Australian Football

Indisputably one of West Adelaide’s early greats, Bernie Leahy played 60 games for the club between 1905 and 1909. An extremely resilient and reliable defender who was superb overhead, he had the distinction in 1908 of captaining the red and blacks to their first ever premiership, courtesy of a three-point Challenge Final victory over Norwood’s ‘oxygents’. Shortly afterwards he went one better by leading his team to a 12.9 (81) to 7.10 (52) defeat of Carlton in the championship of Australia play-off.

Leahy also skippered Westies to the 1909 premiership, but in 1910 he joined his brother Tom and talented wingman Alby Klose in transferring to North Adelaide, where he once again assumed the mantle of captain. Although the red and whites tended to struggle during his time with them, Leahy gave them just over three years of exemplary service before a broken leg, sustained early in a 1913 season that would once again see the club emerge as a league power, forced his premature retirement from the game. He made a comeback in 1915 but with the competition suspended thereafter he hung up his boots. He had played six interstate games for South Australia, and might conceivably have played more had it not been for the injury.

Author - John Devaney