Australian Football

Carlton recruited Peter McConville from Bendigo Football League club Golden Square and he made his senior VFL debut the following year. After an outstanding initial season he was voted the Blues’ best first year player. Then in 1979 he overcame an indifferent first half of the campaign to come good in time for a finals series which culminated in a five point grand final defeat of Collingwood. Further grand final triumphs followed in 1981, also against Collingwood, and 1982 at the expense of Richmond. McConville was a worthy contributor to both wins.

McConville’s greatest strength as a footballer was universally acknowledged to be his aerial prowess, although allied to this was an impressive versatility which made it difficult to decide with any certainty which position suited him best. Often he would be assigned to a variety of different positions in the same match, a stratagem which was a lot less common then as it has since become.

The Carlton phase of McConville’s career encompassed eight seasons in which he played 140 VFL games and kicked 157 goals. At the end of the 1985 season he was out of contract but quite happy to remain with the Blues. That was until St Kilda came in with a lucrative offer that Carlton simply could not afford to match, and so for the final four seasons of his league career McConville was a Saint. He played 54 games and kicked 23 goals for the club, with his mercurial high flying ability making him a firm fan favourite. Prior to the 1990 season he retired because of a chronic hamstring complaint.

Author - John Devaney