Bernie Smith

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For the baseball outfielder, see Bernie Smith (MLB outfielder).
Bernie Smith
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Personal information
Birth December 19, 1927 (1927-12-19),
Recruited from West Adelaide, (SANFL)
Height and weight 175cm / 77kg
Playing career¹
Debut Round 1, 1948, Geelong vs. Fitzroy, at Brunswick St Oval
Team(s) West Adelaide (1945-1947)
  • 55 games

Geelong (1948-1958)

  • 183 career games; 3 goals
¹ Statistics to end of 1958 season
Career highlights

  • West Adelaide Best & Fairest 1947
  • West Adelaide Premiership 1947 (BOG)
  • Brownlow Medal 1951
  • Geelong Carji Greeves Medal Best & Fairest 1951, 1956
  • Geelong Premiership 1951, 1952
  • Geelong Captain 1950, 1954
  • South Australian rep 1 game
  • Victorian rep 4 games
  • All Australian 1953
  • Named in both Geelong's and the AFL's official 'Team of the Century'
  • Inducted Australian Football Hall of Fame 1996

Bernie Smith (deceased) was an Australian rules footballer in the SANFL and VFL, who is perhaps best remembered as one of the greatest back pockets in the history of the game.

Contents

[edit] SANFL career

Smith commenced his career with West Adelaide in the South Australian Football League as a 16 year old in 1945. Playing primarily as a centre, Smith was an outstanding player.

He won the Best and Fairest award for West Adelaide in 1947, the same year that he played in their Grand Final triumph over Norwood, in which he was widely acknowledged as the best player afield.[1]

Also in 1947 Smith represented South Australia at the interstate carnival, attracting the attention of the Victorian club, Geelong.

[edit] VFL career

Smith was recruited to Geelong for the 1948 season and played centreman during his first few years in the (then) Victorian Football League.

Moved to the back pocket by coach Reg Hickey in 1951 he won both the club best and fairest award and the Brownlow Medal that same season, while for good measure he was among the Cats' best in their grand final defeat of Essendon.

In combination with the dashing Fullback Bruce Morrison he created a sturdy defensive wall, and started the forward moves going again with his precision kicking. Under their leadership the Geelong defence was so strong that rival coaches had to turn their minds to finding ways through to goal.

"Bernie Smith had a big smile, fair curly hair and looked like a country boy playing a country game of football. It seemed, however, that everywhere that Bernie went the ball was sure to go.

"He was immensely popular around the club and his adopted city of Geelong."[1]

In 1996 Smith was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Preceded by
Alan Ruthven		 Brownlow Medal winner
1951		 Succeeded by
Roy Wright
Preceded by
Geoff Williams		 Carji Greeves Medal winner
1951		 Succeeded by
Norm Sharp
v • d • e
1951/52 Geelong Cats Dual Premiership Players

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers, p. 121. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X. 
  • Decreased - Melbourne's Herald Sun, August 18, 2007 - Page 90.