Today is the 23rd anniversary of Australian Rules footballer Nicky Winmar taking a stance against racism at the conclusion of his AFL club, St Kilda’s game against Collingwood at Victoria Park. Winmar, a sublimely skilled wingman/half-forward played 230 games for St Kilda between 1987 and 1998, having a decorated career, being selected in St Kilda’s team of the century in 2001 as well as the Indigenous team of the century in 2005. At the end of his career Winmar had a highlight reel surpassed by few of his peers, with spectacular marks, brilliant goals and textbook tackles, however the moment he is best remembered for doesn’t include a disposal. Throughout that day on 17 April 1993 racial abuse had been directed by Collingwood supporters at Winmar and Indigenous team-mate Gilbert McAdam. St Kilda had a memorable victory, being inspired by Winmar and McAdam who were clearly the best two players on the ground. At the conclusion of the game the racial abuse directed at Winmar and McAdam didn’t die down and in fact became even more vocal, in response Nicky Winmar faced the Collingwood cheer squad, defiantly lifted his jumper up and pointed to his skin to signal that he was proud of his indigenous heritage.
In May 2013 Winmar travelled to Melbourne for Indigenous Round and commented about that day at Victoria Park 20 years prior, and in particular the infamous photograph taken by Wayne Ludbey of Winmar lifting his jumper and pointing to his skin, which has become one of the most famous photographs ever taken of an AFL player. “I was pretty emotional about it the next day when I did see it. A lot of people said, what happened? And I said to them I wanted people to know that I am black and I am proud”1 Winmar commented.
The racial abuse directed at Winmar and McAdam by the Collingwood supporters started at half-time of the reserves when Winmar and McAdam walked onto the ground to check the playing conditions and also to allow McAdam to familiarise himself with the ground as it was the first time he had played at Victoria Park. Being racially abused by supporters was not restricted just to this game, it had happened regularly to this point of Nicky and Gilbert’s football careers, in the VFL/AFL, as well as state leagues – the WAFL and SANFL respectively, and at lower levels. Before the Round 4 1993 game against Collingwood started Winmar and McAdam made a pact to respond to the racial abuse they were copping from Collingwood supporters with their actions on the field, Winmar said “It was amazing, you get so fired up. It makes you feel like you want to go out and run amok on the field. We got spat on and sworn at but we went out and showed them we’re brothers, no matter what tribe we are or where we’re from.”2
When appearing on the Fox Footy program Open Mike with McAdam in May 2013 Nicky commented “What made us go out there and perform to our best, we wanted to show the public not only how good we were, but just stand side by side as brothers as well, we had reached breaking point (about being racially abused) as well.” Nicky went on to say “enough is enough, we’ve got to stand up for our next generation as well.” When asked to provide more detail about the racist remarks they received at Victoria Park that day Gilbert replied “We don’t want to open up old wounds and if I told you what they said it wouldn’t be nice for TV I’ll tell you right now. We’ve moved on now, that was 20 years ago, we have laid the foundations for the young ones today, hopefully they don’t have to put up with the words that were used when we were playing.”
After trailing Collingwood by eight points at half-time St Kilda won the Round 4 1993 game by 22 points to record their first win against Collingwood at Victoria Park in 17 years with Winmar and McAdam keeping their pact and running amok on the field to be the best two players on the ground. McAdam had 21 disposals and kicked a game-high five goals, two more than the second ranked player to receive the three Brownlow Medal votes, whilst Winmar had 25 disposals, laid a team-high seven tackles, two more than the second ranked Saint, and kicked a goal to receive two Brownlow votes. Increasing the degree of difficulty of the victory at Collingwood’s home ground, full-forward Tony Lockett missed the game due to suspension and ruck-rover Robert Harvey suffered a hamstring injury in the second quarter. Lockett and Harvey are both Brownlow Medallists, have been elevated to Legend status in St Kilda’s Hall of Fame and are team-mates of Winmar’s in the St Kilda Football Club’s team of the century.
Through their scintillating performances during the game against Collingwood, together with Nicky’s gesture after the game of lifting his jumper, pointing to his skin to signal “I am black and I am proud” Winmar and McAdam made a significant stand against racism, one that proved to be a turning point for the AFL who have been at the forefront of society realising that racism is unacceptable.
Two years later, following an incident of Collingwood’s Damien Monkhorst racially vilifying Essendon’s Michael Long on Anzac Day 1995 the AFL increased their attempts to stamp racism out of the game. After this incident the AFL introduced “Rule 30 under the Player Rules, covering Racial and Religious Vilification, the AFL addressed the issue of racial abuse on-field and the Player Rules established a process to deal with any complaints, as well as setting out annual education programs which are conducted for all clubs and officials.”3 Whilst several players have been suspended for racial vilification in the 21 years since the rule was introduced, players are far better educated about these issues now than they were in 1995, which significantly reduces the likelihood of a player racially vilifying another AFL player on the football field. Through the introduction of these measures Australian Rules Football has also played an important role in increasing the knowledge of many people in the general public about these issues, whilst most people now realise that racial vilification is unacceptable there have been several instances in the past 12 months of supporters at AFL games racially abusing players. Other members of the crowd have been quick to report instances of racism by supporters, and if a member of an AFL club has made racist remarks the club has cancelled the supporter’s membership.
The first AFL Indigenous Round was held during National Reconciliation Week in Round 9 2007 from Friday May 25, to Sunday May 27 and has been part of the AFL fixture in every year since with Essendon playing Richmond in the Dreamtime at the ‘G game on the Saturday night of Indigenous Round. The first Dreamtime at the ‘G game was played between Essendon and Richmond in July 2005 during NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) Week, which is the first full week in July.
In recognition of Winmar St Kilda played a home game against Collingwood as the opening game of Indigenous Round in 2014 on Friday night May 30 at Etihad Stadium. In October 2013 Winmar spoke about the game “This year it was fantastic to get over (for the 20-year anniversary), so it’s great we can play this game against the Magpies. I have been over (to indigenous round) a few times and have been to the Richmond-Essendon game for Michael Long, and I am really looking forward to this game with Collingwood.”4
Neil Elvis ‘Nicky’ Wimar was born on 25 September 1965 in the Western Australia country town Kellerberrin. Nicky played junior football for Pingelly in the Upper Great Southern Football League, Pingelly is a small country town 150 kilometres south of Perth located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Nicky’s father Neal was a shearer and encouraged Nicky to strive to play Australian Rules football in the VFL where it was critical to be a good wet-weather player, Nicky comments “My brother and I used to turn on the hoses and pretend it was a muddy ground in Melbourne. We’d act like our favourite players. I was Malcolm Blight.”5
When Winmar was playing for Pingelly as a 15 year-old South Fremantle coach Mal Brown specifically went to watch him play after hearing of Nicky’s exquisite skills. A couple of seasons later Winmar joined West Australian Football League (WAFL) club South Fremantle and was coached by Brown. In Round 9 1983 Winmar at 17 years of age made his debut for South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), he played 13 games in his debut season mainly playing at half-forward and on a wing.
In 1984 and 1985 he spent more time playing as a rover for South Fremantle and Winmar played a total of 33 games across these two seasons. The first West Australian team joined the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1987, the West Coast Eagles and there had been considerable speculation that Winmar would be one of the players recruited by the expansion club. A groin injury restricted Winmar to 12 games for South Fremantle in 1986 which hindered his chances of joining the West Coast Eagles. In four seasons in the WAFL Winmar played a total of 58 games for South Fremantle and was a regular goalkicker whether playing as a forward or in his more customary role as a midfielder, he kicked 98 goals at a very impressive average of 1.7 goals per game. Other strengths of Winmar during his four seasons in the WAFL were his skills, ball-winning ability, spectacular marking and tackling.
Several Victorian VFL clubs were interested in recruiting Winmar including Essendon, North Melbourne, St Kilda and Richmond, Nicky met with Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy. “When the Eagles were putting a side together they were interested in 35 players and had to cut back to 30. Winmar was one of the five that missed out.”6 Although Winmar was sublimely skilled several of these VFL clubs decided against recruiting him, with the biggest criticism being that Winmar wasn’t consistent enough.
Victorian VFL club St Kilda recruited Nicky Winmar who was a very good mark for his size at 183 centimetres tall and weighing 81 kilograms, with his wide ranging skill-set he had the versatility to play in several positions in the midfield or forward line. At 21 years of age Winmar made his VFL debut for St Kilda against Geelong in Round 1 1987 at Moorabbin on , he had 13 kicks, four handballs, two marks, laid three tackles and kicked a goal in the one point loss. Winmar quickly established himself in the St Kilda side and only missed two games for the season, Rounds 13 and 14 with injury. Although he developed strong teamwork with several of his St Kilda team-mates the combination of Winmar and fellow 21 year-old Tony Lockett was something to behold. Although Lockett was a bulky full-forward he was very quick over the first five to 20 metres which meant that when Winmar with his precise footskills delivered the ball to a fast-leading Lockett the full-back had very little chance of effecting a spoil and preventing Lockett from taking the mark.
In each of the previous four seasons from 1983 to 1986 St Kilda finished on the bottom of the ladder, winning a total of only 15 games during this period. St Kilda played an exciting brand of football in 1987, winning nine games to finish in 10th place, three games and percentage outside the final five, with greater composure and more experience in close games St Kilda could have finished higher on the ladder as three times they lost by a goal or less. St Kilda had a strong home ground advantage at Moorabbin and won seven of their nine games at this ground, with the two losses being to Geelong by a point in Round 1 and Essendon by 15 points in Round 11. Winmar played a pivotal role in St Kilda’s improvement in 1987 finishing runner-up in the best and fairest and polled 10 votes in the Brownlow Medal to finish equal 13th overall. Winmar had two best afield performances with the first one being in Round 7 against Richmond with 17 kicks, three handballs, six marks and four goals in the 23 point victory. Winmar was also best afield in the 15 point loss to Essendon at Moorabbin in Round 11, having 17 kicks, three handballs, nine marks, a team-high six tackles, and two goals. Winmar kicked multiple goals in 11 games during 1987 including four goals four times and three goals three times, kicking a total of 37 goals to be ranked third at St Kilda behind Tony Lockett (117) and Rod Owen (39). Lockett had an historic season, breaking the St Kilda record for most goals in a season, winning the Coleman Medal as the leading goalkicker in the VFL, he also won the St Kilda best and fairest and the Brownlow Medal as the best and fairest player in the VFL, polling 20 votes to tie with Hawthorn rover John Platten.
In 1987 Winmar played 20 matches, averaging 14.6 kicks, 4.1 handballs, 4.5 marks and 1.9 goals per game, he ranked second at St Kilda for kicks with 290, 14 behind Greg Burns, fifth for marks, fourth for disposals and first for tackles. One of the weaknesses which contributed to Winmar being overlooked by the West Coast Eagles and other VFL clubs was his inconsistency, however in his debut VFL season this was not an issue as he regularly played high quality football and only had less than 16 disposals in three of his 20 games. Winmar proved that he was not just worthy of a position in a 20 man VFL team, he would of been in the top handful of players at any club during his debut VFL season. Winmar was one of only 19 players to poll at least 10 votes in the Brownlow Medal, he ranked 29th in the VFL for kicks per game and equal 25th in the VFL for total goals. Nicky wore the number 7 jumper in all 12 seasons with St Kilda, the Saints have been blessed with the calibre of player wearing this jumper during the past 30 seasons as Winmar was succeeded by Lenny Hayes who like Nicky become a three-time All-Australian and all-time great of the St Kilda Football Club.
St Kilda won three of their first nine games in 1988 but only recorded one more win for the season, full-forward Lockett only played eight games, missing three games with suspension from Round 2 to Round 4 and the last half of the season with an ankle injury. Winmar started the season well, having at least 18 disposals in the first four rounds of the season. In round 3 against North Melbourne Winmar had a team-high 19 kicks, six marks, six handballs, laid three tackles and kicked three goals – ranked equal second for the game to receive 2 Brownlow Medal votes in the 26 point win at Moorabbin.
Nicky led St Kilda’s goalkicking with 43 goals, ahead of Lockett (35), and Rod Owen (30). Winmar kicked multiple goals in 14 games, including four goals in Round 19 against Footscray and three goals on eight occasions. When Lockett was on the sidelines Winmar spent more time playing closer to goal, however he still played significant time in the midfield during 1988 so it was a great performance of Nicky to be ranked equal 11th in the VFL for total goals. Winmar polled eight Brownlow Medal votes comprised of the two votes four times, to be ranked equal first at St Kilda with Bradley Gotch. In 1988 Winmar played 21 of a possible 22 matches, only missing Round 17 with a hamstring injury, he averaged 14.2 kicks, 2.9 handballs, 4.2 marks and 2.1 goals per game, he ranked third at St Kilda for kicks, third for marks, fifth for disposals and sixth for tackles. Winmar finished runner-up in the St Kilda best and fairest, behind captain and full-back Danny Frawley.
