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Key Facts

Full name
John Burns

Known as
John Burns

Born
10 August 1949 (age 74)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 23y 324d
Last game: 30y 8d

Height and weight
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 85 kg

Senior clubs
East Perth; North Melbourne; Geelong

Jumper numbers
North Melbourne: 11
Geelong: 12

Recruited from
East Launceston (1970); East Perth (1973); North Melbourne (1979)

John Burns

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
East LauncestonNTFA1969————————
East PerthWANFL1970-197371310.44—————
North MelbourneV/AFL1973-1976, 197895680.7265%15.674.373.0636
GeelongV/AFL197917100.5947%11.183.352.532
NTFA1969————————
WANFL1970-197371310.44—————
V/AFL1973-1976, 1978-1979112780.7063%14.984.222.9838
Total1969-1976, 1978-19791831090.60—————

AFL: 8,590th player to appear, 2,111th most games played, 1,406th most goals kickedNorth Melbourne: 660th player to appear, 142nd most games played, 99th most goals kickedGeelong: 790th player to appear, 597th most games played, 419th most goals kicked

Courageous and creative centreman who delivers the ball with tremendous accuracy. Makes position and kicks well with either foot. North depend a lot on him getting the ball away from the centre.¹

John Burns carved out a noteworthy league career for himself in three states. He began with NTFA side East Launceston where he enjoyed a particularly successful 1969 season, earning Tasmanian interstate selection at the Adelaide carnival, and winning both his club's best and fairest award and the Hec Smith Memorial Medal for best and fairest in the Association. Between 1970 and 1973 Burns played 71 WANFL games for East Perth, including the winning 1972 Grand Final against Claremont, in which he starred in the centre. He also represented Western Australia twice.

Midway through the 1973 season Burns joined North Melbourne where he was a prominent performer in three successive Grand Finals - the win against Hawthorn in 1975, sandwiched in between losses to Richmond in 1974 and Hawthorn in 1976. A conspicuously skilled and polished footballer, Burns played 95 VFL games and kicked 68 goals for the Kangaroos from 1973 to 1976 and in 1978. He finished his league career at Geelong, where he added 17 games and 10 goals in 1979 and 1980.

Author - John Devaney

Footnotes

1. “Football Record”, 25/9/76, page 18.

Sources

Full Points Footy's Tasmanian Football Companion, Crème de la Crème

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Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.