Norman Edward Betson (8 July 1914 – 5 May 1988) 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

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

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 early 1940s. Before arriving at Essendon, Betson initially played with Miepoll, Albury and was captain-coach of New South Wales club Culcairn. A follower, he appeared in six finals for Essendon but missed out on a spot in their 1942 premiership team, after only being named an emergency for the Grand Final. Betson did however participate in the 1943 VFL Grand Final and in the final seconds had a snap at goal which could have secured a draw, only to have the ball touched on the goal-line by a Richmond player. Betson joined Glenelg in 1946 and spent much of his first year as captain-coach. He continued until 1949 just as a player but spent the 1948 season as captain. During this time, he represented the South Australians at interstate football. Betson then captain-coached

Nathalia Nathalia ( ) is a town in northern Victoria, Australia. The town is located within the Shire of Moira local government area on the banks of Broken Creek and on the Murray Valley Highway. At the 2021 census, Nathalia had a population of 1,982. ...

in 1950 and the following season played at

Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...

References

* *Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. 1914 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Essendon Football Club players Glenelg Football Club players Glenelg Football Club coaches Albury Football Club players Shepparton Swans Football Club players Nathalia Football Club players 1988 deaths {{AFL-bio-1914-stub