Australian Football

Whether as a defender or a ruck-rover changing in defence, Neville Beard gave the Perth Football Club fine service in 126 WANFL games between 1956 and 1963. The highlight of his career came in 1961 when he was a surprise winner of the Sandover Medal. Beard polled 22 votes, the same as East Fremantle’s Ray Sorrell, but won on a countback. (Sorrell was later awarded a retrospective Medal.)

Selected in Western Australia’s 1961 Brisbane carnival squad, Beard was forced to withdraw because of injury. His only interstate appearance for Western Australia came in the following year’s match against South Australia in Perth. The main strengths of his game were his superb overhead marking and his penetrative left foot kicking.

Author - John Devaney