Graeme Watson

Best known to the wider sporting public as a Test cricketer, Graeme "Beatle" Watson was a talented dual-code athlete whose VFL career was a brief but fascinating cameo for Melbourne in the mid-1960s. Recruited from Ormond Amateurs where he had starred as a full-forward, the lean-built utility was successfully converted into a wingman and centre player by the Demons, utilizing his elite athleticism to break into a formidable lineup. He famously sat on the cusp of glory in his debut season, named as an emergency for Melbourne's 1964 premiership team, but was ultimately denied a run on Grand Final day. His football journey was effectively ended the following year after he sustained two broken jaws in quick succession, prompting him to retire from the contact sport to protect his architecture studies and focus on a cricket career that eventually saw him don the Baggy Green for Australia.