Australian Football

Troy Ugle's pace, agility and, most of all, his aerial ability (as exemplified above) belied his fairly solid, 175cm, 78kg build. Originally from South West Football League side Carey Park, he marked himself as a player of the future with a series of seismic performances for the victorious South West team in the 1985 Wesfarmers Country Championships.

The following year, aged 18, he crossed to Swan Districts, but had to wait until 1987 for his senior debut. In the meantime he spent the 1986/7 Darwin football season with Wanderers, earning selection in the NTFL representative team which thrashed Sydney in the 1987 Australia Day challenge match. Later that year, his highly consistent form in his debut season with Swans earned him the club's fairest and best award, as well as inclusion on the West Coast Eagles list for 1988.

Although he produced some memorably spectacular football on occasion, it would probably be fair to suggest that, overall, Troy Ugle failed to do himself justice at the game's top level. Between 1988 and 1993 he played a total of just 43 V/AFL games, highlighting the fact that he tended to be in and out of the Eagles side, and kicked the same number of goals.

Equally effective either on the ball or in the forward lines, Ugle arguably produced some of his best football towards the end of his career with Swan Districts, topping the club's goal kicking list in 1996-7-8. When he retired from the WAFL in 1999 he had played a total of 162 WAFL games for the club, kicking 311 goals. Somewhat surprisingly, he never represented Western Australia either at state of origin or state league level. After leaving Swans he played in the WAFA for Magpies, helping the side to a flag in 2004.

Author - John Devaney