The Two-Game Two-Club 22
In a recent discussion with Bob Murphy and Andy Maher on Melbourne's SEN radio, I spoke about footballers who have played for both Richmond and Essendon. Although the focus of our chat was some of the more prominent of the 46 on the list (Bachar Houli, Steven Taubert and Paul Sproule to name a few), one name I brought up — Bruce Godfrey — would likely not ring a bell with even devoted students of Australian Football history.
For that they could not be blamed, as Bruce Godfrey only played two VFL matches, more than a century ago.
Two-game players are not uncommon in the annals of V/AFL history. Excluding those who have pulled on the boots in 2021, there are 875 on the list. What makes Bruce Godfrey rare amongst that group is the fact that his two games were played at two different clubs — one for Richmond in 1910, and one for Essendon two years later.
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Godfrey is in fact one of just 22 footballers — just enough to make a modern day team — to play a single game for two different V/AFL clubs.
While Godfrey played the second of his two games over a century ago — in 1912 — he was not the first two-game, two-club player. That 'honour' belongs to Des Griffin, who turned out for St Kilda in Round 12, 1905 at the Junction Oval, which was a loss to Geelong. Just over a year later, Griffin was part of a South Melbourne team that travelled to Victoria Park to take on Collingwood. Alas, it was another loss for Griffin. The Magpies thrashed the Bloods by 78 points.
Three weeks after Griffin played his first game, Peter McCann made his VFL debut. McCann's first match was for the club Griffin would play his second — South Melbourne. The result was the same for McCann, a loss, although on this occasion by the narrow margin of just five points. McCann's second game would be for Essendon, but while Griffin waited just over a year to take his game total to two, McCann's second match did not come until June 1907, nearly three years after his first. It was another loss, so McCann and Griffin, the first pair of two-game, two-club players, both finished with 0-2 records.
Mind the gap
McCann is not the only player on the list whose gap between games was longer than a year. As mentioned above, Bruce Godfrey's matches came in 1910 and 1912. Similarly Jack Grant's games for Carlton and St Kilda came in 1906 and 1908, while Jim Moore (Melbourne/Essendon) played his two games in 1911 and 1913.
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But Peter McCann's got them covered, as has Ted Fleming who played a game for Melbourne in 1905 and another for University in 1908. However, even McCann and Fleming's three-year gaps aren't the longest in the group. Tom Moloughney's two games — one each for Fitzroy in 1911 and St Kilda in 1915 — came four years apart, while Charles Suhr's second VFL match, for St Kilda in 1911, came FIVE years after his first one, with Melbourne in 1906.
Surprisingly, Suhr's five-year gap is still not the largest of the group. Bill Seedsman's two VFL matches came six years apart! His first was for Hawthorn in 1936, his second for Collingwood in 1942. Sadly for him, both matches were losses, and hefty ones at that. The first was by 79 points at the hands of Geelong, and the second by a whopping 138 points to Richmond.
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Incredibly, the 'longest gap' story does not end there. The owner of the record for longest two-game, two-club career belongs to Ray Ross, whose first game was played in 1922, and second in 1929! That's a full SEVEN YEARS after his first. Adding another layer of uniqueness to Ray Ross's achievement is the fact that his first game was for Richmond against St Kilda, and his second for St Kilda against Richmond! Only two of Ross's first-match opponents — Bill Cubbins and Horrie Mason (right) — were alongside him as teammates in that second match, and not one of his first-game Tiger teammates was amongst his Richmond opponents in his second match.
A one-season, two-club career
At the opposite end of the scale to Ray Ross is John Somer. Like Ross, Somer played his second match for St Kilda. Unlike Ross, it came only 12 weeks after his first, rather than seven years. The two did share the same win/loss ratio, though — zero wins and two losses.
Not you again!
Tom Moloughney, Bruce Godfrey, Jack Nicholson and Frank Cummins may have played their only two VFL matches for two different clubs, but their opponents in those two matches were the same. Moloughney's two games were for Fitzroy and St Kilda, and both against Melbourne. In each case, Moloughney's team was ahead at the final change but then lost, by two points in 1911 and by 24 in 1915. Godfrey played a game for Richmond in 1910, and another for Essendon in 1912 — both against Collingwood. His first game was a loss, but he did score a goal. He did not trouble scorers in game two, but he was part of a 17-point win.
