WAFL – Bombers who have flown West
• The great Alec Robinson became a Goldfields and WA champion after leaving Essendon.
Essendon came to Perth Stadium for a Thursday night game with West Coast.
On the club website Rohan Connolly had a look at WA players who have played for the Bombers – he was even able to put together a pretty good team containing premiership players and Brownlow, Norm Smith and Coleman Medal winners.
Here’s the link…
https://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/2019-06-19/best-22-dons-from-wa
Things aren’t all one way in footy and plenty of Bombers have headed to WA. The team I’ve come up with includes a Sandover Medal winner, club fairest and best winners, premiership players, a WAFL leading goalscorer and even an AFL chairman. It also includes the ‘greatest player of all time’ and for that reason Mr Thurgood would be captain-coach (he’ll also be able to tell you how good Fred Hiskins was). While Richard Ambrose and Brett Stephens didn’t play league footy for the Bombers they were around the place.
Dons who came west
Backs: Fred Mann (East Fremantle, South Fremantle); Spot Chadwick (Fremantle*); Dookie McKenzie (White Feather, Goldfields Football Association).
Half backs: Forrest “Minnie” Palmer (East Fremantle); Hugh Gavin (Boulder City, Boulder Stars); Dean Solomon (Fremantle Dockers)
Centre: Graeme Shultz (Subiaco); Albert Thurgood (Fremantle*); Poss Watson (Fremantle*).
Half forwards: Alec Robinson (Boulder City); Geoff Blethyn (Claremont); Mark Johnson (Fremantle Dockers)
Forwards: Llewellyn Jones (West Perth); Ron Evans (West Perth); Fred Hiskins (Mines Rovers, Goldfields Football League)
Followers: Brian Sampson (West Perth); Neville Fields (East Fremantle); Bob Greenwood (Claremont)
• Mick Peass
Interchange: Darren “Daisy” Williams (East Fremantle); Russell Ellen (West Perth); Richard Ambrose (Subiaco); Bob Byers (Fremantle*); Daniel Currie (West Perth); Fred Fookes (Subiaco, South Fremantle, East Fremantle); PJ Abercrombie (South Fremantle); Brett Stephens (East Perth); Mick Pleass (Boulder City); Len Phillips (West Perth).
Kevin Sheedy, who was almost lured to Subiaco, could help Albert the Great with the coaching.
There would already be an impressive array of assistants in the coaching box including Mark Harvey (Fremantle), Neale Daniher (Fremantle & West Coast), Peter Daniel (Subiaco), Merv Neagle (Mt Barker) and Robert Shaw (Fremantle).
* The original Fremantle team 1887-1898.
If anyone can add players I’d love to hear from them. In fact I’d love to hear from or about any players who came from Victoria to WA – it’s an ongoing project of mine.
Note: Thanks to Shayne Hope, John Townsend, Dave Warner and Craig Morrison whose suggestions have strengthened my line-up, particularly among the assistant coaches.
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About Les Everett
A Footy Almanac veteran, Les Everett is the author of Gravel Rash: 100 Years of Goldfields Football and Fremantle Dockers: An Illustrated History. He is the footyalmanac.com WAFL correspondent and uses the money he makes from that role to pay for his expensive websites australianrules.com.au and talkingfrankie.com and fund the extravagant Vin Maskell at scoreboardpressure.com
Adam McPhee? Or did he start at Freo, come to the Bombers and go back?
Wayne Foreman, Essendon 1980-81, West Perth 1982-83
How about Alec Epis (known as kookaburra because he wouldn’t stop talking.)
I caught up with him as a teenager in Dromana many years ago, and he certainly lived up to his name. He was great fun.
Trevor: McPhee started at Freo.
Gerry: Yes good one. Thanks.
Rod: Alec was from Boulder (Mines Rovers) and went to Essendon… and never came back (footy wise, apart from playing for Vic against WA).