Bruce Abernethy (born 10 May 1962) is a former professional

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 the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos or colloquially the Roos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AF ...

Collingwood Football Club and

Adelaide Football Club The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 199 ...

in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL), and the

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where it is nicknamed the ...

in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

(SANFL) and is a media personality.

Football career

Nicknamed "ABBA", Abernethy was recruited from

South Australian Amateur Football League The Adelaide Footy League (AdFL), formerly known as the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL), is a semi-professional Australian rules football competition based in Adelaide, South Australia. Comprising sixty-seven member clubs play ...

(SAAFL) club Rosewater and debuted for

in the SANFL as a 16-year-old in 1978 and quickly made his mark as a running player of the highest calibre. Abernethy played in a premiership in each of his first full three years at senior level; 1979, 1980 and 1981.Biography at Australian Football
/ref> Abernethy transferred to VFL club

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 ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and made his senior debut on 27 March 1982 against

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers or colloquially the Tiges, is a professional Australian rules football team competing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Founded in 1885 in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, Ric ...

at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

(MCG). Abernethy played 43 games in two seasons for North Melbourne before being traded to Collingwood in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

where he spent three seasons. After 58 games with Collingwood, and bringing up his 100th VFL game, Abernethy returned to Port Adelaide in 1987 instead of continuing on with a VFL career. His club Best and Fairest win in 1987 and his key role in his second trifecta of Port Adelaide premierships from 1988 to

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, including a Jack Oatey Medal winning performance in the 1988 Grand Final, ensured that recruiting scouts continued to entice him to return to the VFL. When the

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 199 ...

were formed in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, Abernethy was one of their first recruits. He finished his career with a seventh premiership with Port Adelaide in 1992.SA Football Hall of Fame induction, 2007
At the time, when contracted Crows players were not selected for the AFL team or they were out injured, they would play for the SANFL team they were either recruited from or had previously played for before joining the VFL/AFL. Abernethy played enough games for Port Adelaide throughout 1992 to be able to play for Port in the SANFL finals. Health problems led to his early retirement after 190 games and 115 goals with Port Adelaide, 43 games and 21 goals with North Melbourne, 58 games and 16 goals with Collingwood and 11 games and two goals with Adelaide.

Post-football career

After his football career, Abernethy became a

boundary rider Boundary rider is a long-established (1864) Australasian term for a cattle or sheep station employee whose duties entail a regular tour (by horse, camel or motor vehicle) of the outer perimeter (boundary) of the property, checking condition of f ...

for the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

coverage in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Abernethy then became the main sports presenter at Channel Seven in the early 1990s and presents the sports report on ''

Seven News Seven News (stylised 7NEWS) is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in South Eveleigh, Sydney, while its flags ...

'' on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, and on weekends to maximise his coverage of weekend AFL. Abernethy also acted as a presenter during Seven's coverage of the

2000 Summer Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney. He was inducted into the South Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

References

External links

*
SA Football Hall of Fame - Bruce Abernethy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abernethy, Bruce 1962 births North Melbourne Football Club players Collingwood Football Club players Adelaide Football Club players Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) South Australian State of Origin players Living people Seven News presenters Australian rules football commentators Australian rules footballers from South Australia South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australia international rules football team players