Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
George Bisset

Known as
George Bisset

Nickname
Wee Georgie

Born
10 March 1943 (age 81)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 20y 41d
Last game: 31y 167d

Height and weight
Height: 168 cm
Weight: 70 kg

Senior clubs
Footscray; Collingwood

Jumper numbers
Footscray: 6
Collingwood: 4

Recruited from
Footscray (1973)

Best & fairest
1969 (Footscray)

George Bisset

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
FootscrayV/AFL1963-19721662881.7336%19.023.733.4960
CollingwoodV/AFL1973-197441491.2078%18.884.564.157
V/AFL1963-19742073371.6344%18.993.923.6467
Total1963-19742073371.6344%18.993.923.6467

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 7,430th player to appear, 585th most games played, 152nd most goals kickedFootscray: 504th player to appear, 52nd most games played, 12th most goals kickedCollingwood: 730th player to appear, 393rd most games played, 167th most goals kicked

A firm favourite among fans at the Western Oval, nuggety rover George Bisset gave Footscray precisely ten years of fine service, during which he played 166 VFL games and booted 288 goals. Despite lacking pace, he was a dynamic, feisty performer, who loved to "play up" (his words). Ted Whitten once described him as "a typical western suburbs boy".

George Bisset joined the Bulldogs from one of the club's favoured recruiting sources, the Braybrook Football Club, and made his senior league debut in 1963. By the end of the sixties he was widely acknowledged as one of the finest small men in the game, a status he enhanced in the 1969 season by polling 18 votes in the Brownlow Medal, just one fewer than the winner, Fitzroy's Kevin Murray. Bisset, in fact, was extremely unfortunate not to win the Medal, as he was reported during a round 14 match against Carlton and therefore awarded no votes despite amassing in excess of 30 disposals and kicking six goals. He was subsequently cleared at the Tribunal. The 1969 season also saw Bisset secure his club's best and fairest award and represent the triumphant VFL side at the Adelaide carnival. In 1973, to the dismay of Bulldog fans, he took advantage of the short-lived ten year rule to cross to Collingwood, where he added 41 games and 49 goals in two seasons before retiring.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.