Australian Football

Warwick Capper was a flamboyant, larger than life character, both on and off the field of play, who played a major role in bolstering the image of the Sydney Swans in their adopted city. Capper's trademark was his classically spectacular high marking, but his all round skills were also pretty good - with the exception of kicking for goal, which given that he played for most of his career at full forward was a trifle disquieting. Nevertheless, he did 'top the ton' on one one occasion, bagging 103 goals in 1987, his last season with the Swans, to finish behind only Tony Lockett on the VFL's goal kicking charts.  Only Bob Pratt had previously kicked in excess of 100 goals in a season for the Swans.

In 1988, after 77 games and 279 goals for Sydney, Capper crossed to Brisbane in a much publicised deal reputed to involve payments amounting to $350,000 over three years. Those three years did nothing to embellish his reputation and he managed only 71 goals in 34 matches. before returning for one last season with the Swans which saw him add a final 13 appearances and 38 goals. He later played semi-professionally for QAFL team Southport.

Author - John Devaney