Dave McNamara

One of St Kilda's earliest champions, Dave McNamara arrived from Boosey in the Goulburn Valley to become a dominant figure in Victorian football during the early 20th century. Best known by the moniker "Long Dave," he was a powerful athlete renowned for his prodigious kicking ability, particularly the place kick, which allowed him to score from distances that few contemporaries could match. Primarily operating as a centre half-forward who could push into the ruck or play deep forward, his career was famously punctuated by a controversial defect to the VFA in 1910. Motivated by financial considerations that the VFL could not officially match, McNamara spent three of his prime years with Essendon Association before eventually returning to the Junction Oval.

His second stint at St Kilda was defined by leadership, where he served as captain-coach and remained a regular Victorian representative despite the interruption of World War I. Although his final games tally was suppressed by his time in the VFA and the league's wartime suspension, his influence on the code was substantial. He retired holding a long-standing world record for the longest place kick and remains an immortal figure at the club, recognised as the centre half-forward in St Kilda's Team of the Century and an inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.