Australian Football

A captain at Scotch College, Stan Neale played 28 games for University while studying law in 1913-14. Neale's debut for the Students in Round 1 of the 1913 season drew praise from Observer of The Argus, who described him as being solid in defence in a loss to Fitzroy, and by his colleague Old Boy as "the best of the new men tried on Saturday".¹

Immediately establishing himself permanently on the Students' half-back line, Neale featured in the best players more often than not, referred to on one occasion in Melbourne Punch as University's "Rock of Gibraltar". Sadly, despite his gallant defensive efforts, not one of Neale's 28 matches resulted in a win for the struggling University side, which would disband at the end of the 1914 season.

After playing his final VFL match (in which he was again named in the Students' best), Neale volunteered for Australian expeditionary force, enlisting as a Private in the 5th Batallion. He served in the 7th and 59th Battalions at the Gallipoli Landings and won the Military Cross at Polygon Wood in September 1917 for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty".²

Neale made the ultimate sacrifice when he was mortally wounded by machine gun fire on September 29, 1918, aged just 24.

Author - Andrew Gigacz