Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Francis Vane Hughes Snr

Known as
Frank 'Checker' Hughes

Nickname
Checker

Born
26 February 1894

Died
23 January 1978 (aged 83)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 20y 72d
Last game: 29y 82d

Height and weight
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 70 kg

Senior clubs
Richmond

Jumper numbers
Richmond: 8, 32, 18

Family links
Frank Hughes Jnr (Son)

Frank 'Checker' Hughes

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
RichmondV/AFL1914-1915, 1919-192387510.5961%0
UlverstoneNWFU1924-1926
Total1914-1915, 1919-192687510.59

AFL: 2,090th player to appear, 2,791st most games played, 2,009th most goals kickedRichmond: 128th player to appear, 186th most games played, 149th most goals kicked

Best remembered today as one of the finest and most successful VFL coaches of all time, Frank 'Checker' Hughes was also a top quality footballer, who played 87 games for Richmond on either side of World War I. Small, nuggety and tough, he roved for the Tigers in their 1920 and 1921 premiership teams, and also represented the VFL. 

After leaving Richmond at the end of the 1923 season he spent three seasons in Tasmania with NWFU club Ulverstone before returning to the Tigers as coach in 1927. His impact was pronounced and immediate, and he had the side in the finals in every one of the next six years, although it was not until the last of those years, 1932, that a premiership was finally procured.

In 1933, Hughes made the short trip across Jolimont Park to join Melbourne, where his close friend Percy Page, himself a former Richmond man, was secretary. The Fuchsias, as they were known at the time, had endured a somewhat ignominious few years since winning the 1926 premiership, but 'Checker' Hughes gradually transformed them into one of the most powerful combinations seen in football up to that point. By way of emphasising his intentions, he also changed the club's nickname from Fuchsias to Demons.

Melbourne's elevation from also-ran to awesome power was largely a result of the close, harmonious partnership between its coach and secretary. Foreshadowing the professional, 'no stones left unturned' approach of the modern game, the duo planned almost everything in meticulous detail, from recruitment through to training and match preparation. Hughes also proved himself to be both adaptable and innovative. Whereas at Richmond success had been achieved largely through a rigorous and wholehearted commitment to the defensive aspects of the game, at Melbourne Hughes was quick to realise that he had a vastly different assortment of players at his disposal, and to adapt his tactical approach accordingly. 

In particular, the Demons had in full forward Norm Smith "the complete forward engineer"¹, around whom a formidably ground-breaking attacking system could be manufactured and honed. 'Checker' Hughes later summarised the key elements of that system thus:

When Smithy led out, Ron Baggott, centre half forward, one of those loosely put together players who was always hard to beat, ran in. Smithy sometimes took a pass, but a quick hand pass to the running Baggott created more trouble for the defenders.

Then we played a trump card by keeping Jack Mueller hanging around the goal square. One of the best marks in the game, he was a problem child in himself. No defender could leave him for a second. Two brilliant rovers in Beames and Rodda were always on the move, and if that was not enough we had that amazing fellow Maurie Gibb doing the cleverest things on the half forward flank. On the other half forward wing was that red-headed bullet, 'Bluey' Truscott. Smith, who was football brains from his thatch to his toes, was in clover. La Fontaine, our centre, diverted play to Gibb's flank or to Truscott, or maybe he drove direct to the fast moving Smith, or again he might ignore the Smith lead and pass to Baggott, who would have doubled around just behind centre half forward.

Smith became a genius at handball. He flipped the ball like a flash to a man running in, and then never forgot to block. The things that fellow did amazed me. He was different from the others; he made a team work around him. Others made the team work for them. He was a real master at creating play.²

Hughes had two stints as coach of Melbourne, from 1933 to 1941, for flags in 1939-40-41, and from 1945 to 1948, eliciting a fourth flag in his final season in charge. His overall success rate as a VFL coach of 65.1% provides perhaps the most persuasive evidence to his greatness.

Frank Hughes had a son of the same name who played VFL football briefly in the 1940s with Richmond and Melbourne.

Author - John Devaney

Footnotes

1. The Story Of The Melbourne Football Club 1858-1958 by E.C.H. Taylor, page 79.
2. Ibid, page 79.

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

Footnotes

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