Australian Football

In a comparatively brief but auspicious career, wingman Artie Wood played 97 VFL games for South Melbourne between 1917 and 1923. One of South Melbourne's best players during its victorious 1918 finals campaign, Arthur Wood possessed all the skills of the game, and was capable of performing them at maximum velocity. Moreover, his brain was just as dexterous and nimble as his body, leading to his appointment as South's coach in 1921, while he was still aged only 25. The red and whites only finished seventh that season, which the committee did not regard as good enough, but under Wood's replacement as coach, the legendary Roy Cazaly, they slumped to their first wooden spoon in two decades.

Author - John Devaney