Paul Feltham (1 October 1948 – 19 December 2019) 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 and coach. He played 154 games for and 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 ...

between 1970 and 1978, and later served as the caretaker senior coach of the

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Bears were a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, now known as the Brisbane Lions. Granted a Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL), licence in 1986, ...

in 1989.

Playing career

Early in his career, Feltham played for in the

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

(VFA) in 1967,

Eastlake Football Club The Eastlake Demons (formerly known as the Canberra Demons) is a semi-professional Australian rules football club based in the inner-south of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The senior team competed in the North East Australian Foo ...

in the ACTAFL and the Balmain Football Club in the NSWAFL. His talent was his tough, courageous determination and his quick handball. Feltham played as a winger and midfielder at from 1970 to 1976. He played in the 1974 VFL grand final and was one of the best players in the club's first VFL premiership in 1975. He later joined for the 1978 season, where he kicked 14 goals in his 19 games.

Coaching career

Early career

Feltham captain-coached Mordialloc during the

1979 VFA season The 1979 VFA season was the 98th season of the top division of the Victorian Football Association (VFA), an Australian rules football competition based in the state of Victoria (state), Victoria, and the 19th season of the VFA's second division. ...

, then left to coach West Canberra in 1980. Later in the 1980s he moved to Queensland, where he coached the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland is a public research university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, the sixth largest city in the Australian state of Queensland Founded in 1967 after a successful campaign by the local Darling Down ...

's Australian football team to back to back premierships in the Darling Downs AFL competition in 1986 and 1987 and the Morningside Football Club ( QAFL),

Brisbane Bears

Feltham joined the underperforming

in a part-time role as sports psychologist for the 1989 season. When incumbent senior coach Peter Knights was sacked with seven games remaining in the 1989 season, Feltham was surprisingly appointed caretaker senior coach ahead of any of the existing coaching panel. The Bears immediately rallied to win five of the remaining matches, which included an upset win over the eventual premiers Hawthorn, who only lost three matches over the home and away season. Feltham was not considered for the permanent senior coaching position for the following season, reportedly due to a clash with particular senior players and certain club personnel, most notably football manager Shane O'Sullivan. He was replaced by another caretaker senior coach, former coaching assistant and ex- Fitzroy player Norm Dare, for the 1990 season while the search for a permanent senior coach continued for 1991.

Other coaching roles

For most of the 1990s, he disappeared from the spotlight, but reappeared in 1999 as an applicant for the vacant coaching role with Woodville-West Torrens. He applied for the same position again the following season. He also applied for the coaching role with Hawthorn in 2004. He was unsuccessful in each of these applications. Later in life, Feltham was based in Canada and coached the London Magpies Australian Football Club while working as a sports psychologist with AFL Canada.

Personal life

Feltham died on 19 December 2019. His death was not reported until June 2025, when it was confirmed by North Melbourne historians and posted online by Richmond historian Rhett Bartlett.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Feltham, Paul 1948 births 2019 deaths North Melbourne Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club premiership players Richmond Football Club players East Fremantle Football Club players Eastlake Football Club players Balmain Australian Football Club players Mordialloc Football Club players Brisbane Bears coaches Australian rules footballers from the Australian Capital Territory Australian psychologists Mordialloc Football Club coaches VFL/AFL premiership players