Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
John Somerville

Known as
John Somerville

Born
8 December 1939

Died
12 November 1984 (aged 44)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 20y 165d
Last game: 27y 240d

Height and weight
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 79 kg

Senior clubs
Essendon

Jumper numbers
Essendon: 19

Family links
Trevor Somerville (Brother)Peter Somerville (Son)

John Somerville

Advanced stats
Club
League
Career span
Games
Goals
Avg
Win %
AKI
AHB
AMK
BV
EssendonV/AFL1960-1967106960.9171%10.811.083.866
Total1960-1967106960.9171%10.811.083.866

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 7,159th player to appear, 2,305th most games played, 1,135th most goals kickedEssendon: 713th player to appear, 163rd most games played, 84th most goals kicked

John Somerville was a tall forward with a deceptive turn of pace and the ability to kick long and accurately. He joined Essendon from Moe and went on to play 106 VFL games and kick 96 goals in a Bombers jumper from 1960 to 1967. He was on a half forward flank when Essendon downed Carlton in the 1962 grand final. Three years later the Dons again went top but Somerville missed the decisive match after being knocked out cold in the previous week’s preliminary final against Collingwood. After leaving Essendon he captain-coached Nuumurkah for a couple of seasons.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers by Russell Holmesby & Jim Main; Those Magnificent Men 1897-1987 by Michael Maplestone

Related Articles

Footnotes

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