Australian Football

Without question one of the game's bona fide all time greats, Ern Henfry made his league debut for Perth, aged just 16, in 1937. He only played one game for the Redlegs that year, as indeed he did in 1938, preferring to concentrate on turning outl with his local junior football club Victoria Mets. In 1939, however, he commenced his league career in earnest, performing to such good effect that in June he was selected to represent Western Australia in a two match home series against the VFL. The series was squared, with Henfry being particularly conspicuous in the first match which Western Australia won by 12 points. Quite astonishingly, these would remain the only two appearances made by Henfry for his home state as when he returned from Victoria in the 1950s he was in his early thirties, and considered 'too old'.

Henfry continued to play for Perth in 1940-1, winning the club's fairest and best award in the latter year, before the war more or less put paid to his football ambitions for a time. He did, however, manage to play a couple of games for Carlton in the VFL while on leave in Melbourne in 1944. When the war was over, as chance would have it - and it was by chance, not design - he was relocated to Melbourne in his employment, and the Carlton hierarchy, which had been impressed with the promise he had shown a couple of years earlier, was keen to sign him. Perth's committee, however, was initially reluctant to approve a clearance, and although Henfry eventually managed to elicit a change of heart, the WANFL clearance board refused to budge, forcing him to stand out of football for 12 months.

A key ingredient in Henfry's make-up, indeed one of the things that made him so great, was his eagerness to learn and absorb new ideas. Instead of clicking his heels waiting to front up in 1947, he spent his time wisely, watching games, making notes on different tactical approaches, and generally assimilating the unique atmosphere of VFL football. So impressed were the powers-that-be at Carlton by Henfry's attitude that they pulled a big surprise by appointing him as captain for the 1947 season. It proved to be a move of rare insight and inspiration, as Henfry enjoyed a stupendous season, culminating in a best afield performance as the Blues edged out Essendon by the narrowest of margins on Grand Final day.

Ern Henfry enjoyed a brief but remarkable 84 game VFL career with the Blues which yielded two best and fairest awards, the aforementioned flag, and not only membership of the VFL's interstate team, but its captaincy, a virtually unprecedented honour for a 'foreigner'.

In 1953 Henfry returned home to Western Australia and was appointed captain-coach of his old club, Perth. The Redlegs made the finals that season, and again in the following year, before making the big breakthrough in 1955 with victory in one of the most emotionally inspiring Grand Finals ever played in any competition. Henfry had made the move to an off-field role that year, with Keith Harper assuming the captaincy, and the transition enabled him to apply all of his meticulously acquired tactical acumen to the Redlegs' cause. He continued as non-playing coach of the Perth Football Club until the end of the 1959 season. A second stint as coach between 1962 and 1965 was crucial in laying the foundations of Perth's greatest ever era, which was eventually masterminded by Henfry's immediate successor, Mal Atwell.

As a player, Ern Henfry was shrewd, assured and highly skilled - almost the perfect centreman, in fact. He carried many of the same qualities into the coaching sphere where his achievement in elevating perennial underachiever Perth to its first premiership since 1907 was alone sufficient to ensure his perpetual veneration by all West Australians with red and black blood flowing through their veins. More than a handful of Carlton aficionados would no doubt entertain similar sentiments.

Author - John Devaney