Almanac Footy: Fitzroy Football Club’s 15 biggest season goal scorers in the modern era

 

Fitzroy Football Club’s 15 biggest season goal scorers in the modern era, by Philip Mendes

 

There have now been multiple books and articles published exploring Fitzroy Football Club’s proud history and disappointing end. I strongly favour those publications which highlight the Roys’ highs and victories, particularly their greatest games, players and goal kickers.

 

Building on my previous article exploring their nine biggest bags of the modern era (i.e. 11 or 10 or 9 goals in a single game),[1] I present here their 15 top season goal scorers from 1970-1996. The four players profiled are Bernie Quinlan, Bob Beecroft, Richard Osborne and Alistair Lynch. Each of their overall playing statistics are detailed in the Table below. Michael Conlan was unlucky to miss out, given he scored 52 goals in 1982, and 51 goals in both 1983 and 1984.

 

Bernie Quinlan would vie closely with Gary Wilson as the greatest Fitzroy player of the modern era. I saw him do things that few if any other VFL players could do. He was a prodigious kick who could easily score from anywhere within 60 metres of goal, and had ridiculous speed and agility for such a big man. When he was on the field, you always felt the Roys were a chance to manufacture winning comebacks irrespective of the size of the deficit. I was very fortunate indeed to watch many of Superboot’s games in his eight and a half seasons at Fitzroy, particularly in the golden years from 1979-84 at the Junction Oval.[2]

 

Bob Beecroft was a unique player. Tall and possessing a huge leap, he succeeded despite poor eye sight. He was not the most technically sound kick, but developed a very precise routine that enabled considerable accuracy. As a 13 and 14 year old, I greatly enjoyed watching him kick big tallies in 1978 and 1979 that shot the Roys up the ladder.[3]

 

Richard Osborne was an out and out star who transitioned from a running defender and winger to become a match winning key forward even though he was only 182 centimetres tall. There was arguably no more exciting sight in football than Ossie taking a huge pack mark, or using his lightning speed to break clear and kick a long goal on the run.[4]

 

Alistair Lynch always looked likely to be a star. He was both strong and tall, and had a huge leap winning Mark of the Year in 1989 for a skyscraper against North Melbourne:

 

 

But his brilliance either as a key forward or key backman was often spasmodic. However in 1993, it all came together, and he became one of the top players in the VFL. Alas, this was his last season at Fitzroy before he transferred to the Brisbane Bears.

 

One: Bernie Quinlan, 116 goals (1983)

What an amazing season by 32 year old Superboot, kicking 116 goals in 24 games to win the Coleman Medal.[5] The Fitzroy home crowd stood clapping and cheering for at least five minutes when he scored his 100^th goal in the Round 21 game against Collingwood.[6]

 

Superboot’s biggest bag was his 10 goals against lowly St Kilda in Round Six at Moorabbin. His total match statistics that day were 14 kicks, 3 handballs, 8 marks, and 5 hitouts. He destroyed three opponents including St Kilda stalwart Trevor Barker on whom he kicked four goals in the second quarter.[7] Columnist David Humphries opined that “When he is in touch – and that is far too frequent for opposition coaches – Quinlan is the craftsman in a team of highly competent, dedicated and disciplined journeymen: the artist whose finishing touches add the bright hues to foundations built on honest, professional football”.^[8]

 

 

Other big bags included nine in a Round 12 loss to Hawthorn, eight against Melbourne in Round 8, and the remarkable eight goals that so nearly delivered Fitzroy a victory over Hawthorn in the Qualifying Final. There were also two seven-goal performances against North Melbourne in Rounds 2 and 13.[9]

 

Two: Bernie Quinlan, 105 goals (1984) 

Another remarkable season by 33 year-old Superboot, drilling 105 goals in 23 games to win the Coleman Medal for the second year in a row. The century came in the Round 22 home game against St Kilda.[10]

 

His biggest bag was 11 goals against North Melbourne in Round 21. His total match statistics that day were 12 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 marks, two hit outs. He dobbed four in the opening quarter, one in the second, and three in each of the third and final quarters. This was the highest number of goals by a Fitzroy player in a game since Jack Moriarty kicked 12 in 1928, and took him to 97 goals for the season.[11] Journalist Ken Piesse called him “a legend of Australian football”, adding that ‘several of his goals were from snap shots with both feet, the mark of the complete footballer’. ^[12]

 

He also drilled nine against Melbourne in Round 18. His total match statistics were 17 kicks, 4 handballs, 11 marks, and 2 hit outs. The Sunday Press called Quinlan “unstoppable” and too good for three opponents.^[13]  Other big bags were seven against North Melbourne in Round 11, and seven against Footscray in Round 14.

