John Herbert Devine (22 June 1940 – 29 January 2023) 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 with

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL) during the 1960s, and

Tasmanian Football League The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), was the highest-level Australian rules football competition in the state of Tasmania. It disbanded following the end of the 2024 TSL season, 2024 season ...

(TFL) side

North Hobart North Hobart is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. As its name suggests, it lies directly north of the Hobart City Centre. The main street of North Hobart is Elizabeth Street, which extends northward from the Elizabeth Stre ...

between 1967 and 1974.

Australian rules football career

A defender, Devine was recruited to as a 20-year-old from Colac, and he made his debut for Geelong against Footscray in round 1 of the

1960 VFL season The 1960 VFL season was the 64th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 16 April until 24 September, and comprised an ...

. Devine would quickly become an integral part of a rising Geelong team. On 6 July 1963, he was a member of the Geelong team that were comprehensively and unexpectedly beaten by Fitzroy, 9.13 (67) to 3.13 (31) in the

1963 Miracle Match The "Miracle Match" is the unofficial title given to the Round 10, 1963 Victorian Football League (VFL) home-and-away match played between Fitzroy and Geelong at Brunswick Street Oval in North Fitzroy on 6 July 1963. The game is most notabl ...

. Given the nickname "Colac" by his teammates, in 1963 Devine was a member of Geelong's premiership team playing off the

half-back flank In the sport of Australian rules football, the half-back line refers to the positions of the 3 players on the field that occupy the centre half-back and left and right half-back flank positions. Centre half-back The role of the centre half-bac ...

where he was named amongst the best for Geelong. Devine would earn a reputation as a 'big-game player', consistently named amongst Geelong's best players in multiple finals matches. Devine would play 118 games for Geelong, was vice-captain from 1961 to 1966, and was runner-up in the

Carji Greeves Medal The Carji Greeves Medal is a name given in recent decades to an Australian rules football award given to the player(s) adjudged best and fairest for the Geelong Football Club for the season. The voting system has changed a number of times. Fo ...

in 1960 and 1965. He also represented

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. Devine's last game for Geelong was during the finals of the

1966 VFL season The 1966 VFL season was the 70th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 23 April until 24 September, and comprised an ...

, where he would be suspended for striking David Shaw. In 1967 while still under suspension from the 1966 VFL season, he coached Tasmanian Football League side

over the boundary fence until his six-week suspension was finished. Devine went on that year to lead his very young team from last place in 1966 to a TFL premiership. He was best on ground in the

1967 Tasmanian State Premiership Final The 1967 Tasmanian State Premiership Final (colloquially known as the Goalpost Final) was an Australian rules football match played between the Wynyard Cats and the North Hobart Robins on Saturday 30 September 1967 at West Park Oval, Burnie, to ...

in which North Hobart took part, and (now playing as a forward) kicked five goals; the game is part of Australian rules folklore because the supporters of opposing team, Wynyard, tore down the goal posts before North Hobart's Dickie Collins could take his kick from point-blank range from a mark just before the siren. Devine captain-coached two more TFL premierships in 1969 and 1974, and he also helped his team take out the

Tasmanian State Premiership The Tasmanian State Premiership was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested at the conclusion of the season, initially between the reigning Tasmanian Football League (TFL/TANFL) and Northern Tasmanian Football Association (N ...

in 1969 following wins over NWFU premiers Latrobe, led and coached by

Darrel Baldock Darrel John Baldock (29 September 1938 – 2 February 2011) was an Australian sportsman and state politician. He played Australian rules football for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), East Devonport Football C ...

, and NTFA premiers Launceston coached by Bob Withers. The State Premiership final against Launceston at

York Park York Park is a sports ground in the Inveresk and York Park Precinct, Launceston, Australia. Holding 21,000 people, York Park is known commercially as University of Tasmania (UTAS) Stadium and was formerly known as Aurora Stadium under a previo ...

saw Devine's North Hobart win by a record 20 goals. He was nicknamed "Dead Legs" due to his loping running style, which belied his speed and hard-at-the-ball playing style. He returned to coach North Hobart in 1981, which by then was a struggling outfit, and returned a disappointing one win for the season in taking out the wooden spoon before retiring. Devine returned to Geelong in an official capacity in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, when he became Geelong's coach after the departure of

Tom Hafey Thomas Stanley Raymond Hafey (5 August 1931 – 12 May 2014) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He then became one of the VFL's longest-serving and most succes ...

. During his tenure, Devine recruited many players such as future Geelong Team of the Century ruck-rover

Garry Hocking Garry Andrew Hocking (born 8 October 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Tough and skilled in equal measure, Hocking was an integral part of Geelong's ...

, future captain Mark Bairstow,

Billy Brownless Anthony William Brownless (born 28 January 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer and radio and television media personality who represented in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. Early life Brownless was b ...

, Bruce Lindner, Gavin Exell,

Barry Stoneham Barry Stoneham (born 9 February 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club between 1986 and 2000. Stoneham appeared 241 times for Geelong in the AFL and kicked 223 goals. Stoneham developed into one ...

and

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

. All players would play a role in the team reaching the VFL Grand Final in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, with only Exell missing out due to injury. At the end of the

1988 VFL season 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United States (National ...

when Geelong finished 10th, Devine was not retained as coach. Devine was awarded life membership of the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Kardinia Park in South Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

in 1993 and was inducted into the club's hall of fame in 2002. In 2014, Devine was inducted as a legend into the

Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame The Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame was established to help recognise outstanding services and overall contribution made to the sport of Australian rules football in Tasmania. Any participant of the sport, including players, umpires, media person ...

. He was posthumously awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in the

2024 King's Birthday Honours The 2024 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of King Charles III to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part o ...

"service to Australian rules football, and to the community of Tasmania".

Political career

Devine was a Labor Party member of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Tasmanian Legislative Council, Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House, Hobart, Parliament Hou ...

from 1979 to 1984 in the Denison electorate.

Personal life and death

Devine died on 29 January 2023, at the age of 82.

References

Bibliography

External links