Australian Football

Max Tetley was a fine key position defender for West Perth in 210 WANFL games from 1931 to 1941, an illustrious 11-season career that did not produce a single goal. 

Born and raised in Fremantle, he played his early football in the Fremantle suburban competition, where he caught the eye of officials from East Fremantle, who asked him to train with them. In 1930 he even played for Old Easts in a challenge match against the Goldfields Football League in Kalgoorlie. However, in 1931 Tetley began working for a company which was run by the president of the West Perth Football Club, Alec Breckler, who arranged for him to be cleared to the Cardinals. 

An excellent long kick, safe mark, and a stylish mover, Tetley was a ready made league footballer who excelled from the start. He won West Perth’s best first year player trophy in 1931, and the following year was a key member, at full back, of the club’s first premiership team since 1905. Renowned as an inspirational leader, he assumed coaching duties at the club in 1938, and supplemented these with the captaincy in 1939 and 1940. He played in four premiership teams in all, and won the club’s fairest and best trophy in 1932. 

He played 14 interstate matches for Western Australia, and was state captain four times, including both games at the 1937 Perth carnival. He also coached the state. In October 2000, Max Tetley was included on the interchange bench in West Perth’s official ‘Team of the Century’.

Author - John Devaney