Robert Hyde (born 1 November 1954) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Collingwood and

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 Ki ...

football teams 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 1970s.

Playing career

Hyde played 63 senior VFL football games between 1973 and 1979. A defender, Hyde won the

Copeland Trophy The E.W. Copeland Trophy is an Australian rules football award given by the Collingwood Football Club to the player adjudged best and fairest for Collingwood during the year. The Copeland Shield, as it was formerly known, was donated by Ern Cope ...

in 1976 for Collingwood's best and fairest player. Hyde played for Collingwood in both the drawn

1977 VFL Grand Final The 1977 VFL Grand Final was a series of two Australian rules football matches between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Collingwood Football Club. Together they are considered the 80th and 81st grand finals of the Victorian Football Le ...

and the

Grand Final replay A grand final replay was a method of deciding the winner of a competition when a grand final is drawn. It is commonly used in football codes, particularly in Australian rules football, and most notably in the Australian Football League, where it w ...

the following week. He finished his career with Essendon.

Coaching career

Hyde coached Greensborough to

Diamond Valley Football League The Northern Football Netball League (formerly known as the Diamond Valley Football League and later Northern Football League) is an Australian sports league based in the Diamond Valley region of suburban Melbourne, Victoria. The league regul ...

premierships in 1983 and 1984, and then spent time coaching North Old Boys in the

Victorian Amateur Football Association The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It consists of seven senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division ...

. He was coach of the

Calder Cannons The Calder Cannons is an Australian rules football club from Melbourne, Australia. The club competes in the NAB League, the Victorian Statewide Under-18s competition, and fields squads in the Under-15s, Under-16s and Under-18s. The club was forme ...

in the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Vict ...

from 1996 to 2006, during which time he led the Cannons to five grand finals, winning three premierships After leaving Calder, he coached the Victorian Country team in the

AFL Under 18 Championships The AFL Under-19 Championships (for sponsorship reasons, the NAB AFL Under-19 Championships) is an annual Australian national underage representative championship in Australian rules football tournament. It is seen as one of the main pathways ...

. Hyde was appointed as senior coach of the

Northern Blues The Preston Football Club, which trades and plays as the Northern Bullants, is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It plays its home games at the Preston City O ...

in the VFL at the start of the 2012 season, a role he took on a part-time basis; however, he did not coach out the season, leaving the club on 28 June 2012. Hyde stated that the role was too large for a part-time coach, particularly because his own availability (as dictated by his primary job as a school principal) meant that he could not interact with AFL-listed players from , the Northern Blues' AFL-affiliate, except on game day.

Life outside football

Hyde was the principal of Epping Primary School - Greenbrook Campus in Epping, Victoria.

The Robert Hyde medal

The Robert Hyde medal is awarded to the Calder Cannons' best and fairest player each year.

References

External links

* * , retrieved 2009-09-18 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hyde, Robert 1954 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Collingwood Football Club players Essendon Football Club players Greensborough Football Club players Greensborough Football Club coaches Copeland Trophy winners Preston Football Club (VFA) coaches Australian headmasters