Australian Football

Few players typified Port coach Fos Williams’s ethos better than Berri recruit Ron Elleway, who took in his stride the daunting task of stepping into the shoes of triple All Australian full back John Abley, going on to play 204 games for the Magpies plus 9 state games between 1961 and 1971. Later in his career the 193cm, slimly built Elleway sometimes played as a ruckman, but it is as a hard bumping, dogged, ultra-miserly full back that he is undoubtedly best remembered.

Extremely adept in the air, and surprisingly quick on the ground, Elleway was also a superb, seemingly effortless left foot kick. In interstate matches he formed an effective partnership with Sturt’s 1966 All Australian back pocket player, Brenton Adcock, an alliance which in some ways resembled that of the 1980s and ‘90s Port Adelaide pair Roger Delaney and George Fiacchi. At Port Adelaide, Elleway’s main defensive partner was Bob Fabian until his retirement in 1965, and thereafter 1967 Magarey Medallist Trevor Obst.

If Elleway had a weakness, it was probably his short fuse, which sometimes caused him to lose his focus, allowing his opponent to obtain easy possessions. This happened in the second half of the 1966 Grand Final when Sturt full forward Malcolm ‘Emmy’ Jones was able to cut loose and procure 8 match-winning goals.

Whether by chance or through a deliberate process of cultivation, Elleway tended to look every bit as fierce as he was. Indeed, Peter McConnell’s memorable description of Elleway as resembling the character Lurch from The Addams Family TV series is actually uncannily accurate.

Following his retirement as a player, Ron Elleway returned to Port for a time as senior team runner.

Author - John Devaney