Australian Football

After spending his junior career with St Mary’s Russell Jeffrey joined Wanderers in 1984. After an aborted attempt to break into the VFL with Geelong (he played a solitary night game with the Cats, seriously injuring his knee in the process) Jeffrey returned south, this time to St Kilda, in 1987 but once again his career failed to take off. After spending the 1989 southern season with Jerilderie he was lured back to the saints the following year and on this occasion enjoyed considerably more success, albeit of a fleeting nature. Indeed his 1990 form was so good that he became the first, and to date only, Northern Territory-born footballer to play so-called ‘state of origin’ football for Victoria. (Two years earlier he had represented his actual territory of origin at the Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival.)

A tough, determined, highly courageous footballer, Jeffrey had an inspirational side to his play which stood him in good stead as a coach. After spending four seasons as playing coach of Wanderers he moved to Palmerston in 1997/98 where he was successful both on a personal front, winning the club’s best and fairest award, and in steering the Magpies to a grand final. A member of 17 NTFL representative teams as well as the side’s coach on five occasions, Russell Jeffrey continued to perform with distinction at a high level for several more years which included steering Palmerston to back to back NTFL flags in 2000/1 and 2000/2.

The scope of Russell Jeffrey’s contribution to football has been recognised by his inclusion, at full back, in the AFL Northern Territory ‘Team of the Century’. He was also one of the inaugural inductees in 2010 into the AFL Northern Territory Hall of Fame.

Author - John Devaney