Honorable Mentions
There are several redheads who have made significant contributions to Australian football but didn’t make the top rankings. These include Lance Whitnall, Robert ‘Scratcher’ Neal, and Nick Vlastuin. Each of these players holds a special place in the hearts of their respective clubs’ fans.
Lance Whitnall, known as “Big Red,” overcame multiple weight and injury challenges during his career to achieve a remarkable record. He was an All-Australian, three-time leading goalkicker for the Blues, club captain, and best and fairest winner. His career, however, was cut short at just 28 years of age.
Robert ‘Scratcher’ Neal was a fixture of the Geelong Cats in the ’70s and ’80s. Known for his red bowl cut, he was a member of the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame and finished inside the top 10 in the 1976 Brownlow Medal count, tied with Leigh Matthews.
Nick Vlastuin, the resident redhead for Richmond, is a three-time premiership star. Often overlooked in conversations about the league’s best, his importance has been recognized more in the lean period following the Tigers’ recent success. The faithful call him ‘Tigger,’ and he has been an exceptional clubman for Richmond, granted life membership in 2017.
Ed Richards
Ed Richards, the dynamic Bulldogs midfielder, is likely to finish higher on this list if he continues his current trajectory. A genuine match-winner with an exceptional blend of pace, attack on the footy, and clean distribution, Richards has emerged as one of the competition’s finest. His flaming locks are hard to miss, making him a worthy inclusion.
Cameron Ling
Cameron Ling is one of the game’s greatest taggers. His dedication to task was a major part of the Cats’ dynasty in the late 2000s. Although often maligned by the public for his appearance, none could doubt his importance to the Geelong sides of that era. Ling capped off a brilliant career with a third premiership in 2011 as captain, leaving a legacy all bloodnuts can be proud of.
Adam Cooney
Adam Cooney is one of a few Brownlow Medallists on this list. His brilliance is often overshadowed by his self-deprecating nature in the media and general larrikinism. Cooney was a true ball magnet in an era populated by them. A prolific goal-scoring piece of those Rodney Eade-coached Dogs sides, along with the Adelaide Crows, in a time dominated by Hawthorn, Geelong, St Kilda, and Collingwood.
Cooney played 250 games in the AFL, with his final season coming as one of Essendon’s ‘top-up’ players in the wake of their infamous doping scandal. A bloke you’d love to share a beer and spin a yarn with, is Cooney.
Jarryd Roughead
Jarryd Roughead, Leongatha’s finest, won four flags, two All-Australians, a Coleman medal, and three leading goalkicker nods in a storied 283-game career in the brown and gold. The beloved figure overcame great adversity in his career, with an Achilles injury and cancer complications costing him games. His upbeat nature shone through in these times.
Roughead remains heavily involved in football, recently defecting from his Hawks to become list manager at the Adelaide Crows.
Guy McKenna
Guy ‘Bluey’ McKenna was an uncompromising member of the tough-as-nails Eagles sides that were immediately competitive upon their entry into the VFL, before its 1990 rebranding as the AFL. Eagles Rookie of the Year in 1988, 1989 VFL Team of the Year member, two best and fairest wins, two premierships, three All-Australians, West Australian captain, and a best clubman award winner, McKenna did it all as a player. His legacy should not be tarnished by a tumultuous tenure as Gold Coast’s inaugural senior coach.
Dustin Fletcher
Dustin Fletcher was a member of the code’s illustrious 400 games club, an ornament of Essendon’s backline for over two decades. Two flags, two All-Australians, and a best and fairest (in a premiership year, no less), Fletcher was as reliable as the day was long. He is beloved by Bombers’ faithful for his service of the club. A father-son selection, Fletcher and his father, Ken, hold the record for the most V/AFL games as a father and son duo, with Dustin contributing 400 of these 664.
Justin Leppitsch
The man they call ‘Leppa’ revolutionised the way key backs go about their business. As a full-forward in his early years, Leppitsch claimed back-to-back leading goalkicker gongs at the Lions, before making the move down back, where he became a mainstay in All-Australian sides of that era.
A pivotal member of arguably the greatest team in modern history, the three-peat Lions of the early 2000s, Justin Leppitsch was initially reluctant to undertake the positional move that was the making of him as an AFL footballer. However, his instincts as a forward helped him down back, with his offensive style of play complementing his close-checking ability perfectly. An absolute handful for opposing coaches.
Three flags, three All-Australians, two-time leading goalkicker, a best and fairest, and a Lions Team of the Decade member, all in just 227 games. Star.
Jason Akermanis
He is potentially a controversial inclusion, given the notoriety he garnered for his bleached salad, but ‘Aker’ is naturally redheaded. One of the most prodigiously talented players to ever lace them up, Akermanis was sublimely skilled on both sides of his body, and built quite the portfolio of exquisite finishes from impossible angles.
Three flags, four All-Australians, the 2001 Brownlow Medal, the 2002 Goal of the Year, two best and fairests, and two leading goalkicker nods somehow only tell half the story. ‘Aker’s infamy unfortunately extends to what he said, as much as what he did, with numerous controversial faux pas following him to this day.
One thing is for sure: the streets will never forget Jason Dean Akermanis.
Frank ‘Bluey’ Adams
A history lesson is in order. I know there’s a reticence to acknowledge the players of a bygone era, but we’re going to. Frank ‘Bluey’ Adams was a star of the Melbourne machine in the ’50s and ’60s. Adams did damage in the forward pocket, on a wing, and as a rover. One of very few players to feature in all six flags Melbourne claimed in their golden era, Adams formed a formidable partnership with the great Ron Barassi.
Both men were rather obvious inclusions in Melbourne’s formidable Team of the Century. A world champion sprinter, Adams is perhaps best known for his role in the most violent collision in V/AFL history. In the 1955 Grand Final, he crouched at the interchange, in a sprinter’s starting stance, after Norm Smith finally decided to let the young man take part in the day’s proceedings.
He made a breakneck beeline for Collingwood’s blissfully unaware Des Healey, colliding with the man who would win the Pies best and fairest that year, at top speed. The hit left both men out cold, sprawled out on the sunbaked MCG. Spectators were of the genuine belief one, if not both men were dead.
Melbourne would win, Healey would never play again, and Adams would win five more flags from six more Grand Final appearances. Typically rowdy Collingwood fans never let him forget the hit that cost them one of their favourite sons.
Michael Voss
There’s only one choice for the best ever redhead to play Aussie rules football. The flaming feathers of Michael Voss were indicative of his fiery on-field nature. The definition of ‘leading from the front,’ Voss always threw his hand up, and his body on the line to inspire his side, and that’s just what he did.
He captained arguably the greatest side the game’s ever seen to three straight flags and four straight grand final appearances, while filling out his CV with a Brownlow Medal. Voss was a major part of the Lions’ brand awareness growing in the Sunshine State, with his courage, skill, and leadership dominating water cooler chats around the River City for years.
Leigh Matthews said Voss would be his first player chosen if he was building a team from every player he’s ever seen. That’s good enough for me – who am I to argue with ‘Lethal’?
