Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Peter McConville

Known as
Peter McConville

Born
17 August 1958 (age 65)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 227d
Last game: 31y 9d

Height and weight
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 81 kg

Senior clubs
Carlton; St. Kilda

Jumper numbers
Carlton: 33
St. Kilda: 12

Recruited from
Carlton (1986)

Family links
Tommy McConville (Grandfather)

Peter McConville

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
CarltonV/AFL1978-19851401571.1269%9.654.784.4610
St. KildaV/AFL1986-198954230.4324%12.465.834.9814
V/AFL1978-19891941800.9357%10.435.074.6124
Total1978-19891941800.9357%10.435.074.6124

AFL: 8,964th player to appear, 713th most games played, 487th most goals kickedCarlton: 872nd player to appear, 94th most games played, 44th most goals kickedSt. Kilda: 1,315th player to appear, 288th most games played, 273rd most goals kicked

Carlton recruited Peter McConville from Bendigo Football League club Golden Square and he made his senior VFL debut the following year. After an outstanding initial season he was voted the Blues’ best first year player. Then in 1979 he overcame an indifferent first half of the campaign to come good in time for a finals series which culminated in a five point grand final defeat of Collingwood. Further grand final triumphs followed in 1981, also against Collingwood, and 1982 at the expense of Richmond. McConville was a worthy contributor to both wins.

McConville’s greatest strength as a footballer was universally acknowledged to be his aerial prowess, although allied to this was an impressive versatility which made it difficult to decide with any certainty which position suited him best. Often he would be assigned to a variety of different positions in the same match, a stratagem which was a lot less common then as it has since become.

The Carlton phase of McConville’s career encompassed eight seasons in which he played 140 VFL games and kicked 157 goals. At the end of the 1985 season he was out of contract but quite happy to remain with the Blues. That was until St Kilda came in with a lucrative offer that Carlton simply could not afford to match, and so for the final four seasons of his league career McConville was a Saint. He played 54 games and kicked 23 goals for the club, with his mercurial high flying ability making him a firm fan favourite. Prior to the 1990 season he retired because of a chronic hamstring complaint.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Publications

Footnotes

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