Stuart Nicol (born 30 September 1966) 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for Footscray 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 late 1980s. Nicol kicked a goal on his league debut, which Footscray lost to North Melbourne, when another debutant in

John Longmire John Longmire (born 31 December 1970) is the former senior coach of the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 2011 to 2024. As a player, he represented the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AF ...

kicked four goals. He made a further five appearances that year and just one the following season, his last. Nicol played Centre half forward in Footscray Reserves 1988 premiership team. Playing for Springvale, Nicol was one of four winners of the VFA's

J. J. Liston Trophy The J. J. Liston Trophy is awarded annually to the best and fairest senior player in the Victorian Football League (VFL), which was formerly known as the Victorian Football Association (VFA). It is named after J. J. Liston, J.J. Liston, a busine ...

in 1990. Nicol played Centre half forward in the Springvale 1987 premiership team. After an impressive VFA career, Nicol moved to

Woodville-West Torrens Woodville-West Torrens Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). The club was formed in 1990 from a merger of the neighbouring Woodville and West Torrens football club ...

in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

. In his first year in 1992 he took the most marks in the competition and finished fourth in the

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willi ...

behind

Nathan Buckley Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a former professional Australian rules football coach, player and commentator. He is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. Buckley won the inaugural Rising S ...

. As a ruckman/forward, the following year Nicol played in the Woodville-West Torrens inaugural premiership team, with a Grand Final victory over Norwood. In 1994, Nicol played in the SANFL representative team against the

West Australian 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 ...

(WAFL). Nicol was chosen in the ''Advertiser'' SANFL team of the year in both 1992 and 1994.

References

* *Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, Stuart 1966 births Living people Western Bulldogs players Casey Demons players J. J. Liston Trophy winners Woodville-West Torrens Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)