Erwin "Doe" Dornau (22 March 1926 – 23 September 2008) was an Australian rules footballer 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 ...

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) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Dornau was the first born and bred Queenslander in VFL/AFL history. Papers of the time spelled his first name as Irwin. What looked like a promising VFL career was cut short by leg injury. Though he was consistently among South's best talls and was named deputy captain in 1952, his last year at the club.

Early life

Dornau was born in

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

and attended

Windsor State School Windsor State School is a heritage-listed state school at 270 Lutwyche Road, Windsor, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1915 to 1934. It is also known as Windsor Opportunity (Special) School and Windsor State School & Windsor Infants Sc ...

, one of just 42 schools in the state where Australian rules was played. He first picked up the sport there being one of the very few children in the state who did not go on to play rugby, instead choosing to stick with Australian rules.

QANFL and State representation

Irwin_Dornau_from_The_Truth_Brisbane_14_September_1947

Dornau played his senior football at Kedron where he was a standout centre half back who could kick equally well on either foot. He represented Queensland at interstate football for the first time in 1946 and starred for them at centre half back in the 1947 Hobart Carnival, finishing equal second in the

Tassie Medal The Tassie Medal was awarded to the outstanding player at each Australian rules football Interstate Carnival or Australian interstate championship series held between 1937 and 1988 with the exception of the 1975 knock-out series. The medal is ...

. He also won the Col Loel-Mick Byles trophy as best player in the QANFL.

VFL career

His efforts in Hobart saw him recruited to South Melbourne in 1948 at the age of 21 and he after 3 months residency in Melbourne qualified to transfer leagues making way for his debut on the half back flank against Richmond. He was named best on ground for South's in their match against Footscray. His debut season was solid gaining eight Brownlow votes. However he suffered a serious knee injury that saw him sidelined for two seasons. Upon return from injury in 1951, the club rested him in the ruck where he shared the position with Don Scott. However he soon sustained further injuries to his thigh and hand His return to full fitness saw him take

Ron Clegg Ron "Smokey" Clegg (17 November 192723 August 1990) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League. Clegg was recruited from the South Melbourne Under 19's after winning the 1944 Melbourne Boys Football League's be ...

's position at Centre Half Back however it was short lived with recurring injuries seeing him switched to the full back position. His leg injuries eventually put an end to his 1952 season and his VFL career. After years of injury struggles, Dornau resigned from Souths despite being named South's deputy captain in his final season.

Personal life

Following his VFL career, Dornau took up a position as player coach at the

Leeton Football Club Leeton is the name of more than one place: *Leeton, Missouri, a town in the United States *Leeton, New South Wales Leeton is a town located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Leeton is situated in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation ...

at Leeton in New South Wales Riverina. Dornau died on 23 September 2008.

Footnotes

References

Harms, J., "'Doe' who bucked the trend up north", ''The Age'', (14 June 2003).
* Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dornau, Erwin 1926 births 2008 deaths Australian rules footballers from Queensland Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Kedron Football Club players Sydney Swans players Sportspeople from Brisbane