Ralph Robertson (31 August 1881 – 11 May 1917) 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 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) and had a noted career in New South Wales. Robertson was born in England and came to Melbourne when he was three years old. After playing initially for South Beach in the St Kilda League he debuted for the Saints' VFL side in 1899. He only experienced victory in one of his 14 senior games at St Kilda, which came in a one-point win against

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 ...

in the opening round of the

1900 VFL season The 1900 VFL season was the fourth season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 5 May until 22 September, and comprised a 14 ...

. Although primarily a rover, Robertson could also play as a centreman and up forward. Due to his work, Robertson ended up in Sydney in 1901 and as there was no substantial Australian rules football competition he took up

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

. In 1903 however, the

NSW Australian Football Association AFL Sydney is an Australian rules football League, based in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. The AFL Sydney competition comprises 126 teams from 22 clubs which play across seven senior men's divisions, five women's divisions, a Master's Division ...

began and Robertson was appointed vice captain of East Sydney for the inaugural season, where they won the premiership. He transferred to North Shore in 1909 and the following season played in another premiership team. Amongst his 30 interstate matches for New South Wales, he captained the state at the 1908 Melbourne, 1911 Adelaide and 1914 Sydney carnivals. For his performances at the Sydney Carnival, Robertson was awarded a Referee Medal. Robertson was killed in 1917 on active war service when the fighter plane he was piloting crashed into another over Egypt. In 2003 he was honoured as one of the inaugural members of the official Sydney AFL Hall of Fame.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Ralph 1881 births 1917 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) St Kilda Football Club players North Shore Australian Football Club players East Sydney Australian Football Club players VFL/AFL players born in England Australian people of English descent British military personnel killed in World War I People from Aylestone

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