Merv Dudley
Footscray and South Melbourne
AFL career
33 games17 goals
- Debut
- R16 1940 v GEE17 Aug 1940
- Most recent
- R20 1945 v CAR1 Sept 1945
Stats
Bio
Recruited from Numurkah in the Goulburn Valley, Merv Dudley was a towering figure for his era who experienced two distinct phases in his VFL career. Standing 189cm, he initially broke into the South Melbourne side in 1940 as a potent key forward, booting seven goals in just three appearances before his tenure at the Lakeside Oval was cut short. After a hiatus during the height of the Second World War, Dudley resurfaced in 1943 at Footscray, where he reinvented himself as a versatile big man and ruckman to notch up 30 games over three seasons. While he was a serviceable player at the elite level, his true legacy was cemented in country football; he returned to Numurkah as captain-coach in 1946 and immediately claimed the O'Dwyer Medal as the Murray Football League's best and fairest player.
Profile
- Born
- 31 May 1917
- Died
- 22 Apr 2013 (aged 95y 326d)
- Birthplace
- Wunghnu, VIC
- Height
- 189 cm
- Weight
- 83 kg
Teams
Bio
1 revisionRecruited from Numurkah in the Goulburn Valley, Merv Dudley was a towering figure for his era who experienced two distinct phases in his VFL career. Standing 189cm, he initially broke into the South Melbourne side in 1940 as a potent key forward, booting seven goals in just three appearances before his tenure at the Lakeside Oval was cut short. After a hiatus during the height of the Second World War, Dudley resurfaced in 1943 at Footscray, where he reinvented himself as a versatile big man and ruckman to notch up 30 games over three seasons. While he was a serviceable player at the elite level, his true legacy was cemented in country football; he returned to Numurkah as captain-coach in 1946 and immediately claimed the O'Dwyer Medal as the Murray Football League's best and fairest player.