John Nicholls (footballer)
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | August 13, 1939 , Maryborough, Victoria |
| Recruited from | Maryborough |
| Height and weight | 189 cm, 105 kg |
| Playing career¹ | |
| Debut | 1957, Carlton vs. Hawthorn, at Princes Park |
| Team(s) | Carlton (1957-1974)
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| Coaching career¹ | |
| Team(s) | Carlton (1972-75)
Glenelg Football Club (1977-1978) Coburg Tigers (1981) |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 1981 season | |
| Career highlights | |
* Australian Football Hall of Fame - inaugural legend (1996)
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John Nicholls (born August 13, 1939) is a former champion Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton Football Club in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Carlton Football Club recruited Nicholls from the Maryborough Football Club in unusual circumstances: while they had intended only to recruit Don, John's elder brother — who went on to play 77 senior games as a centreman for Carlton from 1956, when he was Carlton's best first-year player, to 1961[1] — their father insisted that 17-year-old John be recruited also.
Nicholls developed into one of the greatest ruckmen ever to play Australian football. He could both tap-out and handpass with either hand, which made him difficult for other ruckmen to counteract. He was extremely mobile for a man his size, and a strong mark, which allowed him to be very successful rotating into the forward line, where he scored 307 goals in his career.
Nicholls was always noted for his presence. His immense size, characterised by tree trunk-like legs, earned Nicholls the nickname "Big Nick." In any physical encounter, Nicholls was invariably the larger (although seldom the taller) man, and he was accordingly very intimidating for opponents.
Nicholls was first made Captain in 1963 for one season, and then again in 1968, holding the position from then until retirement. In 1972, he became captain/coach of the club, and after retirement as a player in 1974, continued coaching through 1975.
Nicholls played in three premierships, all as captain:
- 1968 against Essendon;[2]
- 1970 against Collingwood, the game remembered for Carlton's seven-goal comeback; and
- 1972 as captain/coach, where an ultra-attacking game-plan against a high-scoring Richmond team saw the then-highest scoring game in VFL history, and saw Nicholls kick six goals.
He would also play in three losing Grand Finals:
- 1962, against Essendon;[3]
- 1969, against Richmond;[4] and
- 1973, again as captain/coach,against Richmond, in which he was felled early by Laurie Fowler, causing Nicholls to have double vision, and concussing him to the point where his input as coach was worthless.
Nicholls finished his VFL career with a then-record 331 games (three state games played during Carlton games were added to his 328 Carlton games).
He played for Victoria 31 times in interstate football, a record which, due to the conclusion of top-level interstate football in 1999, will never be broken.
Following his retirement from Carlton, Nicholls coached two seasons with the Glenelg Football Club, from 1977-78, and one season at the Coburg Football Club (1981).
[edit] Honours
Nicholls won the Robert Reynolds Trophy for Carlton's best and fairest player on five occasions: 1959, only his third season, and then in 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1967. In the eleven seasons from 1959 to 1969, Nicholls never placed outside the top three for the award. The trophy was renamed in Nicholls' honour in 2004.
He was named in Carlton's Team of the Century in the first ruck.
With the inception of the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Nicholls was named as one of the twelve inaugural "Legends." He was also named in the AFL Team of the Century, as the resting ruckman in the back pocket (Graham Farmer beat Nicholls for the first ruck position).
[edit] See also
- AFL Statistics: John Nicholls
- Australian Football Hall of Fame
- Blueseum: John Nicholls Profile
- Full Points Footy Biography: John Nicholls
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