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Geoff Cunningham (born 7 January 1959) 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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
er who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).


Career


Early days

Cunningham was originally recruited from Golden Point in Ballarat on match permits, but was given a clearance to play the
1978 VFL season The 1978 VFL season was the 82nd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 1 April until 30 September, and comprised a 22 ...
. Originally wearing number 25 for St Kilda, he was asked to give it up for former Carlton great,
Alex Jesaulenko Oleksandr "Alex" Jesaulenko ( ; uk, Олександр Васильович Єсауленко, Oleksandr Vasiliovych Yesaulenko, ; born 2 August 1945) is a former Australian rules footballer and who played for the Carlton Football Club and t ...
, who had left the Blues in 1980 – after coaching the 1979 premiership – to captain-coach the Saints. Cunningham was handed the number 5 guernsey and made it his own for the next decade.


Honours

Cunningham played during an era of little club success, which included St Kilda earning four successive wooden spoons from 1983 until 1986. However, the tough wingman was a rare shining light. His rivalry with the young Swan, David Rhys-Jones, was highly anticipated in the days of one-on-one match-ups. With champion
Trevor Barker Trevor Graeme Barker (7 October 1956 – 26 April 1996) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). One of the VFL's pin-up boys with his teen-idol appearance, blonde hair ...
regularly missing games through chronic injury, Cunningham was often the only Saint selected to play for Victoria. Debuting in 1982, Cunningham played eight State of Origin games against South Australia and Western Australia. Cunningham, perhaps surprisingly, never won a club
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.


Family

Geoff Cunningham was joined by his younger brother,
Daryl Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell. Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel. Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl, Darian, Dareen, Darelle ...
, (Fader) at St Kilda in 1983. The two were physically confronting together against opposition sides and proved intimidating. Often when one was in a scuffle, the other was close behind in support. Daryl was axed after four seasons and found his way to Essendon after Kevin Sheedy invited him down or pre-season when spotted him watching a practice match involving Essendon and St Kilda.


Final days

Cunningham's last game was in Round 12, 1989 against Hawthorn at a packed Moorabbin. It coincided with coach and legend, Darrel Baldock's decision to step aside after battling health problems. Cunningham's teammate, Ken Sheldon, was geared to take over the coaching reins with a new game plan. Aged 31 for the next season, Cunningham decided to retire after 224 games. Cunningham is one of only four VFL/AFL players, along with former teammate Trevor Barker, to have played 200 games without experiencing a final. Two seasons later St Kilda participated in its first final series since 1973. He would go on to coach Traralgon in the Latrobe Valley to successive premierships, and was the club's senior coach in
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
, the first of its two seasons in the Victorian Football League. Cunningham now lives in Brisbane.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Geoff 1959 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Ballarat St Kilda Football Club players Golden Point Football Club players Maffra Football Club coaches Traralgon Football Club coaches Victorian State of Origin players