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Full name
Gary Dhurrkay
Known as
Gary Dhurrkay
Born
4 March 1974
Died
21 August 2005 (aged 31)
Ethnicity
Indigenous Australian
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 21y 28d
Last game: 26y 77d
Height and weight
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 87 kg
Senior clubs
East Fremantle; Fremantle; North Melbourne; South Fremantle
Jumper numbers
Fremantle: 19
North Melbourne: 3, 19
Recruited from
Fremantle (1999)
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East Fremantle | WR | 1994-1998 | 46 | 59 | 1.28 | — | — | — | — | — |
Fremantle | AFL | 1995-1998 | 51 | 46 | 0.90 | 39% | 8.39 | 3.20 | 2.45 | 6 |
North Melbourne | AFL | 1999-2000 | 21 | 20 | 0.95 | 67% | 5.29 | 1.38 | 1.38 | 0 |
South Fremantle | WR | 2000 | 4 | 5 | 1.25 | — | — | — | — | — |
WR | 1994-1998, 2000 | 50 | 64 | 1.28 | — | — | — | — | — | |
AFL | 1995-2000 | 72 | 66 | 0.92 | 47% | 7.49 | 2.67 | 2.14 | 6 | |
Total | 1994-2000 | 122 | 130 | 1.07 | — | — | — | — | — |
AFL: 10,553rd player to appear, 3,324th most games played, 1,632nd most goals kickedFremantle: 8th player to appear, 102nd most games played, 48th most goals kickedNorth Melbourne: 870th player to appear, 454th most games played, 256th most goals kicked
A supremely talented footballer, Gary Dhurrkay should probably have achieved more than he did. A member of Fremantle's inaugural AFL team in 1995, he played a total of 51 games with the Dockers over four seasons, but frustrations over the spasmodic nature of his contributions led to his ultimately being delisted. His last game in Western Australia was the 1998 Westar Rules Grand Final in which he was a solid contributor to East Fremantle's comfortable victory over West Perth. Dhurrkay had earlier played in the Sharks' 1994 premiership-winning team.
Picked up by the Kangaroos in 1999 he failed to impress and, after just 21 more games, his AFL career came to a premature and disappointing end.
A joy to watch when on song, Dhurrkay was probably just one of those players whose natural talents end up being stifled by the rigours of AFL football. Quick, agile, highly skilled, and a superb kick, his best performances were of the very highest quality.
In addition to his two premierships with East Fremantle, Gary Dhurrkay was a member of the Wanderers team which defeated St Marys by 51 points in the 1992-93 NTFL Grand Final.
In August 2005, aged just 31, Dhurrkay was tragically killed in a car accident near Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory.
Author - John Devaney