Larry John Watson (born 23 September 1957) 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 ...

player who played with and in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).

Career

VFL

Originally from Dimboola in western Victoria, Watson made his senior VFL debut for Essendon late in the 1975 season. A utility, he finished third in Essendon's

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

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 ...

' count despite playing only 11 games that year. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

Watson was joined at Essendon by his younger brother Tim. The first time the brothers played together for the Bombers was in Round 13 of 1977 against South Melbourne at

Windy Hill Windy Hill may refer to: Places * Windy Hill, Essendon, an Australian rules football ground in the Melbourne area * Windy Hill Wind Farm, a wind power station near Ravenshoe, Queensland, Australia * Windy Hill (Pennines), a hill on the Pennines w ...

with the Bombers winning by 12 points. Their final game together before Larry moved to Fitzroy was in Round 22 in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

against at Princes Park. Unfortunately that day the Hawks defeated Essendon 17.16. (118) to 16.13. (109). Watson left Essendon at the end of 1978 and joined Fitzroy for the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

seasons where he played fours games for the Lions while not kicking a goal.

SANFL

After his brief stint at Fitzroy, Watson was signed by SANFL club West Adelaide in 1981. Under the coaching of legendary South Australian footballer Neil Kerley, he played 66 games and kicked 19 goals for the Bloods until the end of 1984, often playing as a half back flanker and was a member of their 1983 premiership team. Larry Watson was one of a number of ex-VFL players in The Bloods 1983 Premiership team, including Craig Williams (), Bernie Conlen (),

Mark Dreher Andrew Mark Dreher (born 27 March 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL). A Willaura recruit, Dreher played for Collingwood from 1979 to 1982. Three of Dreher's his fir ...

(), Mike Smith (Sth Melbourne) and captain

Ian Borchard Ian Alfred Borchard (born 5 August 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1970s. He also played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL ...

(). The team also included future VFL/AFL players Bruce Lindner ( and ), Tony Burgess (Collingwood) and

Grantley Fielke Grantley Craig Fielke (born 18 March 1962 in Loxton, South Australia) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), and the Collingwood Football Club ...

(Collingwood and Adelaide), while Mark Mickan ( and Adelaide) was unlucky to miss the game through injury. The Watson brothers played in Grand Finals in different Australian states in 1983. Larry in West Adelaide's 34-point win over Sturt at Football Park in front of 47,129 fans, and just one day earlier Tim in Essendon's 83-point loss to Hawthorn in the VFL Grand Final at the

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

(MCG) in front of 110,332 fans.

Personal life

In 2002, Watson's son Jake died at the age of 18 after an on-field collision in an Under-19s SANFL match for West Adelaide. Following Jake's passing the West Adelaide Football Club retired his number 13 jumper at the Under-19 level as a mark of respect.Family mourns lad with a future
/ref> Tim Watson's son Jobe Watson, Larry's nephew, played 220 games for Essendon in the AFL.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Larry 1957 births Essendon Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club players West Adelaide Football Club players Dimboola Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Living people