In the case of Jack Nicholson and Frank Cummins, their opponents were Carlton in all of their games. Nicholson started with a loss to the Blues while playing for University in 1912, but he was then part of a win for Melbourne against Carlton in 1913. Cummins' fortunes went the opposite way. His first match was a win for South Melbourne against Carlton in Round 5, 1918, but a year later in the same round, Cummins was part of a Melbourne team on the receiving end of an 89-point thrashing at the hands of the Blues.
End of an era
The majority of the members of the Two-Game Two-Club 22 were 'inducted' in the first 25 years of the VFL. Fourteen of the 22 had completed their brief careers by 1922. After that, there were two further additions in the '20s, three in the '30s, one in the '40s, one in the '50s, and an outlier in the '80s. Interestingly, the final three to make the list — Ron Paternoster (1937-38) Dave Morgan (1951-52) and Robert Sutton (1980-81) — played the second of their games for Hawthorn.
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In 2021, AFL teams have expanded to 23, including the so-called medical sub. If there ever was to be another player to join the Two-Game Two-Team club, perhaps it would be fitting if that player was the medical sub in one or both of his matches.
An in-depth look at the Two-Game Two-Club 22
How did each of the 22 members of this unusual group fare? Were some a little unlucky not to get a second game at the first club? Were others unfairly dropped after game number two at club number two? Here's a look at how each of them fared, based on any available stats and contemporary match reports.
DES GRIFFIN (0 wins 2 losses)
GAME 1: ST KILDA v GEELONG, R12 1904 — Lost by 23 points
GAME 2: SOUTH MELBOURNE v COLLINGWOOD, R17 1905 — Lost by 78 points
Des Griffin came from Pyalong in central Victoria to make his debut for the Saints in 1904. According to the Argus on the following Monday, "Griffin gave fair promise, but, like all country players, he fails to realise at first the pace of the league games and the necessity for prompt action". That failure appears to have sealed his fate at St Kilda.
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He spent some time at Brighton before St Kilda's neighbours, South Melbourne, decided to have a look at him in the final home and away round of 1905. The Bloods were out of finals contention, so debuted three players with an eye to 1906. Griffin was one of them, but he apparently failed to impress, and his VFL career ended then and there.
PETER McCANN (0 wins 2 losses)
GAME 1: SOUTH MELBOURNE v FITZROY, R15 1904 — Lost by 5 points
GAME 2: ESSENDON v GEELONG, R8 1907 — Lost by 25 points
A slew of players unavailabilities left South Melbourne in search of numbers for their Round 15, 1904 encounter with Fitzroy, and they ameliorated their shortage by drafting in four players from Albury. One of those was Peter McCann. The Albury boys must have done a reasonable job, as the Swans lost by only five points against the top-of-the-table Roys. It's unclear whether McCann then returned home of his own volition or simply didn't cut the mustard, but he found himself back in the 'big smoke' playing for Essendon in 1907. Selected at full back, McCann was not mentioned in despatches in Monday morning's papers.
TED FLEMING (1 win 1 loss)
GAME 1: MELBOURNE v CARLTON, R17 1905 — Lost by 87 points
GAME 2: UNIVERSITY v ST KILDA, R4 1908 — Won by 14 points
In a similar vein to Des Griffin on the same day (see above), bottom-of-the-ladder Melbourne trialled Ted Fleming (among others) in their final home-and-away match of 1905. Recruited from Trinity, Fleming failed to make an impression, but he turned up two and a half years later with University in the club's debut VFL season. Fleming was selected for the Students' Round 4 match against St Kilda, and they won, defeating the Saints by 14 points. Despite being part of the win, Ted Fleming did not hold his place, and once again returned to Trinity. Though he never played VFL footy again, he will forever hold the record as the first Two-Game Two-Club player to be part of a win, beating Jack Grant (below) by two weeks.
