Australian Football

In 1905, Percy Ogden undertook his first attempt to make it in the VFL when he joined Collingwood, but after just four games he was invited to try his luck elsewhere. A brief stint with Essendon Association followed, after which he spent four seasons with fellow VFA side Preston. In 1910, Ogden had a second stab at league football, this time with Essendon, where he rapidly established himself as one of the finest rovers in the competition. Small but well built, he combined strength, stamina and agility in rare measure. A prodigious kick, he never panicked under pressure, and almost always managed to dispose of the ball effectively.

Ogden was on a half forward flank in Essendon's Grand Final defeat of Collingwood in 1911, and was first rover, and among the best players afield, in the 1912 flag side, when South Melbourne was vanquished. He represented the VFL at the carnivals of 1914 in Sydney and 1921 in Perth, as well as in 1912, 1913, 1919 and 1920.

When Essendon temporarily disbanded in 1916 and 1917, Ogden returned to his former club Preston, which was at that time a member of the Victorian Junior Football Association. He returned to the Same Old in 1918 and continued for another four seasons to take his final tally of games with the club to 161. Between 1919 and 1921 he was club captain, while midway through the 1920 season he took over from Jack Worrall as coach, a position he retained for the remainder of his Essendon career. After leaving the VFL Ogden spent the 1922 season as captain-coach of Northcote before rounding off his playing career with three final seasons at Preston, the last two as captain-coach.

Author - John Devaney