Garry Thomas Sidebottom (21 November 1954 – 28 March 2019) was an Australian rules football player who played for the St Kilda, Geelong and

Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the V ...

s 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 Swan Districts 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 ...

(WAFL) during the 1970s and 1980s.

Career

Sidebottom was a powerful and fearless player ideal for playing at

centre half forward In Australian rules football, the centre half-forward is a position on the half-forward line of a football field. The directly opposing player is a Half-back line, centre half-back. Royce Hart of the Richmond Football Club and Wayne Carey of the ...

or as a ruckman. A versatile forward good in the air and hard in the clinches, he kicked 227 goals while at Swan Districts and 145 goals while in the VFL. He played in the inaugural State of Origin team for

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in 1977 when Western Australia defeated

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. In 1984 Sidebottom kicked six goals for Western Australia against Victoria in another famous victory to the Sandgropers. He represented Western Australia fifteen times in state games. He joined St Kilda in 1978 and was their leading goal kicker in 1979. In 1980, Sidebottom, while playing for St Kilda in a match against

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 ...

at Moorabbin was dazed when he was hit across his right eye by a flying beer can. He required medical attention before he was able to continue in the match. Despite captaining St Kilda in 1980, his contract was not renewed at the end of the season and he left the club to join Geelong in 1981. Sidebottom entered football folklore when he missed the Geelong team bus to play in the 1981 Preliminary Final against Collingwood due to a breakdown in communications. His team-mate Peter Johnston took his place at the last minute, despite being told earlier he had not been selected, and went on to play despite having half a chicken and a bucket of chips along with a strawberry thickshake for lunch, and having smoked half a pack of Winfield Blue cigarettes on the way to VFL Park. To this day, many Geelong locals call the place where the road from Lara enters the Princes Highway "Sidey's Corner". This is where Garry and the team bus were supposed to meet up, but never did. In April 1982 he was suspended by Geelong due to an unsatisfactory attitude. Despite suggestions that he may return to play for Swan Districts in the WAFL, he remained in Victoria and signed for , making his debut in July 1982. In 1985 he left Fitzroy to rejoin Swan Districts, where he was their leading goal kicker and won his second best and fairest award, nine years after his previous award, in 1976. Sidebottom returned to Swan Districts as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

of the reserves side in 2007. He is the older brother of

Allan Sidebottom Allan Norman Sidebottom (born 1 January 1959) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda and Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1980s. Sidebottom was already 24 when he began his VFL career in 19 ...

who also played for Swan Districts, St Kilda and Fitzroy. He was inducted into the

West Australian Football Hall of Fame The West Australian Football Hall of Fame was created in 2002 to recognise and enshrine those who have made a significant contribution to Australian rules football in Western Australia. People eligible for inclusion are players, coaches, umpires, ...

in 2011. He died in March 2019 from cancer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sidebottom, Garry 1954 births 2019 deaths Swan Districts Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Geelong Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club players Western Australian State of Origin players Australian rules footballers from Western Australia West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees