Roy Millen

Debuting on the eve of the First World War, Roy Millen established himself as a vital cog in the Fitzroy engine room for a decade. Primarily operating as a wingman who could pinch-hit in the centre, he was a consistent ball-winner best known for his role in the club's most peculiar chapter. Millen etched his name into football folklore during the unique 1916 season, where a war-depleted four-team competition saw Fitzroy finish bottom of the ladder before mounting a stunning finals campaign. In the Grand Final against Carlton, the 22-year-old played the game of his life, being named best afield as the 'Roys secured the premiership despite winning the wooden spoon in the same year.

He remained a key figure at Brunswick Street throughout the war years and into the early 1920s, helping the side reach another decider in 1917. While that subsequent Grand Final ended in defeat to Collingwood, Millen's durability saw him notch 117 games in an era frequently disrupted by military enlistments and abbreviated seasons. A loyal one-club player, he retired in 1923 but briefly returned to the VFL field later in the decade, officiating a single match as a field umpire in 1929.