William Michael Serong (5 May 1936 – 20 May 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
Collingwood and
North Melbourne
North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
in the
VFL.
Serong went to the Christian Brothers' College in Victoria Parade, and was the Australian handball champion in 1974, aged 38.
Football
Serong usually played as a centreman but was also seen on the half forward flanks. He made his league debut in 1956 with Collingwood and played in their 1958 premiership side as well as two losing grand finals with the club. In 1959 he placed equal second in the Brownlow Medal count. He finished his career with a season at North Melbourne in 1962, winning their
best and fairest
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 ...
award.
He was captain-coach of
Echuca
Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative cen ...
in the 1963 and 1964
Bendigo Football League
The Bendigo Football Netball League (previously known as the Bendigo and District Football Association, Bendigo Football Association and Bendigo Football League) is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Bendigo regio ...
seasons. Serong won the 1965 - Bendigo FL best and fairest award, the Michelsen Medal. Serong also won Echuca's best and fairest award in 1964 and 1965.
Serong played one game for
Camberwell Football Club
The Camberwell Football Club, nicknamed the Cobras, was an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell, Victoria, Camberwell. The club competed in the Victorian Football League, Victorian Football Association (VFA) ...
in 1967.
Death
Serong died on 20 May 2024, at the age of 88.
See also
*
Australian football at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Australian rules football was one of two demonstration sports at the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stipulated that each Summer Olympics host must organise both a "national" game and a sport ...
References
Sources
A Smash Hit, ''The Age'', (Thursday, 25 March 1965), p.28.
External links
*
*
Bill Serongat ''Collingwood Forever.
1936 births
2024 deaths
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Players of Australian handball
Collingwood Football Club players
Collingwood Football Club premiership players
North Melbourne Football Club players
Echuca Football Club players
Camberwell Football Club players
Syd Barker Medal winners
VFL/AFL premiership players
20th-century Australian sportsmen
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