Robert "Rob" Smith (26 May 1951 – 24 May 2013) 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

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

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).

Biography

Smith was educated at

Canberra High School Canberra High School is a years 7–10 public co-educational high school in Macquarie, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. It was established in 1938. History Canberra High School was established in 1938 and was previously s ...

and played his early football for Ainslie. He moved to Melbourne in 1970 to do a chartered accountants course at the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...

, with hopes also of joining a VFL club.

North Melbourne

While he awaited a clearance, Smith trained with North Melbourne, who were in a dispute with

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

over his signature. Geelong, who had approached Smith the previous year, claimed that he had signed a form to play for their club. The CANFL were also taking a stand against clearing young players which cast further doubt over his future and blocked his clearance in a meeting on 14 May. A week later however they reversed the decision and ratified his clearance, which paved finally the way for him to join North Melbourne. Smith did not play a senior game in 1970, but made 17 appearances for North Melbourne in the

1971 VFL season The 1971 VFL season was the 75th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 3 April until 25 September, and comprised a 22 ...

and kicked 16 goals. A broken ankle kept him out of the side of most of the 1972 season. Over the next three seasons, North Melbourne's strong

Doug Wade Douglas Graeme Wade (born 16 October 1941) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was the League's leading goal scorer (winn ...

led forward-line meant Smith only made occasional appearances and he played a total of 12 games in that period. A member of North Melbourne's 1975 Championship of Australia winning side, Smith got an opportunity to have extended run in the team in the

1976 VFL season The 1976 VFL season was the 80th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 3 April until 25 September, and comprised a 22 ...

. In the course of four successive rounds in 1976 he twice managed four-goals and scored a career best six-goals in a win over

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 ...

Waverley Park Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian-based Victorian Football ...

. By the time the September came he was again on the outer and did not feature in the finals series. He finished the season with 21 goals from 12 games. In the 1977 season he was not called up until North Melbourne's round 18 fixture against Geelong. He was only on the field briefly as he suffered a hamstring strain which forced him out of the game in the first quarter. When North Melbourne coach

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated into ...

surprisingly dropped full-forward

Arnold Briedis Arnold Briedis (born 20 August 1955) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne in the VFL during the 1970s. A centre half-forward, Briedis was a member of North Melbourne's inaugural premiership side in 1975, kick ...

for the qualifying final against

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 ...

, Smith was named in his place, despite the fact he had only played several minutes of VFL football in 1977. He did not have an impact and was replaced by

Gary Cowton Gary Cowton (born 30 December 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) as well as having stints with Footscray and South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner su ...

at half-time. It was his final game for North Melbourne.

Coburg

In 1978 he continued his career in 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 ...

with

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

. He was a

full-forward Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals. The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player, often a full-forward, who has kicked the most goals in an Australian Football League se ...

in Coburg's 1979 premiership team and contributed three goals in the eight-point grand final win over

Geelong West Geelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street. At the 2016 c ...

. The following season he kicked 101 goals to finish second in the VFA Division One goal-kicking. His 100th goal came in the grand final loss to

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. Port Melbourne recorded a populatio ...

. He was the fifth Coburg player in history to reach the milestone, after

Lance Collins Lance Kitchener Collins (19 June 1916 – 3 January 1988) was a leading Australian rules footballer of the 1940s, playing for Carlton Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Born in Beulah, Victoria, Collins joined Victori ...

Bob Pratt Harold Robert Pratt Sr. (31 August 1912 – 6 January 2001) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football Asso ...

Jack Titus Jack "Skinny" Titus (9 March 1908 – 19 April 1978) was an Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1926 and 1943 for the Richmond Football Club. In the golden era of the 1930s, Titus was one o ...

and Peter Smith.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Rob 1951 births 2013 deaths Australian rules footballers from the Australian Capital Territory North Melbourne Football Club players Ainslie Football Club players Coburg Football Club players