Australian Football

A tenacious, hyperactive rover, Collingwood's Mick Bone was sometimes almost too enthusiastic for his own good, and his consistency suffered as a result. He was recruited from Thornbury YMCW, and made the first of an eventual 62 VFL appearances over five seasons in 1962. He booted 55 goals. Bone was one of the Magpies' best in a losing Grand Final clash with Melbourne in 1964 (reviewed here) but he could easily have failed to make the team. 

This is because two weeks earlier, in a hefty second semi final loss against the Demons, he had played poorly, and for the following week's preliminary final against Geelong he was dropped to the bench. His stirring effort when introduced to the fray in the second half helped Collingwood scrape home by four points, and effectively earned him a place in the starting eighteen the following Saturday. 

After leaving the VFL at the end of the 1966 season Michael Bone spent ten seasons with Wodonga in the Ovens and Murray Football League, playing a total of 144 OMFL games, and captain-coaching the side to flags in 1967 and 1969.

Author - John Devaney