Gregory John Brehaut (1 August 1946 – 19 February 1993) 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 ...

player and coach who played with the

Perth Football Club The Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club based in Lathlain, Western Australia, currently playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Representing the south-east area of the Perth metropol ...

in the

Western Australian National 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, ...

(WANFL) and the

Woodville Football Club Woodville Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) from 1964 to 1990, when it merged in 1991 with the West Torrens Football Club to form the Woodville-West Torren ...

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). Playing mainly as a wingman, he also represented

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 16

interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

matches, and later coached the

East Perth Football Club The East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club based in Leederville, Western Australia, current playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Formed in 1902 as the Union Football Club, the club ...

between 1983 and 1986, before dying in 1993 at the age of 46 from a heart attack. Brehaut was posthumously 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 2006.

Football career

Born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

,West Australian Football Hall of Fame members
– West Australian Football Commission. Retrieved 20 May 2012. Brehaut played with local junior teams before making his senior debut for Perth in 1965, subsequently winning consecutive premierships with the club in 1966, 1967, and 1968. He represented

several times, and was named in the

All-Australian team 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 ...

after the 1969 Australian National Football Carnival, held in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. Brehaut was named captain-coach of Woodville in the SANFL for the 1974 season, but only managed to play 10 games due to injury, with Woodville finishing last in the league. He returned to Perth in 1975, and retired at the end of that season, finishing his career with 157 games for the club. After captain-coaching amateur side Wanneroo to four consecutive premierships in the West Australian Football Association (WAFA), Brehaut was appointed coach of East Perth in 1983 and held the position until 1986; however, this was during a period when the club, which in terms of winning percent had been the most successful in the WANFL since 1956, was finding its traditional recruiting base becoming less productive and they played in the finals only once. After seven round in which the Royals had surrendered several large leads, the club board sacked him arguing that he was schooling the club in how to lose matches; however, the crisis, with the Royals' seconds having won five games out of seven, also claimed seconds coach Ian McCulloch, training co-ordinator Bruce Sinclair and reserves manager Gary Gillespie. Brehaut's appointment had been influenced by the appointment of

Mal Atwell Malcolm Walter Atwell (born 5 March 1937) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He played for East Perth and Perth in the West Australian National Football League (WANFL). Playing career Atwell was a tough, hard hitting foot ...

, coach for much of his senior career, to the position of club president. Brehaut died in February 1993, after suffering

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

while jogging on a beach. He was named in Perth's Team of the Century in 1999,Perth Official 'Team of the Century'
– FullPointsFooty. Retrieved 5 October 2011. and posthumously inducted into the

in 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brehaut, Greg 1946 births 1993 deaths All-Australians (1953–1988) Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia East Perth Football Club coaches Perth Football Club players West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Woodville Football Club coaches Woodville Football Club players