Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
Henry George Saunders

Known as
Harry Saunders

Born
21 May 1898

Died
9 December 1930 (aged 32)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 18y 6d
Last game: 27y 352d

Height and weight
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 76 kg

Senior clubs
Collingwood

Jumper numbers
Collingwood: 23, 18, 20, 22, 25, 21, 24

Harry Saunders

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
CollingwoodV/AFL1916-1926135100.0762%———0
Total1916-1926135100.0762%———0

AFL: 2,244th player to appear, 1,597th most games played, 4,986th most goals kickedCollingwood: 224th player to appear, 125th most games played, 433rd most goals kicked

Harry Saunders played 135 VFL games for Collingwood between 1916 and 1926, and was widely regarded as one of the finest defenders of his era. In 1922 he was at the centre of a controversy following a match against Carlton in which he pole-axed Alex Duncan. Not only was he found guilty of striking at the tribunal, and suspended for six games, but the police also took action and fined him £5.

A splendid mark and one of the finest kicks in the VFL at the time, Saunders represented Victoria on three occasions and was a member of two Collingwood premiership teams. Late in the 1926 season he had a very brief stint as coach of Footscray. He died of pancreatitis in 1930, aged just 32. 

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.