Australian Football

Originally from Chilwell, Charles 'Dummy' Coles was an extremely effective follower whose career with Geelong was undermined, and ultimately ruined, by injury. Strong overhead, and exceptionally mobile, he teamed particularly well with fellow ruckman Henry 'Tracker' Young, and the pair were at the forefront of many of Geelong's best moves. Coles was a fine kick, and was sometimes asked to fill in at full forward, which he normally did to good effect. He made his VFL debut in the competition's opening round in 1897, and had played a total of 72 senior games and kicked 81 goals by the time his career was brought to an end by a badly broken leg sustained in the round eight clash with Collingwood in 1904. He had earlier been forced to miss numerous matches through various injuries, the worst of which was probably the broken arm he suffered in 1902 (ironically, also against Collingwood).

Author - John Devaney