At the moment it’s the middle of the summer and so like every sports fan I was listening to the cricket and everyone’s favourite ABC presenter Kerry O’Keefe was talking about Max Walker and mentioned how he had played 85 games for the Melbourne Football club.
Max Walker played 85 games for Melbourne
It made me ask, how many other ‘allrounders’ played both cricket and AFL at their states highest level. These days it is impossible for someone to play both formats of the game at a high level due to AFL teams already training in the middle of the cricket season.
I went and researched and found a list of players who played for their states highest level of both AFL and Australia.
Most people talk about Simon O’Donnell being the last player who played at the highest level of AFL and for Australia in the cricket. However he is not as Simon stopped playing for St Kilda in 1983, Jamie Siddons is in fact, who played for the Sydney Swans in 1984 and then played for Australia in an one day international game in 1988. Simon did play Test match cricket unlike Siddons but that is probably because Siddons did not play for NSW.
The last player to play at the highest level of cricket for their state and also play AFL at the same time was Craig Bradley who stopped playing for Victoria in the 1989/ 90 season. However 9 years later injured riddled Michael Clark played for Fremantle FC in 1999 and then played for WA until the 2005/ 06 season.
I will now list the players who played for Australia (One Dayers or Test Match) and for the highest level of Australian Rules Football (including WAFL, SANFL, VFL etc).
SANFL Players
- ERIC FREEMAN –Cricket (1968-1970) & SANFL (1964-1970’s)
- GEORGE GIFFEN – Cricket (1881-1896) & SANFL (1870s-1880s)
- NEIL HAWKE – Cricket (1963-1968) & SANFL/ WAFL (1956-1966)
- CLEM HILL – Cricket (1896-1912) & SANFL (1890s-1900s)
- ERNIE JONES – Cricket (1894-1902) & SANFL (1890s-1901)
- GIL LANGLEY – Cricket (1951-1956) & SANFL/ VFL (1939-1950)
- JOHN REEDMAN – Cricket (1894) & SANFL (1889–1909)
- VIC RICHARDSON – Cricket (1924-1936) & SANFL (1915–1927)
Warwick Armstrong is known for his weight at retiring at 140 kgs but played for South Melbourne at 84 kgs
VFL/ VFA Players
- WARWICK ARMSTRONG – Cricket (1902-1921) & VFL (1898-1900)
- BARLOW CARKEEK – Cricket (1912) & VFL (1903-1905)
- HARRY GRAHAM – Cricket (1893-1896) & VFL (1900)
- ALBERT HARTKOPF – Cricket (1925) & VFL (1908-1914)
- SAM LOXTON – Cricket (1948-1951) & VFL (1942–1946)
- JIMMY MATTHEWS – Cricket (1912) & VFL (1907)
- TED MCDONALD – Cricket (1920-1922) & VFL (1912-1919)
- PATRICK MCSHANE – Cricket (1885-1888) & VFA (1880s)
- KEITH MILLER – Cricket (1946-1956) & VFL (1939-1946)
- LAURIE NASH – Cricket (1932-1937) & VFL (1930-1945)
- SIMON O”DONNELL – Cricket (1984-1993) & VFL (1982-1983)
- ROY PARK – Cricket (1920) & VFL (1912-1915)
- JAMIE SIDDONS – Cricket (1988) & VFL (1984)
- DAVID SMITH – Cricket (1912) & VFL (1903-1914)
- GEORGE TRIBE – Cricket (1946-1947) & VFL (1940-1946)
- MAX WALKER – Cricket (1974-1981) & VFL (1967-1972)
- GRAEME WATSON – Cricket (1966-1972) & VFL (1964-1965)
- JACK WORRALL – Cricket (1885-1899) & VFL (1902-1920)
WAFL Players
- MICK MALONE – Cricket (1977-1982) & WAFL (1970s)
- GEOFF MARSH – Cricket (1985-1992) & WAFL (1978)
- KEITH SLATER – Cricket (1959) & WAFL (1955-1963)
- GRAEME WOOD – Cricket (1978-1989) & WAFL (1975-1977)
- TIM ZOEHRER – Cricket (1986-1987) & WAFL (1982)
References:
It is worth noting that the “Australia’s Winter Allrounders” link does not include the players that played senior football for Western Australia and South Australia which we have. Obviously it was written by Victorians….
Another thing to take into account when looking at the numbers that came from Victoria and Western Australia is that WA only started to play against the rest of the states in 1946 and hence could not play for their country unlike the other states.
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January 23rd, 2010 at 3:00 pm
“Simon did play Test match cricket unlike Siddons but that is probably because Siddons did not play for NSW.”
Simon O’Donnell was a Victorian (and captained Victoria for a number of years), as was Jamie Siddons initially.
January 25th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
I know Simon played for Victoria but I was coming from the angle that even if your ‘average’ but you play for NSW you will given a spot over someone from another state. Kinder following from the comment from the late Hookes about the NSW been given a baggygreen in a brown paper bag…
But thanks for keeping me on my toes
January 27th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
It’s amazing how in the past sportsmen still had time to play more than 1 sport at a very high level even though they had normal jobs as well. Now players moan about not hvaing enough time at home with their families but in the past it just seems like sportsmen just wanted to play non-stop. I take my hat off to all these gentlemen who have achieved so much and will go down in my hall of fame…
Vince´s last blog ..Spy Gear
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:41 am
You raise a good point Vince!!