Discussion Unusual short playing careers

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emuboy said:
Alan Lynch, a VFA star with Geelong West in the 1970s playing the Roosters 1975 premiership and also a talented athlete who competed in the Stawell Gift a number of times, died from Parkinson's Disease at age 70 on Tuesday. While Lynch was one of many stars of the VFA, SANFL, WAFL, TFL and other high level state/territory leagues whose AFL/VFL career proved short and fleeting, Lynch's one season for 7 games at the top level in 1976 is unusual in that he played for two different clubs that year - Footscray for 5 games and then Richmond for 2 games.

In his short career he would meet Geelong twice. Once was as a Bulldog in Round 7 - the Cats winning a thriller by 2 points - and then as a Tiger in Round 13, another heart-stopper in which Richmond held on for a 4-point win over their feline cousins at the MCG. Lynch would later play for the Geelong Cats only at reserves level but he did win their B & F reserves trophy in 1980 and presumably played in Geelong's reserves flag that same season Lynch's win loss record in his one year was 1-4 at the Bulldogs but 2-0 at the Tigers, interesting in that Footscray made the finals in 1976 while Richmond did not. He remarkably also wore the same number 6 for both the Dogs and the Tigers.

While possible that there are other one season players for two clubs, they would have to be very rare and probably either in the very early years of the league or during wartime. I can't think of any other cases from 1950 onwards and until I read about Alan Lynch had no idea of his career.

For example, I don't remember any situations like the following hypothetical occurring: The West Coast Eagles are very impressed by a young Claremont player in the Tigers' victory in the 1991 WAFL Grand Final and draft him later that year. However after just four matches for limited game time at the Eagles early in 1992 and spending most of his time at Claremont he is delisted. Adelaide decide to give him a go and draft him in the 1992 mid-season draft. But after moving to South Australia things go very similarly at the Crows as the Eagles in the second half of the 1992 season - four games with limited game time for Adelaide, and he spends most of his time with the then-struggling Sturt in the SANFL, before being delisted at season's end, returning home to Perth and playing the rest of his career in the 1990s with WAFL team Claremont, never playing AFL again.

If you know any other one season two club players, please post them.
Click to expand...

There are six players I've found so far who fit the criteria -

John Somer 1911

Fred Edwards 1913

Algy Millhouse 1913

Bill Donald 1927

Arthur Smith 1930

Clarrie White 1937


Millhouse was from Norwood FC in SANFL, and moved to VFL due to transfer in employment, then moved back to Norwood in 1914. Worth a little booklet perhaps, he had quite a life story.
trove.nla.gov.au

PEOPLE IN SPORT - News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954) - 23 Jan 1925

Algie Millhouse, who played football for Norwood some years ago, and was a fine all-round athlete, came over from Melbourne to the third Test to meet ...
trove.nla.gov.au trove.nla.gov.au
His wife, known as Miss Muriel Cheek, was a noted singer
trove.nla.gov.au

Muriel Cheek Dead At 60 - The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) - 13 Dec 1947

Mrs Elizabeth Muriel Millhouse, noted singing teacher and lieder singer, died early today at her home in Commercial Road. ...
trove.nla.gov.au trove.nla.gov.au
 
the croucher said:
There are six players I've found so far who fit the criteria -

John Somer 1911

Fred Edwards 1913

Algy Millhouse 1913

Bill Donald 1927

Arthur Smith 1930

Clarrie White 1937


Millhouse was from Norwood FC in SANFL, and moved to VFL due to transfer in employment, then moved back to Norwood in 1914. Worth a little booklet perhaps, he had quite a life story.
trove.nla.gov.au

PEOPLE IN SPORT - News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954) - 23 Jan 1925

Algie Millhouse, who played football for Norwood some years ago, and was a fine all-round athlete, came over from Melbourne to the third Test to meet ...
trove.nla.gov.au trove.nla.gov.au
His wife, known as Miss Muriel Cheek, was a noted singer
trove.nla.gov.au

Muriel Cheek Dead At 60 - The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) - 13 Dec 1947

Mrs Elizabeth Muriel Millhouse, noted singing teacher and lieder singer, died early today at her home in Commercial Road. ...
trove.nla.gov.au trove.nla.gov.au
Click to expand...

