AFL PLAYERS
Most of the below footballers are Bentleigh Federal League players. The Federal was one of the stronger leagues in Melbourne until its demise in the early 1980s, we have a link to them through our colours and ground which you can learn more about here. Although they were an entirely separate club to the current Bentleigh we believe it is important to note the local boys who made good, as long as it is specified that it was a separate entity.
The Bentleigh Methodists of that era played in a church comp that was of a lower standing than the Federal League.
Looking further into the below athletes you will also see references to the Bentleigh McKinnon Youth Centre. That comp fielded teams up to under-15s. It contained teams such as St Peters, St Pauls and McKinnon. Bentleigh was part of that, then divided into Bentleigh Tigers and Bentleigh Bulldogs. The Tigers and Bulldogs later re-combined and became Bentleigh Juniors which is the basis of today’s junior club. You can learn more about the history of our junior club here.
Ern O'Rourke
Melbourne & North Melbourne
Melbourne 1945-48, 39 games, 46 goals.
North Melbourne 1949, 9 games, 6 goals.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
Ernie O'Rourke (born 8 April 1926) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL)
Doug Bigelow
Essendon
1947-56, 148 games, 27 goals.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
Recruited from Bentleigh Football Club, he played his first match in round 11 of the 1947 season, against Melbourne, at Essendon's home ground, Windy Hill. He went on to play 148 games for Essendon from 1947 to 1956.
Tom Miller
Footscray
1948-50, 34 games, 3 goals.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
AFL: 5,716th player to appear, 4,984th most games played, 7,010th most goals kicked
Footscray: 336th player to appear, 329th most games played, 577th most goals kicked
Neville Swan
Collingwood
1950-52, 25 games, 0 goals.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
Neville Swan was an Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Maurie Bartlett
Melbourne FC
1964 and 1966, 7 games, 6 goals. Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
Bartlett dominated the Federal League under-17 competition in 1963, kicking more than a hundred goals and once registering 27 in a match. Not surprisingly he won the best and fairest in the league that year and was subsequently recruited by the Demons.
Robert Langford
Melbourne
1966-67, 3 games, 1 goal.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
AFL: 7,876th player to appear, 10,619th most games played, 9,004th most goals kicked
Melbourne: 849th player to appear, 1,079th most games played, 914th most goals kicked
Tom Quinn
Melbourne
1967, 5 games, 0 goals.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
Tom Quinn (born 31 October 1947) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Graeme Aubrey
Melbourne FC
1968, 1 game, 2 goals.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
Aubrey graduated from the Fourths, the Under 19's and Reserves - where he wore number 55 in 1967 - to make his debut in 1968.
Gregory Parke
Melbourne, Footscray & Fitzroy Melbourne 1968-73, 119 games, 169 goals.
Footscray 1974-75, 37 games, 56 goals.
Fitzroy 1977, 15 games, 17 goals. Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
Parke made his VFL debut in 1968 with Melbourne and finished the season with more Brownlow Medal votes than any other Melbourne player.
Gregory P. Wells
Melbourne & Carlton
Melbourne 1969-80, 224 games, 251 goals.
Carlton 1980-82, 43 games, 24 goals.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
Wells usually played as a centreman or rover. During the 1969 season Wells played in the thirds, seconds and senior Melbourne sides in successive weeks.
Ted Fidge
Melbourne
1982-88, 42 games, 61 goals.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
He kicked 27 goals for Melbourne in 1985, from 15 games, which saw him finish second in their goalkicking.
John Fidge
Melbourne & Brisbane
Melbourne 1984-86, 32 games, 54 goals.
Brisbane 1987-89, 27 games, 38 goals.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
Fidge made his VFL debut as a 17-year-old centre half forward in 1984, starring with four goals and 23 disposals in a loss to Essendon. He finished his first season with 27 goals from 12 appearances, missing games mid year with a knee injury.
Russell Colcott
Melbourne
1969-71, 15 games, 18 goals.
Ex Bentleigh (Federal)
Russell Colcott (born 10 September 1949) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Ben Schwarze
North Melbourne
2006, 11 games, 2 goals.
Ex Bentleigh Juniors
North Melbourne: 926th player to appear, 575th most games played, 629th most goals kicked
Josh Worrell
Adelaide
2020-, 0 games, 0 goals.
Ex Bentleigh Juniors
He is considered to be strong overhead, a good decision maker and has demonstrated a high work rate through his repeat efforts.
Luke Nankervis
Adelaide
2021-, 0 games, 0 goals.
Ex Bentleigh Juniors & Seniors
Nankervis was selected by Adelaide at the 2021 Pre-Season Draft. He’s an athletic half-forward with the ability to play on the wing and played eight games for Sandringham in 2021.