Bill Smeaton
Melbourne
AFL career
17 games33 goals
- Debut
- R1 1951 v ESS21 Apr 1951
- Most recent
- R8 1952 v FIT14 June 1952
Stats
Bio
A prolific country goalkicker from Ararat, Bill Smeaton arrived at Melbourne with massive expectations, even drawing early comparisons to John Coleman after a nine-goal haul in an intra-club practice match. The cousin of tough Richmond defender George Smeaton, he was a classic spearhead who had booted a Wimmera League record 120 goals in 1950 before finally joining the Demons. However, his brief VFL career was turbulent; despite a respectable return of 33 goals in 17 games, he became a divisive figure who openly complained about the quality of delivery from his midfielders during a period where the club collected the wooden spoon. After struggling to settle and frequently threatening to return home, he eventually departed after the 1952 season to captain-coach Ballarat East, leaving unfulfilled the promise of his dominant country form.
Profile
- Born
- 11 Dec 1928
- Died
- 13 May 1989 (aged 60y 153d)
- Height
- 184 cm
- Weight
- 83 kg
Teams
Bio
1 revisionA prolific country goalkicker from Ararat, Bill Smeaton arrived at Melbourne with massive expectations, even drawing early comparisons to John Coleman after a nine-goal haul in an intra-club practice match. The cousin of tough Richmond defender George Smeaton, he was a classic spearhead who had booted a Wimmera League record 120 goals in 1950 before finally joining the Demons. However, his brief VFL career was turbulent; despite a respectable return of 33 goals in 17 games, he became a divisive figure who openly complained about the quality of delivery from his midfielders during a period where the club collected the wooden spoon. After struggling to settle and frequently threatening to return home, he eventually departed after the 1952 season to captain-coach Ballarat East, leaving unfulfilled the promise of his dominant country form.