Barrie Charles Robran

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 25 September 1947 in

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta i ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented 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) from 1967 to 1980. He won South Australian football's highest individual honour, 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 ...

, on three occasions – 1968, 1970 and 1973. Robran is generally considered to be the greatest ever South Australian football player. His citation in the Australian Football Hall of Fame describes him as "''Regarded as the best player never to play at AFL level''". Robran won immense respect not only for his talent, but also his humility and sportsmanship. He played most of his time at centre half-forward, but was versatile enough to also play in the centre or on the ball as a ruck-rover. He resisted many overtures to play in Victoria, at one stage signing a form four with so that the Victorian recruiters would stop pestering him. Off the field, Robran kept a low public profile and shunned much publicity.

Early life and career

Robran was the firstborn son of father Colin and mother Glad. He had a younger brother, Rodney. He was educated at Whyalla Technical High School and was School Prefect in his final year, 1964. A natural athlete, Robran excelled not only at football, but also played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

. He also participated in

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. Robran joined so that he could play alongside his hero

Don Lindner Donald Lindner (16 February 1935 – 31 December 2008) was an Australian rules footballer who played with North Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He is the centre half-forward in North Adelaide's official Team ...

. He moved from Whyalla in 1966 to play juniors, and he began his League career in 1967. In his debut season he was co-winner of North's best and fairest with

, came third in the Magarey Medal, and played in the South Australian state team. Robran went on to win the Magarey medal in 1968, 1970 and 1973, and won the North Adelaide best and fairest every year from 1968 to 1973. He was instrumental in North Adelaide's premiership sides in 1971 and 1972, as well as their

Australian Championship The National Second Division (NSD) – also referred to under the working title The Championship – is a proposed Australian national second-tier men's, soccer league, to be run by Football Australia and the Association of Australian Football ...

win over VFL premier, Carlton in 1972. Making the move to the VFL never interested him; a quiet country boy, he never aspired to a life in Melbourne. A knee injury in 1974 severely curtailed his career, although he struggled on through injury until retiring in 1980. It is a measure of his innate skill that even in his final season, playing with restriction, he polled four Magarey Medal votes in the three games he played. He played 201 games for the Roosters and made 17 State appearances. Robran was coach of North Adelaide for three years, but enjoyed little success. After retiring from North Adelaide, Barrie played for the Walkerville Football Club in 1983 but missed the Grand Final after suffering an ankle injury during the final series. Barrie become a junior coach at the club, coaching both his sons through the junior grades. Barrie still attends Walkerville Football Club games from time to time.

After playing

Robran was among the first footballers to be inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2001, he was upgraded to legend status. He was the first South Australian player, and the first player never to have played in the

VFL/AFL 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). I ...

, to be named a legend. In 2000, Barrie Robran was named as a ruck rover in North Adelaide's "Team of the Century" (1901-2000). He was also part of the teams selection committee alongside then Roosters Chairman Colin Walsh, Tom McKenzie, Gordon Schwartz, Jeff Pash and

. Both Pash and Lindner were also selected in the team. In 2002, Robran was one of the 113 inaugural inductees into the

South Australian Football Hall of Fame The South Australian Football Hall of Fame enshrines those who have made a most significant contribution to the game of Australian Football. The Hall of Fame was established in 2002 when 114 outstanding individuals became inaugural inductees. S ...

. In 1981 he received the honour of

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for his services to football. Robran is depicted taking a high mark in Jamie Cooper's painting ''the Game That Made Australia'', commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport In 2014 he was the first SA footballer accorded the honour of having a statue at the revamped Adelaide Oval. In 2012 he was elevated to the status of legend in the SA Sports Hall of Fame, joining Sir Donald Bradman and Bart Cummings as the only three legends in the Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Robran married Taimi Vestel at the Enfield Methodist Church in January 1970. He had two sons who also played football: Matthew (born 1971) played in 's 1997 and 1998 premiership victories, while Jonathon (born 1972) represented and . His younger brother Rodney Robran played alongside him for much of his playing career at North Adelaide and was a well-regarded player in his own right. Robran also had a very brief

career, in the 1971/72 season playing one List A and two first-class games for

References

External links

* * * * * * http://www.sportsa.org.au/sport-awards/hall-of-fame-and-legends {{DEFAULTSORT:Robran, Barrie Members of the Order of the British Empire North Adelaide Football Club players North Adelaide Football Club coaches Magarey Medal winners Australian rules footballers from South Australia Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees South Australia cricketers 1947 births Living people People from Whyalla