Australian Football

The individual highlight of John Robertson’s brief football career came at the 1914 Sydney carnival when he won a Referee Medal as South Australia’s best player. A pacy and intelligent rebound defender renowned for his exceptional foot passing, he was a key contributor to Port Adelaide’s 1913 and 1914 premiership wins, as well as the championship of Australia victories of the same years. 

He commenced with Port in 1912, and had played over 50 games by the time he enlisted in late 1915. After service as a Gunner in the Field Artillery, Robertson returned to Australia in mid 1919 and almost immediately lined up again for Port. However, the war-weary defender was hampered by injury and managed only one game that year. The following season, after being appointed club captain, he broke down again after just a couple of games and was forced to resign and, ultimately, retire as a player.

Author - John Devaney with additional material from Adam Cardosi