Graeme William Schultz (born 17 May 1953) is a former

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 with

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

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). Schultz was a forward and rover, recruited to Essendon from Warracknabeal in the

Wimmera Football League The Wimmera Football League is a major Australian rules country league based in Western Victoria, with clubs located in towns in the Wimmera region: the regional centres along the Western Highway from Ararat to Nhill as well as Minyip-Murtoa ...

. He kicked four goals on his league debut in 1971, 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 ...

, which helped him to a season tally of 29 goals; this was just two behind the club's leading goalkicker that year, Alan Noonan.AFL Tables: Graeme Schultz
/ref> His 16 games in 1974 were deemed to be some of his best, as he finished third in the

W. S. Crichton Medal The Crichton Medal is the name given to the best and fairest award for the Australian rules football team the Essendon Football Club. The naming of the award is in honour of Wally Crichton, a former administrator for Essendon (who was a committe ...

count. He made the decision to move to

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 ...

after the 1974 season, for study purposes, but Essendon initially refused to grant him a clearance, which meant he could not play in the

WANFL 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, ...

. They later gave in, and he played the second half of the 1975 season for Subiaco. Despite appearing in just 12 games, Schultz almost won the

Sandover Medal The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League. The award was donated by Alfred Sandover M.B.E., a prominent Perth hardware merchant and be ...

, finishing only four votes behind winner Alan Quartermaine. After six more seasons at Subiaco, Schultz was convinced by new Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy to return to the VFL in 1981. In his first season back, he played in the 1981 Night Premiership and bettered his previous season's goal tally by kicking 30 league goals, including a game-winning goal against

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 Round 13 at Windy Hill after taking a courageous mark going back with the flight of the ball. Injury kept him to five games in 1982, and in his first appearance of the

1983 VFL season The 1983 VFL season was the 87th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 26 March until 24 September, and comprised a ...

, against St Kilda, he broke his leg. He did not play another VFL game for Essendon, but he was a member of their 1983 reserves premiership–winning team. He spent part of the 1984 season with Footscray, without playing a senior game, before ending the year at

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Graeme 1953 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Essendon Football Club players Subiaco Football Club players Camberwell Football Club players Warracknabeal Football Club players Living people