John Fidge (born 4 May 1966) 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 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 the

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Football Club, nicknamed the Bears, was a professional Australian rules football club based in Queensland on the Gold Coast (relocated to Brisbane in 1993). The club participated in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/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), Glenelg 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) and Frankston in the

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

(VFA). Originally from St Peter's Football Club in the Moorabbin Saints Junior Football League, Fidge made his VFL debut for Melbourne as a 17-year-old centre half forward in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, starring with four goals and 23 disposals in a loss to

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 King ...

. He finished his first season with 27 goals from 12 appearances, missing games mid year with a knee injury. Fidge played 16 matches in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and booted six goals against

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

at the

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

, his best return for Melbourne. It was also the first year where he played alongside his brother

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

at Melbourne. He suffered from stress fractures in his foot during

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

but kicked 12 goals from his four games. Fidge joined the new

team for their inaugural season in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and played in every one of their first eight games. Late in the season Fidge kicked six goals against

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

to equal his career best and kicked a further five goals and six behinds the following week against his former club. Injuries returned in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and Fidge, who had an icy relationship with coach

Peter Knights Peter Knights (born 30 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Widely regarded as one of Australian football's finest centre half-backs, despite suffering numerous in ...

, was sacked a few games into the

1989 VFL season The 1989 VFL season was the 93rd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition and administrative body in Victoria and, by reason of it featuring clubs from New South Wales, Queensl ...

. For the rest of

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, Fidge played with Glenelg in the SANFL. He was selected by the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

in the

1989 VFL Draft The 1989 VFL draft was the fourth annual national draft held by the Victorian Football League (since changed its name to Australian Football League) as the main method for the 14 teams to recruit players for the 1990 season. It consisted of a tra ...

but chose to remain in South Australia. His decision to stay at Glenelg in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

paid off, as he kicked 124 goals for the year, five of them in the Grand Final loss to

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

. Despite his large goal tally for the season Fidge did not take home the

Ken Farmer Medal The Ken Farmer Medal is named in honour of the Australian rules footballer, North Adelaide Football Club full forward Ken Farmer. The medal is awarded to the South Australian Football League The South Australian National Football League, or ...

, which went to Port Adelaide's

Scott Hodges Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saskat ...

, who kicked 153 goals. Recruited by Essendon with the 24th pick of the

1990 AFL Draft The 1990 AFL draft was the 5th annual draft of Australian rules footballers to the 14 clubs in the Australian Football League. It consisted of the national draft held at the end of the 1990 season, the pre-season draft held before the 1991 AFL ...

, Fidge did not play a senior game for them and returned to Glenelg. He again topped Glenelg's goal-kicking in 1992 with 92 goals and once more finished second in the league. Glenelg made the Grand Final once again, but Fidge's four goals were not enough to get them over the line. The following year he kicked a more modest 56 goals but it saw him top his club's goal-kicking for the third and final time. Fidge spent the 1994 season with VFL side Frankston before retiring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fidge, John 1966 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Melbourne Football Club players Brisbane Bears players Glenelg Football Club players Living people Frankston Football Club players