John "Jack" Karney (4 February 1895 – 1986) 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 ...

er who played with West Torrens in the

South Australian 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 ...

(SAFL). Karney could play as either a centreman or rover and first appeared for West Torrens in 1919. He was their

best and fairest 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 ...

winner in 1920 and 1921. In 1921 he performed well in the

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...

count, finishing equal first but missing out after the umpires conferred to decide on just one winner. Karney however was awarded a retrospective Medal in 1998. Over his career he represented

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

at interstate football on eight occasions, the first in his debut season. He was a member of West Torrens' inaugural premiership side in 1924; he was as vice-captain and coach. He retired in 1928 with a total of 128 games.

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* West Torrens Football Club players West Torrens Football Club coaches Magarey Medal winners 1986 deaths Date of death missing Australian rules footballers from South Australia {{AFL-bio-1895-stub