William Laurence Roberts (9 May 1897 – 7 September 1960) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL). Roberts played a single game for South Melbourne in Round 2 of the 1923 season against Fitzroy. During the game, one of the Fitzroy players recognised him as a man who, under the name “Williams” had been at Fitzroy two or three seasons previously. Investigations revealed he had been granted a permit to move from North Adelaide to Fitzroy using the name “W. Reidy”. Roberts claimed he had no knowledge of this 1921 permit but the League refused his request for a permit to move to Port Melbourne and his senior football career ended. In early 1922, Roberts was arrested for stealing a £10 note, and subsequently sentenced to 12 months hard labour in Goulburn gaol.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Bill 1897 births 1960 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Sydney Swans players