Cyril Rioli, Bill Morris, Gerald Patterson among Scotch College’s best sporting stars
From AFL premiership heroes to a multiple grand slam singles tennis champion, Scotch College Melbourne has a rich and long history of sporting stars.
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When it comes to sporting stars from Scotch College, it’s a long list.
The all-boys Victorian private school has produced a long list of professional sporting athletes in its 172-year history.
From the early days, it was three-time grand slam singles tennis winner Gerald Patterson who led the charge through the 1920s before Bill Morris took the mantle with a Brownlow Medal in 1948.
More recently, the school have had four-time AFL premiership star Cyril Rioli sparking the most interest out of the school’s sporting alumni.
It is clear that Australian football has been a strong point at Scotch College with the amount of AFL players they have produced.
Some other sports have also stood out.
Here’s a look at the best sporting stars to emerge from Scotch College identified by Leader Sport.
George Alexander (Cricket)
George Alexander was an all-rounder who also managed the Australian cricket team from 1880 to 1884. He played two test matches for Australia and 24 first class matches for Victoria.
Josh Booth (Rowing)
A silver medallist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro in the coxless four event.
Jack Billings (AFL)
Current St Kilda AFL player who has played 144 games since he arrived at the club at pick 3 in the 2013 national draft. He made it into the 22 best U22 team in 2017.
James Brayshaw (Cricket)
Nowadays you see and hear James Brayshaw in his role as a sports commentator but before this, he was a state cricketer who played more than 100 games. He played with Western Australia for four seasons between 1987/88 and 1990/91 and with South Australia for six seasons between 1991/92–1996/97. He notched 10 first-class centuries in his career.
Campbell Brown (AFL)
An AFL 200-gamer, Campbell Brown won a premiership with Hawthorn in 2008 and made it to the All-Australian team in 2007. The defender played 159 games for the Hawks from 2002 to 2010 before moving to Gold Coast where he played 46 matches in three seasons.
Darcy Byrne-Jones (AFL)
An All-Australian winner in 2020, Darcy Byrne-Jones has played 142 games for Port Adelaide since he was drafted to the club at pick 52 in the 2013 national draft. The defender also won the club best and fairest award in 2020.
David Douglas (Rowing)
Won a silver medal at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics in the men’s eight event.
Andrew Fekete (Cricket)
A state cricketer for Victoria and Tasmania who played 39 first class matches and 28 list A games between 2011 and 2020. Fekete also played 15 Big Bash matches.
Denis Genreau (Soccer)
A current professional soccer player with French club Toulouse FC, Denis Genreau formally played in the A-League for Melbourne City and Macarthur. He has also played four games for Australia since 2021.
Drew Ginn (Rowing)
A true champion of rowing having won three gold Olympic Games medals. He won gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in the Coxless four event, 2004 Athens (Coxless pair) and 2008 Beijing (Coxless pair). He also won a silver medal in the 2012 London Olympic Games in the Coxless four event.
Brett Gosper (Rugby)
In July 2012, Brett Gosper was appointed the CEO of World Rugby based in Dublin, Ireland where he remained in the role for eight years. Gosper also played rugby and was selected for the Australian Under 21 Rugby Union team in 1980.
Richard Harry (Rugby)
Richard Harry made 74 appearances for New South Wales from 1995 to 2001. In that time he also played 37 games for Australia.
John Hendrie (AFL)
From 1972 to 1982, John Hendrie played 197 games for Hawthorn and kicked 254 goals. He was a premiership player for the club in 1976 and 1978. Hendrie was a member of the first XVIII at Scotch College for three years and was vice-captain of the team when they won a premiership in his final year of school.
Malcolm Hill (AFL)
A four-time premiership winner within nine years, Malcolm knew how to win a flag. The ruckman played 22 games for Hawthorn in the VFL from 1960 to 1962, winning a title in 1961. Then he moved to Sturt in the SANFL where he won three premierships in 1966, 1968, and in 1969 in his last season.
Craig Hilliard (athletics)
A successful coach in the athletics industry who steered athletes to Olympic gold medals. Before his appointment as the head coach of the Australian Athletics Team in 2015, Hilliard personally coached athletes that had won 11 gold, 12 silver and two bronze at open major championships including the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, the World Championships. It is also believed, Hilliard holds the Old Scotch athletics records in U17, U18, U19, U20 and open 110m hurdles which were set in the mid-1970s.
Liam Jones (AFL)
Began his season with the Bulldogs in 2009 before heading to Carlton in 2015 where he played 95 games with the club. Jones returns to the Bulldogs in 2023 where he has already played 66 matches.
Jake Kelly (AFL)
The 27-year-old has played 131 AFL games. He began his career with Adelaide in 2015 where he played 110 games before joining Essendon last season where he has since played 21 games.
