Australian Football

Ian Roberts commenced his senior football career with Frankston and the 1978 VFA second division grand final saw him lining up on a half forward flank as the Dolphins held off a determined Camberwell combination by 14 points.

The 1979 season saw Roberts commencing his VFL career with South Melbourne, the club he had supported as a boy. He proved a very loyal servant of the Swans in 151 games over thirteen seasons. Unlike some of his team mates he had no qualms about relocating to Sydney in 1983[1] and proceeded to produce some of the best football of his career. A wingman early in his time with the Swans he later impressed and might be said to have made his name as a permanent back pocket. His games tally would have been considerably higher had he not succumbed to injury so often, a by-product of his predilection for repeatedly hurling his lightweight (180cm, 73kg) frame 'where angels fear to tread'.

Author - John Devaney