Australian Football

If he tends to be best remembered today for his exploits as one of league football's earliest coaches, Jack Worrall also happened to be one of the very finest rovers of the 19th century, noted for his all round skills, goal kicking exploits (he was Fitzroy's leading goalkicker on two occasions), and leadership qualities. He won an early version of the Roys' best and fairest award in 1886, and was the club's skipper for half a dozen seasons. Originally from South Ballarat, he led Fitzroy to third place in 1891 and a runners-up spot the following year, but had already been retired for a couple of years when the club broke through for its first and only VFA flag in 1895.

After his retirement as a player, Worrall took these leadership abilities into another arena as a prototype coach with Carlton and Essendon. Whereas clubs had appointed 'coaches' before, their role had invariably been subsidiary to that of the team captain; Worrall, however, assumed complete control of all team-related matters, even donning football togs to participate in training. This revolutionary approach bore substantial fruit as, between 1906 and 1908, the Blues became the first team to win three consecutive VFL flags.

Jack Worrall had a similar impact on the Essendon Football Club when he went there in 1911. In his first season in charge, he lifted the club to its first premiership in a decade, and the following year he coached his team to the most conclusive VFL Grand Final win achieved up to that point, as the Same Old annihilated South Melbourne by 74 points.

After retiring as a coach at the end of the 1919 season, Worrall became a celebrated if somewhat opinionated sports writer. He died in 1937 at the age of 76.

Author - John Devaney