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[Sean Wight] [Len Wigraft] [Frank 'Scotty' Wildy] [Robert Wiley] [Rod Willet] [Colin Williams] [Craig Williams] [Don Williams] [Foster Williams] [Fred Williams] [Frederick Williams] [Geoff Williams] [Greg Williams] [John Williams] [Mark Williams] [Paul Williams] [Roy Williams] [Thomas Williams] [Tom Williams] [William Williams] [Jack Williamson] [Walter Williamson] [John Willis] [William 'Tiny' Willis] [Tom Wills] [Andrew Wilson] [Brian Wilson] [Colin Wilson] [Ernest Wilson] [Garry 'Flea' Wilson] [James Wilson] [Percy Wilson] [Peter Wilson] [Ray Wilson] [Tom Wilson] [Wilbur Wilson] [William Wilson] [Fred Wimbridge] [William Windley] [Gary Window] ['Nicky' Winmar] [John Winneke] [Bruce Winter] [Stan Wittman] [Roy Witzerman] [Peter Woite] [Arthur Wood] [Bryan Wood] [William Wood] [Herbert Woodcock] [Roger Woodcock] [Allan Woodley] [Tom Woodroofe] [Dave Woods] [Ike Woods] [Michael Woods] [Jack Woollard] [Fred Wooller] [Jack Worrall] [John Worsfold] [Kevin Worthington] [Brian Wright] [Jack Wright] [Jim Wright] [Roy Wright] [Jack Wrout] [Alby Wundersitz] [Eddie Wylde] [Scott Wynd] [Tony Wynd] [John Wynne] [Tony Yaksich] [Percy Youlden] [Gary Young] [George Young] [Henry 'Tracker' Young] [Maurie Young] [William Young] [Colin Youren] [Mark Zanotti] [Shane Zantuck] [Reg Zeuner] [Denis Zeunert] [Murray Zeuschner] [Eric Zschech] [Lloyd Zucker] [Noel Zunneberg]
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| Sean
Wight was born in Glasgow, moved with his family to Ireland, and was the
first Gaelic footballer to be brought to Australia by Melbourne's
Barry Richardson and Ron
Barassi as part of that club's 'Irish experiment' of the early 1980s.
Although it would be Dubliner Jim Stynes who would garner most of the accolades Sean Wight's career in Australian football was also highly commendable. In 150 games with Melbourne between 1985 and 1995, mainly as a defender, Wight established a reputation for the spectacular and the unexpected. Because he had not been brought up within the traditions of Australian football he frequently performed actions which appeared idiosyncratic: for instance, he often spoiled opponents' attempts to mark by coming in from the side, tapping the ball back over his head rather than forwards. While it would probably be fair to say that Wight's spectacular marking ability was the most memorable feature of his game, he was also a stern, resolute defender who rarely conceded an easy possession. And Wight's own evaluation of his stint in the game? "If I had played any other sport, my body would have been a lot better, but this has been a lot of fun," he told Glen Quartermain during his final season. "This is one of the best games in the world." (See footnote 1) |
Footnotes1. From 'Wight Hits His Stride' by Glen Quartermain, in 'Sports Weekly', 3 May 1995, page 23. Return to Main Text |
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Len Wigraft (Preston & Fitzroy)
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| After
playing briefly with Preston prior to
World War One, Len Wigraft was one of several players lost to the club in
1917, a year before the VFA competition resumed. Most of the
departees went to the VFL, with Fitzroy
easily the most popular destination, and that was where Wigraft ended
up. Big and somewhat ungainly looking, he belied his appearance with
an astute football brain that enabled him to out-maneuvre stronger,
heavier opponents. Most often used as a follower, he was also a
useful forward option. He was among the Roys' best players in the
1922 grand final win over Collingwood, and
again showed to good effect in a losing side against Essendon
the following year. A regular 'Big V' representative, Wigraft was
the sort of footballer who was more appreciated by coaches and fellow players
than by supporters, in that much of his best work was surreptitious or unglamorous.
His three club best and fairest awards in 1920, 1924 and 1925 afford
eloquent testimony to just how highly he was thought of within the
club.
Len Wigraft captained Fitzroy in 1927, his last league season, before retiring after 135 VFL games. Two games into the 1934 season he returned to the club to replace Jack Cashman as coach, Cashman having walked out on the club in acrimonious circumstances. However, he was unable to motivate his charges to rise above 8th place on the ladder. |
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Frank 'Scotty' Wildy (West Perth & Subiaco)
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| 'Scotty' Wildy was a prominent player for West Perth between 1898 and 1904 during which time he was a member of two premiership teams. In 1905 he was recruited by Subiaco as captain-coach, but endured a frustrating time as the club battled to come to terms with its comparatively recent elevation to the top level of Western Australian football. Nevertheless, he managed to instill some measure of professionalism - in terms of outlook and attitude rather than pursuit of financial rewards - into his players, and this presumably must have contributed in some measure towards the club's subsequent emergence as a power. |
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Robert Wiley (Perth, Richmond, West Coast)
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| Possessing
great pace, and a first rate reader of the play, lightly built and wispy
haired Robert Wiley was one of a long line of champion rovers to emerge in
the west. Successor to Barry
Cable in the Perth team, he stepped into his
illustrious predecessor's shoes with enormous panache and aplomb:
He was confident as he was skilful, a player of immense class and ability. He stood out against almost every opponent he played against in both Western Australia and Victoria in a career that spanned fifteen seasons between 1974 and 1988. Wiley remains the last of Perth's great rovers ...... (See footnote 1) A key member of the Demons' 1976 and 1977 premiership teams, Wiley won fairest and best awards in each of his first five seasons with the club. In 1979 he moved to Victoria where he joined Richmond, and after an injury interrupted debut season he emerged as one of the finest rovers in the VFL. Wiley played 95 games for the Tigers and was an important contributor to the club's 1980 grand final win over Collingwood. He was also, somewhat perversely, twice selected to represent Victoria in so-called 'state of origin' games. In 1984, he returned home to Perth, and promptly picked up where he had left off by claiming fairest and best awards in 1984-85-86 to establish a new club record of eight wins in all, one more than both Barry Cable and Merv McIntosh managed. The 1986 season saw him selected as an All Australian after helping Western Australia to the national title. When West Coast arrived on the scene the following year they had little hesitation in procuring the thirty-two year old to add some much needed experience to their youthful squad. Wiley did not let the Eagles down, adding 18 creditable VFL games to his tally before electing to see out the remainder of his career with Perth. After one last season with the Demons - a season which, uniquely, did not produce a fairest and best award - Robert Wiley decided to hang up his boots. It is doubtful if West Australian football has seen his like since. Rob Wiley was senior coach at Perth in 1988 and 1989, steering the side to 5th and 7th places respectively. |
Footnotes1. Football Greats of Western Australia Volume One by Anthony James, page 69. Return to Main Text |
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Rod Willet (Morningside & Subiaco)
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| After
commencing his league career with Morningside,
for whom he played in the losing grand finals of 1982 and 1983, Rod Willet
was recruited by Subiaco in 1984. His
arrival at the Lions coincided with that of 'the little master', Haydn
Bunton junior, under whose orchestration the club would finally
re-emerge as a force after more than a decade in the doldrums. Rod
Willet's contribution to that resurgence was considerable. Playing
initially on a half back flank, the position he had occupied for much of
his two year period in Queensland football, Willet rapidly developed into
a solid and unflappable defender who refused to be intimidated (see
footnote 1). Willet held down the half back flank position with
considerable confidence and assurance when Subiaco finally returned to the WAFL winners'
rostrum in 1986 with a 69 point grand final thumping of East
Fremantle. Two years later he was at full back, the position he
would go on to make his own for a time, in the Lions' equally emphatic
grand final victory over Claremont.