During his first two seasons at St Kilda Nicky Winmar had exceeded all expectations that the Saints had at the time of recruiting him, however in 1989 he elevated his game to an even higher level to be one of the best players in the competition. In Round 2 against Carlton at Moorabbin Winmar had an equal team-high 18 kicks, five marks, four handballs, kicked a goal and played a pivotal role in the match-winning play, with the Saints trailing by two points Winmar passed to Lockett who beat his opponent Stephen Silvagni to mark 35 metres out, Lockett kicked the set-shot goal, his 10th of the match with 35 seconds remaining to give the Saints a memorable four point victory.
Due to suspension and a thigh injury Lockett was restricted to only 11 games for the season, the last one being in Round 15. With Lockett out injured St Kilda still had one of the best key forwards in the competition, centre half-forward Stewart Loewe in the side. Playing in the midfield in Round 18 against Geelong Winmar was judged best afield, with 20 kicks, two handballs, five marks and a goal.
With Lockett missing the Round 20 game against Carlton with a thigh injury and Stewart Loewe also on the sidelines injured, Nicky Winmar played at full-forward with devastating effect, having 16 kicks, one handball, 12 marks, and was extremely accurate, kicking eight goals, one behind and received the 3 Brownlow medal votes, despite Winmar’s heroics St Kilda lost a thrilling game by a point.
Loewe returned for the Saints Round 21 game and played predominantly at centre half-forward against Melbourne, fourth on the ladder with 14 wins and six losses. Winmar proved his superb performance at full-forward in Round 20 was not a fluke, playing in that position again and for the second week in a row being the most dominant player on the ground, kicking nine goals, three behinds, he also had 19 kicks, one handball and 10 marks in the upset 32 point victory to receive the 3 Brownlow Medal votes for the second week in a row and the third time in four games. It is very rare for a VFL/AFL footballer to be best afield three times out of four games but for these best afield performances to be in two completely different positions as Winmar did late in the 1989 season as a midfielder in Round 18, and then as a full-forward in Rounds 20 and 21 is almost unheard of.
In ‘1989 Football The Year in Review’ 20 experts were asked a series of questions, including ‘best kick in VFL’ and ‘best mark in VFL’, Winmar received three nominations as the best kick in the VFL and two nominations as the best mark in VFL, the only other player to be nominated in both the kick and mark categories was Gary Ablett senior, highlighting Winmar’s phenomenal skill level in two of the most important aspects of the game. The two games played between St Kilda and Carlton in 1989 were both among the best handful of home and away games of the season and in the same publication a quarter of the experts nominated one of the games between St Kilda and Carlton as the best home and away match of the season, comprised of three experts saying the Round 2 St Kilda four point win at Moorabbin and two experts nominating the Round 20 Carlton one point win at Princes Park.
In 1989 Winmar played all 22 matches, averaging 15.0 kicks, 3.7 handballs, 4.6 marks and 1.6 goals per game, he ranked first at St Kilda for kicks, third for marks, third for disposals, fifth for tackles and second for goals with 43, behind Tony Lockett who finished third in the VFL goalkicking with 78, behind Jason Dunstall (138) and Gary Ablett senior (87), playing most of the year as a midfielder or half-forward Winmar finished 11th in the VFL for goalkicking and was ranked 20th in the VFL for total kicks. In the final three games of the season Winmar was a resounding success playing at full-forward, having at least eight scoring shots and averaging 6.7 goals and 9.7 marks per game, figures Lockett – one of the greatest full-forwards in the history of the game would be proud of.
Winmar won St Kilda’s 1989 best and fairest, making it three consecutive top-two finishes, a remarkably consistent start to his AFL career, especially given that he was criticised for not being consistent enough when he played in the WAFL. Winmar polled 16 Brownlow Medal votes to finish equal third with Tim Watson and Jason Dunstall, the ineligible Greg Williams also polled 16 votes. Geelong on-baller Paul Couch won the award with 22 votes from Hawthorn rover John Platten on 20 votes. Wimar was named at half-forward in the 1989 VFL Team of the Year – the equivalent of the All-Australian team currently, no other Saints were named in the team. Gary Ablett senior was named on the opposite half-forward flank with Stephen Kernahan being named as centre half-forward between the sublimely skilled duo.
In 1986, the season before Nicky joined the VFL the league consisted of 12 clubs comprised of 10 clubs in Melbourne, as well as the Geelong Cats and Sydney Swans. In Nicky’s debut season of 1987 the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Lions joined the VFL to make it a 14 club competition. In recognition of the VFL becoming a National competition it was renamed the Australian Football League (AFL) in 1990, the following season the Adelaide Crows joined the AFL and all five states on the Australian mainland had least one AFL club based there.
Nicky played 17 of St Kilda’s first 19 games in 1990, only missing Round 10 when he was dropped to the reserves for disciplinary reasons, and Round 14 with a thigh injury. Recognising his phenomenal skills and the damage he could cause with the ball clubs were focusing more energy on ways to curb Winmar’s influence on matches and attempted to reduce the amount of time and space he had to work with the ball. Whilst he averaged 18.1 disposals per game in 1990 which was very similar to his first three seasons he was being forced to handball more which resulted in his kicks per game falling to 12.35, a drop of almost two kicks per game from his previous low of 14.24 in 1988. Nicky gave a harsh assessment of his form in 1990 saying “People say that you have the second year blues, well I think they hit me in the fourth year. Nothing went right and I went right off the boil”7 Nicky remained a valuable player for St Kilda and he averaged 1.5 goals per game to go along with 18 disposals, however he hadn’t been able to maintain the lofty heights he reached during his first three seasons with St Kilda.
