Brian Stuart Roberts (28 April 1945 – 6 August 2016) 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 ...

player who played in the VFL between 1971 and 1975 for the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

(as well as a short stint 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 1975). Roberts was known as "The Whale" due to his enormous stature and played as a ruckman. He was the only player to have represented all three States, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

Early life

Roberts was born in the UK, and with his family emigrated to Millicent. In his late teens the 199 cm ruckman was attracting interest from VFL clubs but new

South Adelaide The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Known as the ''Panthers'', their home ground is Flinders University Stadium Neil Kerley Donald Neil Kerley (20 February 1934 – 29 June 2022) was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He is best known for taking three clubs to four South Australian National Football League (SANFL) premierships over three decades as both a p ...

, persuaded Roberts to join the Club.

SANFL

Roberts joined South Adelaide in 1964 and debuted the following year. He learnt the craft of being a ruckman from his teammate and coach

Neil Kerley Donald Neil Kerley (20 February 1934 – 29 June 2022) was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He is best known for taking three clubs to four South Australian National Football League (SANFL) premierships over three decades as both a p ...

WAFL

Robert spent four seasons with East Fremantle, it included being selected in the Western Australian state team in 1969.

VFL

enticed him to Victoria where he played from 1971-1975, and was a Premiership player in 1973 and 1974. He also represented Victoria in interstate games.. Roberts was part of the

John Pitura John Pitura (born 21 September 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Melbourne and Richmond Football Clubs in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1970s. Pitura was born in Wagga Wagga to a Polish ...

trade in which Pitura went to Richmond in exchange for Roberts, Francis Jackson and

Graham Teasdale Graham Teasdale (born 26 June 1955) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1972 and 1975, for the South Melbourne Football Club from 1975 to 1981 a ...

. In the 15 games he played with the ''Swans'' he caught the umpire eye and was second in the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

. In the 1976 pre-season he had a disagreement with coach Ian Stewart and walked out on South Melbourne. Roberts was a publican and for many years had a hotel in South Melbourne. "Have a ale with the Whale" was his motto. In the 1990s he took over the licensee of the Duke of Wellington Hotel in Flinders St, as well as writing newspaper columns and radio football commentary. He died on 6 August 2016.

References

*1971 Tiger Year Book - Richmond Football Club 1945 births 2016 deaths Richmond Football Club players Richmond Football Club Premiership players Sydney Swans players East Fremantle Football Club players South Adelaide Football Club players Australian rules footballers from South Australia Australian rules footballers from Western Australia People from Millicent, South Australia Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players {{AFL-bio-1940s-stub