Australian Football

One of the all time great centre half forwards, Carlton's Horrie Clover was public enemy number one as far as most of the Blues' rivals during the 1920s were concerned. Superb overhead, strong and pacy, Clover could take a game apart single-handedly. In 1922 he topped the VFL's goal kicking list with 56 goals, and he was Carlton's top goal kicker on six occasions. He began with the Blues in 1920, having been recruited from Maryborough, and in his debut against Richmond at Punt Road in round two he booted four of Carlton's nine goals for the match. Later that year he registered 13 against St Kilda, an extraordinary achievement when considering that he played the entire game at centre half forward, and not at the goal-front. In 1921, Horrie Clover enjoyed a stellar season in a Carlton team often considered to be one of the greatest not to win a VFL premiership.

A regular VFL representative, Clover captained the team in 1929 in Perth. He captain-coached the Blues in 1922-3-4 and again in 1927, having returned to the game in 1926, following a season on the sidelines with a serious illness. If the illness undermined his effectiveness in any way, this was difficult to spot, as he played some of the finest football of his career during the late 1920s. Clover retired at the end of the 1931 season having played 147 VFL games and booted 396 goals. He later served his beloved Blues as both vice-president and president, as well as representing the club as a VFL delegate for many years.

During the 1920s Horrie Clover had one of the highest profiles of any player in the game, and his impact on the VFL was enormous, all of which makes his omission from Carlton's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century' in favour of players of comparatively negligible ability and achievement more than a tad bemusing.

Author - John Devaney