Barrie Robran

Infobox afl player


firstname = Barrie
lastname = Robran
| heightweight =
birthdate = Birth date and age|1947|9|25|df=y
birthplace = Whyalla, South Australia
originalteam = North Whyalla, Spencer Gulf Football League
dead = alive
deathdate =
deathplace =
debutdate = 15 April 1967
debutteam = North Adelaide SANFL
debutopponent = Sturt
debutstadium = Unley
playingteams = North Adelaide (1967-1976; 1978-1980)

201 games, 196 goals
coach = coach
coachingteams = North Adelaide (1978-1980)
statsend = 2005
careerhighlights =

*Seven times NAFC "Best and Fairest" 1967 (tied), 1968-1973
*Captained NAFC League team through four seasons : 1974-1977
*Member NAFC Premiership teams in 1971 and 1972 (Champions of Australia)
*Represented SA 17 times: 1967-1974. Kicked 8 goals
*Member of the SA team in National Carnivals in 1969 and 1972
*Captained SA 1974
*State Selector: 1984-1998
*MBE 31 December 1981 "For services to Australian Football"
*Australian Sports Medal "To commemorate Australian Sporting Achievement" in 2000
*Magarey Medals for "Fairest and Most Brilliant" in SANFL in 1968, 1970 and 1973. (Runner up in 1967)
*Inducted as a Member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame in May 1996
*Elevated to "Legend" status (17th legend) in May 2001
*Inducted as a Member of the SANFL Hall of Fame (Era:1961-90) in August 2002
*Selected in the NAFC Team of the Century in 2000
*Awarded NAFC Player Life Membership in 1976
*Awarded SANFL Player Life Membership in 1979

Barrie Charles Robran MBE is a former Australian rules footballer in the SANFL, widely acknowledged as a champion in his sport.

Barrie Robran is generally considered to be the greatest player ever to be produced by the North Adelaide Football Club. [http://www.nafc.com.au/about/history.asp] His career spanned 14 seasons and he won South Australian football's highest individual honour, the Magarey Medal, on three occasions - 1968, 1970 and 1973.

Coming down from Whyalla in 1966 to play juniors, he began his League career in 1967 and was runner-up in both the Magarey Medal and North's best and fairest, as well as representing the State. Robran was instrumental in North Adelaide's premiership sides in 1971 and 1972, as well as their Australian Championship win over VFL premier, Carlton in 1972. From 1968 to 1973, he was best and fairest at North, but making the move to the VFL never interested him; a quiet country boy, he never aspired to a life in Melbourne.

A serious knee injury sustained in an incident with Leigh Matthews in an interstate match 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 4 Magarey Medal votes in the 3 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.

Robran was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996, and upgraded to Legend status in 2001. He was the first South Australian to be granted Legend status, and his citation noted he was "Regarded as the best player never to play AFL" [http://afl.com.au/Season2007/Awards/HallofFame/Legends/tabid/855/Default.aspx] .

In 1981 he received the honour of Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to football.

He is the father of former AFL footballers, Matthew and Jonathan Robran.

Robran also had a very brief cricket career, in the 1971/72 season playing one List A and two first-class games for South Australia.

External links

*Cricinfo|ref=australia/content/player/7427.html
* [http://www.nafc.com.au/about/icons.asp North Adelaide Football Club "Icon"]
* [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/r.htm#Barrie%20Robran%20(North%20Adelaide) Fullpointsfooty bio]