John Gallus

A testament to persistence, John Gallus took the long road to VFL football before making his mark as a mature-age recruit. Originally a teenager from Drouin, he spent time on Melbourne's list in the mid-1960s but was unable to crack the powerful senior lineup, eventually departing for the VFA and the Latrobe Valley where he established himself as a country football star. After winning multiple league Best and Fairest awards with Bairnsdale and Maffra, he was lured back to the Demons in 1971 at the age of 25. Standing 191cm, Gallus operated as a strong-marking forward and relief ruckman, immediately proving his worth by booting 31 goals in his debut season to finish second in the club's goalkicking. However, his professional life as a teacher ultimately curtailed his VFL career; a transfer to a country school in 1972 made attending training at the MCG a logistical nightmare, limiting him to just eight games in his second year before he moved on to play in Tasmania.