Throughout his football career, both in Western Australia and Victoria Winmar had been racially vilified by opposition players many times. In Round 19 1990 Hawthorn centre half-forward Dermott Brereton took every opportunity when the ball was out of his area to racially abuse Nicky and put him off his game. Winmar snapped and attempted to get some retribution on Dermott by using physical force, which ended in disaster with Winmar being suspended for 10 games for kicking and eye-gouging Brereton, this led to Winmar missing the last three games of 1990 and the first five games of 1991, two games of the suspension were served in the 1991 pre-season competition. In August 1998 Dermott Brereton wrote an article apologising for racially abusing Winmar, writing “Of all the tribunal sentences I received, I was never suspended for what I see now as a cowardly attack. If there was something I could change from my career, it would be the ugly comments I used to put those two players (Winmar and West Coast’s Chris Lewis) off their games, in what we thought back in those days was a part of the game,” in relation to the suspension Winmar received Brereton went on to write “I was the one who should have received a penalty. I’m ashamed of what I did back then to provoke Nicky.”8
Unfortunately in the 1990’s and earlier decades some players considered anything, including racial abuse to be fair game if it helped them put in an opponent off his game. Less than five years after the encounter between Winmar and Brereton the AFL introduced the Racial and Religious Vilification code, after its introduction no player would have to withstand the frequent barrage of racial abuse that Winmar did that day against Hawthorn in August 1990 at Waverley Park. Indigenous players Winmar and Essendon’s Michael Long played pivotal roles in the AFL introducing the Racial and Religious Vilification code after they stood up against racial remarks made by supporters and a player respectively. After the code of conduct had been introduced Winmar commented about racism “I remember it being there for many years. You just get sick of it. We just go out there to play football and it did effect me a lot in my junior years. I wish they had brought in the code of conduct earlier than now.”9
During 1990 Winmar played 17 of St Kilda’s 22 matches, averaging 12.4 kicks, 5.7 handballs, 3.2 marks and 1.5 goals per game, he ranked eighth at St Kilda for kicks, ninth for disposals, eighth for tackles and fourth for goals with 26, behind Tony Lockett (65), Stewart Loewe (50) and Craig Devonport (28). Winmar polled one Brownlow Medal vote for the season, in Round 4 against Sydney, having 15 kicks, three handballs, six marks and kicking four goals, four behinds. It was one of three times that Winmar kicked four goals in a game in 1990, he kicked multiple goals seven times, however his accuracy around goal let him down as he kicked 26 goals, 33 behinds for the season.
After serving the remainder of his suspension Winmar played his first game of 1991 for St Kilda in Round 7 against Adelaide, also making his return was full-forward Lockett who had missed the first six rounds of the season due to a back injury. In their comeback games both players performed exceptionally, Winmar had a then career-best 33 disposals comprised of 22 kicks and 11 handballs, he also took six marks and kicked a goal, whilst Lockett had 19 kicks, 15 marks and kicked 12 goals in St Kilda’s 131 point win against Adelaide at Moorabbin. The victory against Adelaide set a record for St Kilda’s greatest ever winning margin, and currently ranks second, having been surpassed by St Kilda’s 139 point defeat of Brisbane in Round 22 2005 at Etihad Stadium.
With Winmar and Lockett on the sidelines St Kilda had been competitive, having two wins, a draw and two losses in their first five matches of 1991. With the key duo back in the side St Kilda won seven of their next eight games starting with the win against Adelaide to place themselves in a commanding position to make their first finals appearance in 18 years. The Saints then lost four of their next five games to fall back to a pack of teams fighting for the final three spots in the top six. St Kilda finished the season well, winning their final four games to finish the home and away season in fourth position with 14 wins, seven losses and a draw. West Coast had been the dominant side of the season and finished on top with 19 wins, three games clear of Hawthorn and Geelong.
Under coach Ken Sheldon St Kilda played an entertaining brand of football in 1991 and the side that played Geelong in the second elimination final included four All-Australians from that season, Winmar (half-forward), Lockett (full-forward), Stewart Loewe (centre half-forward), and David Grant (half-back), with other prominent players being captain Danny Frawley, and emerging stars Nathan Burke and Robert Harvey. Winmar had 27 disposals against Geelong, ranked second on the ground, and along with Harvey and Gilbert McAdam provided great supply to Lockett who was superb, kicking nine goals, five behinds. The Saints lost Grant and Burke early in the game after they were both knocked unconscious by Gary Ablett senior in separate instances. St Kilda started the second half 19 points in front, however not being able to use their interchange bench at all due to the loss of Grant and Burke proved to be extremely telling as Geelong led by Billy Brownless with eight goals finished stronger to overrun the Saints and win by seven points.
In 1991 Winmar played 17 matches, averaging 17.4 kicks, 7.9 handballs, 3.8 marks and 0.7 goals per game, despite missing six games Winmar ranked third at St Kilda for total kicks, seventh for marks, fourth for disposals, third for tackles and ninth for goals with an inaccurate 12 goals, 13 behinds. Winmar polled 11 Brownlow Medal votes to finish equal 19th, ranked second at St Kilda behind Tony Lockett with 16. St Kilda players made up half of the forward line in the 1991 All-Australian team with Winmar being named at half-forward, Loewe at centre half-forward and Lockett at full-forward. During 1991 Winmar spent more time in the midfield with his disposals rising to 25.3 per game, a significant increase of 36% on his previous best of 18.64 in 1989. Although Winmar spent less time in the forward line and his goals per game dropped to 0.7, St Kilda had a potent forward line with five players kicking over 20 goals, being Lockett (127), Loewe (43), Frank Coghlan (33), McAdam (26) and Dean Rice (21). Winmar had at least 20 disposals in 15 of his 17 games, and had more than 26 disposals eight times, including five games in a row to finish the season, from Round 21 to the elimination final, he was ranked 8th in the AFL for kicks per game and 19th for tackles per game.
In the first eight games of the 1992 season Winmar had a greater impact on the scoreboard than he had for the entire 1991 season, kicking a total of 16 goals, with a best of four goals against Adelaide in Round 7, he kicked multiple goals six times during this period, however didn’t achieve it once more for the rest of the season, mainly as a result of spending less time in the forward line. In Round 18 against West Coast at Waverley Park Winmar set a new career best with 37 disposals, comprised of 28 kicks, nine handballs, eight marks and a goal in the 66 point win to receive the 3 Brownlow Medal votes for the only time of the season. Winmar polled eight Brownlow Medal votes, ranked fifth at St Kilda behind Loewe (16), Harvey (12), Burke and Lockett (both 10), highlighting the quality of these five players, when St Kilda’s team of the century was selected in 2001 all five were in St Kilda’s starting 18. The only other team-mate of Winmar’s who was selected in the team was the late Trevor Barker who was named at half-back, Winmar would go on to play the exact same number of games for St Kilda as Barker – 230.
