Henry Evan Brereton (13 June 1887 – 31 December 1950) was an
Australian rules footballer who played with
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 ...
and
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).
Football
Originally recruited from
Port Melbourne
Port Melbourne is an inner-city List of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of ...
, Brereton made a startling entry into VFL football in 1909. After a slow start, he kicked nine goals against
Geelong in only his seventh match. This was the most goals kicked by a player in a match since
Jim McShane
James McShane (28 February 1871 – 25 October 1946) was an Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club. McShane was the first player in the VFL/AFL competition to kick ten goals or more in a match when he scored eleven goals agai ...
kicked eleven against St Kilda in 1899, and Brereton continued to top Melbourne's goalkicking for the year with 34 goals.
After a disappointing 1910, Brereton, who was one of the most accurate kicks in the VFL at the time with the long-obsolete place kick, rebounded solidly in 1911 to kick 46 goals and be second in the goalkicking behind
Vin Gardiner
Vincent Sidley Gardiner (23 October 1885 – 3 October 1972) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne and Carlton in the Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football lea ...
. He kicked five of his team's six goals on the coldest-ever VFL/AFL match day of in the twelfth round against eventual premier
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 ...
. The following year, he did even better, heading the VFL goalkicking with fifty-six goals, but a long-term illness meant Brereton could not play a single match in 1913, and despite expectations he would return for 1914, a recurrence meant he again could not appear at all.
1915, however saw him return to the Redlegs and with Roy Park provide a potent forward line that lifted Melbourne into the finals for the first time since 1902. Owing to the club's
amateur tradition, however, Melbourne withdrew from the VFL from 1916 to 1918 – there were also problems with the availability of the MCG which was used mainly for schoolboy matches – and when Melbourne did resume in the VFL Brereton was cleared to join
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 ...
but did not play for them until Round 11. When he did play. however, Brereton shows he had not lost his skill, kicking eleven goals in his first two games in the red and white, including six of their record score of 29 goals 15 against
St Kilda. After that, however, injury and work with the
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia.
The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, ...
caused Brereton to fade from the scene, though when South were short of forwards he was recalled from retirement at the age of thirty-five in 1922 and still kicked five goals in each of his last two games with Fitzroy and Geelong.
Later in his life, Brereton served as secretary of the
Victorian Cricket Association
Cricket Victoria (CV) is the governing body for the sport of cricket in the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed on 29 September 1875 as the Victorian Cricket Association. It is integrated with the Victorian Women's Cricket Association to ...
.
References
External links
*
DemonWiki profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brereton, Harry
1887 births
1950 deaths
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents
Port Melbourne Football Club players
Melbourne Football Club players
Sydney Swans players
VFL Leading Goalkicker Medal winners
Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers