Donald Anthony Marinko (2 January 1933 – 27 July 2024) 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for the and

East Perth Football Club The East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club based in Leederville, Western Australia, current playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). Formed in 1902 as the Unio ...

s in the

Western Australian National Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL "waffle" or "W-A-F-L") is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting f ...

(WANFL). The son of former West Perth and player Don Marinko Sr., Marinko began his career at West Perth in 1952, playing a total of 164 games for the club mainly as a centreman, including as

captain-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make change ...

of the side in 1959. He transferred to East Perth for the 1961 season, but his career was ended by a knee injury prior to the start of the 1963 season. Marinko also played 13

interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...

matches for

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, including the 1953 Australian National Football Carnival.

Career

The son of Don Marinko Sr., who had played 194 games with West Perth between 1926 and 1939, and the brother of

Ray Marinko Raymond George "Ray" Marinko (29 November 1935 – 31 March 2018) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the and East Perth Football Clubs in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL). The son of former West Perth and ...

, with whom he later played with at West Perth, Marinko excelled at junior football, winning trophies playing for the West Perth juniors in the Young Sports Temperance League, and also playing with Mount Hawthorn in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA). He originally tried out with the

South Fremantle Football Club South Fremantle Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Fremantle, Western Australia. The club plays in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL) and the WAFL Women's (WAFLW), commonly going by the nickname the ''Bulldogs ...

in the WANFL, but was advised by the coach of South Fremantle, Clive Lewington, to return to West Perth, the club whose recruitment zone he resided in, to avoid the need for a clearance. Marinko debuted for West Perth in 1952, and after a season playing as a half-forward flanker and winger, he was selected to represent Western Australia at the 1953 National Carnival in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, where he was the youngest player in the team. He was made captain-coach of the club for the 1959 season, with the club winning 10 out of 21 games, but was replaced by

Arthur Olliver Arthur Olliver (10 December 1916 – 31 May 1988) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL), and coached successfully in the then Western Australian National Football League (WANFL). A champion Foo ...

the following season, under whom the club won the 1960 premiership. A dispute with the club led Marinko to transfer to East Perth for the 1961 season. He played in the club's grand final loss to in 1961, and the following season won the F. D. Book Medal as the club's

fairest and best In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

player. In 1963, Marinko was appointed captain of East Perth, but was unable to take up the role after breaking his knee in a pre-season practice match against , which caused his retirement from football. After the conclusion of his playing career, Marinko continued as the club as an assistant to coach Kevin Murray, and served time on the selection committee.Head, Ron (2009)
Where Are They Now?: Don Marinko
– FootyGoss. Published 3 August 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2012.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marinko, Don, junior 1933 births 2024 deaths East Perth Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia West Perth Football Club coaches West Perth Football Club players