Algy Millhouse from 1913 has possibly the strangest career ever. He played 10 out of 10 games for Melbourne (which finished second last) and then crossed to St Kilda, playing every possible game for the Saints for the rest of the year, including their GF defeat to Fitzroy.
 

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Nathan Freeman.
Top 10 draft pick.
Hamstrings no good.
Plays 2 games.
 
Paul Bryce didn't have a short career by any means - he played 91 games for 3 teams from 1987-1994 but is the only player I know of whose career was at Melbourne, North Melbourne and South Melbourne. Yes, I know that the Swans were Sydney rather than South Melbourne when Bryce played for them in 1993-1994, but if there's a player who played for these three clubs anytime from 1925-1981 when the Swans were still South Melbourne I can't name them (if you can please reply).

However, what is perhaps more interesting is that Bryce played in quite a number of matches in which his team either thrashed or was thrashed by one of his past or future teams.

In 1989 playing for North Melbourne the Kangaroos were soundly beaten by Melbourne by 6 goals on two occasions and finished that year with a 43-point loss to the Sydney Swans in a one-sided match in the last game of the season. In mid 1990, Bruce played in a North Melbourne team that smashed Sydney and Melbourne in successive weeks, the Swans and Dees beaten by 90 and 127-points respectively.

Crossing to Melbourne in 1991, Paul Bryce played in two massive wins by the Demons over North Melbourne that season, crushing the Kangaroos in high-scoring matches by 70-points in Round 5 and 52-points in Round 20, and also playing in an 83-point demolition by Melbourne over Sydney at the SCG in Round 15, another very high-scoring match.

Joining the struggling Swans for 1993, Bryce was a member of the Sydney team destroyed by North Melbourne by 124-points at Princes Park in Round 6 (one of the highest scoring games on record) and while the team was more competitive when they next met the Kangaroos in Sydney in the second last game, they still lost by 62-points. However mid-season Bryce was a member of the Swans team that broke a losing streak of 26-games for its only win of the year - crushing Melbourne by 40-points at the SCG.
 
emuboy said:
Paul Bryce didn't have a short career by any means - he played 91 games for 3 teams from 1987-1994 but is the only player I know of whose career was at Melbourne, North Melbourne and South Melbourne. Yes, I know that the Swans were Sydney rather than South Melbourne when Bryce played for them in 1993-1994, but if there's a player who played for these three clubs anytime from 1925-1981 when the Swans were still South Melbourne I can't name them (if you can please reply).

However, what is perhaps more interesting is that Bryce played in quite a number of matches in which his team either thrashed or was thrashed by one of his past or future teams.

In 1989 playing for North Melbourne the Kangaroos were soundly beaten by Melbourne by 6 goals on two occasions and finished that year with a 43-point loss to the Sydney Swans in a one-sided match in the last game of the season. In mid 1990, Bruce played in a North Melbourne team that smashed Sydney and Melbourne in successive weeks, the Swans and Dees beaten by 90 and 127-points respectively.

Crossing to Melbourne in 1991, Paul Bryce played in two massive wins by the Demons over North Melbourne that season, crushing the Kangaroos in high-scoring matches by 70-points in Round 5 and 52-points in Round 20, and also playing in an 83-point demolition by Melbourne over Sydney at the SCG in Round 15, another very high-scoring match.

Joining the struggling Swans for 1993, Bryce was a member of the Sydney team destroyed by North Melbourne by 124-points at Princes Park in Round 6 (one of the highest scoring games on record) and while the team was more competitive when they next met the Kangaroos in Sydney in the second last game, they still lost by 62-points. However mid-season Bryce was a member of the Swans team that broke a losing streak of 26-games for its only win of the year - crushing Melbourne by 40-points at the SCG.
Click to expand...
Doug Koop did:
1731726528139.png
 
emuboy said:
Paul Bryce didn't have a short career by any means - he played 91 games for 3 teams from 1987-1994 but is the only player I know of whose career was at Melbourne, North Melbourne and South Melbourne. Yes, I know that the Swans were Sydney rather than South Melbourne when Bryce played for them in 1993-1994, but if there's a player who played for these three clubs anytime from 1925-1981 when the Swans were still South Melbourne I can't name them (if you can please reply).