In 1992 Winmar played 23 of a possible 24 matches, only missing Round 14 with the flu, he averaged 16.9 kicks, 6.0 handballs, 4.4 marks and 0.9 goals per game, ranking second at St Kilda for kicks, equal fourth for marks, second for disposals, third for tackles and fourth for goals, he ranked in the top 20 of the AFL for kicks and tackles per game. In Round 3 1992 Winmar played his 100th AFL game at 26 years of age in his home state, Western Australia against West Coast at Subiaco Oval. By that stage of his career Winmar had already created a vast highlights reel and for his milestone game he had another addition, winning the 1992 AFL mark of the year for a spectacular mark. Nicky’s right knee landed on the left shoulder of Chris Waterman and he took a remarkable chest mark, despite tumbling to ground and landing on his side Winmar held onto the mark cleanly.
St Kilda scraped into the finals in 1992 – taking sixth position with 14 wins and were only percentage ahead of Carlton who thankfully for the Saints lost the final game of the home and away season to West Coast at Subiaco, enabling St Kilda to make the finals. The sixth placed Saints faced third placed Collingwood in an elimination final at Waverley Park. In a thrilling contest St Kilda prevailed by eight points, it was St Kilda’s first finals win since the 1973 Elimination Final against Essendon. The following week Footscray defeated St Kilda by 29 points in a semi-final at Waverley Park. Winmar injured his shoulder in the semi-final loss to Footscray and wasn’t happy with the support provided to him by St Kilda after the game.
In Round 2 1993 against North Melbourne Winmar was magnificent, having 17 kicks, 14 handballs, five marks, four tackles and kicking a goal to receive the 3 Brownlow Medal votes. During the first four rounds of the 1993 season Winmar had played superbly, averaging 28.5 disposals and four tackles per game to lead several media awards, St Kilda had won three of their four games to be fourth on the ladder. The last of these four games against Collingwood at Victoria Park has been covered in detail earlier in the article.
Due to a financial dispute with St Kilda the week after playing Collingwood Winmar did not play for the club again until Round 8, missing the losses in Round 5 and 7, the Saints had the bye in Round 6. During the few weeks away from the club considerable momentum was lost by both Winmar and St Kilda in terms of their on-field performances. Winmar didn’t poll another vote in the Brownlow Medal for the season and St Kilda slid down the ladder to finish in 12th position with 10 wins and 10 losses in one of the closest seasons ever with Essendon finishing first, only three wins and a draw ahead of St Kilda.
During 1993 Winmar played 16 of St Kilda’s 20 matches, only missing two matches after Round 8 due to a groin injury, Rounds 15 and 22. Nicky averaged 17.1 kicks, 6.4 handballs, 4.0 marks and 0.8 goals per game, Winmar ranked second at St Kilda for kicks, fifth for marks, third for disposals, third for tackles and equal seventh for goals. Nicky kicked multiple goals on three occasions, with four goals against Brisbane in Round 11 and two goals twice.
Winmar started the 1994 season in the reserves, returned to the seniors for Round 2 against North Melbourne and set a new career high with 39 disposals, comprised of 31 kicks and eight handballs, he also had five marks and received two Brownlow Medal votes. The next week Winmar was critical to St Kilda defeating Essendon by 14 points at Waverley Park, being best afield with a team-high 27 disposals, comprised of 23 kicks and four handballs, he also kicked three goals. After having at least 27 disposals in his first two games Winmar had over 21 disposals in only three of his remaining 14 games for the season, and for the second year in a row didn’t poll a Brownlow Medal vote for the rest of the season after starting in blistering fashion. Winmar missed Rounds 17 to 19 due to suspension and Round 21 with concussion, he played 17 of a possible 22 matches, averaging 15.1 kicks, 5.9 handballs, 3.9 marks and 0.9 goals per game. Winmar ranked fourth at St Kilda for kicks, equal seventh for marks, fourth for disposals, sixth for tackles and fourth for goals with 15, behind Lockett (56), Craig O’Brien (53) and Loewe (19).
Whilst in 1993 and 1994 Winmar’s form tapered off as the season progressed in 1995 his form picked up in the second half of the season, culminating in a combined 81 disposals in his last two games of the season. In Round 21 against Fitzroy Winmar equalled his career best with 39 disposals, comprised of 25 kicks and 14 handballs, the following week he set a new career best with 42 disposals against Footscray, comprised of 28 kicks and 14 handballs, he also laid six tackles, kicked a goal, took five marks and received two Brownlow Medal votes. Winmar’s 42 disposals in a game placed him second on St Kilda’s all-time list for most disposals in a game behind 44 disposals by Robert Harvey in Round 2 1992. 21 years later Winmar’s 42 disposals against Footscray in Round 22 1995 is now equal eighth on St Kilda’s all-time list. It was to be the last time that Winmar had more than 32 disposals in a game. Winmar kicked multiple goals seven times in 1995, amazingly this was in consecutive games, starting with three goals in Round 7 against Footscray and then two goals in each of his next six games. Winmar only kicked a total of four goals in his last nine games however he won more of the ball during this period, with five of his nine games with more than 25 disposals being after Round 13.
In 1995 Winmar played all 22 matches, averaging 17.6 kicks, 7.3 handballs, 4.4 marks and 1.0 goals per game. Winmar ranked in the top 10 of the AFL in three categories, being ranked second for kicks per game, seventh for tackles and sixth for disposals. It was the fifth season in a row that Winmar was ranked in the top 12 of the AFL for kicks per game, having previously been eighth in 1991, 11th in 1992, ninth in 1993, and 12th in 1994. Highlighting just how difficult it is for a player to maintain such an outstanding level of performance over a prolonged period of time Winmar was the only player in the AFL to be ranked in the top dozen for kicks per game in all five seasons from 1991 to 1995.
Nicky was selected on a wing in the 1995 All-Australian team, joining St Kilda team-mate Robert Harvey who was selected in his customary position of ruck-rover. Michael Long was named on the opposite wing to Winmar whilst Lockett in his first season for Sydney was named at full-forward. Winmar led St Kilda for kicks, disposals and tackles, ranked second for marks, third for handballs, and fourth for goals with 21, behind Loewe (76), O’Brien and Peter ‘Spider’ Everitt (both 32). Winmar polled 10 Brownlow medal votes, ranked equal third at St Kilda with Burke, behind Harvey (16) and Loewe (13).
In three seasons from 1993 to 1995 the highest St Kilda had finished on the ladder was 12th, Danny Frawley retired at the end of the 1995 season having set a new club record of 177 games as the Saints captain from 1987 to 1995. Nathan Burke and Stewart Loewe were appointed co-captains and St Kilda started the 1996 pre-season with very little expected given their performances in the past three seasons and the loss of critical experienced players Lockett and Frawley in the previous 18 months.
