Australian Football

Originally from Hampden Football League club Terang, Essendon's Charlie Payne made his Essendon debut in 1962 as a 17-year-old. Initially playing mainly on the forward lines, he topped the Bombers' goal kicking list in his debut season with 39 goals, a feat he repeated the following year (with 36). For the majority of his 184-game, 128-goal VFL career, however, he played as either a follower or a defender, roles to which his mobility, verve and toughness rendered him eminently suitable.

In 1962, when Essendon overcame Carlton by 32 points in the Grand Final, Payne contributed a couple of goals from full forward. Three years later, when St Kilda provided the Dons' victims, he played a sound game in a back pocket. He also played in two losing Grand Finals, one with the Bombers, and one with North Adelaide.

Charlie Payne joined the reigning Australian champions North Adelaide in 1973 and, in what proved to be a successful final phase of his senior career, he added a further 52 games in which he kicked 94 goals for the Roosters and proved himself a very valuable key forward.

Author - John Devaney