Australian Football

An extremely clever and talented goal kicking rover for most of his VFL career, Dick Harris also played a fair number of early games in the back pocket. Renowned for his unwaveringly accurate torpedo punts, he topped Richmond's goal kicking list jointly with Jack Titus in 1937, and in his own right in 1943 and 1944. His tally of 63 goals in 1943 was good enough to top the VFL list.

Harris' 196 VFL games from 1934 to 1944 yielded a total of 548 goals, and included the winning Grand Finals of 1934 and 1943. In the five-point Grand Final win over Essendon in 1943 he booted seven of the Tigers' 12 goals for the match to be most observers' choice as best afield. His VFL interstate appearances included both the team's matches at the 1937 Perth carnival. After leaving Richmond, Harris joined Williamstown, and was a member of that club's 1945 VFA premiership side. He later played with Yarraville, and captain-coached Mordialloc and Camberwell.

Author - John Devaney