Tom Cunningham

Hailing from Nar Nar Goon, Tom Cunningham was a prolific country rover whose VFL career consisted of two brief cameos separated by six years of dominance in West Gippsland. After an initial two-game stint with St Kilda in 1925, he returned home to secure multiple local premierships before Richmond recruited the 29-year-old for a second crack at the elite level in 1931. Although he showed a sharp eye for the goals—booting five majors across his four career matches—he could not break into a powerful Tigers lineup permanently and returned to the country, where he remarkably continued playing until age 43. His legacy was eventually cemented by his family rather than his own short-lived league tenure, as he became the patriarch of a three-generation VFL dynasty that included his son, Hawthorn premiership player Jack Cunningham, and grandson John, who later played for Geelong.