Tony Thiessen

Recruited from Sandy Bay in Tasmania, Tony Thiessen holds the unusual distinction of playing for three separate League clubs in three consecutive seasons during the mid-1960s. A physically robust utility who preferred to play as a key forward, his initial stint at Melbourne was cut short after a disagreement with legendary coach Norm Smith, who viewed him as a future centre half-back—a positional switch Thiessen resisted. After being delisted on the eve of the Demons' 1964 flag, he found a temporary home at Carlton, playing 13 games in the forward line until the arrival of his former teammate Ron Barassi as captain-coach signaled the end of his tenure at Princes Park. Thiessen concluded his VFL career with a short stint in the midfield at North Melbourne before crossing to Waverley in the VFA, though his family name returned to the top flight decades later via his son James, who became a premiership player for Adelaide.