Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Hedley Whiteway Tomkins

Known as
Hedley Tomkins

Born
11 June 1885

Died
6 February 1965 (aged 79)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 18y 338d
Last game: 28y 80d

Senior clubs
Fitzroy; Melbourne; East Perth

Jumper numbers
Melbourne: 11, 17

Recruited from
Fitzroy (1906); Melbourne (1914)

Hedley Tomkins

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
FitzroyV/AFL1904400.0075%———0
MelbourneV/AFL1906, 1910-191371250.3531%———0
East PerthWAFL1914-191530100.33—————
V/AFL1904, 1906, 1910-191375250.3333%———0
WAFL1914-191530100.33—————
Total1904, 1906, 1910-1915105350.33—————

AFL: 946th player to appear, 3,187th most games played, 3,268th most goals kickedFitzroy: 97th player to appear, 818th most games played, 844th most goals kickedMelbourne: 151st player to appear, 245th most games played, 261st most goals kicked

A diminutive but gutsy rover and forward, Hedley Tomkins struggled during his initial stab at league football with Fitzroy in 1904, and was off-loaded after just four senior games for being 'too small'. He returned to league ranks a couple of years later with Melbourne, however, and this time he did himself justice, racking up a total of 71 games both that year and from 1910 to 1913. He kicked 25 goals. In his final season with Melbourne he was chosen to represent the VFL against South Australia. 

Crossing to Western Australia in 1914, Tomkins joined East Perth, and enjoyed an excellent season, capped by selection in all five of his adopted state's matches at the Sydney carnival. In 1915 he coached the Royals for part of the year and continued to perform creditably as a player. His two season WAFL stint saw him play a total of 30 games and kick 10 goals. In 1916 he embarked on military service abroad where he was tragically to lose a leg.

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.