Domenick Louis "Don" Marinko (27 August 1907 – 4 May 1967) 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 the and

West Perth Football Club The West Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Falcons, is an Australian rules football club located in Joondalup, Western Australia. West Perth competes in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW) and is the oldest exis ...

s in the

Western Australian National 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 ...

(WANFL) and the

Boulder City Football Club The Goldfields Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. Founded in 1896 as Hannans District Football Association, the league enjoyed a seat and full voting rights on the Austral ...

in the

Goldfields Football League The Goldfields Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Goldfields-Esperance, Goldfields region of Western Australia. Founded in 1896 as Hannans District Football Association, the league enjoyed a seat and full voting ...

(GFL). Born in the Goldfields region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, he was educated at Christian Brothers' College in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, and made his senior debut for Subiaco in 1923, at the age of 16. The following season, Marinko returned to the Goldfields in order to find work in the mines, and took up playing for the

in the Goldfields Football Association (GFA), playing in premierships in 1924 and 1925. Returning to Perth, he fell into West Perth's zone, and began playing with the club in 1926. Marinko played in premiership sides for West Perth in 1932, 1934, and 1935, and was captain of the club for the latter two seasons. At his retirement in 1939, he had played 194 games for the club, and 197 games total in the WAFL, as well as playing thirteen

interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...

matches for

. Having died in 1967 from a sudden heart attack, Marinko was named in West Perth's Team of the Century in 2000, and inducted into the

West Australian Football Hall of Fame The West Australian Football Hall of Fame was created in 2002 to recognise significant contributors to Australian rules football in Western Australia. Candidates are players, coaches, umpires, administrators and media representatives. The induct ...

in 2011.

Early career

Marinko was born to Antony and Mary Marinko on 27 August 1907, at Kamballie, a railway station south of

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

in the Goldfields region of

.West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees
– West Australian Football Commission. Retrieved 10 June 2012. Educated at the Christian Brothers' College in

, Marinko took up playing football for the school's team. He began his senior football career at the age of 16 with , debuting during the 1923 season. Playing as a forward, Marinko managed three games, but was criticised for his kicking ability. In a match against , which Subiaco lost by four points, it was reported by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' that he had cost his team the match: "...Marinko lost badly and the opportunity thus mulled cost the visitors the match". The following year, Marinko moved to the Goldfields to further his employment opportunities. He began playing with the

. In January 1925, Marinko appeared before the Boulder Police Court on two complaints made by a Mr. Ivan Rocci of assault and using abusive language. The charges were dismissed by the resident magistrate, a Mr. J. E. Geary. Midway through the 1925 season, Marinko attempted to transfer to the

Mines Rovers Football Club Mines Rovers Football Club is an Australian rules football team playing in the Goldfields Football League, a league based in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. Founded in 1898 as Mines Football Club, the club has enjoyed a long-stan ...

, also based in

. The clearance was refused. On his return to Perth at the end of the 1926 season, Marinko signed with .

West Perth career

In May 1937, after a match against , Marinko was suspended for five matches, comprising a two-match suspension for attempting to kick Stan Headon and a three-match suspension for abusive language toward a field umpire. It was noted that "the statement that Marinko had not been reported before during his long football career was taken into consideration" by the tribunal. In April 1934, Marinko was announced as captain of West Perth, a role which he reprised the following season.

Later life

Marinko retired at the end of the 1939 season, in part due to lack of movement caused by a strained back suffered at work, and was elected a life member of West Perth at the club's 1940 annual general meeting. Two of his sons, Donald Anthony and Raymond George Marinko, both played WAFL football for West Perth in the 1950s. Marinko died in 1967 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He was named in West Perth's Team of the Century in October 2000, and was inducted into the

in March 2011.Stylish Don heading for WA Hall of Fame
– inmyCommunity. Published 8 March 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marinko, Don, senior 1907 births 1967 deaths Boulder City Football Club players Subiaco Football Club players West Perth Football Club players West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees People educated at Christian Brothers' College, Perth Australian rules footballers from Boulder, Western Australia