Billy Plunkett

Recruited from the local Geelong District leagues, Billy Plunkett was a dangerous forward who made an immediate but fleeting impact at VFL level. He debuted for Geelong in 1935 and quickly established himself as a potent scorer, booting 22 goals in just eight appearances—an average of nearly three per game. Despite this prolific start, Plunkett’s time in the top flight was short-lived; he returned to district football after just one season before later resurfacing in the VFA with Port Melbourne in 1940. His football journey was ultimately interrupted by World War II, where he served with the AIF in New Guinea. During the campaign, Plunkett famously survived a brush with death when he and a fellow soldier sat on a hidden Japanese booby trap that failed to detonate because their malnutrition had left them too light to trigger the mechanism. He passed away in 1960 at the age of 46.