Gilbert Thomas 'Bert' Thornley (born 3 September 1942) is a former
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 with
Carlton in the
VFL.
Football
Thornley, a defender who could kick with both feet, was recruited to Carlton from
East Fremantle Football Club
The East Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Sharks and colloquially referred to as East Freo, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The team's home ground is Eas ...
in the
Western Australian 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 ...
, and made his VFL debut during the
1967 season.
Selected as a resting forward-pocket rover, Thornley played in the
1970 VFL Grand Final. He was replaced, at half-time, by eventual match hero
Ted Hopkins.
[Lane, Tim]
Dignity, especially in defeat, the real mark of a man
/ref>
He finished his playing career at Preston Football Club in the Victorian Football Association
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFA) before becoming the coach of Torquay.
See also
* 1966 Hobart Carnival
The 1966 Hobart Carnival was the 16th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian football interstate competition. It was the final time that Tasmania hosted a carnival.
It was competed by two Victorian sides, one from th ...
* 1970 VFL Grand Final
References
External links
*
*
*
Gilbert Thomas "Bert" Thornley, at ''The VFA Project''
''Blueseum'' profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornley, Bert
1942 births
Australian rules footballers from Western Australia
East Fremantle Football Club players
Carlton Football Club players
Carlton Football Club premiership players
Northern Bullants players
Living people
VFL/AFL premiership players
20th-century Australian sportsmen