The 1996 pre-season night competition was played in a knock-out format, unexpectedly St Kilda progressed to the Grand Final to play Carlton who dominated in 1995, winning 20 of their 22 home and away games and all three finals to win the premiership, however one of these losses was to the Saints who comprehensively outplayed them in Round 9, winning by 56 points, 80 to 24, in front of 17,902 supporters at Waverley. The 1996 pre-season Grand Final between St Kilda and Carlton at Waverley Park was attended by 66,888, the second biggest pre-season crowd ever, and they witnessed the Saints easily win the pre-season premiership by 58 points, playing on a wing 30 year-old Nicky Winmar was best afield in a classy performance to win the Michael Tuck medal, having 28 disposals and five marks, his outstanding first quarter was critical to St Kilda gaining the ascendancy over Carlton early in the game.
St Kilda lost their first two games of the 1996 home and away season, however thing became worse in Round 3 with Winmar suffering a knee injury and St Kilda losing to Melbourne by 10 points. Nicky tore his medial ligament and spent a prolonged period on the sidelines. Winmar made his return in Round 13 and played his best game of the season in the final game, with 22 kicks, 10 handballs, four marks, four tackles and a Brownlow Medal vote in St Kilda’s 69 point win against Adelaide at Waverley Park.
During 1996 Winmar played 11 matches, averaging 13.6 kicks, 6.8 handballs, 4.6 marks and 0.9 goals per game. Winmar ranked fourth at St Kilda for kicks per game, and 31st in the AFL. St Kilda finished 10th on the ladder with 10 wins and 12 losses, but had been able to get valuable games into younger players such as Aussie Jones, Joel Smith and Tony Brown which proved invaluable the following season.
St Kilda lost their opening game of the 1997 season to Hawthorn by a goal and Winmar was dropped to the reserves for Round 2 due to disciplinary reasons. Nicky returned to the seniors in Round 3 and proved critical in St Kilda’s thrilling seven point win against Collingwood at Waverley Park, in a skilful display Nicky had 20 kicks, seven handballs, kicked two goals and was voted best afield by the umpires for the 14th and final time as a St Kilda player. After the Saints lost their next two games to have a record of one win and four losses it looked very likely that St Kilda would miss the finals for the fifth season in a row, however the Saints improved to win six of their next eight games.
The 1997 season was shaping as one of the closest in the history of the VFL/AFL, and after 13 rounds St Kilda were seventh on the ladder with seven wins, six losses and a percentage of 106.1%. In 1997 the top eight teams made the finals, amazingly after Round 13 only two games and percentage separated Geelong second on the ladder with eight wins and Fremantle who were 13th with six wins. St Kilda were one of seven teams from fourth to 10th with seven wins. After Round 5 St Kilda turned it around in phenomenal fashion, winning 11 of their last 14 games to not just make the finals but finish on top of the ladder with 15 wins and seven losses, percentage ahead of Geelong in second place.
Winmar played 18 of St Kilda’s 22 home and away games, being dropped to the reserves in Round 11 for not attending a training session and he missed Round 19 with a calf injury. Winmar made history in Round 17, becoming the first indigenous player to reach 200 VFL/AFL games, a great achievement, which has since been achieved by several more indigenous players including Peter & Shaun Burgoyne, Leon Davis, Jeff Farmer, Adam Goodes, Chris Johnson, Chris Lewis, Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, Peter Matera, Andrew McLeod, Michael O’Loughlin, Eddie Betts and Gavin Wanganeen.
Nicky kicked multiple goals eight times in 1997, including St Kilda’s first two finals. In their first final for five years St Kilda trailed Brisbane by five points at half-time of the qualifying final at Waverley Park but took control in the second half to win by 46 points, Winmar had 16 kicks and kicked two goals to play an important role. With the win St Kilda earnt the week off and progressed to their first preliminary final in 25 years. After the qualifying final win against Brisbane Winmar travelled to Western Australia to visit his ill father Neal.
The reigning premiers North Melbourne defeated West Coast by 13 points in the first semi-final to progress to a Friday night preliminary final against the Saints at the MCG. The underdogs, St Kilda proved too strong for North Melbourne, winning by 31 points, Winmar had 10 kicks, five handballs and kicked three goals, ranked equal second at St Kilda with Stewart Loewe, behind full-forward Jason Heatley who kicked seven goals straight.
St Kilda went into the 1997 Grand Final against Adelaide as red-hot favourites having set a new club record with nine consecutive wins. On the night before the Grand Final Nicky’s father Neal died. Worried that Winmar would be drained before the Grand Final even started the St Kilda match committee debated not picking him for the game, but in the end decided to play him.
St Kilda started the Grand Final against Adelaide well and held the ascendancy during the first half, however despite starting the second half with a 13 point lead they were over-run by the Adelaide Crows with Darren Jarman playing a key role up forward and finishing the match with six goals. Adelaide started the last quarter with a 10 point lead and kicked away to win the Grand Final by 31 points. Winmar had nine kicks, four handballs and kicked a goal in the Grand Final loss.
During 1997 Winmar played 21 of St Kilda’s 25 matches, averaging 12.1 kicks, 5.3 handballs, 3.2 marks and 1.3 goals per game. Winmar ranked seventh at St Kilda for kicks, sixth for tackles and fourth for goals with 27, behind Heatley (73), Loewe (54) and Everitt (44), he ranked equal 31st in the VFL for total goals. Winmar kicked multiple goals eight times, comprised of three goals three times and five goals twice.
Winmar played an equal career best 23 games for St Kilda in 1998. The Saints won 11 of their first 14 games to be top of the ladder, however the wheels fell off as the Saints won only two of their last eight games of the season. In Round 20 against Carlton at the MCG opposed to tagger Anthony Franchina Winmar lost his focus, having just eight disposals. When asked about this game Winmar said “I was frustrated, things were going bad in my personal life, it just went wayward, lost it, and sort of went walk-about for a while.” Winmar was disciplined for his disappointing actions during the game against Carlton and dropped to the reserves for Round 21, but returned to the seniors the following week.
