Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Brendan Edwards

Known as
Brendan Edwards

Born
18 March 1936

Died
10 May 2021 (aged 85)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 20y 27d
Last game: 27y 110d

Height and weight
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 75 kg

Senior clubs
Hawthorn

Jumper numbers
Hawthorn: 29, 9

Recruited from
Sandhurst (1956)

Brendan Edwards

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
HawthornV/AFL1956-1961, 1963109290.2759%26.00—1.0054
Total1956-1961, 1963109290.2759%26.00—1.0054

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 6,634th player to appear, 2,155th most games played, 3,005th most goals kickedHawthorn: 466th player to appear, 123rd most games played, 186th most goals kicked

No one epitomised wholehearted adherence to Hawthorn coach John Kennedy's 'commando ethic' better than Brendan Edwards. A prototype of the modern day 'athlete footballer', Edwards, who hailed from Bendigo Football League club Sandhurst, was fanatically devoted to personal fitness, and few players before or since have run out a game better. During his comparatively brief, 109-game VFL career he was a regular Big V selection and won the Hawks' best and fairest award in 1960. Arguably his best, and certainly his most significant, performance came in the 1961 Grand Final when he was head and shoulders above every other player afield in Hawthorn's breakthrough VFL premiership win over Footscray.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

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Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.