Ronald Mark Benton (born 1937) is a former
Australian rules footballer who played with
West Adelaide in the
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport.
Originally formed as t ...
(SANFL).
Benton made his debut for West Adelaide in 1955 shortly before his 17th birthday. His first kick in league football saw him score the first of 198 goals for the club. He played 184 games for West Adelaide and in 1957 he won the SANFL's highest individual honor, the
Magarey Medal
The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Will ...
, as well as winning West Adelaide's
Best & Fairest award.
Ron Benton was also a member of West's 1961 premiership team playing on the
half-forward flank as West Adelaide defeated
Norwood for their first premiership win since 1947. The Grand Final was played on September 30 and in what became known as the 'Turkish Bath Grand Final'
Turkish Bath Grand Final
/ref> due to it being played in 35°C heat, West prevailed over the Redlegs 16.13 (109) to 11.7 (73) in front of 40,909 at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby le ...
with the oppressive heat blamed for the lowest Grand Final attendance since West defeated Norwood in 1947. Benton was one of West's best players on the day with 21 kicks, 2 handballs, 4 marks and he kicked 2 goals.
He was West Adelaide's leading goal kicker in 1963 with 29 goals.
References
External links
*
West Adelaide Hall of Fame profile
West Adelaide Football Club players
Magarey Medal winners
Living people
1937 births
Date of birth missing (living people)
Australian rules footballers from South Australia
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