Like good wine, Rod Willet seemed to improve with age. As his career developed, he demonstrated tremendous versatility, being equally at home in a key attacking position as in the backlines. In 1992 he topped Subiaco's goal kicking list (with 43 goals), and the following year he was the recipient of the club's fairest and best award. He had also captained the Lions in 1992. Rod Willet retired after the 1994 season with 188 WAFL games to his credit, having also represented his home state of Queensland at state of origin level, and his adopted state of Western Australia in inter-league state football. |
Footnotes1. See, for example, Diehards 1946-2000: the Story of the Subiaco Football Club, page 218, for Willet's own account of his initial confrontation with the 'bad boy' of WA football in the early '80s, Gary Sidebottom. Return to Main Text |
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| Colin Williams began his league career at Subiaco as a follower before developing into a top class defender. He was at full back in the club's 1973 grand final victory over West Perth. Resolute, determined, and extremely dependable, he represented Western Australia against South Australia in 1970, and played 252 WANFL games for Subi between 1963 and 1976. |
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Craig Williams (Prahran, St Kilda, West Adelaide)
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| Craig
Williams began his senior career with Prahran.
While there, he was selected to represent the VFA against the Ovens and
Murray League in 1975. The 1977 season saw him at St
Kilda, but he managed just 8 VFL games, before spending a couple of
years playing reserves football with Fitzroy.
Something of a 'jack of all trades', Williams only really began to hit his straps after he joined West Adelaide in 1980. In ten seasons with the Bloods he played 160 SANFL games, kicking 50 goals. His best season was 1983, when he helped the club to a long overdue premiership courtesy of a 34 point grand final defeat of Sturt. Earlier that year he had achieved All Australian selection after two excellent performances at full back for South Australia against Victoria at Football Park and Western Australia in Perth; he was the seventh and last West Adelaide player to be so honoured. Williams' biggest asset was his formidable leaping ability which he used to good effect both in the ruck and in key positions. |
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Don Williams (Melbourne & West Perth)
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| Originally
from Elsternwick Amateurs, Don Williams commenced his league career with Melbourne
in 1953, just as the club was beginning to re-emerge as a force. A
brilliant half back flanker, he played in the Demons' 1955-6-7 premiership
teams, as well as the losing side of 1958, but was dropped to the bench
for the 1959 grand final, a decision which infuriated him. As a
result, he decided to seek pastures new, and the 1960 season found him at West
Perth, just in time to contribute to the Cardinals' first premiership
win in almost a decade.
In 1961, Don Williams had the satisfaction of being chosen in Western Australia's triumphant Brisbane carnival team, and of putting one over his erstwhile Victorian colleagues in the process. He carried on at West Perth in 1962, but the following year he returned home to Victoria after accepting a coaching role at country side Sale. Still aged only twenty-eight, however, he was keen to prove himself at the top level once more, and in 1964 he resumed at Melbourne for whom, playing in the centre, he was one of the best players afield in a nail-biting 4 point grand final win over arch rivals Collingwood. Over the course of his last five seasons Don Williams played some of the finest football of his career. Selection for the VFL in 1965 brought his total number of interstate appearances to 11 - 8 with his home state, and 3 with Western Australia. When, in 2000, Melbourne announced its official 'Team of the Century', Don Williams was chosen on a half back flank. |
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Foster Williams (West Adelaide, Port Adelaide, South Adelaide)
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| The
quintessential, hard running, tenacious rover, Foster Neil Williams
"led from the front. His socks down, courageous, terrier-like
style made him a near automatic choice as no. 1 rover in state teams for
ten years. He gave total commitment in every game he played, but
always seemed to find something extra for the big games. He was
rarely out of the best player list in interstate and finals matches"
(see footnote 1).
In hindsight, Port Adelaide's achievement in prising this champion away from West Adelaide, where he had played 54 games between 1946 and 1949, has to rank as one of the 'steals' of the century. Perhaps more than any other single individual, Fos Williams was responsible for catapulting South Australian football out of its predominantly casual, laissez faire mentality into the same kind of professional, brutally expedient, 'win at all costs' mindset as prevailed across the border in Victoria. Fos Williams' champion Port Adelaide sides of the 1950s and '60s were seldom pretty to watch, but they won, and that, when all is said and done, is the central aim of football. Most discussions as to the greatest coach in the history of South Australian football centre on two men: Fos Williams and Jack Oatey (although John Cahill also has his advocates). Both were supremely successful (Oatey ten premierships, Williams nine); both knew their own minds; both were enormously influential - Oatey in his advocacy of skill, Williams in the way he imbued his teams with Victorian style tenacity and fanaticism. (This is not, of course, to suggest that skill, tenacity and fanaticism had hitherto been unknown in South Australian football, but merely to acknowledge Oatey's and Williams' feats in elevating these attributes to previously unprecedented heights.) Where Williams arguably scores over his great adversary is in the interstate sphere, particularly in matches against Victoria. South Australia had beaten the Vics on many occasions in the past, of course, and included in those victories were the only four occasions in history that the 'Big V' had succumbed to interstate opposition on home turf. However, under Williams South Australia's performances against Victoria reached a consistently higher plane, including record-breaking wins at home in 1960 and 1965, and a historic triumph on the MCG in 1963. Williams also masterminded two triumphs against Western Australia in Perth where South Australia historically had never enjoyed much success. At club level all of Fos Williams major achievements came during twenty-one seasons (in two separate stints) in charge of Port Adelaide. Again, the premierships and grand final appearances tell only part of the story: Williams' most significant achievements were, in the strict sense, unquantifiable, revolving as they did around the nurturing and honing of what might be termed 'the Alberton culture', a culture which Williams himself was responsible for defining perhaps more lucidly than anyone else: The Creed of the Port Adelaide Football Club We the players and management of the Port Adelaide Football Club accept the heritage which players and administrators have passed down to us; in so doing we do not intend to rest in idleness but shall strive with all our power to further this club's unexcelled achievements. To do this we believe there is great merit and noble achievements in winning a premiership. To be successful, each of us must be active, aggressive and devoted to this cause. We agree that success is well within our reach and have confidence that each member of both the team and management will suffer personal sacrifices for the common end. Also we know that should we, after striving to our utmost and giving our everything, still not be successful, our efforts will become a further part of this club's enviable tradition. Any team which faithfully adhered to the above philosophy would be certain to perform to its optimum. Any team coached by Foster Neil Williams would have no choice but to conform to the above philosophy to the letter. |
Footnotes1. Merv Agars, quoted in Dynasty by Fos Williams and Michaelangelo Rucci, page 35. Return to Main Text |
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Fred Williams (Fitzroy & Carlton)
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| Fred Williams was a small but gifted wingman who was a key member of Fitzroy's strong teams of the early 1920s, and beyond. He arrived at the Maroons from Bacchus Marsh Football League side Melton and made his VFL debut in 1920. Two years later he was in his favoured position on the wing as Fitzroy won its first flag in nine years by overcoming Collingwood in the challenge final by 11 points. Wilson made his interstate debut for the VFL in 1923 in a 47 point loss to South Australia. He also later represented the VFL's B side. Far and away the greatest disappointment of his career must have been missing the Roys' 1923 challenge final clash with Essendon owing to injury. Wilson had been in superb touch all year, and and his energy, pace and incisiveness were badly missed as the Same Old's famed 'mosquito fleet' took control of the game after half time to see Essendon home by 17 points. In 1929, after 106 VFL games and 18 goals for Fitzroy, Fred Williams crossed to Carlton where, over the ensuing four seasons, he added a final 46 games and 6 goals. |
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| Fred Williams was one of many gifted West Australian footballers to suffer the misfortune of having his career interrupted by World War Two. As it was, he played 129 WANFL games for Subiaco between 1939 and 1941, and from 1945 to 1950. Widely regarded as the Maroons' finest player during the mid to late 1940s, he won the club's fairest and best trophy in 1946, and topped its goal kicking list, with 22 goals, the same year. Subi captain between 1946 and 1949, he combined this role with that of coach during the middle two years. Williams was equally effective either as a centreman or across half forward, and was even used at the goal front on occasion. He played 4 interstate games for Western Australia. |
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Geoff Williams (Geelong & Yarraville)
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| Despite not being the most stylish footballer of his time, Geoff Williams was seldom less than effective thanks to his wholehearted determination, tremendous pace, and great judgement. He played 121 VFL games for Geelong between 1952 and 1959, mainly on a half back flank, winning the club's best and fairest award in his debut season, a year that also yielded a premiership. Williams won a second best and fairest award in 1955. Once his VFL career was over he joined VFA side Yarraville. |
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Greg Williams (Geelong, Sydney, Carlton)
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| Like
Laurie
Nash before him, Greg Williams was never shy when it came to boasting
of his own ability. He also shared another Nash propensity - for
honesty.
Often criticised for being slow, Williams showed that a player did not have to be endowed with phenomenal pace in order to wreak havoc among opposing backlines. Given that the football, when either handballed or kicked, tends to move appreciably faster than even the sprightliest players are able to run, Williams' unequalled disposal skills with both hand and foot made him, when playing at his peak, almost uncontainable. Of course, he had to get the football first, before he could use it, and this he was pre-eminently and repeatedly able to do owing to that marvellous, untutored sense of anticipation which all champion players possess, and which Williams himself possessed in unparalleled abundance. The Greg Williams career fits neatly into three stages. Between 1984 and 1985 he played for Geelong, winning the Cats' best and fairest award in the latter year whilst simultaneously displaying a nascent ability to catch the umpire's eye with 15 Brownlow votes. In six seasons in the Harbour City with the Swans he truly came of age. The compact Sydney Cricket Ground suited his style and he quickly established a reputation as the game's most prolific and effective exponent of handball, and indeed arguably its most renowned (in the sense of being 'identified' with the skill) practitioner since 'Polly' Farmer. In 1986, he tied for the Brownlow Medal with Hawthorn's Robert Dipierdomenico. The final phase of Williams' career saw him at Carlton where he won a second Brownlow in 1994. Then, in 1995, he achieved his last major remaining ambition of playing in a premiership side. His selection as Norm Smith Medallist after the Blues' demolition of his original club Geelong was the quintessential 'icing on the cake' of a stellar career. |
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| Geelong recruited Jack Williams locally from Geelong West, and threw him into the mix for the opening match of the 1925 season at home to North Melbourne. Boasting plenty of pace, good ball handling skills and a healthy dose of venom in his approach, he impressed from the start, and at the end of his debut season had the satisfaction of lining up on a wing in the Cats' first ever VFL premiership-winning combination. Williams also later played in the 1931 flag-winning side. A VFL representative on one occasion, he was seldom flashy but almost invariably effective in everything he did. Equally at home on a wing or across half back, he had played a total of 175 VFL games and kicked 9 goals by the time he retired after the losing preliminary final of 1934 against South Melbourne. |
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John Williams (Essendon, Collingwood, Brunswick)
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| The epitome of the sort of dour, unspectacular but highly effective VFL defender who proliferated during the 1960s and early '70s, John Williams played 162 games for Essendon between 1965 and 1973. He was at his peak during the early 1970s, earning state selection in 1970 and 1972, finishing 2nd in the club best and fairest voting in 1971, running 3rd in the Brownlow in 1972, and earning All Australian selection after the Perth carnival that same year. In 1974 he crossed to Collingwood under the short-lived ten year rule, but knee problems limited his effectiveness. After 32 games for the 'Woods he transferred to Brunswick in 1977, where he ended his career. |
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Mark Williams (West Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Collingwood, Brisbane)
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| Prior
to his accomplishments as coach of Port
Adelaide in the AFL Mark Williams enjoyed a rich and varied career as
a player with four different clubs. He began at West
Adelaide under the coaching of his father Fos
in 1976. After 66 games there he made the perhaps inevitable
transfer to Port Adelaide in time to star in the centre in the club's 31
point defeat of South Adelaide in the
1979 SANFL grand final. In the following season's premiership
decider Williams was similarly impressive, again in the pivot, in
assisting the Magpies to a hard fought 18 point victory over Norwood.
Scarcely what you would call elegant in his approach, with one of the most ungainly kicking styles imaginable, Mark Williams pre-eminently demonstrated that such factors count for nothing when it comes to playing effective, match-winning football. The 1981 season saw Williams on the move to Collingwood, where he was an immediate success, helping the club reach a grand final, representing Victoria, and winning the first of two Copeland Trophies for Collingwood best and fairest. In all, he played a total of 135 games in six seasons with the Victorian Magpies, captaining them from 1983-6. An unfortunate contract dispute at the end of the 1986 season saw Williams reluctantly make the move north to join the fledgling Brisbane Bears, but any initial uncertainty soon dissolved as he put in a series of high quality, influential performances for the newcomers. Midway through the 1990 season, after 66 games for the Bears, and 201 in all in the VFL, Mark Williams 'retired' - or, at least, that was how the Melbourne media described it. In actual fact, he had returned home to help Port Adelaide to another premiership, a feat which was repeated two years later, following which Williams genuinely did retire. Having served a coaching apprenticeship with Glenelg (the team against which he had contributed to two premiership wins as a player) and as assistant to, first, Kevin Sheedy at Essendon, and then John Cahill at Port Adelaide, Mark Williams took on the Port Adelaide senior job full time in 1999, and in September 2004 piloted the club to its first ever AFL premiership. As a result of this, and his numerous other accomplishments, a prominent place in football's roll of honour seems assured. |
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Paul Williams (North Hobart, Collingwood, Sydney)
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| Paul Williams, who retired as a player
at the end of the 2006 season, enjoyed a fine career with three clubs,
highlighted by involvement in an AFL premiership with Sydney
in 2005. When the Swans beat West Coast in that year's grand final,
Williams was playing his 294th senior AFL game, making him the longest
serving player ever to break through for a debut flag.
Originally from North Hobart, Williams impressed as a dynamic, long kicking centreline player and on-baller who was capable of turning a match off his own boot. He was recruited by Collingwood and made his AFL debut as an eighteen year old in 1991. In ten seasons with the Magpies, he played a total of 189 games and kicked 223 goals, and at his best was widely acknowledged as one of the finest running players in the game, with his ability to kick prodigious distances while moving at full pelt being arguably the most distinctive feature of his play. After being badly hampered by ankle problems during the mid-nineties he recovered to play some of his best football towards the end of the decade, although at the same time it emerged that he was becoming unsettled with life at Victoria Park. In 2001 he crossed to Sydney where his impact was immediate and considerable; he won consecutive club best and fairest awards in 2001-2 and in 2003 was included in the AFL All Australian team. However, far and away his most noteworthy achievement was participation in the aforementioned 2005 premiership team. After kicking 2 vital goals in the preliminary final win over St Kilda, Williams produced a typically effervescent, hard running performance on grand final day to amass 18 telling disposals and prove a constant thorn in the side of the opposition. Paul Williams went on to play a dozen games in his final season to take his tally at retirement to 306; he booted 307 goals. |
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Roy Williams (Queanbeyan & Queanbeyan-Acton)
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| A
tough, tenacious back man, the late Roy Williams was the youngest of five
brothers to play senior football, much of it with the highly successful
Queanbeyan-Acton 'combine' which existed from 1952 to 1956. Among
his 143 senior CANFL appearances were the grand final wins of 1953, 1954
and 1956, the last of which was as part of an undefeated 'championship'
team. A regular representative player, one of the highlights of
Williams' career was his selection in the Canberra team which
participated, not altogether unsuccessfully, in the 1958 centenary
carnival in Melbourne.
Williams spent the 1952 season with VFL club Collingwood but, despite impressing as "a skilled aggressive performer" (see footnote 1), was unable to force his way into the Magpies' formidably strong senior line up. Had he remained at Victoria Park, who knows what he might have achieved, but playing in Melbourne had not yet become the be all and end all of every talented footballers' aspirations, and Williams returned home to Queanbeyan, one presumes, with few regrets. In any case, he continued to play superb football, winning the combine's best and fairest award in 1954, and continuing to perform with distinction for the 'post-divorce' Queanbeyan until 1959. In common with his brothers, Roy Williams was also a talented rugby league player and represented the Queanbeyan Blues for several seasons. In 1999, he was selected as a member of the official 'ACT Legends' team. |
Footnotes1. Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright: Queanbeyan Australian Football Club History 1925-1988 by Ron Fowlie, page 137. Return to Main Text |
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| Fitzroy's Tom Williams was a highly capable all round footballer who particularly excelled when playing as a half back flanker, in which position he played 3 interstate matches for the VFL. He commenced his VFL career with the Roys in 1928 and went on to spend ten years at the club, playing a total of 136 games and kicking 41 goals. |
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| Like his illustrious namesake Foster Williams, to whom he was no relation, Tommy Williams was a gusty and dynamic rover in the traditional Port Adelaide mould. He played 108 SANFL games and kicked 119 goals for the club between 1955 and 1960, and was a member of premiership teams in 1955-6-7-8-9. Many observers considered him unfortunate never to gain interstate selection for South Australia. |
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William Williams (South Melbourne & Williamstown)
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| Billy Williams was a pacy and talented rover noted for his goal kicking exploits when resting in a forward pocket. Extremely elusive and tricky, he boasted tremendous stamina, and rarely put in a poor performance. He played in a losing grand final in his debut season and was South Melbourne's best and fairest award winner three times and its top goal kicker twice. A regular 'Big V' representative, he played a total of 124 VFL games and kicked 180 goals between 1945 and 1951. In 1952 Williams was appointed captain-coach of Williamstown and steered the side to 10th (of 14) and 2nd place finishes in his two seasons at the helm. |
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Jack Williamson (Eastern Suburbs)
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| Originally from Victoria, Jack Williamson moved to New South Wales with his family while still a youngster. After playing junior football in Leeton, he moved to Sydney where, between 1932 and 1941, he fronted up with Eastern Suburbs during what was an unusually inauspicious era for the almost perennially successful club. Playing mainly at centre half back, Williamson presumably had quite a lot to do, and, as his Phelan Trophies in 1933, 1935, 1937 and 1938 attest, he certainly caught the eye of the umpire often enough. Renowned for his fairness as much as his demonstrable football ability, he was a stalwart in New South Wales representative sides during the 1930s, playing a total of 20 games. His record of four league best and fairest awards has been emulated only once, by Rod Podbury of Bankstown and Campbelltown during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 2003 Jack Williamson was among ten inaugural inductees into the Sydney AFL Hall of Fame. |
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Walter Williamson (West Torrens & Hawthorn)
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| Wally Williamson was one of a group of players of high quality unearthed by West Torrens during the late 1920s who would go on to form the nucleus of the club's second league premiership-winning side in 1933. Described at the time as "an all-rounder", he was particularly effective either on the ball or in the backlines. He won Torrens' best and fairest award in 1931, and was appointed club captain the following year. In 1933 he led his side to a 13.10 (88) to 9.11 (65) grand final defeat of Norwood before embarking on a one season stint in the VFL with Hawthorn the next year where he was appointed vice-captain and, despite injury problems, played well in his dozen senior games. The 1935 season found Williamson back at West Torrens where he rounded off his league career. When he retired a couple of years later he had played a total of 117 SANFL games. He had also been a South Australian interstate representative 4 times. |
