Australian Football

Both on and off the field Carlton defender Bruce Doull, who was recruited by the Blues from Jacana, was renowned for giving nothing away. Off the field he was painfully shy - almost unprecedentedly so for an elite sportsman - while on it he was rarely beaten over the course of a 356-game VFL career which began in 1969 and ended after the 1986 Grand Final.

There were few frills about Doull's game, but equally there were few, if any, discernible deficiencies. It was almost as though he was afraid of making a mistake. When Hawthorn's Jason Dunstall kicked six goals against Doull in Doull's last ever VFL appearance there were some who regarded it as the one major blot on an otherwise perfect copybook; alternatively, it could be regarded as an indication that, just as with virtually every other decision required of him during 18 seasons of elite level football, Bruce Doull's decision over the timing of his retirement was tantamount to perfection. As a result the memories which endure are those of his sure hands, effortless disposal skills, safe marking, fierce tackling, and sublime anticipation - attributes of a rare champion whose status as one of the game's true giants can now never be undermined.

Author - John Devaney