Darryl Lewis Sutton (27 July 1952 – 28 January 2017) 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 for the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Kangaroos also ...

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 ...

and the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

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). He also played for the

Glenorchy Football Club The Glenorchy District Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Tasmanian State League and the Southern Football League in Tasmania, Australia. History The club is nicknamed the Magpies after its black and ...

and

North Hobart Football Club The North Hobart Football Club, nicknamed ''The Demons'', is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Tasmanian State League. The club returned to the state league in 2018 after its position was effectively filled by a new club, the ...

in the Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL). Born at

Calvary Hospital, Hobart Calvary Hospital is a Catholic not-for-profit private hospital, located in Lenah Valley, Hobart, Tasmania. It was founded by the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary in 1940. The Calvary St. John's Hospital site began its healthcare heritage in ...

to Lew Sutton and Margaret (Meg) (née Collis), Sutton was a utility player and was recruited to North Melbourne in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

from Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL) side Glenorchy but left the club after just one season, due to ill health, and returned to Glenorchy. Sutton's second stint with North Melbourne began in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

and was more successful. He kicked five goals in that year's one point Preliminary Final win over

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

but they lost the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

. During his 91 games Sutton was used in both defence and up forward and was a member of their 1977 premiership side. He earned

All Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led by ...

selection in both 1979 and 1980 for his performances as captain of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

at the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

state carnivals. Before he retired from the VFL in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

Sutton played with two more clubs, first Richmond and after a season and a half played out his final year at Sydney. In 1984 he was appointed captain-coach of

North Hobart North Hobart is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. As its name suggests, it lies directly north of the CBD. The main street of North Hobart is Elizabeth Street, which extends northward from the Elizabeth Street Mall in the ...

in the TANFL for three seasons, starring with 12 goals in the 1984 First Semi Final victory over

New Norfolk New Norfolk is a town on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2011, 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543. Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Hi ...

in a stint which saw the Demons play finals football in his first year, in his last year as coach of the Demons he guided his side into the finals where they were beaten in the 1st Semi Final of the newly expanded TFL Statewide League competition. Sutton died from pneumonia, but had been suffering dementia in the latter years of his life. Tasmanian football legend

Peter Hudson Peter John Hudson AM (born 19 February 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the New Norfolk Football Club and Glenorchy Football Club in the Ta ...

, who played with and against Sutton, paid tribute upon hearing of his death:

He had an enormous leap, that was one of his strengths. The fact he could jump so high, I loved having him in our team at Glenorchy. I was so thrilled when Darryl not only went to North Melbourne but played so well. He was a very integral part of their side. He wasn’t a big player, he wasn’t a giant by any stretch of the imagination, but because of his leap he could play a number of positions.

North Melbourne premiership teammate

Peter Keenan Peter Patrick Pius Paul "Crackers" Keenan (born 7 April 1951) is a former Australian rules footballer who worked as a strapper for Bart Cummings, and played with Melbourne, Essendon and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League. Keena ...

described Sutton as a game changer, citing his five goals in the 1976 Preliminary final and adding that he "was just one of those players who could turn it on. And a good bloke to boot".

References

External links

* *
1976 Prelim Final
from AustralianFootball.com
Profile
at AFL Tasmania Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Darryl 1952 births 2017 deaths Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Richmond Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club Premiership players Sydney Swans players Tasmanian State of Origin players Glenorchy Football Club players North Hobart Football Club players Swan Districts Football Club players North Hobart Football Club coaches All-Australians (1953–1988) Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players