By Jake Niall
Graham "Polly" Farmer, one of the greatest footballers and innovators in the history of Australian football, has died.
Farmer was 84. He had been suffering from dementia and passed away in a Perth hospital surrounded by family. He had two sons, Brett and Dean, and a daughter, Kim.
Polly Farmer, pictured here in 1973, has passed away.Credit: The Age
Farmer, an inaugural Legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, was named in the AFL's team of the century and captain of the Indigenous team of the century. But it was his pioneering use of handball - and the dramatic impact he had on bringing other players into the game - that stood him apart as a footballer.
His ruckwork revolutionised the game in WA and then at Geelong, where he was the cornerstone of the Cats' 1963 premiership.
Farmer leaps for a mark in 1967.Credit: The Age
He played 101 games for the Cats, crossing to the club from East Perth amid enormous fanfare in 1962, having won three Sandover Medals, awarded to the best and fairest in the WAFL, before coming to Victoria.
He won best and fairests with the Cats in their premiership year of 1963 and again in 1964. All told, he played 356 senior games when combining his WAFL and VFL games at East Perth, Geelong and West Perth.
He coached the Cats from 1973 to 1975 and was the first Indigenous senior coach in the VFL/AFL, also coaching East Perth and West Perth.
"Polly was a hero of the Geelong Football Club and he was my hero as well," Geelong president Colin Carter said.
"Many of us regard him as the greatest footballer of all time. But he was much more than that.
"As a proud Aboriginal man, he pushed through barriers which he did with incredible strength and grace. He was captain of our club and also our senior coach at a time when it must have been tough.
"Polly is a legend of our club and of our game – we miss him but he will never be forgotten.''
Carter said the legendary Farmer was perhaps the greatest player in the game's history with Cats' CEO Brian Cook describing him as "one of the first adventurers in relation to trying to change the game".
Farmer's Indigenous heritage was seldom acknowledged by the public or media during his playing and coaching days, although he was subjected to racism on the field and has subsequently been heralded as a role model and trailblazer for Indigenous footballers.
Cook said he imagined moving to Geelong took plenty of courage from Farmer but his presence changed the community.
"He changed Australian Football but he was also great for Australian culture. He was courageous enough to take a strong leadership role at a time when it must have been really tough for him and his people and he did it with flying colours," Cook said.
Graham "Polly" Farmer in 1963.
He formed a famously potent partnership with rover Billy Goggin and was an inspiration to other noted Geelong players, particularly John "Sam" Newman, who learned the art of ruck work from Polly.
Newman told The Age Farmer inspired him in both football and life.
"I saw a man rise above adversity and become through hard work and integrity and honesty and endeavour be what he is remembered for today," Newman said.
"To see a man come from where he came from and leave the mark and the legacy on our great game that he did made him an inspiration and he was my hero and I have no problem in saying that.
"To see how he handled the pressure of the opposition and the heat of the moment in making cool and calculated decisions while having a very strong body. He was able to conserve energy ... and he had spirit, physical presence and the mental capacity [to be a champion]."
Newman said Farmer was a shy man but he enjoyed good company and had an impish sense of humour.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said Farmer's death "marked the passing of the greatest big man in the history of Australian football".
"When discussing ruckmen, every player who saw him play or took the field against him, deferred to Polly.
"Our game has always started in the centre square, with a contest between two big men, and Polly was the greatest of all the big men who seek to set the standard of competitiveness for their teams.
"Beyond football, as a proud Noongar man, he was a leader for the Aboriginal community and his standing in the game and in society enabled his people to believe that they too could reach the peaks and achieve their best potential.
"He laid the path for so many great footballers from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to come into the elite levels of the game and showcase their skills.
"At every point of his career, his teams found success on the field, thanks largely to his dominance that built a record that few players could ever hope to match."
WA historian Sean Cowan said Farmer "changed the game forever".
"He was such a dominant ruckman, not just as a tap ruckman but for his trademark grabbing the ball in the air at a ball-up or throw-in and handballing it, sometimes 20 metres, even before his feet returned to the ground.
"In his first professional stint in WA, playing for East Perth, he already used the handball to his advantage. He was even more of a dominant player back then, because the faster WA grounds suited him better. He was an athletic Noongar footballer, but the heavier grounds of Victoria didn't suit him as much as WA.
"Over in the west he was much quicker, in Victoria he had to alter his game because the ruckmen over there had bigger bodies ... but he adjusted. He brought the athleticism but was also able to become a powerful ruckman and compete with them."
With David Prestipino and Peter Ryan
GRAHAM 'POLLY' FARMER'S FOOTBALL RECORD
Australian Football Hall of Fame, inaugural Legend of the game (one of 12).
Played 176 games for East Perth 1953-61, kicking 157 goals.
Played 101 games for Geelong 1962-67, kicking 65 goals.
Played 79 games for West Perth 1968-71, kicking 55 goals.
Played 31 games for Western Australia, kicking 19 goals.
Played six games for Victoria, kicking six goals.
East Perth best and fairest 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961.
Geelong best and fairest 1963, 1964.
West Perth best and fairest 1969.
Sandover Medal 1956, 1957, 1960.
Simpson Medal 1959.
East Perth premiership 1956, 1958, 1959.
Geelong premiership 1963.
West Perth premiership 1969, 1971 (both as playing coach).
All-Australian 1956, 1958, 1961.
AFL Team of the Century (first ruck).
Indigenous Team of the Century (first ruck, captain).
Geelong Team of the Century (first ruck).
West Perth Team of the Century (first ruck).
East Perth Post-War Team of the Century (first ruck).
West Perth coach 1968-71 for premierships in 1969 and 1971.
Geelong coach 1973-75.
East Perth coach 1976-77.