Bill Hager

Bill Hager was a tall but lightly-built teenager recruited by North Melbourne during the tumultuous final year of the Second World War. Standing 185cm, he possessed the height of a key position player or follower for the era, though his slender 75kg frame often made contested work difficult against hardened senior bodies. He made his VFL debut as a 19-year-old in Round 2, 1945, against Richmond, brought into the side as the club managed the fluctuating availability of players during the wartime period. Hager managed three senior appearances in the royal blue and white that season but was unable to cement a regular spot in a strong North Melbourne lineup that eventually finished third. His brief career remains typical of the many young footballers who filled vital roles on VFL lists during the war years before making way for returning servicemen and the post-war generation.