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| Strong overhead, and an elegantly accurate kick, John Willis was, for a brief time during the early 1950s, without peer as a full forward in South Australian football. He topped West Torrens goal kicking list on three consecutive occasions (once jointly), and was the SANFL's leading goal kicker in 1952, when he bagged 85 goals. He commuted to and from Port Pirie for much of his 81 game, 266 goal league career, which makes his achievements all the more noteworthy. Willis was a South Australian representative on 4 occasions, kicking 9 goals. His formidable all round performance at the goal front in a 1952 clash with the Big V in Adelaide was a crucial determining factor in the home state's win. |
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William 'Tiny' Willis (Subiaco)
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| Belying his nickname, Subiaco's 'Tiny' Willis had a big impact during his comparatively brief league career. Equally at home across half forward or leading the rucks, he arrived from Geraldton in 1913 and made his league debut the same year. With a half forward line of Willis, club captain-coach Phil Matson, and ex-VFL player Bruce Campbell the Maroons boasted more marking strength than any other team in the competition, and collectively the trio made a significant contribution to the club's 1913 premiership success. Under Matson's successor as coach, Jack Leckie, Willis tended to spend more time on the ball, and it was as first ruckman in 1915 that he again enjoyed the spoils of victory on the last day of the season as Subi accounted for Perth. It proved to be the last of 'Tiny' Willis's 47 league appearances. |
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Tom Wills (Melbourne, Geelong, Richmond)
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| The name of Thomas Wentworth Wills will
forever be linked with the early evolution of the Australian game of
football. Born in Parramatta, New South Wales, on 19 August 1835, he
moved with his family to Lexington in western Victoria four years
later. His early education took place at Brickwood's Academy in
Melbourne, and when he was fourteen he made the long journey by ship to
England, where he was enrolled at Rugby school in the Midlands.
Displaying an enormous aptitude for sport as well as academic pursuits,
Wills achieved notoriety in both cricket and rugby, and after he left
school spent four years playing amateur cricket at a very high level in
southern England. He returned to Melbourne in 1856, and two years
later, in July 1858, concocted the famous letter that is traditionally regarded as
representing the genesis of the Australian code:
Sir - Now that cricket has been put aside for some months to come, and cricketers have assumed somewhat of the chrysalis nature (for a time only 'tis sure), but at length will burst forth in all their varied hues, rather than allow this state of torpor to creep over them, and stifle their now supple limbs, why can they not, I say, form a foot-ball club, and form a committee of three or more to draw up a code of laws? If a club of this sort were got up, it would be of vast benefit to any cricket ground to be trampled upon, and would make the turf quite firm and durable; besides which, it would keep those who are inclined to become stout from having joints encased in useless superabundant flesh. Wills then went on to suggest the formation of a rifle club as a possible alternative, but it was the football idea that proved more appealing, and later in the year the Melbourne Football Club, with Tom Wills as inaugural captain, was formed. Wills later also captained both Geelong, and the original Richmond Football Club (which bears no relation to the current club of that name). As a footballer, Wills was clearly highly proficient. He won Champion of the Colony awards with Geelong in 1859 and 1872, and with Melbourne in 1865. Although precise figures are hard to substantiate, he is reckoned to have played at least 170 matches for Geelong, 31 for Melbourne, and an unknown number with Richmond. He also enjoyed an illustrious career in cricket, which was always far and away his first sporting love. During the 1870s Tom Wills was beset by alcoholism and other personal problems. On 2 May 1880, in a state of acute depression, he stabbed himself to death with a pair of scissors. He was just forty-five years of age. The epitaph on his grave stone succinctly describes him as 'Founder of Australian Football and Champion Cricketer of his time'. |
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| Essendon recruited rover Andrew Wilson from Warracknabeal and he made his VFL debut in 1971. He took a couple of years to find his feet, but in 1973 he was touted as one of the finest small men in the game, earning interstate selection for the VFL, and winning the Bombers' best and fairest award. Pacy, determined and skilful, he was a genuinely two-sided player who used the ball extremely well. His form dipped after 1973 and he found it hard to maintain consistency. He retired in 1977, aged just twenty-six, having played 112 VFL games and kicked 127 goals. |
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Brian Wilson (Footscray, North Melbourne, Melbourne, St Kilda)
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| After failing to impress in 9 games over two seasons at Footscray Brian Wilson crossed to North Melbourne in 1980 and suddenly hit his straps. He played 39 games in two years with the 'Roos, but then was surprisingly off-loaded to Melbourne, where, playing in the centre, he promptly produced the best football of his career to win the Brownlow Medal. Thereafter, he never quite managed to recapture the same level of performance on a consistent basis, but he remained a serviceable footballer for the Demons in 154 VFL games over nine seasons. Later in his career he played a good deal of football as a specialist forward pocket, and his tally of 208 goals affords evidence that he was a success in the role. Wilson's last port of call was St Kilda where he played 7 games and kicked 16 goals in 1991. |
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| Melbourne recruited Colin Wilson from perennially powerful amateur club Ormond, and after taking a season or two to find his feet he developed into a handy player for the Demons. A solid, hard working defender who could also do a serviceable job on the ball, he played in the first ruck in Melbourne's 61 point grand final win over Essendon in 1957, and was in the back pocket a year later for the boilover loss to Collingwood. Between 1954 and 1959 Wilson played a total of 63 VFL games for Melbourne, kicking 1 goal. |
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| Ernie Wilson had played senior football for both Clifton Hill Imperials and South Yarra by the time he commenced with Collingwood as an eighteen year old in 1919. Flexible and highly skilled, he could play effectively in almost any position, but it was less for this than for the seemingly unbridled ferocity of his approach that he garnered attention. At the end of his debut season he was one of the Magpies' best players at half forward right in the 11.12 (78) to 7.11 (53) challenge final win over Richmond. Some of his best football was played in defence where his fearless, straight ahead approach served him well. In 1924 he was a member of the VFL's victorious Hobart carnival team, and all told he was chosen to represent his state 9 times. Having played in Collingwood's losing challenge final teams in 1925 against Geelong and 1926 against Melbourne, Wilson crowned his career in style in the next year's premiership decider by producing a typically solid and steely performance across half back as the Magpies consigned Richmond to defeat by 12 points on a semi-submerged MCG. It was not quite his career swansong, though, as he carried on playing in 1928 to take his final tally of VFL games to 127. He kicked 7 goals. |
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| Despite
being thought too frail for league football by some people, Fitzroy's
Garry 'Flea' Wilson proved himself one of the most brilliant rovers of his
era (see footnote 1). Between 1971 and 1984 he
played a total of 271 VFL games, frequently displaying courage and
persistence above and beyond the call of duty. In 1977, for example,
he sustained a badly fractured jaw, and doctors wrote him off for the
season, but within weeks he was back playing as though nothing had
happened.
