemed to produce his best football when the chips were down, Tom Waye commenced his league career with Port Adelaide in 1929, and played 54 senior games for the club in three seasons. Playing as a follower, he was one of South Australia's best players during the 1930 Adelaide carnival, piquing the interest of several VFL clubs as a result. In 1932 he transferred to Footscray along with his Magpie team mate Les Dayman, and he went on to give the club four seasons of useful service, during which he played 53 games and booted 43 goals. Both tallies would have been considerably higher had he not been sidelined so often with injury. |
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| Richard Wearmouth joined Footscray from Rupanyup, and made his VFL debut as an eighteen year old in 1944. Unable to play in 1945 because of military duties, he resumed with the club in 1946, and for the next seven seasons, playing mainly as a wingman, he was a key member of the side. He boasted considerable pace and flair, and almost always used the ball impeccably. When he retired in 1952 he had played precisely 100 VFL games, and kicked 27 goals. His son, Ronnie Wearmouth, later played VFL football with Collingwood. |
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Ronald Wearmouth (Collingwood)
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| After displaying somewhat erratic form early in his league career with Collingwood, Ronnie Wearmouth developed into a fine rover, who excelled at many of the less glamorous aspects of the game, besides being an excellent crumber. As the son of former Footscray player Richard Wearmouth he might have been expected to line up with the Bulldogs, but Magpie vice president Jim Crowe enticed him to Victoria Park. He made his VFL debut in 1969, but did not become a regular in the senior side until the mid-seventies. Pacy, energetic and deceptively robust, he was first rover in three Collingwood losing grand final sides, and represented the VFL against the ACT in 1978. He retired in 1981 after 186 senior games, during which he kicked 127 goals. |
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| George Weatherill joined Richmond in 1919 and went on to play 53 VFL games and kick 5 goals over the ensuing five seasons. Most of his football was played in the backlines. In 1921 he was an ever present in the Tigers' victorious finals teams against Geelong in a semi final, and Carlton in both the final and challenge final (matches reviewed here). |
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Robert Weatherill (Richmond, Coburg, Prahran)
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| Bob Weatherill was a talented and versatile footballer who played 72 VFL games and kicked 44 goals for Richmond between 1917 and 1923. Strong overhead and a fine kick, he was at centre half forward in the club's challenge final victories over Collingwood in 1920 and Carlton in 1921 (match reviewed here). When Coburg crossed from the VFL seconds to the VFA in 1925, Bob Weatherill was appointed as the club's captain-coach, and oversaw a promising debut season which produced 10 wins from 14 matches and finals qualification. Coburg officials would have liked to retain his services in 1926, but because he ran a business based in Prahran, Weatherill requested a transfer to the Two Blues, which was reluctantly granted. While with Prahran, he played under the coaching of former Richmond team mate Frank Harley. |
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Athol Webb (Scottsdale, Melbourne, New Norfolk, East Launceston, Western Suburbs)
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| Dynamic, elusive and skilful, Athol Webb was one of the finest crumbing forwards of the 1950s. He commenced his senior career with Scottsdale, whose best and fairest trophy he won in 1953. In 1955 he was recruited by Melbourne where, after a slow start, he developed into an important member of the side. His 146 VFL goals included 5 in the grand final win over Collingwood in 1956, and 3 in the following year's defeat of Essendon. He also played against Collingwood in the losing grand final of 1958. Coach Norm Smith would typically use Webb as a decoy full forward, with a bigger, strong marking player such as Bob Johnson alongside him in a forward pocket. He topped the Demons' goal kicking list in 1956, with 56 goals, and in 1957 (jointly with Ron Barassi) with 44. Returning to Tasmania in 1960, Webb initially played with and captain-coached New Norfolk (1960-61), before rounding off the Tasmanian phase of his career in a similar role at East Launceston (1962-3), where he hit the headlines after sustaining a serious back injury during the 1963 season. He later moved to Sydney, where he coached Western Suburbs. Athol Webb had earlier played interstate football for Tasmania against the Australian Amateurs in 1954, and in the famous win against the VFL in 1960 (reviewed here), as well as for the VFL against his home state in 1957. |
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Lindsay Webb (East Devonport & Devonport)
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| With
the probable exception of Darrel
Baldock, East Devonport has been home
to no more colourful, dynamic and noteworthy footballer than Lindsay
Douglas Webb, who played in the region of 250 senior games with the club
over the course of four separate stints. The most significant and
longest of those stints came during the first decade after World War Two,
commencing in 1946 when he was a member of the club's 12.13 (85) to 10.19
(79) grand final defeat of Burnie. In 1947,
Webb was a member of Tasmania's Hobart
carnival team, and the following year, as East Devonport's
vice-captain, he helped the club procure another premiership.
A vibrant and sometimes volatile character, controversy was seldom far from Webb, and during the 1951 season it erupted in full force during a match between East Devonport and Burnie when he was reported for allegedly striking field umpire Lloyd Digney. Found guilty, Webb not surprisingly was sentenced to a lifetime ban, but twelve months later this was surprisingly reduced to just two years. Webb, who had been coaching East when suspended in 1951, returned as a player during the 1953 season, and then took over as coach once more in 1954, a season which saw him chosen to represent Tasmania against the Australian Amateurs. The following year he was responsible for handing a senior debut to a fresh-faced sixteen year old youngster known as Darrel Baldock. At the time, however, Webb was still the Swans pre-eminent football personality, having just won his third club best and fairest award. In 1956 he crossed to Devonport where his season was highlighted with selection in Tasmania's side for the Perth carnival. The 1957 season saw him back at East Devonport where he played on for three more years before announcing his 'retirement'. However, he could not resist the lure of league football, and returned twice more, in 1964 and 1966, before hanging up his boots for good. Runner-up in the Wander Medal on two occasions, Webb also won the Alstergren Trophy, awarded to the NWFU's best player in each year's intrastate competition, in 1953. One imagines he would be an almost certain inclusion if East Devonport were ever to announce either an official club 'Team of the Century' or 'all time best' combination. |
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| A busily effective rover or forward, Reynolds We |