However, what is perhaps more interesting is that Bryce played in quite a number of matches in which his team either thrashed or was thrashed by one of his past or future teams.

In 1989 playing for North Melbourne the Kangaroos were soundly beaten by Melbourne by 6 goals on two occasions and finished that year with a 43-point loss to the Sydney Swans in a one-sided match in the last game of the season. In mid 1990, Bruce played in a North Melbourne team that smashed Sydney and Melbourne in successive weeks, the Swans and Dees beaten by 90 and 127-points respectively.

Crossing to Melbourne in 1991, Paul Bryce played in two massive wins by the Demons over North Melbourne that season, crushing the Kangaroos in high-scoring matches by 70-points in Round 5 and 52-points in Round 20, and also playing in an 83-point demolition by Melbourne over Sydney at the SCG in Round 15, another very high-scoring match.

Joining the struggling Swans for 1993, Bryce was a member of the Sydney team destroyed by North Melbourne by 124-points at Princes Park in Round 6 (one of the highest scoring games on record) and while the team was more competitive when they next met the Kangaroos in Sydney in the second last game, they still lost by 62-points. However mid-season Bryce was a member of the Swans team that broke a losing streak of 26-games for its only win of the year - crushing Melbourne by 40-points at the SCG.
Click to expand...

Shane Zantuck is another who played at the three clubs.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Malcolm Hill (RIP) played 22 games for Hawthorn including the 1961 first flag

He then moved to SA & played 40 games for Sturt & won 3 flags (1966, 1968 & 1969)

That is an average of a flag every 15.5 games!
 
emuboy said:
Paul Bryce didn't have a short career by any means - he played 91 games for 3 teams from 1987-1994 but is the only player I know of whose career was at Melbourne, North Melbourne and South Melbourne. Yes, I know that the Swans were Sydney rather than South Melbourne when Bryce played for them in 1993-1994, but if there's a player who played for these three clubs anytime from 1925-1981 when the Swans were still South Melbourne I can't name them (if you can please reply).

However, what is perhaps more interesting is that Bryce played in quite a number of matches in which his team either thrashed or was thrashed by one of his past or future teams.

In 1989 playing for North Melbourne the Kangaroos were soundly beaten by Melbourne by 6 goals on two occasions and finished that year with a 43-point loss to the Sydney Swans in a one-sided match in the last game of the season. In mid 1990, Bruce played in a North Melbourne team that smashed Sydney and Melbourne in successive weeks, the Swans and Dees beaten by 90 and 127-points respectively.

Crossing to Melbourne in 1991, Paul Bryce played in two massive wins by the Demons over North Melbourne that season, crushing the Kangaroos in high-scoring matches by 70-points in Round 5 and 52-points in Round 20, and also playing in an 83-point demolition by Melbourne over Sydney at the SCG in Round 15, another very high-scoring match.

Joining the struggling Swans for 1993, Bryce was a member of the Sydney team destroyed by North Melbourne by 124-points at Princes Park in Round 6 (one of the highest scoring games on record) and while the team was more competitive when they next met the Kangaroos in Sydney in the second last game, they still lost by 62-points. However mid-season Bryce was a member of the Swans team that broke a losing streak of 26-games for its only win of the year - crushing Melbourne by 40-points at the SCG.
Click to expand...
Daryl Cumming played for all three as well..

IMG_3126.png
 
A reminder from the Adelaide board. Sam Smart drafted from Norwood by the AFC the 200cm player ( no relation to Nigel) didn't play a game before being traded to Carlton in 1994.

He deferred his move to complete his studies and debuted in 1997 amassing the stat line of

0,0,0,0,0,0

But got the most important stat of a 100% winning record
 
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Discussion Unusual short playing careers

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