JACK GRANT (1 win 1 loss)
GAME 1: CARLTON v ESSENDON, R7 1906 — Lost by 35 points
GAME 2: ST KILDA v GEELONG, R6 1908 — Won by 3 points
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A Carlton Juniors player, Jack Grant came into a Blues' senior line-up that was seeking replacements for the injured Gotz (left) and Harris. Grant did not make the Australasian's list of best players. Two years later he became the fourth member of the two-game two-team club when he turned out in St Kilda colours — just a couple of weeks after Fleming — and was part of a thrilling five-point win over Geelong at Corio Oval. The Saints backed up for another win over Collingwood just two days later on the King's Birthday Monday, but Grant had been omitted, bring to a close his two-game career.
TOM SADLIER (0 wins 2 losses)
GAME 1: FITZROY v MELBOURNE, R14 1907 — Lost by 16 points
GAME 2: MELBOURNE v CARLTON, R12 1910 — Lost by 65 points
Tom Sadlier can surely consider himself one of the unluckier names on this list. An ex-Williamstown player, Sadlier was "parachuted" into Fitzroy's team for the Round 14, 1907 match against Melbourne. The Roys had five regulars away that day, and Sadlier was called on to help fill the breach. Though his team went down by 16 points, Sadlier kicked two of the Maroons' five goals — surely enough for him to retain his place? Alas, no, and it would be three years before he was given another shot in the VFL.
The team he played against that day was the one who afforded Sadlier his second chance. Perhaps remembering the deeds of his first match, Melbourne selected Sadlier for its match against Carlton in Round 12, 1910. But the Redlegs were thrashed by the Blues, and Sadlier did not trouble the scorers this time. Having probably deserved a second game three years earlier, when it finally came, it was not a happy one for Tom Sadlier, and it proved to be his last.
JOHN SOMER (0 wins 2 losses)
GAME 1: COLLINGWOOD v GEELONG, R3 1911 — Lost by 3 points
GAME 2: ST KILDA v CARLTON, R15 1911 — Lost by 114 points
The only member of the 22 to play his two matches in the same season, John Somer might have wished he had been a one-game player by the time his second was over. Having been part of a narrow loss to Collingwood in Round 3, 1911, Somer was called up to help out St Kilda 12 weeks later when a host of Saints staged a player strike. St Kilda debuted no fewer than 10 players that day, plus Somer. Unsurprisingly, they were thrashed by Carlton, the margin a whopping 114 points. The result might have been forgettable, but Somer would at least be able to claim that, in his second and final VFL match, he played alongside future great Roy Cazaly, who was making his debut.
CHARLES SUHR (0 wins 2 losses)
GAME 1: MELBOURNE v COLLINGWOOD, R17 1906 — Lost by 56 points
GAME 2: ST KILDA v RICHMOND, R17 1911 — Lost by 87 points
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Different team, different opponent, same round, same result — that's the story of Charles Suhr's VFL career in a nutshell. As was the trend at the time, last-placed Melbourne used their final home-and-away match of 1906 to trial a number of players, including Suhr from Caulfield. The Fuchsias were easily defeated by Collingwood, and the Age's match report did not include Suhr in the best players. Five years later, Suhr pulled on the boots for a second, and last, time to help out St Kilda, a club in turmoil in 1911. The Saints were trounced by 87 points. Suhr did not play senior football again, but he did go on to become St Kilda's treasurer and all-too briefly, president before his sudden death.
BRUCE GODFREY (1 win 1 loss)
GAME 1: RICHMOND v COLLINGWOOD, R7 1910 — Lost by 8 points
GAME 2: ESSENDON v COLLINGWOOD, R2 1912 — Won by 17 points
Trentham's Bruce Godfrey had promised to come down to play a game with Richmond for some, and he finally kept that promise in Round 7, 1910. Named at centre half-forward, Godfrey kicked one of the Tigers' six goals as they fell narrowly short of the Magpies. Godfrey did not play the following week, although it is unclear if that decision was his or Richmond's. In 1912, Godfrey made the journey from country to city again, filling in for Essendon's Bill Walker who was laid up with the 'flu. The Dons duly saluted. Job done, Brnuce Godfrey went home to Trentham once more, and Walker — fully recovered — resumed his place in the Same Old team. That team went on to win the 1912 flag, so Godfrey could rightly tell his grandkids that he played with the Dons in a premiership season.
