Mark Dwyer (born 5 August 1964) 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

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 ...

and St Kilda 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) during the 1980s. Dwyer was a wingman, best remembered for his strong debut season. He had started 1986 playing with

Koroit Koroit is a small rural town in western Victoria, Australia a few kilometres north of the Princes Highway, north-west of Warrnambool and west of Melbourne. It is in the Shire of Moyne local government area located amidst rolling green past ...

but got a permit to join Fitzroy's reserves team during the season. In his second reserves outing he had 40 possessions and was promoted to the seniors by coach

David Parkin David Alex Parkin, OAM (born 12 September 1942) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the Subiaco Football Club in the Western Australian Na ...

. He made his VFL debut in round 15 and played every game for the rest of the year, including their thrilling finals wins over

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 ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

as well as their preliminary final loss to

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

. He polled at least one vote in each of his first five games in the 1986

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

count and another three in his seventh. This gave him 10 votes and was enough to finish equal 11th, despite making just eight appearances. Everyone who had polled more votes had played 16 or more games. His success on the night likely cost teammate Paul Roos the medal, as the Fitzroy player fell one vote short. In 1987, injury problems restricted him to just two VFL games and in the subsequent pre-season he tore his Achilles tendon during a practice match. As a result, he was traded to St Kilda midway through the year. A left footer, he played his only game for St Kilda in 1988 and spent the 1989 season in the VFA with

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...

. He returned to Koroit in 1990 where he continued playing before moving to

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (Al ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dwyer, Mark 1964 births Fitzroy Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Sandringham Football Club players Warrnambool Football Club players Koroit Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Living people