Australian Football

Brendon Retzlaff was a hard working midfielder who spent the vast majority of his playing career with Swan Districts. He also played briefly in the AFL, but without notable success.

He commenced with Swans in 1989 and the following year saw him playing a key role in the team’s 16.7 to 10.17 grand final defeat of Claremont. After the 1990 season was over he was drafted by Collingwood, only to be traded to Brisbane a year later without having played a senior game. In 1992 he did reasonably well to play 15 games for the Bears but still ended up being de-listed.

The 1993 pre-season draft saw Retzlaff taken by West Coast, but he managed just three matches for the year, and was once again de-listed. He spent the 1994 season with Swan Districts, and was then picked up by Fremantle ahead of the club’s inaugural AFL campaign in 1995. This proved to be Retzlaff’s final AFL season, in which he managed just six appearances. Meanwhile he continued with Swans until 1997, by which time he had played 120 games and booted 32 goals for the club, besides serving as skipper in his final season. His last year of league football came in 1998 when he played 15 games and kicked six goals for Peel.

During his time at Swans Retzlaff played four interstate matches for Western Australia. After the 1991 clash with South Australia at Subiaco, which the sandgropers won, he was awarded the Simpson Medal as the victorious team’s best player.

Author - John Devaney