Victoria’s best country footballers: From Dustin Martin to Ron Best
From Richmond’s Dustin Martin to Bendigo’s Ron Best, we name the best players to head to the big smoke and those who stayed home.
SOME of the finest players to ever grace Australian rules football grounds, from the suburban treasures all the way through to the mecca of the MCG, came from farms and towns in regional and rural Victoria.
Following on from naming the best Victorian country football teams of the millennium, this week we set out to name the 20 best players from country Victoria – 10 of whom made it big in the big time, 10 who stayed home and became local legends of the grassroots game.
If you thought naming the best Victorian country teams of the millennium was tough, try picking the best players to come out of sport’s heartland.
It wasn’t easy, but opens the door to some great debates.
The best AFL/VFL players from country Victoria – not over the borders, which of course immediately ruled out the likes of Haydn Bunton Snr and Wayne Carey – will provide some good banter. Who should or should not have made the list (apologies to Greg Williams here)? How do you rate the career of Dustin Martin, who is the only active player on this list, in comparison to those whose careers have concluded? Does Ablett Junior surpass Senior?
Then came the second challenge: to select 10 of the best could-have-beens, the bush legends who, for whatever reason, never played senior league football.
It perhaps suitable here to pause to thank all the historians, statisticians, administrators, journalists and writers who cover, promote and record the achievements of country footballers.
In particular, a thank you to Ken Piesse, who once contributed to this newspaper and whose writings on country football legends has proved an invaluable resource and guide.
For this 10, we looked at only players who made their names in Victorian leagues, who had not played a single match at senior AFL/VFL level.
Many dozens, if not hundreds, could have made this list, but the 10 here are some of the legends of some of the most powerful leagues and clubs in the bush.
We look forward to hearing which players, both on the national stage and local oval, you would have included.
TOP-10 AFL/VFL PLAYERS FROM COUNTRY VICTORIA
10. DUSTIN MARTIN (RICHMOND)
FOUR years ago, when Essendon and Richmond great Kevin Sheedy listed his top 10 greatest AFL/VFL players from the country Victoria, Dustin Martin did not make the list, nor even the honourable mentions.
Such has been the past four seasons from “Dusty” that fast-forward to 2021, he is one of the first names thrown up for a list such as this. He will go down as one of the greatest AFL finals players of all time (if not, simply, one of the greatest players. Period.)
Prior to 2017, Martin was known as much for his controversies as his skills with the Sherrin. Since then, the 29-year-old from Campbells Creek and Castlemaine has won three premierships with Richmond — and been named best-on-ground in each game — and also won the Brownlow in 2017.
Having made All-Australian for the first time in 2016, he has since been selected again after three of the subsequent four seasons.
Coming up to his 250th game for the Tigers in a couple of rounds, the football world waits to see what Martin conjures up next.
9. ADAM GOODES (SYDNEY)
THE 2014 Australian of the Year holds the South Melbourne-Sydney Swans games record with 372 games. He started playing football at Merbein when he was a teenager, before his family moved to Horsham. Following his best-on-ground performance for North Ballarat Rebels in the 1997 TAC grand final, he was drafted by Sydney where he would become one of the club’s all-time greats.
Goodes won the 2003 Brownlow Medal in a three-way tie, then won it on his own in 2006.
He was part of Sydney’s first premiership win in 2005, and again in 2012, was a four-time All Australian and member of the Indigenous Team of the Century.
In 2019, he was inducted into the Sydney Swans Hall of Fame and immediately elevated to Bloods Legend status.
An Adnyamathanha man, his stand against racism, which ultimately led to his early retirement, was the subject of two documentaries — The Australian Dream and The Final Quarter.
8. DOUG WADE (GEELONG)
DOUG Wade grew up on a farm near Portland, and then at Jeparit. He was playing seniors football for Tyrendarra at the age of 13, and was part of Horsham’s 1960 premiership.
He debuted for Geelong the following year, going on to play 208 games for the Cats and a further 59 for North Melbourne.
With 1057 VFL goals to his name, he ranks fourth in the list of all-time leading VFL-AFL’s goalkickers. He won the Coleman medal four times, was a premiership player at two clubs — Geelong in 1963, and North Melbourne’s inaugural premiership in 1975 — and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
7. FRANCIS BOURKE (RICHMOND)
THE small town of Nathalia, in northern Victoria, has a strong football history. Not only is it home to one of the most successful football teams of recent times, the Nathalia Purples of the Murray Football League, but it was also the childhood home of one of Richmond’s greatest players, Francis Bourke.
Bourke also played for Nathalia, even winning the club best-and-fairest in 1965, before heading to the city in 1967 to play for Richmond, following in the footsteps of his father, Frank, who played for the Tigers before running a dairy farm.
Francis debuted in a premiership year for the Tigers, the first of five he would play in during his 300 games in the yellow and black. He was captain in 1976-77 and coached the Tigers in 1982-83, which included a losing grand final. He was also a captain of the Victorian team. Affectionately known as “Saint Francis”, he overcame a heart murmur diagnosed when he was a teen to go on to a career that would make him an Immortal at Richmond.
6. JOHN NICHOLLS (CARLTON)
FOLLOWED his older brother Don from Maryborough to Princes Park on the eve of the 1957 season, and went on to become one of the greats of the game.
Nicholls’ playing career included 328 senior games through 18 years, becoming the first to play 300 matches for the Blues.
Nicholls, one of the greatest ruckman of all time, led Carlton to two premierships as captain in 1968 (with Ron Barassi) and 1970, and a third as captain-coach in 1972.
Carlton renamed its best-and-fairest award the John Nicholls Medal — the first winner of the newly renamed award being current coach David Teague, from Katandra. Nicholls himself was a club best-and-fairest a record five times.
A regular Victorian representative, he was one of the inaugural Legends of the AFL Hall of Fame in 1996 and a member of the team of the century.
5. GARY ABLETT JNR (GEELONG/GOLD COAST)
WAS there ever a more anticipated debut than the one made by a young 17-year-old Gary Ablett Jnr in 2002? Rarely has a player had so much to live up to, following in the footsteps of a famous footballer father. Gary Jnr and brother Nathan had spent a large part of their childhoods following their Dad around Kardinia Park, and Ablett Jnr was eventually drafted to the Cats under the father-son rule in the famous 2001 “Superdraft”.
Now the name Gary Ablett is synonymous with football champions across not one, but two generations of players — one a forward, one a midfielder, both almost peerless at their best.
Ablett Jnr, who played junior football with Modewarre, would go on to play in 357 games (247 with Geelong, 110 with Gold Coast, whom he captained) across 19 seasons, winning two premierships, two Brownlow Medals, eight All-Australian selections and five AFL Players’ Association MVPs. Hopes of a fairytale send-off with a premiership last year were dashed by Richmond and a serious shoulder injury. It was later revealed he played out his final game with a broken shoulder. But when he left the ground to a guard of honour from both the Cats and Tigers, football fans of all clubs knew they were saying goodbye to one of the greats.
4. RON BARASSI (MELBOURNE/CARLTON)
RON Barassi is a giant in Australian rules football as a coach as well as a player. Born in Castlemaine and spending several of his formative years in nearby Guildford after his father, Barassi Senior — who played in 58 games for Melbourne, including the 1940 premiership — was killed at Tobruk, he became just the second father-son selection in VFL history.
Barassi played 204 matches with the Demons, winning six premierships (two as captain), before joining Carlton as captain-coach in 1965.
As a player of 254 games in total and coach of 515 games (at Carlton, North Melbourne, Melbourne and Sydney), he took part in 17 grand final appearances for 10 premierships. In 1968, he guided Carlton to its first premiership in 21 years. In 1970, he engineered a famous comeback against arch rivals Collingwood, who were run down after leading by 44 points at half-time. In 1975 he led North to their first VFL premiership, and another two years later, in a replay after the first final was drawn.
Elevated to a Legend of Australian Sport in 2006 in the Sport Australian Hall of Fame, he was also a member of the AFL Team of the Century and a Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
3. GARY ABLETT SNR (GEELONG)
IT IS a fascinating case of sliding doors to ponder. Imagine if Gary Ablett Snr, having left Hawthorn and returned to a country life at Myrtleford, had never come back to VFL/AFL football?
He’d had a couple of cracks with Hawthorn, including six VFL matches in 1982, but there was no adjusting to the city life.
But when Geelong managed to lure Ablett to Kardinia Park for the 1984 season, it proved the true beginning of one of the greatest VFL/AFL careers — or arguably two, since Gary Ablett Jnr was to follow.
The most famous of the Ablett family to come out of Drouin, Ablett Snr played 248 league games up to 1996 and kicked 1031 goals, including nine in a losing grand final to Hawthorn in 1989 (earning him the Norm Smith Medal).
He won three Coleman Medals, four All-Australian selections, and represented Victoria. While off-field incidents have tarnished his reputation to some, he is still considered one of the all-time greats on the field.
2. JOHN COLEMAN (ESSENDON)
THE Coleman legend was born when he kicked 12 goals on debut for Essendon in 1949, but those who had seen John Coleman play for Hastings on the Mornington Peninsula already had some idea of his capabilities. Indeed, Coleman — who was born in Port Fairy, then later split his time between Melbourne and Hastings — is reputed to have kicked 296 goals in 1947-48 for his home club, while The Argus reported in August 1948 Coleman had kicked 23 goals against Sorrento. At the Bombers, he kicked 537 goals from 98 games, won two premierships, and was a five-time VFL leading goal-kicker. He also coached Essendon to two premierships in 1962 and 1965. Later, the VFL/AFL medal for the player who kicks the most goals in a home-and-away season was named in his honour. He was also named at full-forward in the AFL’s Team of the Century.
1. TONY LOCKETT (ST KILDA, SYDNEY)
THE Ballarat and Goldfields region has produced many great AFL/VFL footballers and coaches over the years — Danny Frawley, Bob Davis, Mick Malthouse, just to name a few.
But, as the song went, there is only one Tony Lockett.
The boy from North Ballarat made his debut for St Kilda in 1983 at just 17 years old and would go on to carve out a career spanning 281 games across 18 seasons, at the Saints (1983-94) and Sydney Swans (1995-99, 2002).
His career 1360 goals still stands as the highest tally for a player in AFL/VFL history, and he pocketed four Coleman Medals along the way.
“Plugger” was the first — and remains the only — full-forward to win the Brownlow Medal, which he did with a tie with Hawthorn’s John Platten in 1987, and made All-Australian selection five times.
The Ballarat Football League’s award for the leading senior goalkicker for the season is named the Tony Lockett Medal in his honour.
He was elevated to AFL Hall of Fame Legend in 2015, and inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2017.
TOP-10 PLAYERS WHO WHO STAYED IN THE BUSH
10. STAN NOKES — MERBEIN, SUNRAYSIA (SFL)/ WARRNAMBOOL, HAMPDEN (HFL)
STAN Nokes kicked 121 goals for Merbein in 1958 — which finished runner-up in the Sunraysia league that year — before heading south and joining Warrnambool in the Hampden Football League.
He topped the league goal-kicking tally four times in the next five years, kicking 100 goals in the 1961 season. He also won the club best-and-fairest in 1963.
He was named at full-forward in Warrnambool’s team of the century. He was described by Piesse as being “physically imposing and had freakish talents”.
9. STAN SARGEANT — NORTH ALBURY, OVENS & MURRAY (OMFL)
THE bush seems to breed prolific goal-kickers, and Stan Sargeant was one of the all-time greats.
A legend was born the day he made his senior debut for North Albury and kicked eight goals. In his 289 games for North Albury between 1958-74, he booted 1096 goals — an Ovens and Murray Football League record.
He was North Albury’s leading goal-kicker a whopping 15 times — kicking 16 goals in a match on one occasion — and also represented the league 12 times.
He has been made a legend of the league.
8. JARROD EDWARDS — REDAN, BALLARAT (BFL)
WINNER of four Henderson Medals — the Ballarat Football League’s highest individual honour — between 2006-09 Jarrod Edwards is one of the greats from the Goldfields.
A six-time club best-and-fairest champion on top of his league triumphs, and a captain of Vic Country under Peter Knights, who named him in his team of the best players who represented Vic Country under his illustrious tutelage.
“The toughest inside midfield player,” Knights said. “And to hold down the centre position, which is the indication of the high esteem I have for Jarrod Edwards.”
7. HAYDEN BURGIEL — MAFFRA, GIPPSLAND (GL)
HAYDEN Burgiel is one of Maffra’s favourite sons. He finished with seven Maffra premierships, two as playing coach, and won two league best-and-fairests.
Burgiel spent two seasons with Hawthorn, but was never quite able to crack into the seniors — despite recalling being named as the emergency on more than one occasion.
After leaving Hawthorn, he returned to his junior club and became one of the best players in Gippsland history. He was also an interleague regular, later coaching the side (pictured, below left).
He named his first premiership as playing coach, in 2006, as his highlight — in that year Maffra beat arch rival Sale.
He played more than 200 senior games for Maffra, before heading to Sale City. Afterwards he travelled to the US to try his talent as an American football punter. He is now involved with the Gippsland Power as an assistant coach.
6. BRIAN GILCRIST — WODONGA, OVENS & MURRAY (OMFL)
HE WAS just 17 when he debuted for Wodonga in 1956, but would go on to play 232 games for the Bulldogs.
He did trial in the city — according to Piesse, he played against the legendary Doug Wade in a practice match — but returned home, where he would win five best-and-fairests and two premierships, in 1967 and 1969.
He was also an Ovens and Murray league representative 12 times.
Gilcrist has been hailed one of the all-time greatest backmen of the Ovens and Murray league.
5. ROBBIE ORRMAN — LEMNOS (NOW SHEPPARTON SWANS), GOULBURN VALLEY (GVFL)
WHEN the Goulburn Valley League selected the first person to be elevated to legend status in its Hall of Fame, it chose Lemnos (now Shepparton Swans) great Robbie Orrman.