JIM MOORE (2 wins 0 losses)
GAME 1: MELBOURNE v ST KILDA, R14 1911 — Won by 38 points
GAME 2: ESSENDON v RICHMOND, R2 1913 — Won by 11 points
Exactly a year after Bruce Godfrey, Jim Moore became the next 'inductee' playing his second game for Essendon, just as Godfrey had. It was also a win, but Moore differs from Godfrey in that his first match was a win, too, making him the first of the 22 to have a 2-0 career win/loss record. Melbourne gave Moore "from the Continuation School" (now Melbourne High School) a trial run in their match against St Kilda in Round 14 1911, but, despite being part of a comfortable win, did not retain his place. He bobbed up in the back pocket for Essendon in Round 2, 1913. The Dons won, but Moore again apparently failed to impress. His two-game run ended there. Though it was short, he would forever be able to claim that throughout his entire VFL career, no team that included him ever lost a match.
JACK LOUGHNAN (2 wins 0 losses)
GAME 1: CARLTON v UNIVERSITY, R9 1912— Won by 19 points
GAME 2: FITZROY v ESSENDON, R5 1913 — Won by 15 points
Three weeks after Moore, Jack Loughnan became the second player in the group to complete his two-game career with a perfect winning record. Loughnan was given a run for Carlton in the Blues' Round 9 match against University but did not hold his place despite a 19-point win. He made the move to Fitzroy at the start of the 1913 season. Given his chance in Round 5, Loughnan was again part of a successful team, the Roys defeating Essendon by 15 points. Once again, though, Loughnan was not able to hold his place.
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Given he is not recorded as having kicked a goal, his omission the following week does not seem surprising. However, match reports from two separate sources — The Age and The Weekly Times — give a clear description of Loughnan kicking Fitzroy's only major of the third quarter. That goal appears to have been incorrectly credited to teammate Artie Harrison (most likely as a result of an incorrect attribution in The Herald on the evening of the match).
If Loughnan's goal can be verified through official AFL channels, it would make his omission seem perhaps undeserved. More than a century later, we cannot give Loughnan the third game he may well have deserved, but we can award him with a goal that it appears was always his. This would make Jack Loughnan the only two-game two-club players to have both kicked a goal and an unbeaten record.
JACK NICHOLSON (1 win 1 loss)
GAME 1: UNIVERSITY v CARLTON, R9 1912 — Lost by 19 points
GAME 2: MELBOURNE v CARLTON, R12 1913 — Won by 13 points
Long before winning an Oscar for best actor in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Jack Nicholson made two appearances as a VFL player. Well, okay, it might not have been the same Jack Nicholson, especially given his performances with University and 1912 and Melbourne in 1913 did warrant another game at either of the two clubs. Included in the Students' Round 9 team to play Carlton as part of a raft of six changes to the previous week's side, Nicholson did not attract much notice and was omitted in Round 10.
Melbourne gave him a second chance a year later, also, as it turned out, against Carlton again. The Redlegs won the Round 12 match but, despite Melbourne Punch reporting that "Nicholson winged well in little "Robbie's" absence", he was not retained in the team. In this case "little Robbie" was Jack Robertson, the Melbourne wingman. Robertson returned to the team in Round 13, squeezing Nicholson out, ending his two-game two-team VFL tenure.
TOM MOLOUGHNEY (0 wins 2 losses)
GAME 1: FITZROY v MELBOURNE, R1 1911 — Lost by 2 points
GAME 2: ST KILDA v MELBOURNE R6 1915 — Lost by 24 points
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Tom Moloughney was another wingman in the 22. Hailing from Leopold, he was selected for Fitzroy's opening round match against Melbourne in 1911 but, according to The Argus, he and the other Roys wingster, Eric Watson, were "outclassed by Melbourne's little wonders McKenzie and Robertson". Despite kicking a goal, Watson was never given a second VFL match. Moloughney was, but it would be more than four years before that opportunity came. St Kilda included him in on the wing for the Round 6 match against Melbourne — again — but the centreline he was part of was once more no match for "Rodriguez and the two Macs [Bill (right) and Jack McKenzie]". For Moloughney, it was the end of a VFL career that stretched over four years but took in only two matches.
