Wyborn Herbert George "Herbie" Screaigh (;
["''...Screaigh (who by the way pronounces his name "Screech")...'']
AUSTRALIAN RULES.
– '' The Western Mail''. Published 16 June 1932. Retrieved from ''Trove'', 6 May 2012. 12 May 1911 – 7 July 2002) was an
Australian rules footballer who played for 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 clu ...
in the
Western Australian National Football League (WANFL).
Originally from
York, Western Australia
York is the oldest inland town in Western Australia, situated on the Avon River, east of Perth in the Wheatbelt, on Ballardong Nyoongar land,King, A and Parker, E: York, Western Australia's first inland town, Parker Print, 2003 p.3. and is t ...
, where he played in the local league, Screaigh made his debut for East Perth in 1932, and went on to win three
club best-and-fairest awards in his first three seasons. Playing mainly as a rover, Screaigh was a member of East Perth's 1936 premiership side, and also led the club's goalkicking in three seasons. He captained the club in 1941, but enlisted in the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...
the following year. Screaigh returned to football in 1945, playing two final seasons before retiring. He had 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 seven
interstate matches between 1933 and 1939. Screaigh 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 2012.
Football career
Born on 12 May 1911, in
York, Western Australia
York is the oldest inland town in Western Australia, situated on the Avon River, east of Perth in the Wheatbelt, on Ballardong Nyoongar land,King, A and Parker, E: York, Western Australia's first inland town, Parker Print, 2003 p.3. and is t ...
, Screaigh was one of twelve children (nine of whom survived infancy) born to Edward Screaigh (1878–1959) and Maud Weatherall (1879–1974). On his father's side he was of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
descent, with his father's maternal grandfather, James Hayden, born in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
in 1809. Screaigh originally played for the Central Football Club in the York District Football Association (YDFA). He first attracted the attention of recruiters at the end of the 1930 season, but declined their invitation after no job could be found for him in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
.
[Screaigh's fine performance]
– ''The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, '' The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuous ...
''. Published Tuesday 18 July 1933. Retrieved from ''Trove'', 22 September 2011. He again drew the interest of recruiters the following year after winning the Selby Medal for the best player in the YDFA, and was recruited by for the 1932 season. He had an immediate impact, winning the club's
best and fairest in his first season. He also played in the losing grand final side against .
Screaigh again won the club best and fairest in 1933, and was selected as the rover in a WANFL representative side at the
1933 Sydney Carnival, at the time being considered "the leading rover in the league". He kicked six goals in four games to be considered one of the side's best players. He also finished runner-up by one vote in 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 b ...
to 's
Sammy Clarke
Sydney Campbell "Sammy" Clarke (5 April 1914 – 24 January 1945) was an Australian rules footballer who played for in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) between 1933 and 1941. He won the Sandover Medal in his first two sea ...
. He again represented the WANFL at interstate level in
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...
, playing two games against the SANFL, kicking three goals. He won his third consecutive best and fairest award, and was also East Perth's leading goalkicker, in part due to the absence of a key marking forward. This was repeated in 1935.
Screaigh was a key member of East Perth's successive 1936 finals competition which culminated in a grand final victory. Despite being considered strong underdogs, East Perth defeated in the first semi-final 6.11 (47) to 5.16 (46), winning through to a preliminary final against . In front of a crowd of 10,079 at
Subiaco Oval
Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood.
Subiaco Oval was the high ...
, East Fremantle led by 13 points with four minutes remaining. East Perth managed to kick 2.2 in the final minutes to win 14.14 (98) to 14.13 (97), with Screaigh kicking 1.2, including the winning goal, crumbed from a pack with three seconds remaining. The club subsequently won the grand final against 11.5 (71) to 9.6 (60), with Screaigh again kicking a goal with the last kick after the match After the retirement of previous captain
Mick Cronin due to a leg injury before the 1940 season, Screaigh was appointed captain of the club for the 1940 season, with Cronin remaining in a role as non-playing coach. Cronin returned to the game in 1941 and was re-appointed captain, with Screaigh returning to the role of vice-captain.
Screaigh enlisted in the
2/11th Battalion of the
Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as a
private in 1942. He served on home duty and in New Guinea during the war. Screaigh captained the battalion's football team in the
6th Division's football league hosted in North Queensland, and was also captain of a combined AIF team in 1944. He was discharged from the army in 1945 after the 2/11th was disbanded, and returned to East Perth for the 1946 season, playing his 200th game on 13 July 1946, against . ''
The Daily News'' reported Screaigh had "maintained much of his skill of former years". He retired at the end of the 1946 season.
Later life
Screaigh had married Jean Augustine Marwick on 3 December 1932 at St Patricks Catholic Church in York, with whom he had two daughters, Maureen (later Otto) and Deanne (later Hetherington). Outside of football, he worked as a fitter's assistant and storeman at the
East Perth Power Station. As well as winning the
F. D. Book Medal four times as East Perth's
fairest and best
In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...
player (in 1932, 1933, 1934, and 1937), Screaigh also won trophies for "serviceable play" in 1936 and as the "most determined player" in 1942. He was made a life member of the club in 1958. Screaigh died in 2002 in
Nedlands, and was buried at York Cemetery. In 2006, he was selected as the
19th man in East Perth's pre-World War II Team of the Century, and in 2011 was posthumously inducted into the East Perth Hall of Fame. In March 2012, Screaigh 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, ...
.
Playing style
Screaigh was one of the smallest players in the WANFL at the time, standing only and weighing . He had only been recruited to East Perth after convincing the club secretary,
F. D. Book, who had on appearances thought Screaigh was "too small and meek", to allow him to play in several scratch matches before the 1932 season.
Screaigh was adept at twisting out of tackles, and talented at drawing
free kicks for head-high contact by dropping his head during tackles: Even with his small stature, Screaigh played well in packs and scrimmages, and used a "safe pair of hands" and a "driving boot" to his best advantage.
Despite playing as a
rover
Rover may refer to:
People
* Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian
* Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer
* Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist
Places
* Rover, Arkansas, US
* Rover, Missouri, US
...
, Screaigh kicked a large number of
goals
A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve.
Goal may also refer to:
Sport
* Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs
** Goals, the goal frame in ...
, averaging 1.75 goals per game throughout his career. Against in July 1933, he kicked nine goals, at the time the second-highest goal-kicking total of a player playing as a rover in the league.
[A CONTRAST IN FORWARD WORK. East Perth Defeats Subiaco]
– ''The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, '' The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuous ...
''. Published 17 July 1933. Retrieved from ''Trove'', 5 October 2011.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Screaigh, Herbie
1911 births
2002 deaths
Australian rules footballers from Western Australia
East Perth Football Club players
West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Australian Army soldiers
Australian Army personnel of World War II
Australian people of English descent
Australian people of Irish descent
Machinists
People from York, Western Australia