According to the league, the Melbourne Demons came knocking for the Shepparton Boys Club junior, but Orrman turned them down to follow some friends from his playing days at Ormond Amateurs — where he played while studying in Melbourne — to St Kilda for a trial match. The experience was not for him and he returned to Shepparton to discover the Boys’ Club had disbanded. He joined Lemnos. He became the first player to win three Morrison Medals, in 1951, 1954 and 1959 — a premiership year for Lemnos. He nearly won a fourth, but lost by a vote in 1956. He won back-to-back flags with the Swans in 1960, then retired. Orrman passed away in January.
4. SIMON GOOSEY — MORNINGTON, MORNINGTON PENINSULA NEPEAN (MPNFL)
HERE is another country football legend that came close to the big time.
In 1987 Simon Goosey won the VFL under-19 goalkicking award with Richmond, and later spent two seasons at Geelong, but was never able to break into the seniors.
He says there was one occasion he might have been close — as he remembers it, there was a match when Gary Ablett Snr was ruled out, potentially giving him a look in, but unfortunately for Goosey, he was suspended. He says he might have been ready for league football at 24 or 25 years of age, but as a youngster he was too impatient.
It was to be country football’s gain, however, as Goosey went on to become one of the most famous forwards of the bush.
Goosey kicked a century of goals 11 seasons in a row, and 12 times overall, tallying over 1800 goals for Mornington, while in three years at Dromana, he kicked 256 goals.
He coached Mornington from 1996-2005, winning flags as captain-coach four times, then again from 2018 to present. He also coached another flag at Cranbourne. The premierships, especially the ones as a player, are the personal highlights of his illustrious career. “You play a team sport and its about the team — they’re the special things. Definitely that, because that’s why you play the game, and you get a lot of satisfaction.”
3. IAN MORGAN — RUPANYUP, WIMMERA (WFL)
YOU will hear fisherman talk about the one that got away, but football recruiters might use the same term.
That certainly seemed to be the case for Geelong legend Bob Davis, who was very keen to get Rupanyup star Ian Morgan to Kardinia Park in the 1960s.
“He was the best country kid I’d ever seen,” Davis told Piesse.
High praise, indeed. Davis had seen an 18-year-old Morgan kick eight goals in the 1961 grand final against Stawell — in those days Rupanyup was part of the Wimmera Football League. But Davis would claim the possibility of a move soured after an incident at training in which Morgan was flattened — and the Morgans needed their son fit to work on their wheat farm.
But Morgan insists that is an embellished story. The immediate reason was fitness, but in truth he says he just was “never keen enough. I was keen on country footy and the club here, and not so much on playing AFL, or VFL as it was at that time”.
“I’ve never regretted it because I had a pretty good time here at Rupanyup.”
Morgan won another premiership with Rupanyup in 1963 (while the Cats won the flag that year also) and a club best-and-fairest in 1967.
2. RON BEST — GOLDEN SQUARE/SANDHURST, BENDIGO (BFL)
THIS country footballer really did live up to his name — Ron Best was simply one of the best Victorian country footballers who never played league football.
He kicked 1624 goals in 270 games in the Bendigo Football League, becoming the league’s leading goal-kicker 10 times (the league’s goal-kicking medal is named in his honour). He kicked 14 goals in his senior debut in the competition with Golden Square in 1968, and 11 in his final game, the grand final win of 1984 for Northern United. He won five premierships over his career, two with Sandhurst, and one each with Golden Square, Northern United and Boort (in the North Central league).
“I wouldn’t rewrite any part of my career,” Best once told Piesse, who reported the conversation in his book Football Legends of the Bush. “I remember a phone call from (the VCFL chairman) ... when they made me captain of the Victorian Country team one year. ‘Besty,’ he said, ‘you deserve this. You have stayed loyal when few were prepared to stay home.’ That meant a lot to me.” He also said that staying home meant financial security and a profile to help him enter politics — he represented the National Party in Victoria’s Upper House.
1. ROBBIE WALKER — WANGARATTA ROVERS, OVENS & MURRAY (OMFL)
WINNER of an incredible five Morris Medals, Wangaratta Rovers legend Robbie Walker is a standout among standouts from the Ovens and Murray league. According to the club, Walker spent two seasons in 1987 and 1989 at North Melbourne’s thirds and reserves, but those years were punctuated by severe bouts of homesickness. In between, he won the first of four premierships with the Rovers. He returned home for good in 1990, going on to win 12 club best-and-fairests, represented the league 16 times, was a Vic Country representative nine times, and made All-Australian three times. In total, he played 307 games for the Rovers.
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