FRANK CUMMINS (1 win 1 loss)
GAME 1: SOUTH MELBOURNE v CARLTON, R5 1918 — Won by 4 points
GAME 2: MELBOURNE v CARLTON, R5 1919 — Lost by 89 points
Frank Cummins was another player who could lay claim to having played with a premiership-winning team, and he also played his two matches against the same club — Carlton. His first game came for South Melbourne in Round 5, 1918. Named in the back pocket, Sporting Judge's football correspondent 'Free Kick' opined that Cummins gave "valuable aid in defence". He may well have done so, but he was not named in the Bloods team the next week. A year later he found himself running out against the Blues, this time in Melbourne's red and blue. Cummins presumably saw a lot of the ball in this match, because Carlton won 18.15.123 to 5.4.34. In any case, he was unable to retain his place, his two-game VFL tenure ending in somewhat of a whimper.
CLARRIE WOODFIELD (1 win 1 loss)
GAME 1: ESSENDON v RICHMOND, R7 1921 — Lost by 15 points
GAME 2: SOUTH MELBOURNE v COLLINGWOOD, R2 1922 — Won by 6 points
Clarrie Woodfield ran out alongside another Woodfield — Les — when he made his VFL debut for Essendon in Round 7 1921. The Dons lost to Richmond, and while Les kept his place Clarrie (presumably his brother) did not. To get a second match, Clarrie needed to move to South Melbourne.
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He ran out for the Bloods in Round 2 1922 but, despite being part of a six-point win over Collingwood, never gained VFL selection again. By coincidence, Les Woodfield also eventually made is way to South Melbourne. After 15 games with the Dons (1921-22), he was a regular for South, adding 76 games to his total before retiring after 1927.
CHARLIE WHITELY (0 wins 2 losses)
GAME 1: RICHMOND v CARLTON, R7 1925 — Lost by 23 points
GAME 2: HAWTHORN v ST KILDA, R6 1926— Lost by 29 points
Clarrie Woodfield was followed by another player who had initials of CW, Charlie Whitely. Richmond fans were keen to check out Whitely at the start of the 1925 season but, having come from Albury, he needed to complete thirteen weeks' residential qualification. Whitely had served his time by June, and he was immediately named in the Tigers' Round 7 team to take on Carlton. Although Whitely had a hand in a first-quarter goal, the game did not pan out particularly well for him or Richmond. The Tigers lost, and Whitely was evidently made a scapegoat.
Whitely had another tilt at the big time a year later at Hawthorn, and it began well for him. He kicked the Hawks' first goal but then broke a rib in a heavy collision. The injury ended his match and, sadly, his VFL career.
RAY ROSS (0 wins 2 losses)
GAME 1: RICHMOND v ST KILDA, R18 1922 — Lost by 27 points
GAME 2: ST KILDA v RICHMOND, R11 1929— Lost by 38 points
The VFL career of Ray Ross surely qualifies as one of the quirkiest in history. In the last round of the 1922 season, reigning premiers Richmond, by now out of finals contention, trialled three newcomers in their match against St Kilda. Although the Saints won easily, Ross managed to kick one of Richmond's goals and he was credit by Observer in The Argus as having "at times played well". Not well enough to get a guernsey the next year, though, and Ray Ross looked destine to join the VFL's 'one-gamer' club.
Seven years later, St Kilda plucked Ross, who had been plying his footy trade with Broadford, from obscurity and gave him a second game. Perhaps the Saints selectors had remembered him from seven years earlier and like what they had seen. Whatever the case, Ross ran out for the side he had played against seven years prior to play against his old side. Ross was by now 26 years old, but whatever improvements he had made since debuting as a 19-year-old weren't quite enough. This time it was the Tigers' turn to lose and Ross's quirky VFL career ended there.
FRED HANSEN (0 wins 2 losses)
GAME 1: FOOTSCRAY v ESSENDON, R2 1928— Lost by 4 points
GAME 2: HAWTHORN v MELBOURNE R11 1930— Lost by 41 points
Recruited from Naval Base, Fred Hansen came to Footscray with big wraps, but his one and only game in the tri-colours as a wingman did not seem to back those wraps up as his team fell four points short of Essendon at the Western Oval. He made no further senior appearances for the Dogs, but he got another shot in 1930 when named on the wing for Hawthorn in their Round 12 match against Melbourne. Unfortunately, the Hawks were easily beaten, and Hansen failed to attract notice in the press.
