Denis Collins (17 May 1953 – 31 August 2011) 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 Footscray,

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 ...

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

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). After arriving from Braybrook, Collins became a regular fixture in the Footscray side for six seasons. A pacy wingman, he was also used as a half forward and rover during his career. He averaged a career high 19 disposals from his 20 games in 1977 but it would be his final season at Footscray.AFL Tables: Dennis Collins
/ref> While at Footscray he was joined briefly by his brother

Daryl Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell. Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel. Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl, Darian, Dareen, Darell ...

and the two of them played together in the opening round of the 1974 season. Collins made 21 appearances for Carlton in 1978 and took part in his second finals series, having played an elimination final with Footscray. In the last round of the home and away season he was famously felled by Robbie Muir. Collins came up behind him and ruffled his hair, to which the St Kilda player responded by flinging back his forearm and striking Collins on the jaw. 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 ...

count later that year, Collins was Carlton's best performed with 12 votes. Dissatisfied after spending much of the 1979 season in the reserves and missing out on playing in Carlton's 1979 premiership team, Collins was granted a clearance to Richmond in 1980. Although he made 17 appearances in 1980, including a qualifying final win over his former club Carlton, Collins was only an emergency for the

VFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...

, which Richmond won. Collins was set to be named on the bench for the Grand Final, but missed an appointment with the club psychologist the Thursday before the game. As a result, coach Tony Jewell dropped him from the side and played Daryl Freame instead.''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...

'', "Tiger gave chance for a flag the flick", 2 September 2011, Chris De Kretser and Daryl Timms, p. 98 Collins retired from the VFL after the 1980 season and soon after moved to Western Australia where he played for

East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

. He was the son of Essendon premiership player Jack Collins. Collins died of a heart attack on 31 August 2011 in the Western Australian town of Hyden. He was 58 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Denis 1953 births 2011 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Western Bulldogs players Carlton Football Club players Richmond Football Club players East Perth Football Club players Braybrook Football Club players People from Braybrook, Victoria