 

Three: Bob Beecroft, 87 goals (1979)

An impressive 87 goals in 24 games from the 27 year-old full forward to finish a close fourth on the VFL goalkicking table. His biggest bag was 10 goals against Melbourne in Round 17 in what was then the largest ever VFL/AFL score. The winning margin of 190 points remains a record. His total match statistics that day were 16 kicks, 2 handballs, 13 marks, and 2 hitouts.^[14]

 

 

His other big bags included eight against Melbourne in Round 6 and Footscray in Round 21,[15] and seven against Essendon in Round 5 and Footscray in Round 10.

 

Four: Bernie Quinlan, 84 goals (1985)

34 year old Superboot drilled another 84 goals in 22 games despite a poor season by the Lions. He finished second on the VFL goalkicking table behind Simon Beazley. His big bags included eight against Geelong in Round 11, seven against St Kilda in Round 5, and six against Melbourne in Round 1 and Hawthorn in Round 6.

 

Five: Bernie Quinlan, 72 goals (1981)

At the age of 30, Superboot nailed 72 goals in 24 games playing as a roaming forward. He won the Brownlow Medal, and also finished fourth on the VFL goalkicking table. His big bags included six against Melbourne in Round 2 and North Melbourne in Round 16. And his five against top side Carlton in Round 13 included his famous torpedo on the run which commentator Sandy Roberts termed a “mammoth kick”.[16]   Watch Here.

 

Equal Six: Alistair Lynch, 68 goals (1993)

Lynch dominated at full forward scoring 68 goals in 20 games. He won the FFC Best and Fairest, finished 8^th on the AFL goalkicking table, and was also named in the All-Australian Team. His big bags included eight versus Footscray in Round 18:

 

 

and seven against North Melbourne in Round 14:

 

 

[17] and Brisbane in Round 21.[18] He also kicked six goals on three occasions.[19]

 

Equal Six: Richard Osborne, 68 goals (1989)

Osborne dominated with 68 goals in 16 games to finish 4^th on the VFL goalkicking ladder, before injuring his knee in the Round 20 clash against Collingwood. This included a remarkable bag of 11 goals against Melbourne in Round 18 including six in the 3^rd quarter alone. His total match statistics were 14 kicks, one handball, and 9 marks. According to Steve Waldon, “The blond spearhead showed few signs of a troublesome ankle injury as he led to open spaces and kicked accurately from many angles and distances”. ^[20]

 

 

His other big bags that season included eight against Melbourne in Round one, and seven against St Kilda in Round three and Richmond in Round 17.

 

Eight: Bob Beecroft, 65 goals (1978)

26 year old Beecroft kicked 65 goals in 19 games, to finish 7^th on the VFL goalkicking table. He started the season with a bang drilling 26 goals in the opening four matches. That initial burst included a bag of nine in a Round Two loss to Melbourne, and then a match winning 10 against South Melbourne in Round four. His total match statistics that day were 13 kicks, 2 handballs, and 9 marks. Beecroft booted five and Gary Wilson four in a devastating ten goal final quarter comeback. Beecroft’s 10 goals was the first 10 goal bag by a Fitzroy player since Fred Hughson in 1938, and a club record at the Junction Oval.[21]

 

 Nine: Bob Beecroft, 63 goals (1980)

Beecroft notched 63 goals in 19 games despite the Roys winning the wooden spoon to finish 6^th on the VFL goalkicking table. His biggest bag was seven against Carlton in Round 11. He also booted six against Melbourne in Round two, Collingwood in Round 8, and Footscray in Round 12.

 

Equal Ten: Richard Osborne, 62 goals (1986)

Ossie scored 62 goals in 25 games to finish 8^th on the VFL goalkicking ladder. Playing as the spearhead whenever Quinlan was unavailable due to injury, his biggest bag was six against Geelong in Round 12, and his total match statistics were 23 kicks, three handballs, 7 marks and six goals five:

 

 

Richard Osborne, 62 goals (1987)

Ossie booted 62 goals in 21 games as the key forward to finish 7^th on the VFL goalkicking ladder. His biggest bags were seven against Brisbane in Round four, and six against Carlton in Round nine.