BOBBY MILLS (1 win 1 loss)
GAME 1: FOOTSCRAY v RICHMOND, R15 1929— Lost by 27 points
GAME 2: CARLTON v SOUTH MELBOURNE, R2 1934 — Won by 3 points
Bobby Mills was another two-gamer whose first was for the Bulldogs. Originally named as an emergency for Footscray's Round 15, 1929 match against Richmond, Mills got the call-up on the morning of the match and took his place on the half-forward flank. He failed to make an impression. Five years later Carlton named him as 19th man for the Round 2 match against South Melbourne.
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He replaced the injured Maurie Johnson in the second half, and did enough to be selected in the eighteen the following week. However, he was forced to withdraw from what would have been his third VFL match with what the Sporting Globe described as a "festered knee". Had he played, who knows how many more games Mills may have played. But he never played senior VFL footy again.
RON PATERNOSTER (1 win 1 loss)
GAME 1: FOOTSCRAY v NORTH MELBOURNE, R16 1937— Won by 27 points
GAME 2: HAWTHORN v FOOTSCRAY, R14 1938 — Lost by 85 points
In 1937, Ron Paternoster became the third two-gamer whose first match was for the Bulldogs. Having served a long apprenticeship in Footscray's seconds, Paternoster got his chance in the seniors when he was named in the forward pocket for the match against North Melbourne in Round 16. The Dogs won, but Paternoster did not keep his place. He transferred to Hawthorn early the next year, and gained senior selection for the Hawks' Round 14 match, coincidentally against his old side. Footscray won the match and Paternoster lost his place in the team, his VFL time coming to a close after two matches.
BILL SEEDSMAN (0 wins 2 losses)
GAME 1: HAWTHORN v GEELONG, R18 1936 — Lost by 79 points
GAME 2: COLLINGWOOD v RICHMOND R3, 1942— Lost by 138 points
The man with the second-longest gap between his two games, Bill Seedsman got a trial run with Hawthorn in the final home-and-away round of 1936. The Hawks got trounced by Geelong, going down by 79 points. Seedsman was credited with a behind, but otherwise did not get a mention in the match reports. When he finally played his second VFL match, for Collingwood in Round 3 of 1942, he would have been hoping for a better result. Sadly, it was much, much worse. The Magpies suffered what is to this day their worst-ever defeat, thrashed by 138 points at the hands of Richmond.
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DAVE MORGAN (1 win 1 loss)
GAME 1: COLLINGWOOD v FITZROY, R2 1950— Won by 42 points
GAME 2: HAWTHORN v RICHMOND, R15 1951 — Lost by 22 points
Dave Morgan (left) joined the list nine years after Seedsman. His first match was for the same club as Seedsman's second, Collingwood, and while the result of the match was a much better one — a 42-point win — Morgan was sidelined early in the match by a leg injury.
He made a return to the Magpies' seconds in June, but was unable to reclaim his place in the firsts. Morgan tried his luck with Hawthorn the next season, and he was named as 19th man against Richmond in Round 15. It is unclear if he got a run in that match, but he was not selected the following week, bringing to a close his short VFL career.
ROBERT DUTTON (2 wins 0 losses)
GAME 1: CARLTON v MELBOURNE, R7 1981— Won by 40 points
GAME 2: HAWTHORN v CARLTON, R14 1982 — Won by 34 points
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It would be a full three decades before the 22nd and (so far) final member of the two-game two-team club gained membership. Tasmanian Bob Dutton joined Carlton in 1980 and carved out a niche at full forward in the Blues reserves side. He was given a chance in the seniors the following year, but had what he described himself as a shocker, even though the Blues had a big win.
Dutton (right) did not get a second chance in the strong senior Carlton line-up and was cleared to Hawthorn prior to the 1982 season. In Round 14 of that year, Hawthorn gave him that second chance — against his old side Carlton. The Hawks had a big win, but Dutton struggled again, failing to record a single stat.
Having gained selection in a side that would go on to win a flag, and then in a team that would beat the team that won the premiership again, Dutton undoubtedly had talent, and he was unlucky not to have been given at least one more shot at senior level.
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