Allan Melvyn "Mel" Whinnen

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 6 October 1942) 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 for the

West Perth Football Club The West Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Falcons, is an Australian rules football club located in Joondalup, Western Australia. West Perth competes in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW) and is the oldest exis ...

in the

Western Australian National Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WANFL) from 1960 to 1977. Whinnen played 367 premiership games for West Perth, a WAFL record, playing in four premiership sides and finishing runner-up 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 be ...

on two occasions, as well as winning West Perth's

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 ...

award, the Breckler Medal, on a record nine occasions. He 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, ...

in 2004.

Career

Educated at North Perth Primary School and

Perth Boys High School Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) is a contemporary visual and performance arts venue located in a heritage-listed building in Perth, Western Australia. History 1896–1959: Schools The building at 53 James Street, Northbridge, which ...

, Whinnen debuted for West Perth in 1960, and was a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

in the club's 1960 premiership win over 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 ...

. Playing mainly as a centreman, Whinnen established himself in West Perth's league team, winning the Breckler Medal in 1962 and 1964 as the club's

.Mel Whinnen (West Perth)
– FullPointsFooty. Retrieved 3 February 2012. He also finished second in the

in 1964, polling 22 votes to finish one vote behind

Barry Cable Barry Thomas Cable MBE (born 22 September 1943) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. Considered one of the greatest rovers in the sport's history, he played in 379 premiership games in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL ...

, the winner. Whinnen made his state debut for

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 ...

against 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) in 1963. Whinnen won West Perth's best and fairest award in both 1967 and 1968, and again in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975. In total, Whinnen won the Breckler Medal a record nine times between 1962 and 1975. Whinnen again played in premierships in 1969, 1971 and 1975. In 1975, he was awarded the

Simpson Medal The Simpson Medal is an individual prize awarded for Australian rules football in Western Australia. The medal has been donated by Dr Fred Simpson and family since 1945. Simpson Medals are currently awarded to the following players: *The best pla ...

as the best on ground in West Perth's premiership defeat of . Whinnen was appointed as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of West Perth for the 1977 season, and retired at the end of the year. Whinnen's 367 career premiership games is both a West Perth club record and a WAFL record as of 2022, and also remained a record in West Australian elite football until it was broken by David Mundy in Round 17 of the 2021 AFL season.

Other matches

Whinnen also played 14 interstate and carnival football matches for

, and four pre-season/night series matches for West Perth (these are counted as senior by the WAFL, but not the VFL/AFL). If these are included, Whinnen played a total of 385 senior career games. Whinnen's total career senior games remained a West Australian elite football record until it was broken, depending on the viewpoint taken: * Using the VFL/AFL's totals, by David Mundy in Round 12 of 2022. * Including VFL/AFL pre-season/night series matches but excluding International Rules matches, by Mundy in Round 13 of 2021, having been equalled by Matthew Pavlich in Round 23 of 2016 (also his last game). * Including International Rules matches, by Pavlich in Round 21 of 2016, and subsequently by Mundy in Round 10 of 2021.

Honours and awards

Whinnen was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in June 1976, for "services to sport", along with former teammate

Bill Dempsey William Brian Dempsey Member of the Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 March 1942) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Darwin Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) and the West Perth Footba ...

. In October 2000, he was named in the centre in West Perth's Team of the Century. Whinnen was an inaugural inductee of the

in March 2004. One of the entrance gates at

is named after Whinnen, and a grandstand at

Arena Joondalup Arena Joondalup, known as HBF Arena under a commercial naming rights arrangement, is a multi-purpose sports complex in Joondalup, Western Australia, located on 35 ha of parkland approximately 25 km north of Perth. It was officially o ...

, West Perth's home ground since 1994, is named the Whinnen–Dempsey Stand in honour of the two players' contribution to the club. Since 1998, the Mel Whinnen Medal has been awarded to the player judged best on ground in the grand final of the WAFL's colts (under-19) competition. Notable winners have included

Paul Hasleby Paul Andrew Hasleby (born 12 June 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer. He played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and the and South Fremantle Football Clubs in the West Australian Football Le ...

Scott Stevens Ronald Scott Stevens (born April 1, 1964) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. As a defenseman, Stevens played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals, St. Louis Blues and New Jersey ...

Jacob Surjan Jacob Adam Surjan (born 15 August 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He currently serves as the senior coach at the North Adelaid ...

and

Matthew Leuenberger Matthew Leuenberger (born 7 June 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Leuenberger represented Western Australia in ...

.Whinnen Medalists
– wafootball.com.au. Retrieved 3 February 2012.

References

External links

Allan Melvyn (Mel) Whinnen
player profile page at WAFLFootyFacts {{DEFAULTSORT:Whinnen, Mel 1942 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia West Perth Football Club players West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees