Australian Football

Few players have exploded onto the football scene as sensationally as did John Todd in 1955 when, as a seventeen year old, he not only represented the state and won South Fremantle’s fairest and best award, he became the youngest ever winner of the Sandover Medal. South Australian legend Bob Quinn, after witnessing Todd’s debut at interstate level against South Australia, ventured the opinion that the youngster “was the most complete footballer for his age that he had seen"¹.

Todd sustained a serious knee injury against East Perth in round 7 1956. The road to recovery was long and hard, but after several aborted comeback attempts he finally returned to something approaching his best late in the 1958 season, a year which saw him again receive the red and whites’ premier individual award. The following year, aged just twenty-one, he took over as South Fremantle coach, but stood down after just one year. He would later eke out a reputation for himself as one of West Australian football’s finest ever coaches.

Injuries continued to beset Todd for most of the remaining half a dozen seasons of his career (he stood out of football completely in 1965). In 1961, however, he enjoyed a comparatively injury free run, and 3 of his career total of 13 interstate appearances for WA were at that year’s Brisbane carnival, from which the sandgropers emerged victorious. Todd’s excellent form during the carnival, in which he played mostly on the wing, was rewarded with All Australian selection. He rounded off the season in gratifying fashion by winning his third South Fremantle fairest and best award.

But for injury, John Todd would surely have achieved much more as a player, and indeed might even have managed to fulfill his childhood ambition of becoming “the greatest footballer ever”. Nevertheless, he accomplished more in 132 league games than many players do in twice that number, and his accomplishments did not end when he retired as a player. As a coach he enjoyed premiership success with East Fremantle in 1974 as well as with a superb Swan Districts combination every year between 1982 and 1984. A regular and highly successful West Australian interstate and state of origin coach, he also coached Australian international rules sides in the mid-1980s. In 1988, fittingly for someone so publicly proud of his West Australian heritage, he became the first West Coast coach to get the Eagles into the VFL finals.

When John Todd finally retired as a coach in 2002 he had overseen a West Australian league record 721 games, and masterminded half a dozen premierships, besides becoming a veritable legend of the game at two clubs. He also held the frankly incredible distinction of having been both the youngest (twenty-one) and oldest (sixty-two) senior coach in WAFL history.

Author - John Devaney