Winmar played St Kilda’s last three games of the season and was one of the club’s best players in both finals losses. After trailing by 22 points at half time of their qualifying final against Sydney at the SCG St Kilda fought back well, Winmar had an opportunity to put St Kilda in front in the dying moments but he was tackled as he kicked which caused the shot to narrowly miss and Sydney won by two points. Winmar had nine kicks, four handballs, four marks and kicked an equal team-high 3 goals.
In the 51 point semi final loss to Melbourne Winmar was one of St Kilda’s best players, having 20 kicks, nine handballs and five marks, he led the Saints for disposals and had had 11 inside 50s, the only other Saint with more than three was Robert Harvey with five.
In 1998 Winmar played 23 of a possible 24 matches for St Kilda, averaging 13.4 kicks, 8.1 handballs, 4.7 marks and 0.7 goals per game. Nicky averaged 21.5 disposals per game, his most since having 24.9 disposals per game in 1995, he ranked 23rd in the AFL for total kicks. Winmar ranked third at St Kilda for kicks and marks, equal second for handballs, third for disposals, fourth for tackles, second for handball receives, fifth for looseball gets, equal fifth for inside 50s, and seventh for goals with 16. Winmar finished eighth in St Kilda’s best and fairest with 87 votes, one vote behind defender Matthew Young in seventh place. Winmar kicked multiple goals five time with a season best of three goals in the finals loss to Sydney.
At the end of the 1998 season St Kilda decided not to offer Winmar a contract for 1999, with his performance in Round 20, losing his focus against Carlton considered to be a critical factor in St Kilda reaching this decision. Nicky turned 33 the day before the 1998 Grand Final, however his body was the best it had been since his sensational season in 1995, and his performances throughout the season showed that he still had more to offer at AFL level. Due to this Nicky nominated for the 1998 National Draft and was the first player with previous AFL experience picked in that draft, being selected by the Western Bulldogs with pick 30. The Western Bulldogs had lost in the 1997 and 1998 preliminary finals to Adelaide and felt that Nicky would provide a valuable injection of class and experience to the club.
Winmar made his debut for the Western Bulldogs in the opening round of the 1999 season against their nemesis Adelaide and was in the Bulldogs best players with 11 kicks, 11 handballs, one goal and five inside 50’s in the Bulldogs 13 point win. Winmar played 20 of the Western Bulldogs 22 games during the home and away season, missing Round 9 with a cheek injury and Round 18 with a groin injury. Nicky predominantly played in the forward line and kicked multiple goals 11 times, including four goals three times and three goals on three occasions. Nicky polled four Brownlow Medal votes comprised of 1 vote against Sydney in Round 14 for a 15 disposal, three goal performance and three votes in Round 20 against Richmond when he wound back the clock to have 14 kicks, nine handballs, seven marks and kicked four goals in the Bulldogs 46 point victory. In the final round of the home and away season, four weeks shy of his 34th birthday Winmar played his 250th VFL/AFL game and celebrated in style, having 14 kicks, four handballs, four marks and kicking four goals in the 67 point victory over Port Adelaide.
The Western Bulldogs finished fourth on the ladder and played West Coast in a qualifying final at the MCG, Nicky was injured early in the game which proved to be a critical loss for the Bulldogs as West Coast defeated them by five points in a low scoring game 65 points to 60. The injury prevented Nicky from playing in the semi-final against Brisbane at the Gabba which the Bulldogs lost by 53 points.
In 1999 Winmar played 21 of a possible 24 matches for the Western Bulldogs averaging 7.5 kicks, 3.5 handballs, 3.3 marks and 1.6 goals per game. Winmar kicked 34 goals, ranked equal 24th in the AFL and third at the Western Bulldogs behind Paul Hudson (57) and Chris Grant (37).
Nicky retired from AFL Football at the end of the 1999 season, having had a 13 season career in which he played 251 games, kicked 317 goals and was selected in the All-Australian team three times, 1989, 1991 and 1995. Winmar wore the number 1 jumper during his season with the Western Bulldogs.
During his 12 seasons with St Kilda Winmar won the best and fairest twice, 1989 and 1995 and was runner-up in his first two seasons in 1987 and 1988, during Nicky’s career with the Saints two other players won the Saints best and fairest twice, Tony Lockett and Nathan Burke, only bettered by Robert Harvey with four best and fairests. In his autobiography Harvey wrote about Winmar “He was always an amazing footballer, even on the training track. As a kid you would just marvel at him – whether it was left or right boot, he would never miss with his passes. In games, his chasing, tackling and effort were terrific in much the same way as Trevor Barker had been.”10
When Nicky was a junior footballer his dad emphasised that tackling was a critical skill in Australian Rules, Nicky comments “Dad always said that the main thing in the game was not only kicking but tackling as well. Aboriginal players can read a tackle a lot better because we can anticipate where a player is heading. You have to get in the right position to do it properly.”11
On 1 August 2005 Nicky Winmar was selected as a half-forward in the Indigenous team of the century, the only other player in the team who represented St Kilda was Jim Krakouer, selected in a forward pocket, Krakouer played 134 games for North Melbourne from 1982 to 1989, followed by 13 games for St Kilda from 1990 and 1991 as a team-mate of Nicky.
Winmar represented Western Australia eight times in State of Origin and in 2009 he was inducted into the West Australian Hall of Fame for his club performances, with in order South Fremantle (58 games and 99 goals from 1983 to 1986), St Kilda (230 games and 283 goals from 1987 to 1998) and the Western Bulldogs (21 games and 34 goals in 1999). A tournament for underage indigenous footballers called the ‘Nicky Winmar Cup’ was established in 2009 in his honour as a joint venture between the West Australian Football Commission and the West Australian Department of Sport and Recreation.
Winmar suffered a heart attack in September 2012, since then he has changed his diet and doesn’t drink as much coffee which has improved his health.
In May 2013 Nicky Winmar and Gilbert McAdam both travelled to Melbourne for Indigenous Round and the 20th anniversary of the Round 4 1993 game against Collingwood, the duo both went back to Victoria Park, the venue for the infamous game. McAdam reflected back to that ground breaking day “A lot of good came out of that because it did make a lot of people stand up and take notice and probably get a better understanding of Aboriginal Australia and how we feel and the things we had to put up with to play the game. A lot of stuff back then was hush-hush so for it to come out was massive. It opened a lot of clubs’ eyes, and not only clubs but supporters. When I see AFL today in 2013 and I see so many Aboriginal players in all the different clubs, it makes me proud that it can have an impact on the younger ones.”12
The iconic image at the conclusion of St Kilda’s victory against Collingwood at Victoria Park on April 17 1993 of Winmar lifting up his jumper and pointing to his skin to display that “I am black and I am proud” was “not captured by TV cameras, but football photographer Wayne Ludbey caught the act after hearing first-hand the abuse that had come Winmar’s way during the day.”13 The photo taken by Ludbey of Nicky Winmar was featured the following day on the front page of the Sunday Age, and whilst people quickly recognised that it was an important moment the significance of Winmar’s gesture 23 years ago has increased over time as looking back now people can acknowledge that it became a turning point in the AFL realising that they needed to take action to stamp out racism, which in turn has been a key driver in society realising that racism is unacceptable. In 2013 the National Sports Museum at the MCG celebrated the 20th anniversary of this moment with an exhibition titled ‘Black and Proud: A stand against racism.’ Guest curator of the exhibition Matthew Klugman commented on Winmar’s stance “It’s hard to think of a more important popular Australian image over the last two decades. It’s up there with the 1968 Black Power Salute as a defining image of race and sport, and its enduring significance can be seen in the way it continues to be shown over and over again – in newspapers, posters, galleries and on city walls.”14 A copy of Ludbey’s infamous photo of Winmar is displayed proudly and prominently at the entrance of the St Kilda Football Club’s headquarters – Linen House Centre in Seaford.
When asked on Open Mike ‘is there anyone that played against either of you two that you haven’t forgiven for what they might have said’ Gilbert responded ‘no I’m happy with blokes on the field, what’s happened happened, we can’t change the past’ and Nicky added ‘no grudges against them.’
When asked what the highlight of his time at St Kilda was Nicky said “Just being at St Kilda, they were a great club to be with, and they looked after me, and helped me in a lot of things, being part of Tony Lockett in the side and Robert Harvey and Nathan Burke and Stewart Loewe, I sort of miss them guys, they were great friends.”
Nicky Winmar and Gilbert McAdam will forever be linked together due to the events at Victoria Park 23 years ago, McAdam played 111 AFL games comprised of 53 for St Kilda between 1991 and 1993 and 58 games for Brisbane between 1994 and 1996. McAdam left St Kilda in 1993 due to family reasons, he was appointed as the AFL’s first indigenous liaison officer and is a host of the Marngrook Footy Show. Before starting his VFL/AFL career McAdam made history in 1989 when playing for Central District he became the first indigenous player to win the Magarey Medal as the best player in the SANFL. When asked for his thoughts on Nicky Winmar as a player McAdam commented “Pound for pound he is the greatest aboriginal footballer that I have ever seen. He had every trick in the book, from the x factor, to tackling, to 1%ers, I have never seen any AFL Indigenous player do what Nicky Winmar did on the field.”
Over his 251 game VFL/AFL career Winmar averaged 14.3 kicks, 5.6 handballs, 4.1 marks, 1.3 goals and 0.34 Brownlow votes per game, in eight of his 13 seasons he kicked at least 20 goals and in all 12 seasons at St Kilda he averaged at least 17 disposals per game. Winmar was a sublime user of the ball and was also a great ball-winner, in most of his 13 VFL/AFL seasons he ranked in the top 30 of the competition for either total goals, or kicks per game, and managed to even achieve both feats in the same season multiple times highlighting the impact he made in the midfield and the forward line.
It was a great initiative of the St Kilda Football Club to request the AFL to schedule a home game against Collingwood in Indigenous Round 2014 to recognise Nicky Winmar’s legacy as an indigenous trailblazer, in particular his feat in becoming the first indigenous player to reach 200 VFL/AFL games and the courage he displayed in standing up against racism 21 years earlier.
Nicky Winmar is an all-time great of the St Kilda Football Club being inducted into St Kilda’s Hall of fame in 2003 – one of only 13 people inducted in the first year, two of his contemporaries Tony Lockett and Trevor Barker were also selected. Winmar ranks in the all-time top 20 for both games (17th) and goals (12th) for St Kilda, as well as quantity he also delivered a high degree of quality and in 2001 was selected on the wing in St Kilda’s team of the century. One of Winmar’s greatest strengths was his versatility, allowing him to be very damaging whether he was playing as a midfielder, small forward, or when required, as a leading forward. Nicky had electrifying skills and has a highlight reel that would be surpassed by very few of the 1,500 plus players that have represented St Kilda during the club’s 110 year plus history in the VFL/AFL. Winmar was a great exponent of spectacular overhead marking, a precise kick, textbook tackler and also kicked skilful team-lifting goals.
Despite all the spectacular passages of play that Winmar featured in during his exhilarating career the moment on a football field that he is most remembered for is when after the conclusion of the Round 4 1993 victory against Collingwood at Victoria Park, in response to the racial abuse he had received he lifted his jumper up and pointed to his skin colour signalling that he was proud of his indigenous heritage. It is a moment that has had a lasting impression not just on Australian Rules Football but on society in general, with Nicky Winmar’s response to the racial abuse he received from Collingwood supporters that fateful April day in 1993, and the pride he displayed about his indigenous heritage being the turning point in the AFL’s push to stamp racism out of the game. A battle that whilst it still continues is in a far more advanced position than it was 23 years ago.
By Dean Andrews
Twitter – @DeanAndrews7777
Photograph by Wayne Ludbey
3 http://www.afl.com.au/news/2009-05-31/racial-and-religious-vilification
5 Playright Publishing Pty Ltd, Heroes with Halos – St Kilda’s One Hundred Greatest by Russell Holmesby, page 286
6 Bas Publishing, The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers by Russell Holmesby & Jim Main, Ninth Edition, page 929
7 Playright Publishing Pty Ltd, Heroes with Halos – St Kilda’s One Hundred Greatest by Russell Holmesby, page 286
8 St Kilda Football Club, Strength through loyalty: Saints at Moorabbin and beyond by Russell Holmesby, page 180
9 Playright Publishing Pty Ltd, Heroes with Halos – St Kilda’s One Hundred Greatest by Russell Holmesby, page 287
10 Pan Macmillan Australia, Harves Strength through loyalty by Robert Harvey, page 82
11 St Kilda Football Club, The Saint, April 1995, page 15
12 http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/the-day-nicky-winmar-drew-the-line-20130416-2hydd.html
13 http://www.saints.com.au/news/2013-04-17/20-years-on-winmars-legacy-as-strong-as-ever
14 http://www.saints.com.au/news/2013-04-17/20-years-on-winmars-legacy-as-strong-as-ever
Milestones and misses 