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Key Facts
Full name
Andrew Bennett
Known as
Andy Bennett
Born
30 March 1955 (age 69)
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 25y 6d
Last game: 30y 154d
Height and weight
Height: 191 cm
Weight: 86 kg
Senior clubs
South Adelaide; Hawthorn; St. Kilda; Sandy Bay
Jumper numbers
Hawthorn: 18
St. Kilda: 25
Recruited from
Central Broken Hill (1975); South Adelaide (1980); Hawthorn (1985); St. Kilda (1986)
Andy Bennett
| Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Adelaide | SANFL | 1975-1979 | 111 | 162 | 1.46 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hawthorn | V/AFL | 1980, 1982-1983 | 21 | 18 | 0.86 | 52% | 7.48 | 4.05 | 4.05 | 0 |
| St. Kilda | V/AFL | 1985 | 14 | 1 | 0.07 | 14% | 7.64 | 3.79 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Sandy Bay | TFL | 1986-1988 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| SANFL | 1975-1979 | 111 | 162 | 1.46 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| V/AFL | 1980, 1982-1983, 1985 | 35 | 19 | 0.54 | 37% | 7.54 | 3.94 | 3.63 | 0 | |
| TFL | 1986-1988 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 1975-1980, 1982-1983, 1985-1988 | 146 | 181 | 1.24 | — | — | — | — | — | |
AFL: 9,137th player to appear, 5,164th most games played, 3,800th most goals kickedHawthorn: 668th player to appear, 432nd most games played, 257th most goals kickedSt. Kilda: 1,301st player to appear, 719th most games played, 1,068th most goals kicked
Andy Bennett commenced his League career with South Adelaide for whom he played 111 SANFL games and kicked 162 goals between 1975 and 1979. He was the Panthers' top goal getter in 1976 with 67 goals. Capable of playing either as an on-baller or key position forward he represented South Australia six times, including games at both the 1979 Perth and 1980 Adelaide state of origin carnivals.
In 1980 Bennett crossed to Hawthorn where he enjoyed a fine first season as a regular member of the side. However, the next three years saw him repeatedly sidelined by injury so that his four season stint with the Hawks saw him play just 21 games and register 18 goals. He had another stab at VFL football in 1985 with St Kilda but once again he was beset by injury problems. Nevertheless he added 14 VFL games and one goal to his respective career tallies.
The 1986 season saw Bennett assuming the role of captain-coach of TFL side Sandy Bay. Displaying consistently eye-catching form he won the William Leitch Medal as best and fairest in the competition. He also steered the Seagulls to their first grand final for a decade but they were unsuccessful. He remained at Sandy Bay for another two seasons and was a regular selection for Tasmania.
In 1989-90 Bennett coached West Torrens in their last two seasons as an autonomous club before returning to Sandy Bay as a player. He continued with the Seagulls until forced to retire during the 1992 season because of a serious facial injury. All told, he played 65 TFL games for the club.
As a coach Andy Bennett was responsible for overseeing a halcyon phase in the history of the Tasmanian interstate team whom he led to victories over WAFL, SANFL and VFL representative combinations.
In 2007 he was inducted into the Tasmanian football Hall of Fame in recognition of his achievements as a coach.
Author - John Devaney