Australian Football

George Young made his Subiaco debut in 1969 and played 76 WANFL games for the club over the next four seasons. A West Australian interstate representative every year from 1970 to 1972, he gained All Australian selection after the 1972 Perth carnival. 

In 1973 he crossed to St Kilda where despite a series of injuries, he gave fine service, initially mainly as a half forward flanker, but from 1975 onwards frequently at the goal-front. In 108 VFL games over six seasons he kicked 284 goals, topping the club goalkicking list with totals of 53 in 1975, 52 in 1976, 58 in 1977, and 70 in 1978. Graceful, elusive and strong overhead, he once managed a bag of 10 goals in a match against Fitzroy. Young returned to Western Australia and played one final game for Subiaco in 1979.

In 2013 he was inducted into the Western Australian Football Hall of Fame. Part of the biographical citation read: "The term brilliant can be used rather too loosely with footballers but in the case of the superbly graceful and magnificent long left foot kicking wingman/half forward George Young, it is entirely appropriate. Besides being a delight to watch, Young had the rare ability to swing a match in minutes of brilliance and to lift for big games and he was seldom out of his team’s best in his 10 state appearances for WA which included the inaugural state of origin game in 1977".1

Author - John Devaney with additional material from Adam Cardosi