Simon Beasley

Simon Francis Beasley (born 26 July 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Swan Districts Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and for the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

A pale and slightly-built full forward, Beasley is the Western Bulldogs' leading career goalkicker and also holds the record for kicking the most goals in the VFL between the years 1980 to 1989. He is also one of two footballers (the other being George Moloney) to have kicked 100 or more goals in a season in both the WAFL and VFL/AFL competitions.

Beasley worked as a stockbroker for various firms during and after his playing days. In 2002, he became a licensed bookmaker and started his own company, which ceased after he was banned in 2009 for improper conduct. Beasley returned to bookmaking in 2018 as director of the company BEAZABET.

Early career

Beasley grew up in Western Australia and attended Guildford Grammar School. He then studied at the University of Western Australia, from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce. During his university days, Beasley played football for the University Club in the then Western Australian Amateur Football League before joining in 1978. He soon established himself as a full forward of note, tying for the 1980 Bernie Naylor Medal with Warren Ralph, eventually finishing the season with 97 goals.

1981 was a special season individually for Beasley, kicking over 100 goals for the first time and finishing the season with 119 goals, second behind Ralph. He also won the Simpson Medal for his six-goal performance in the State of Origin clash against Victoria. During this period, a number of fellow West Australian footballers were moving across the Nullarbor to try their luck in the VFL, and it seemed certain Beasley would do the same.

Playing career at Footscray

Beasley moved to Melbourne at the end of 1981 and found work with as a stockbroker with Randall & Co, and signed with in the VFL. He made his senior debut in the opening round of the 1982 VFL season against at Windy Hill. Beasley had a forgettable day, barely touching the ball and getting hit in the face by Essendon enforcer Ron Andrews. The Bulldogs lost by 109 points, and would eventually end up taking out the wooden spoon. However, Beasley did not take long to establish himself as a prominent full-forward, kicking 12 goals against Geelong in Round 16 and ending his debut season with a very respectable 82 goals in an under-performing side, finishing second only behind North Melbourne’s leading goal kicker Malcolm Blight.

From there, Footscray gradually began to rebuild, first by luring Carlton administrator Shane O'Sullivan as general manager in October 1982 and then in 1983 fielding up to 15 new players, including fellow Western Australian Andrew Purser and future club stalwarts Stephen Wallis, Brian Royal and Peter Foster. The Bulldogs' performances improved dramatically; although they still suffered the odd thrashing (with 100+ point losses to Essendon and North Melbourne) they were sitting in fifth at the end of Round 12, and after falling to ninth by Round 20, finished the season strongly to end in seventh place on the ladder with ten wins. From an individual perspective, Beasley was unable to match his previous season's goal tally, finishing with 69 majors from 20 games, but was nonetheless consistent, with his best effort being a seven-goal haul against Fitzroy in Round 9 at VFL Park, and three games where he kicked six goals.

The unexpected resignation of popular former player and coach Ian Hampshire in January 1984 (presumably over a pay dispute as the club's financial woes were well-known at the time) heralded the arrival of recently retired Richmond defender Mick Malthouse, who would begin a coaching career that would eventually span over three decades. The Bulldogs again finished seventh on the ladder in 1984, this time with 11 wins. Beasley began the season in spectacular fashion, with hauls of 11 against Richmond in Round 1, eight against Geelong in Round 2, and five against North Melbourne in Round 3. But almost just as quickly his form fell away, being held goalless against Hawthorn and Fitzroy.

In 1985, the Bulldogs rose up the ladder, finishing in second place at the end of the home-and-away season before losing to Hawthorn in the Preliminary Final. Beasley played a key role, taking out the Coleman Medal with 93 goals during the home-and-away season, his personal best. He reached the century mark with a seven-goal performance in the First Semi-Final against North Melbourne and ended the season with 105 goals, becoming only the second Bulldog after Kelvin Templeton to kick 100 goals in a season.

The following year his career was affected by a dispute with former club Swan Districts, who demanded $50,000 from the Bulldogs to keep Beasley in Victoria as the WAFL Swans believed his lease had expired – though nothing was actually given.

In 1988, Beasley kicked 82 goals to overtake Templeton as the Bulldogs’ most prolific goal scorer. However, after a major back injury in the pre-season Beasley played in the reserves for the first three rounds of 1989. He did return in the fourth round and kicked six goals the following week against Melbourne, but the following four rounds saw only six further goals and his knee and back injuries forced Beasley into retirement in June.

Beasley remains the highest goal kicker in the Bulldogs

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