Ian Law (AFL)
A Hawthorn best-and-fairest winner in the same year he won a premiership with the club in 1961. Law also went on to win another two best and fairests in 1963 and 1964 and was later inducted into the Hawthorn hall of fame.
Will Lockwood (Rowing)
Won silver at the 2012 London game and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games both in Coxless four events.
Richard Loveridge (AFL)
Richard Loveridge played 136 games for Hawthorn and kicked 119 goals. He won a premiership with the club in 1983 and 1986.
Maginness family (AFL)
From 1988 to 1996, Scott Maginness played 131 games for Hawthorn and won two premierships in his first two seasons. His father Norm played 64 games for Hawthorn from 1953 to 1958. Currently the family has Finn, grandson of Norm and son of Scott, playing for Hawthorn. Finn has played 19 games since being drafted to the club in 2019.
Alex McCracken (AFL)
The first president of the Essendon Football Club and the Victorian Football League.
Colin McDonald (Cricket)
An opening batsman who played 47 tests for Australia and 192 first-class matches for Victoria from 1947 to 1963. He made five centuries with a high score of 170 in his test career. He averaged 40 at both first class and test level.
Ewen McKenzie (Rugby)
Before coaching the Australian rugby union team from 2013 to 2014, Ewen McKenzie played 51 matches for Australia and won a world cup in 1991.
Cameron McKenzie-McHarg (Rowing)
Won silver in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the Coxless four event.
James Meredith (Soccer)
It has been almost 500 professional games for James Meredith. He played 181 games for Bradford City in England and has played the last three seasons with Macarthur Bulls in the A-League.
Bill Morris (AFL)
A 1948 Brownlow winner, Bill Morris played 140 games for Richmond from 1942 to 1951. After serving in the army, Morris won his first of three best and fairests in 1945 before winning the award again in 1948 and 1950. He was the second ever Richmond player to win a Brownlow Medal.
Gerald Patterson (Tennis)
A three-time grand slam singles winner, Gerald Patterson had a successful tennis career. He also won six titles in the doubles competition and one title in mixed doubles. He was the co-World No. 1 player for 1919 along with Bill Johnston. He won the Australian Open in 1927.
Neil Pearson (AFL)
He played 133 games for Hawthorn from 1945 to 1954.
Michael Perry (AFL)
Won a premiership for Richmond in 1967. He played 72 games for the club in five seasons.
Cyril Rioli (AFL)
An AFL four-time premiership player, a Norm Smith medallist, a three-time All-Australian, a goal of the year winner and a coaches association best young player winner, Cyril Rioli is without doubt a star of the Scotch College sporting alumni. Born in the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory, Rioli took up a full scholarship offer as a talented indigenous footballer and moved to the school at age 14 in 2004. He was the first selected into the program and went on to have a stellar football career for the school where he built a following and had highlight packages made.
Jy Simpkin (AFL)
After winning the North Melbourne best and fairest award in 2021 and 2022, Jy Simpkin was appointed co-captain of the club alongside Luke McDonald. Simpkin has played 100 games for the club since he was drafted at pick 12 in the 2016 national draft.
Jack Sinclair (AFL)
Current St Kilda player Jack Sinclair has played 141 games for the club since he joined in 2015. He made the All-Australian team in 2022.
Nick Smith (AFL)
A 2012 premiership winner with Sydney and an All-Australian in 2014, Nick Smith played 211 games for the club from 2008 to 2019.
Raymond Steele (Cricket)
An AFL premiership footballer with Richmond in 1943, Raymond Steele played both sports in his lifetime. Post football career he was the treasurer of the Australian Cricket Board and president of the Victorian Cricket Association.
Bib Stillwell (Motorsport)
Bib Stillwell won the Australian Drivers‘ Championship in each of the four years from 1962 to 1965.
Will Sutherland (Cricket)
After deciding to choose cricket over football in his final year of school, Will Sutherland has since played almost 50 matches for Victoria and 35 T20’s for the Melbourne Renegades in five seasons. The all-rounder is the son of former Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (AFL)
The pick 1 in the 2020 national draft, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan has played 17 games for the Western Bulldogs in two seasons.
Matt Welsh (Swimming)
Matt Welsh is the former world champion in the backstroke and butterfly. He won two gold medals in the 50-meter butterfly and 50-meter backstroke at the World Championships in Shanghai 2006.
Rob Woodhouse (Swimming)
After a successful career highlighted by a bronze medal in the 400 Metre Individual Medley at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Rob Woodhouse went on to become a prominent sports agent. Woodhouse set up his own sports management company in 1995. After a few years, he merged his business with the firm of former Collingwood football player Craig Kelly, forming Elite Sports Properties.
Colin Youren (AFL)
Colin Youren was a part of Hawthorn‘s inaugural premiership side in 1961. He played 135 games for the club from 1958 to 1965.
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