Donald Vivian Roach (31 July 1940 – 3 July 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 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) and for West Adelaide and

Norwood Football Club Norwood Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club competing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in the state of South Australia. Its home ground is Coopers Stadium (Norwood Oval), which is ...

s in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL). Roach, a left footed flanker, played his early football at SANFL club West Adelaide, for whom he debuted in 1958 and won the SANFL premiership in 1961. He moved to Melbourne in

1964 VFL season The 1964 VFL season was the 68th season of the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 18 Ap ...

and joined Hawthorn but only stayed for two seasons playing 33 games for the Hawks. In 1966 he returned to West Adelaide and was appointed captain-coach. That same year he represented South Australia at the Hobart Carnival, his second interstate carnival having competed in the

1961 Brisbane Carnival The 1961 Brisbane Carnival was the 15th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It was the last carnival to be held in Queensland. It was one of the most competitive carnivals to ...

. He was selected into the

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, 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-perf ...

team for his efforts in Brisbane. After taking a break from the game in 1969 Roach returned to action the following season at his new club Norwood where he would finish his career. When Roach retired in 1972 his final tally of games in the SANFL amounted to 204 and he also represented South Australia on nine occasions. He went on to serve the league as an administrator. Don Roach was an inaugural member of the

South Australian Football Hall of Fame The South Australian Football Hall of Fame enshrines those who have made a most significant contribution to the game of Australian Football. The Hall of Fame was established in 2002 when 114 outstanding individuals became inaugural inductees. S ...

in 2002, and he is also a member of the

West Adelaide Football Club West Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Commonly known as The Bloods and Westies, the club's home base is Richmond Oval (South Australia), Richmond Oval (current ...

Hall of Fame.

References

*Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roach, Don 1940 births Australian rules footballers from South Australia Hawthorn Football Club players West Adelaide Football Club players West Adelaide Football Club coaches Norwood Football Club players All-Australians (1953–1988) South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees 2011 deaths