Ray Willett (born 22 August 1941) 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 Collingwood 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 1960s. Willett, recruited from Greensborough and Northcote High School, played in Collingwood's 1960 finals series despite playing only three home and away games.AFL Tables: Ray Willett
/ref> He kicked two goals in their preliminary final win and in just his sixth league game played as a full-forward in the

1960 VFL Grand Final The 1960 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1960 in extremely wet conditions due t ...

. Collingwood would lose the grand final and it was the first time Willett has finished on a losing side. A ruckman, he played a further eight games in 1961 but then had to move to the country Victorian town of Strathallan due to his teaching career. He played for

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

in 1962 and won the Michelsen Medal, given to each season's "Best and Fairest" in the

Bendigo Football League The Bendigo Football Netball League (previously known as the Sandhurst Football Association, Bendigo and District Football Association, Bendigo Football Association and Bendigo Football League) is an Australian rules football and netball compe ...

. Willett, who was also a premiership player with Rochester, returned to Collingwood briefly in 1964. In his first game back he 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 ...

, but played just five more games. For the remainder of the 1960s, he was playing coach with

Mooroopna Mooroopna is a rural town located north of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the banks of the Goulburn River opposite the larger town of Shepparton. The Midland Highway crosses the river between the two towns. At the 2016 census, Moor ...

in the

Goulburn Valley Football League The Goulburn Valley Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia. It is a member of the Victorian Country Football League and has won the Victorian Co ...

(GVFL). He won three Morrison Medals in four years, taking home the league "Best and Fairest" award in 1965, 1967 and 1968 and was inducted into the GVFL - Hall of Fame in 2014. Willett, later played for

Corowa Football Club The Corowa Football Club, nicknamed the Spiders, was an Australian rules football club based in Corowa, New South Wales, that competed in the Ovens & Murray Football League. The club merged with the Wahgunyah Football Club on several occasions d ...

and was runner up in the 1972

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray are ...

Morris Medal to

Myrtleford Myrtleford is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia, 280 km (170 miles) northeast of Melbourne and 46 km (29 miles) southeast of Wangaratta. Myrtleford is part of the Alpine Shire local government area and in 2016 the town had a po ...

Bruce Waite Bruce Waite (born 22 May 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the late 1960s. A ruckman from Albury, Waite often played in a forward pocket for Essendon. He came ...

by one vote. He also won

Corowa Corowa is a town in the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is on the bank of the Murray River, the border between New South Wales and Victoria, opposite the Victorian town of Wahgunyah. It is the largest town in the Federation Council a ...

's 1972 club best and fairest award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willett, Ray 1941 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Collingwood Football Club players Greensborough Football Club players Rochester Football Club players Mooroopna Football Club players Living people