Bob Withers
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Robert Withers (born 1933) 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 in Tasmania and for
Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Port Phillip, Port Phillip Local government ...
, noted for his selection in the 1961
All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...
team. Withers was a regular member of the Port Melbourne side during the 1950s and represented the VFA in 1957, 1958, and 1959. He moved to Tasmania in 1960 and joined NTFA club North Launceston as captain-coach, steering the club to premierships in 1961 and 1963. In his first year at North Launceston he played in the Tasmanian interstate team that scored its first-ever win against a VFL team on 13 June 1960.Devaney, J., "Big V humbled in the Apple Isle", ''australianfoootball.com''.
/ref> He represented Tasmania on 15 occasions in total and was an All-Australian at the 1961 Brisbane Carnival. Twice, in games against the VFA, Withers captained Tasmania and he won a Lefroy Medal in 1963. His coaching career continued after he has retired as a player; and he was in charge of Launceston when they won the 1969 premiership. Withers also served as assistant coach of Essendon in 1970, and later was coach of both Devonport and East Devonport.


Footnotes


External links


Bob Withers: ''australianfoootball.com''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Withers, Bob 1934 births Living people North Launceston Football Club players Port Melbourne Football Club players North Launceston Football Club coaches Launceston Football Club coaches All-Australians (1953–1988) Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Devonport Football Club coaches