Jump to content

Blast from the Past: Brian Wilson

Featured Replies

Posted

wilson.png

After failing to impress in nine games over two seasons at Footscray Brian Wilson crossed to North Melbourne in 1980 and suddenly hit his straps. He played 39 games in two years with the 'Roos, but then was surprisingly offloaded to Melbourne, where, playing in the centre, he promptly produced the best football of his career to win the Brownlow Medal.

Thereafter, Wilson never quite managed to recapture the same level of performance on a consistent basis, but he remained a very serviceable footballer for the Demons in 154 VFL games over nine seasons. Later in his career he played a good deal of football as a specialist forward pocket, and his tally of 208 goals affords evidence that he was a success in the role. Wilson's last port of call was St Kilda where he played seven games and kicked 16 goals in 1991.

Club
League
Career span
Games
Goals
Avg
Win %
AKI
AHB
AMK
BV
Footscray V/AFL 1978-1979 9 5 0.56 22% 6.11 3.78 1.78 0
North Melbourne V/AFL 1980-1981 39 17 0.44 54% 12.77 7.62 3.13 4
Melbourne V/AFL 1982-1990 154 208 1.35 48% 12.04 8.57 4.86 52
St. Kilda AFL 1991 7 16 2.29 29% 6.57 4.00 3.29 0
V/AFL 1978-1991 209 246 1.18 47% 11.74 8.03 4.35 56
Total 1978-1991 209 246 1.18 47% 11.74 8.03 4.35 56

 

 

 

My favourite player of the time ahead of Warren Dean!

 

About 180cms and we kicked out to him from full back and despite whoever was watching him, he generally marked it.

Very strong, well balanced and great hands. Not quick, but rarely caught. Loved a goal.

 A great player for us.

2 minutes ago, Redleg said:

About 180cms and we kicked out to him from full back and despite whoever was watching him, he generally marked it.

Very strong, well balanced and great hands. Not quick, but rarely caught. Loved a goal.

 A great player for us.

In the top 10% of all time IMO Mr Leg.


Pedersen is 'serviceable'

Willo was a lot better than that.  He gets marked hard for some odd reason but I rarely saw him play a bad game.  On top of that he was a very good team player ... always giving the ball off by hand or foot to a player in a better position.  

He loved a goal but so what?  It was a different game back then and when he was played as a permanent forward he was expected to hit the scoreboard.  And he did.

1 hour ago, Macca said:

Pedersen is 'serviceable'

Willo was a lot better than that.  He gets marked hard for some odd reason but I rarely saw him play a bad game.  On top of that he was a very good team player ... always giving the ball off by hand or foot to a player in a better position.  

He loved a goal but so what?  It was a different game back then and when he was played as a permanent forward he was expected to hit the scoreboard.  And he did.

Willo always gave the crowd something for their money. An infuriating but entertaining player. Even my non-MFC mates enjoyed it when Willo got the ball.

Was always prepared to back himself in from anywhere within range to dodge 5 blokes, shrug 2 tackles, take 3 bounces and kick the dramatic sealer.

("within range" = anywhere from 130m out or closer)

("the sealer" ... even if it was the first quarter)

51 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

Willo always gave the crowd something for their money. An infuriating but entertaining player. Even my non-MFC mates enjoyed it when Willo got the ball.

Was always prepared to back himself in from anywhere within range to dodge 5 blokes, shrug 2 tackles, take 3 bounces and kick the dramatic sealer.

("within range" = anywhere from 130m out or closer)

("the sealer" ... even if it was the first quarter)

From a personal point of view,  BW was one of my favourite players.  Barassi brought a number of different types into the club or back to the club ... Zantuck,  The Fidge bros,  Keenan,  Crosswell,  Jacko amongst others.

 

Funny how we all remember differently

Probably one of my least favourite players 

Thought be was a very selfish player and that is why he was traded by two clubs before us

Felt the same about Peter Moore and I'm  Big Fan of Ruckman

Not saying I'm right just how I remember them

"You're a show pony Wilson!"

Was the old cry from his own fans and he was, but he was also very good.


A lot better than serviceable. 

All of the above is true,  show-pony, selfish but mercurial and talented.  He was also courageous even though he would do15 dives a game in attempts to milk frees.