 

Twelve: Richard Osborne, 60 goals (1988)

Ossie notched 60 goals in 20 games to finish 6^th on the VFL goalkicking table, despite Fitzroy finishing 10^th with only seven wins. He booted eight goals three times against Geelong in Round nine, North Melbourne in Round 10, and Footscray in Round 21:

 

 

Thirteen: Bob Beecroft, 59 goals (1977)

Beecroft scored 59 goals in 21 games to finish 5^th on the VFL goalkicking table, despite Fitzroy securing only six victories for the season. His big bags included seven against Essendon in Round 10 and Geelong in Round 22, and six against Richmond in Round one:

 

 

Fourteen: Richard Osborne, 58 goals (1992)

Ossie notched 58 goals from 16 games to finish 11^th on the VFL goalkicking table, after exploding with 35 goals in the opening seven matches. His biggest bag was eight against Richmond in Round eight, and total match statistics of 21 kicks, 10 marks and eight goals seven:

 

 

After this game, Martin Blake interviewed Osborne, noting that he had regained his confidence after the serious knee injury suffered in August 1989. Blake noted: “It takes a special player to draw comparisons with the great Gary Ablett, as he has done in the past”, and concluded that “a century of goals is not beyond him”.^[22]

 

Other big bags included seven against Essendon in Round two, and six against St Kilda in Round five.

 

Fifteen: Bernie Quinlan, 53 goals (1982)

31 year-old Quinlan notched 53 goals in 21 games to finish 11^th on the VFL goalkicking table. He booted five goals on five separate occasions in Rounds 3, 9, 11, 19 and finally against Footscray in Round 21:

 

 

 

 

Player name	Number of FFC games	Number of FFC goals
Bernie Quinlan, 1978-86	189	576
Richard Osborne, 1982-92	187	411
Bob Beecroft, 1976-80	96	291
Alistair Lynch, 1988-93	120	173

 

 

[1] Philip Mendes (2025) “Fitzroy Football Club’s nine biggest bags in the modern era”, Footy Almanac, 22 January, https://www.footyalmanac.com.au/almanac-footy-fitzroy-football-clubs-nine-biggest-bags-in-the-modern-era/.

[2] Peter Ryan (2010) “Bernie Quinlan, A champion ahead of his time”, AFL Record, 3 September, pp.83-90.

[3] On Beecroft’s Fitzroy career, see Robert James (Bob) Beecroft (2022) Out of the frying pan: Into the fire. Green Hill Publishing, pp.82-92.

[4] On Osborne’s Fitzroy career, see Richard Osborne and Michael Hyde (1998) Ossie Rules. Victoria University of Technology, pp.13-19, 41-44, 96-98.

[5] Jon Anderson (2016) 21 living legends: 100 goals, the stars that kicked them. Hardie Grant Books, pp.149-159; Brian Hansen (1997) The Centurions. Brian Hansen Nominees, pp.227-231.

[6] Pete Carter (2020) Fitzroy’s Fabulous Century, Mr Smudge Books. Fremantle, pp.322-325.

[7] Pete Carter (2020) Fitzroy’s Fabulous Century, pp.8-10.

[8] David Humphries (1983) “Quinlan, Lions get 10 out of 10”, The Age, 2 May.

[9] Pete Carter (2020), pp.341-345.

[10] Pete Carter (2020), pp.280-283.

[11] Michael Carrick (1984) “Quinlan adds to North’s woes”, The Age, 27 August 1984; Pete Carter. (2020) Fitzroy’s Fabulous Century, pp.139-141.

[12] Ken Piesse (1984) “Hail, Quinlan, living legend”, Sunday Press, 26 August.

[13] Anonymous (1984) “Bernie boots it to Demons”, Sunday Press, 5 August; Malcolm Conn (1984) “Melbourne boom goes bust”, The Age, 6 August.

[14] Michael Lovett (1979) “Lionised…And record goes”, Sunday Press, 29 July; Rod Nicholson (1979) “Fitzroy’s massacre”, Herald, 28 July; Pete Carter (2020), pp.326-330.

[15] Pete Carter (2020), pp.60-62.

[16] Peter Stone, ‘Proudly Lions’, Sunday Press, 21 June 1981.

[17] Pete Carter (2020), pp.114-116.

[18] Pete Carter (2020), pp.28-30.

[19] Pete Carter (2020), pp.93-95.

[20] Steve Waldon (1989) “Lions give Demons a start then rout them”, The Age, 7 August, p.32. See also Pete Carter (2020), pp.249-251.

[21] Pete Carter (2020), pp.273-276.

[22] Martin Blake (1992) “Osborne is winning mind games again”, The Age, 13 May.

 

 

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