Australian Football

Massively built at 200 cm and 110 kg, John Ironmonger was a tap ruckman par excellence who made his league debut with East Perth in 1980, having been recruited from Margaret River. Less imposing and adept in his general field play than when he was engaged in straight ruck contests, Ironmonger nevertheless caught the eyes of the men in white with sufficient frequency to secure the 1983 Sandover Medal.

As had become almost de rigueur for top Western Australian footballers at this stage in the game's history, John Ironmonger, despite having played a mere 76 WAFL games for the Royals, then opted to sever his ties with the club and head east to the VFL, which was where he saw out the remainder of his career with Sydney (45 games 1985-7) and Fitzroy (43 games 1988 and 1990-1). That career also involved four interstate appearances for Western Australia.

Author - John Devaney