Graham Frank Moss (born 14 May 1950) 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 for the
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...
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 the
Claremont Football Club 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).
A Legend in 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, ...
, Moss is recognized as one of the finest
ruckmen of his era, winning the
Brownlow Medal
The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...
and then returning to Western Australia, eventually captain-coaching Claremont to the 1981 premiership.
After finishing his on-field career, Moss became a respected football administrator, most notably serving as the inaugural
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of the
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...
.
Football Career
Moss debuted for
Claremont Football Club in the WAFL in 1969. In 1970, he made his debut for the
Western Australian state team.
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 Ki ...
attempted to lure him to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
several times, and finally succeeded before
the 1973 season. In his first game, the opening round at
Windy Hill against Richmond, Moss made an immediate impression, appropriately enough following an austere
pre-game ceremony
A pre-game ceremony or pre-match ceremony is an on-field ceremony occurring before a sporting event. Such ceremonies may celebrate a past event, honour a retiring athlete, commemorate a deceased athlete, or promote a cause.
Celebrating past event ...
when the Essendon club held a minute's silence in honour of past legend
John Coleman who died some days earlier, and who also famously made an sensational debut. Moss played 89 games for Essendon, winning the
club best and fairest three times, in 1974–76. He also represented
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 ...
5 times.
In 1976, he captained Essendon and won the Brownlow, but also suffered a serious knee injury. Moss has the second-highest average of Brownlow Medal votes (0.95 per game) of any player ever polled for the award.
He was appointed captain-coach by Claremont
in 1977, and commented that his return from Essendon to Claremont was made easy by the fact the VFL and WANFL were of a similar standard at the time.
That same year he won the
Simpson Medal
The Simpson Medal is an individual prize awarded for Australian rules football in Western Australia. The medal has been donated by Dr Fred Simpson and family since 1945.
Simpson Medals are currently awarded to the following players:
*The best pla ...
, while playing for Western Australia against Victoria. Moss led Claremont to a premiership, their first in 17 years,
in 1981, and apart from the first two and last two years his tenure with the Tigers was their first period of consistent success since the days of
Johnny Leonard
John James Leonard (8 June 1903 – 3 May 1995) was a player and coach of Australian rules football in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and the Victorian Football League (later renamed to Australian Football League) in the period ...
’s coaching. Moss ceased playing
in 1983 but returned for a few matches
in 1985, and retired as coach at the end of the 1986 season to be replaced by
Gerard Neesham
Gerard Joseph Neesham (born 11 December 1954) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the East Fremantle Football Club, Swan Districts Football Club and Claremont ...
.
The
Graham Moss Medal has been awarded to the best on ground in WAFL State of Origin matches from 1995.
In 1996, Moss was inducted into the
Australian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...
. In 2004, 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, ...
and elevated to the status of "Legend" in 2006.
Outside Football
Moss attended
Hollywood Senior High School
, motto_translation =
, established =
, type = Public co-educational high day school
, principal =
, streetaddress = Smyth Road
, city = Shenton Park
, state = Western Australia
, country = Austra ...
and later graduated with an Associateship in Civil Engineering from the
West Australian Institute of Technology in 1971. Moss has served in various administration roles. He was the inaugural chief executive officer of the West Australian Sports Centre Trust from 1986 to 2008. The Trust, now VenuesWest, owns and manages major sport, entertainment and recreation venues on behalf of the Government of Western Australia. He was also the CEO of Tourism WA between 2008 and 2011, and is now a project management consultant for Auzcorp Pty Ltd, who are a property developer and services provider to the Pilbara Region of WA. Moss still lives in Perth, Western Australia.
Moss was honoured with Life Membership at Essendon in March 2015.
Champions of Essendon
In 2002 an Essendon panel ranked him at 17 in their ''
Champions of Essendon
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...
'' list of the 25 greatest players ever to have played for Essendon.
References
External links
*
*
Australian Football Hall of Fame - PlayersProfileat WA Football Hall of Fame website
Player statisticsat WAFL FootyFacts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Graham
1950 births
Living people
Claremont Football Club players
Essendon Football Club players
Champions of Essendon
Brownlow Medal winners
Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Western Australian State of Origin players
Crichton Medal winners
Claremont Football Club coaches
Australian rules footballers from Western Australia
West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees