Russell Dickson

A product of Greensborough in the Diamond Valley, Russell Dickson was a dual-sided talent who initially resisted the VFL to play local senior football before finally joining Collingwood. After serving a two-year apprenticeship in the reserves and barely retaining his spot on the list, he made a spectacular debut in the opening round of 1985—the league's first-ever night match at the MCG—where he booted four goals and polled two Brownlow votes. An opportunistic small forward with a dashing playing style and sharp goal sense, Dickson was often compared to the mercurial Mike Richardson but struggled to break into a midfield rotation stacked with stars like Tony Shaw and Geoff Raines. Ultimately, his time at the elite level was cut short by a series of hamstring issues and a broken wrist, leading him to return to Greensborough where he became a suburban football legend, eventually serving as a dual best-and-fairest winner and premiership coach.