No Melbourne  player in my lifetime could work through heavy traffic like he did. 

Supreme agility and footwork.  In today's footy you would build a team around him.   He would be an even better player in today's game. 

 

46 minutes ago, Stretch Johnson said:

A lot better than serviceable. 

All of the above is true,  show-pony, selfish but mercurial and talented.  He was also courageous even though he would do15 dives a game in attempts to milk frees.

No Melbourne  player in my lifetime could work through heavy traffic like he did. 

Supreme agility and footwork.  In today's footy you would build a team around him.   He would be an even better player in today's game. 

 

All his so called foibles mentioned here were usual for the times for dominant players in the 80's. I remember him as one of the first midfielders to be racking up 30 plus disposals per week in an era where you had to get them yourself before the rapid handballs back and forth and chip kicking sideways and endless ball ups in congestion that allows your  Tom Mitchell's of this year and G Ablett Juniors of recent times to accumulate 40 plus touches every match. Great player, yes selfish but then think of the incompetents around him except for Robbie. 

When I met my wife in 1985 she was living in Kensington.Willo was her neighbour.I had a couple of brief chats with him.Then we got married and moved away.I saw him at a Melbourne game about 2 years ago and introduced myself.He told me to stick with the Dees because we're going to come good.He's still a Dees supporter.

Loved Willo. Very skillful footballer. Used to love acting for frees and a goal celebration!  He toweled us up playing for the saints and gesticulated aggressively at the members :

 

My rusty memory remembers a career of two halves.

His first seasons he played in the centre and won a brownlow medal  - he was unselfish and continually put his head over the ball getting concussed on a few occasions.

This is where i get bit rusty - did he get injured  ? I recall that for some reason he was out of the team and a young Chris Connelly took over in the centre and was an instant hit. Wilson came back to play on the half forward flank and kick lots of  goals. At was at this time his game did change and he could be accused a little of being a little selfish and showboating.

He was so strong in the hips and very good overhead for his size.

 

 


#hashtag   ( rookie mistake ) :rolleyes: :D

15 hours ago, Old Bear said:

Funny how we all remember differently

Probably one of my least favourite players 

Thought be was a very selfish player and that is why he was traded by two clubs before us

Felt the same about Peter Moore and I'm  Big Fan of Ruckman

Not saying I'm right just how I remember them

From that era, I measure selfish against Kevin Bartlett. 

 


4 minutes ago, Demonland said:

9nohQh4.jpg

 

:P

some of your finest work 

1 hour ago, BillyBeane said:

Loved Willo. Very skillful footballer. Used to love acting for frees and a goal celebration!  He toweled us up playing for the saints and gesticulated aggressively at the members :

 

demonluck too. that was the only good game he played for the aints

 

Blast from the past! Recall Willo's match winning performance Round 10 1988 v Pies at Waverley.  Sitting in the concrete 'cauldron' outer, a reflection of the crowd's  (60,000+) involvement not the wintry conditions. All the initial first quarter momentum with the opposition three unanswered goals. The ferals about were going apeshite, this was a top of the ladder clash. The demon supporters subdued and mostly hushed. The Colliwogs were running rampant, Darren Millane doing as he pleased until Ted Fidge infamously interjected. Brian Wilson led the MFC response in a brilliant individual and team lifting fashion scoring the first Dee's goal late in the first quarter and going on to kick five inspirational goals in total. A skite, show off, show pony call him what you will, but delivered as a champion footballer in spades.

Postscript post demons 'retirement' Willo the joker in the Saints pack '91!:laugh:

1 hour ago, Tarax Club said:

Blast from the past! Recall Willo's match winning performance Round 10 1988 v Pies at Waverley.  Sitting in the concrete 'cauldron' outer, a reflection of the crowd's  (60,000+) involvement not the wintry conditions. All the initial first quarter momentum with the opposition three unanswered goals. The ferals about were going apeshite, this was a top of the ladder clash. The demon supporters subdued and mostly hushed. The Colliwogs were running rampant, Darren Millane doing as he pleased until Ted Fidge infamously interjected. Brian Wilson led the MFC response in a brilliant individual and team lifting fashion scoring the first Dee's goal late in the first quarter and going on to kick five inspirational goals in total. A skite, show off, show pony call him what you will, but delivered as a champion footballer in spades.

