Ronald Douglas Tucker (30 June 1921 – 10 April 1986) 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 and 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). Playing in a number of positions, though primarily at

centre half-forward In Australian rules football, the centre half-forward is a position on the half-forward line of a football field. The directly opposing player is a centre half-back. Royce Hart of the Richmond Football Club and Wayne Carey of the North Melbou ...

, Tucker kicked a total of 803 goals in 215 WANFL games between 1940 and 1955, and 32 goals in 14 games for

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 ...

in interstate matches. Tucker was named in Perth's Team of the Century in 1998, and was 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 2009.

Career

Born to William Henry Tucker and Annie Florence Lee on 30 June 1921 at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Subiaco,

, Tucker made his debut for in 1940, and was their leading goalkicker in 1941 with 44 goals. He served as a driver in the 52 Australian Transport Platoon during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and also played army football. He was also a noted athlete, winning the Northern Territory 120 yds. hurdles championship in 1944, and the New Britain 200 yds. championship in 1945. Tucker returned to Perth for the 1946 season. Tucker played in losing

Grand Finals Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

in both 1949, against , and 1950, against . Tucker kicked 115 goals in 1950 to be the WANFL's leading goalkicker, which is a Perth record. After a run of poor form for Perth, which resulted in him being switched to centre half-back for the latter half of the 1951 season, Tucker transferred to for the 1952 season. In 18 games at the club, playing either as a goalsneak or as a follower, he kicked 65 goals to lead the club's goalkicking. He transferred back to Perth for the 1953 season, and returned to form, kicking 87 goals. He again led the club's goalkicking in 1954 and 1955, with 44 and 52 goals in each respective season, but was dropped to the reserves several times. Tucker was unavailable for Perth's premiership win over in 1955 after injuring his knee in the preliminary final, and retired at the end of the season. Tucker died at

Royal Perth Hospital Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) is a 450-bed adult and teaching hospital located on the northeastern edge of the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. History The hospital traces its history back to the first colonial hospital, whi ...

on 10 April 1986, and was buried at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

. In 1999, he was named at centre half-forward in Perth's Team of Century, and was posthumously inducted into the

in 2009.

Reputation

Tucker was considered the equal of leading full-forwards such as

Bernie Naylor Bernard George Andrew Naylor (19 April 1923 – 26 September 1993) was an Australian rules footballer who was one of the most successful full-forwards in the history of the West Australian Football League. The WAFL now awards the leading goalsc ...

and John Coleman, and was considered superior to Naylor at ground level.Tucker v Naylor
– '' Western Mail''. Published Thursday, 13 June 1946. Retrieved from ''Trove'', 3 October 2011. Tucker played at either centre half-forward or full-forward in every interstate and carnival match for the WANFL between 1947 and 1950, kicking 32 goals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Ron 1921 births 1986 deaths Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian people of English descent Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia Perth Football Club players Subiaco Football Club players West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees