Australian Football

An extremely athletic player who was particularly strong in the air, Geelong's Barry Stoneham was a mainstay of the club for 15 seasons, during which time he played 241 V/AFL games and kicked 223 goals. Recruited from St Joseph's, he made his Cats debut in 1986, and rapidly developed into the team's 'spare parts' player, capable of doing a job in any key position, or in the ruck.

At his peak during the early 1990s, Stoneham won a club best-and-fairest award in 1990, and achieved AFL All Australian selection two years later. In 1994, however, he suffered a double leg fracture which kept him out of the game for 18 months, and when he returned, although he was still a valuable player, some of the athleticism and verve had irretrievably gone. He struggled on heroically until the 2000 season, when he finally decided to call it a day.

Author - John Devaney