Regularly among the favourites to land the Brownlow Medal, Wilson's best season was 1979 when he finished just one vote shy of the winner, Collingwood's Peter Moore. He also came a close third in 1978 behind Malcolm Blight and Peter Knights. His importance to Fitzroy was amply illustrated by his feat in winning no fewer than five club best and fairest awards. He also topped the club's goal kicking list on two occasions. From 1982 -84 he fulfilled a long term ambition by emulating his hero, Kevin Murray, with whom he had played at the outset of his career, and captaining the Lions: "I remember running onto the ground near Kevin and it really made an impression on me. He looked and acted the way a captain should and it felt good to be around him. It gave me confidence. That's how I want the young Fitzroy players to feel around me." (See footnote 2) Some of Garry Wilson's finest performances came in the interstate arena. He represented either the VFL or Victoria 12 times, and he won consecutive All Australian blazers in 1979 and 1980. |
Footnotes1. Wilson stood 179cm tall and had a usual playing weight of 70kg. Return to Main Text 2. Hutton's 1981 Footy Book by Jim Main, page 10. Return to Main Text |
| A former jockey who once rode in the Melbourne Cup, James Wilson roved for Geelong with great talent and ebullience during the late 1870s and early 1880s. His high status and enormous ability were emphasised by his being voted Champion of the Colony on no fewer than three successive occasions from 1880 to 1882. Geelong was very much the pre-eminent team in the VFA during Wilson's career, winning half a dozen premierships in the seven years between 1878 and 1884. James Wilson's brother William, another former jockey, also played for Geelong with great distinction for several years. |
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Percy Wilson (Collingwood, Melbourne, Port Melbourne)
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| Combining
pace, tenacity and tremendous talent, Percy Wilson was one of the finest
rovers of his generation. He began with Collingwood
in1909, and went on to play a total of 183 VFL games for the club,
including the winning grand final of 1917, in which he was both captain
and one of the best players afield. Unfortunately, he was prevented
by injury from participating in either of the other two Collingwood
premierships to arrive during his playing career, in 1910 and 1919.
Injury may also have prevented him from representing the VFL in the
interstate arena more than twice.
Wilson crossed to Melbourne as captain-coach in 1921 and added another 51 VFL games in three seasons. As a coach, however, he was found wanting, and a wooden spoon in 1923 hastened his departure. Wilson later had two stints as non-playing coach of Port Melbourne, from 1927 to 1929 and in 1932. In both 1928 and 1929 he managed to get his side as far as the premiership play-off, but first Coburg and then Northcote proved too strong. In 1930 and 1931 Wilson coached rival VFA club Camberwell, but the side struggled, finishing 2nd from last in his first season, and bottom in his second. |
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Peter Wilson (East Fremantle, Richmond, West Coast)
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| East Fremantle recruited Peter Wilson from Lynwood and he made his league debut for the club in 1982. A strongly built, no frills ruck-rover, half forward or half back he played a key role in helping the Sharks re-emerge as a WANFL power. In the 1985 grand final against Subiaco he was named on a half forward flank, and contributed 2 goals to his team's eventual 5 point win. Wilson made the first of his 9 interstate appearances for Western Australia the same season, and a year later was included in the All Australian team. In 1987 he crossed to Richmond, and gave the Tigers solid service in 54 VFL games over three seasons. He also booted 40 goals. Moving to West Coast in 1990, Wilson produced the best and most consistent football of his career. His 101 games for 76 goals in five years with the Eagles included sterling contributions to the club's grand final wins over Geelong in both 1992 and 1994. After leaving West Coast at the end of the 1994 season he spent one last year back at East Fremantle, taking his final tally of games with that club to 101. |
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| Solid, quick and extremely difficult to beat, Hawthorn's recruit from University Blacks, Ray Wilson, had an immediate impact on the league football scene when he made his debut in 1966. Playing mainly on the wing he enjoyed a stellar season, landing the Hawks' best and fairest award, and suggesting quite strongly that he was a rare champion in the making. If he did not quite fulfill that early potential he nevertheless gave the brown and golds some fine service in a 105 game VFL career that ended in 1972. Quite tall for a winger at 180cm, he was particularly noted for his excellent disposal skills. He was on the bench in 1971 as the Hawks overcame St Kilda to lift their second VFL pennant. |
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Tom Wilson (North Melbourne, Fremantle, Imperials, East Fremantle)
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| Tom
Wilson played his early football with North
Melbourne in the VFA, but it was in the west that he acquired a
reputation as one of the bona fide early greats of the game. A key
member of the all powerful Fremantle teams of the early 1890s, Wilson also
played briefly with the short-lived Imperials Football
Club. At the
end of the 1897 season, however, Imperials folded, and Wilson was
instrumental, along with his close friend 'Dolly'
Christy, in the establishment of a new club, East
Fremantle, which
would go on to become the most consistently successful force in West
Australian football.