Postscript post demons 'retirement' Willo the joker in the Saints pack '91!:laugh:

Great post, I'd forgotten that game, but he won it off his own boot.  Those who describe him as a serviceable player do him very little justice.  Was one of our few players who had genuine roving ability off the packs, could kick goals, and was much more consistent than people give him credit for.  I'd love him in our side now!


Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Featured Content

  • PREVIEW: Gold Coast

    The Gold Coast Suns find themselves outside of the top eight for the first time since Round 1 with pressure is mounting on the entire organisation. Their coach Damien Hardwick expressed his frustration at his team’s condition last week by making a middle-finger gesture on television that earned him a fine for his troubles. He showed his desperation by claiming that Fox should pick up the tab.  There’s little doubt the Suns have shown improvement in 2025, and their position on the ladder is influenced to some extent by having played fewer games than their rivals for a playoff role at the end of the season, courtesy of the disruption caused by Cyclone Alfred in March.  However, they are following the same trajectory that hindered the club in past years whenever they appeared to be nearing their potential. As a consequence, that Hardwick gesture should be considered as more than a mere behavioral lapse. It’s a distress signal that does not bode well for the Queenslanders. While the Suns are eager to remain in contention with the top eight, Melbourne faces its own crisis, which is similarly deep-seated but in a much different way. After recovering from a disappointing start to the season and nearing a return to respectability among its peer clubs, the Demons have experienced a decline in status, driven by the fact that while their form has been reasonable (see their performance against the ladder leader in the Kings Birthday match), their conversion in front of goal is poor enough to rank last in the competition. Furthermore, their opponents find them exceptionally easy to score against. As a result, they have effectively eliminated themselves from the finals race and are again positioned to finish in the bottom half of the ladder.

    • 4 replies
  • NON-MFC: Round 15

    As the Demons head into their Bye Round, it's time to turn our attention to the other matches being played. Which teams are you tipping this week? And which results would be most favourable for the Demons if we can manage to turn our season around? Follow all the non-Melbourne games here and join the conversation as the ladder continues to take shape.

    • 287 replies
  • REPORT: Port Adelaide

    Of course, it’s not the backline, you might argue and you would probably be right. It’s the boot studder (do they still have them?), the midfield, the recruiting staff, the forward line, the kicking coach, the Board, the interchange bench, the supporters, the folk at Casey, the head coach and the club psychologist  It’s all of them and all of us for having expectations that were sufficiently high to have believed three weeks ago that a restoration of the Melbourne team to a position where we might still be in contention for a finals berth when the time for the midseason bye arrived. Now let’s look at what happened over the period of time since Melbourne overwhelmed the Sydney Swans at the MCG in late May when it kicked 8.2 to 5.3 in the final quarter (and that was after scoring 3.8 to two straight goals in the second term). 

    • 3 replies
  • CASEY: Essendon

    Casey’s unbeaten run was extended for at least another fortnight after the Demons overran a persistent Essendon line up by 29 points at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne last night. After conceding the first goal of the evening, Casey went on a scoring spree from about ten minutes in, with five unanswered majors with its fleet of midsized runners headed by the much improved Paddy Cross who kicked two in quick succession and livewire Ricky Mentha who also kicked an early goal. Leading the charge was recruit of the year, Riley Bonner while Bailey Laurie continued his impressive vein of form. With Tom Campbell missing from the lineup, Will Verrall stepped up to the plate demonstrating his improvement under the veteran ruckman’s tutelage. The Demons were looking comfortable for much of the second quarter and held a 25-point lead until the Bombers struck back with two goals in the shadows of half time. On the other side of the main break their revival continued with first three goals of the half. Harry Sharp, who had been quiet scrambled in the Demons’ first score of the third term to bring the margin back to a single point at the 17 minute mark and the game became an arm-wrestle for the remainder of the quarter and into the final moments of the last.

    • 0 replies
  • PREGAME: Gold Coast

    The Demons have the Bye next week but then are on the road once again when they come up against the Gold Coast Suns on the Gold Coast in what could be a last ditch effort to salvage their season. Who comes in and who comes out?

      • Like
    • 330 replies
  • PODCAST: Port Adelaide

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 16th June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing loss to the Power.
    Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show.
    Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 33 replies