Captain of Old Easts from 1898 to 1900, and again between 1904 and 1909, Wilson led the club to a total of 5 premierships, and never saw it fall below 2nd place on the ladder. He was also a key player, under the captaincy of 'Spot' Chadwick, in the club's 1902 and 1903 premiership-winning sides. As a player, Wilson was tough, resolute but fair; if he tackled you, you knew about it, but he never intentionally went outside the boundaries of the laws of the game. His leadership style was described as "strict but kindly" (see footnote 1); he had that rare knack of being able to elicit maximum effort from his charges, and if he was something of a traditionalist - insisting, for example, that players remained in their set positions - the proof of the efficacy of his methods is in the record books. Revered as 'the father of the club', Tom Wilson was a familiar figure at East Fremantle matches long after his retirement as a player. He served the club as both secretary and treasurer, was a delegate to the league, and was a state selector for the 1924 Hobart carnival. Fittingly, he was also the first person to be made a life member of the East Fremantle Football Club. |
Footnotes1. Celebrating 100 Years Of Tradition by Jack Lee, page 13. Return to Main Text |
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Wilbur Wilson (Central District)
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| Talented
though he was, Wilbur Wilson was by no means a champion footballer.
Nevertheless, it is doubtful if the SANFL has ever given footy fans a more
popular folk hero. Tubby to the point of rotundity, Wilson's mere
presence on a football field was a kind of statement; it said, quite
simply, "I'm like you" - which, presumably, went a long way
towards explaining his popularity.
A left footer, whose right leg was, as the cliché has it, 'for standing on', Wilbur Wilson was a half forward flank specialist who gave the Central District Football Club exemplary service in 171 games between 1974 and 1986. He also booted a highly commendable 331 goals, which included 45 in 1983 and 67 the following year to top Centrals' list. Much more to the point, however, only Tony Modra in recent years has come close to matching the levels of hero worship and adulation enjoyed by the man who could lay strong claim to having been Central District's favourite son. |
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William Wilson (Richmond & Glenelg)
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| An effervescent, fiery rover who was
quintessentially hard as nails, Richmond's
Billy Wilson was extremely well versed in the art of looking after himself
- and equally adept at 'taking care' of opponents as well. On one
famous occasion he responded to the unusual ignominy of having been
flattened during the game by Collingwood's
Lou Richards by taking the law into his own hands as the teams were
departing the field, and leaving Richards with a telling reminder (in the
form of a serious case of concussion) of just who was boss.
Wilson, who was a regular 'Big V' representative (10 games in all) for most of his VFL career, played 185 games and kicked 226 goals for the Tigers between 1944 and 1954. He won the club's best and fairest award in 1947 and, along with Bill Morris and Roy Wright, gave Richmond arguably the best first ruck combination in the league for much of his time in the game. Many old timers will probably have considered Wilson to be a 'shoe-in' for a roving berth in the Tigers' official 'Team of the Century', but the selectors had other ideas, and went for the more recent, hence safer, pairing of Kevin Bartlett and Dale Weightman. Billy Wilson finished his senior career with Glenelg, where he played 39 league games (plus 4 for the state) and booted 45 goals from 1955 to 1957, winning both the Bays' best and fairest award and the prestigious News-Ampol Trophy in his first season. He also ran third in the Magarey Medal voting the same year. |
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Fred Wimbridge (Perth, West Perth, South Melbourne)
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| An
abundantly talented footballer with a reputation for feistiness, Fred
Wimbridge enjoyed a long and successful league career with three
clubs. He also played 3 games of interstate football for Western
Australia, and spent some time in country Victoria.
Adaptable in the extreme, and a thumping kick, he could perform with equal effectiveness at the goalfront, across half forward, or at full back. He commenced his league career with Perth in 1911, and was a key member of the side which contested five finals series out of six between 1911 and 1916. He was the Redlegs' top goal getter in 1915 with 36 goals. The second phase of Wimbridge's career saw him at West Perth, where he produced arguably the best football of his career. In 1921 he was a member of the victorious Western Australian combination at the Perth carnival. Lining up at full back in both of the state's matches, he performed particularly impressively in the the clash with the VFL, which the home state ended up winning by 5 points. His performances appear all the more creditable when you consider that he spent most of the 1921 season playing as a forward for his club, for whom he booted a total of 30 goals to head its goal kicking list. Wimbridge spent the 1925 season in the VFL with South Melbourne, where he played 8 games and kicked 12 goals. He then undertook his aforementioned spell in Victorian country football before rounding off his career with two seasons back at Perth in 1928-9, taking his final tally of league appearances with that club to 105. |
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William Windley (South Melbourne)
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| Often likened to an eel, South Melbourne's William Windley was guile, verve and elusiveness personified. He was an amateur, who even paid for his own football equipment. He made his debut with South in the VFA in 1886 and was a member of the club's 1888, 1889 and 1890 premiership teams. Strong overhead, he played most of his football in the centre, and was widely acknowledged as one of the VFA's foremost players. He continued with South in the VFL, and was in the centre in the 1899 grand final loss to Fitzroy. Windley captained the southerners in 1900 and 1902, by which time he was playing mainly as a rover. He also played a number of games as a forward during his last couple of seasons. When he retired in 1905 he had played 129 VFL games and kicked 36 goals. |
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Gary Window (Central District)
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| Gary
Window's feat in winning the 1965 Magarey
Medal represented a major step on the road toward credibility and consequence
for his club Central District, which
had just completed only in its second season of league football.
After losing every single one of its 20 debut season fixtures, Centrals,
with Window a driving force at either centre or centre half forward, had
stunned many observers in 1965 by winning 6 of its last 8 fixtures to
leapfrog not only fellow newcomers Woodville,
but established clubs West Adelaide
and West Torrens as well, and claim 7th
spot on the ladder.
Then came Window's Magarey Medal win, and suddenly the entire South Australian football community was talking about the Bulldogs. Window, who had played a major role in Centrals' early development, lost nothing in comparison with previous winners of the oldest major best and fairest award in football: He handles the ball surely in the air and on the ground, can pass with low stab kicks or else fire a 50 yard shot at goal. Cool, clever and calculating, he makes position well and creates his own opportunities. (See footnote 1) Two years earlier, in the final season of Centrals' reserves apprenticeship, Window had served notice of his potential by winning the seconds Magarey Medal. His high standing at the club was emphasised the following year when, in the absence of captain-coach Ken Eustice, who was still seeking a clearance from West Adelaide, he was chosen to lead the Bulldogs in their first ever league fixture against West Torrens. Later in the year he became Central District's first ever interstate representative. Window's form, along with that of most of his team mates, fell away badly in 1966. He then spent two injury and illness-affected years as captain-coach of East Gambier, before resuming with Centrals in 1969. However, he never recaptured the form of his Medal-winning season, and midway through 1970 he was dropped to the seconds. The 1971 season saw Window installed as captain-coach of the Bulldogs' seconds team which he promptly steered to a first ever premiership. His time as coach of Centrals' senior team was considerably less successful, however. After taking over from Tony Casserly in 1976 he steered the side to 6th and 10th place finishes in his two seasons in charge. All told, Gary Window played just 82 SANFL games, one of the shortest league careers of any Magarey Medallist. However, in 2004 his iconic status within the club was emphatically affirmed when he was selected as centreman in Centrals' official 'All Time Greatest Team'. |
Footnotes1. South Australian Football Record Yearbook 1966, page 63. Return to Main Text |
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Neil 'Nicky' Winmar (South Fremantle, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs)
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| Narrowly
missing selection in West Coast's
inaugural VFL squad, South Fremantle's
Neil Elvis Winmar - always referred to as 'Nicky' - ended up instead at St
Kilda where, as the cliché has it, he became an overnight sensation.
Exquisitely skilled, and capable of the spectacular, Winmar also possessed
an aggressive streak which made him an extraordinarily formidable opponent
when he wasn't getting into trouble.
Voted the Saints' fairest and best player on two occasions, Winmar nevertheless often made life difficult for himself by failing to accord members of the club hierarchy the levels of respect they felt they warranted. Ultimately, after one run in with authority too many, Winmar was off-loaded to the Western Bulldogs at the end of the 1998 season. He gave the Bulldogs a serviceable season in 1999 before retiring. Arguably possessed of sufficient talent to have been one of the few genuine all time greats of the game, Nicky Winmar was nevertheless worthy of a place in almost any team because of his ability to excite, enthrall, and come up with the unexpected. All told, he played a total of 309 senior league games, comprising 58 with South Fremantle, 230 at St Kilda, and 21 for the Bulldogs. |
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| John Winneke was a lanky, somewhat raw-boned ruckman who enjoyed a noteworthy, if brief, VFL career with Hawthorn, where he played a total of 50 senior games and booted 3 goals between 1960 and 1962. The Hawks recruited him from VAFA side University Blacks, and he was a significant contributor to their breakthrough VFL premiership in 1961 when they outclassed Footscray in the grand final. Winneke, who won a 'Big V' jumper in 1960, retired from football at the age of just twenty-four in order to concentrate on his blossoming legal career. |
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Bruce Winter (Sturt, Norwood, Woodville-West Torrens)
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| When
Port Moresby-born Bruce Winter began to stake a claim for a senior place
in 1971 legendary Sturt coach Jack Oatey
said of him, "He's strong, a good overhead mark, he's quick, he kicks
well with his right foot, and he is more than useful with the left" (see
footnote 1). In other words, he already possessed all of the
main attributes necessary to succeed as a league footballer, and over the
course of the next sixteen seasons Winter would demonstrate these traits with
commendable consistency in 351 games with two clubs. As his career
wore on, he would add intelligence and strong qualities of leadership to
the melting pot, characteristics he would later display to good effect as
a league coach when he steered Woodville-West
Torrens to the 1993 SANFL flag.
Hardly the most spectacular or eye-catching of players, Winter was the personification of dependability and assurance - the sort of qualities which win premierships. During his career, Bruce Winter played in three SANFL premiership sides: 1974 with Sturt, and 1982 and 1984 with Norwood. Arguably his best performance in a grand final came in 1978, however, when he was a member of the Sturt team cruelly beaten at the death by a Norwood side determined to celebrate the club's centenary season in style (for a full, blow by blow summary of the game, go here). Winter was obviously impressed by what he saw, because he moved to Norwood the following year, playing the final 178 games of his career with the Redlegs, as well as twice being selected to represent South Australia. |
Footnotes1. Quoted in True Blue by John Lysikatos, page 222. Return to Main Text |
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| Known, because of his pace and elusiveness, as 'Bunny', Stan Wittman joined Melbourne from Rosedale in 1924 and, playing mainly either at centre half forward or on a half forward flank, made a favourable impression right from the start. Early in his debut match in the VFL against Collingwood at the MCG he soared high over the pack to take a finger-tip mark before threading the ball through the central uprights with an effortless, fifty metre drop kick. Wittman went on to earn best afield honours in that game, and never looked back. In the 1926 challenge final, also against Collingwood, he was one of the Fuchsias' most noteworthy contributors with 3 goals from half forward right in a resounding 57 point win. For much of his eight season, 109 game, 132 goal VFL career 'Bunny' Wittman was renowned for his seemingly almost telepathic partnership with effervescently talented wingman Dick Taylor. In addition to his club games, Wittman donned the 'Big V' jumper twice. |
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Roy Witzerman (New Town & Devonport)
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| Roy
Witzerman was a quintessential, old-fashioned full back whose sole
ambition every Saturday afternoon was to prevent his direct opponent from
scoring. Quite stockily built, and roughly 180cm in height, he
played the game tough but fair, wearing the opposing full forward like an
extra garment. His kicking off after a behind was a delight to
watch, with his text book drop kicks often reaching the centre of the
ground.
Witzerman made his TFL debut with New Town in 1945, the season which saw the inception of district football in southern Tasmania. He represented Tasmania at the 1947 Hobart carnival, and the following year, under the expert coaching of Roy Cazaly, was a member of New Town's grand final winning team against North Hobart, as well as of the victorious state premiership side. He later capped off an excellent year by winning the club's best and fairest award. In 1949, in front of a then record grand final crowd of 15,086, New Town again won the premiership, with Roy Witzerman heavily instrumental in restricting opponents Hobart to just 4 goals for the match. Witzerman played in a third premiership team two years later after New Town annihilated North Hobart in the grand final by 71 points. In all three of his winning grand finals, Roy Witzerman was named high in the best players. The 1952 and '53 seasons saw Witzerman at Devonport as captain-coach but he was unable to steer the Magpies to a flag. He did, however, represent the NWFU in intrastate football, and in 1953 he was best afield in a 7 point win against the TFL at his old, familiar stamping ground of the North Hobart Oval. Witzerman returned home for one last season with New Town in 1954. His selection at full back in Glenorchy's (see footnote 1) official 'Team of the Century', announced in 2000, was presumably virtually automatic. |
Footnotes1. New Town became known as Glenorchy in 1957. Return to Main Text |
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Peter Woite (Port Adelaide & Glenelg)
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