Greg Burns (Australian rules footballer)

Last updated

Greg Burns
Personal information
Date of birth (1958-02-21) 21 February 1958 (age 66)
Original team(s) North Ballarat (BFL)
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 76 kg (168 lb)
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
1978–1989 St Kilda 169 (114)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1989.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Greg D. Burns (born 21 February 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda.

Burns was a tough and uncompromising centreman, who won St Kilda best and fairest twice, in 1984 and again in 1986. He was often one of the few shining lights for the Saints during the club's run of four wooden spoons from 1983 until 1986. His fierce determination to win the ball out of the middle became a trademark and would often stand out in physical contests among opposition of a higher calibre, especially in games at Moorabbin among the often muddy and wet conditions.

He made only one appearance—his first in the VFL—in 1978, before playing a further 59 games over the next four years for just 12 wins. In 1983, Burns established himself as the Saints best midfielder, racking up 20 games and 492 possessions (average of 24.6 per game)—an increase on his 261 possessions the season before. Only in 1987, aged 29, did Burns collect more touches of the football in his career during a 21-game, 506 disposals season. He utilised the handball more in this, his tenth seasons in the VFL, handpassing it 202 times, 68 more than any other season. [1]

Burns, who shunned the limelight to bigger names at St Kilda, retired in 1989. It coincided with good teammate and fellow Ballarat product, Geoff Cunningham's retirement, the pair starting and ending their careers at St Kilda during the same time. Burns had been a harness racing driver in the 1970s. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm Blight</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1950

Malcolm Jack Blight AM is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Woodville Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He also coached the Geelong Football Club, Adelaide Football Club and St Kilda Football Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Harvey (footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1971

Robert Jeffrey Harvey is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). As a player, he played his entire career with St Kilda in the AFL. Following retirement, Harvey embarked on a career in assistant coaching which has spanned across three decades, highlighted by a nine-game stint as caretaker head coach of the Collingwood Football Club in 2021.

Anthony Howard Lockett is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nicknamed "Plugger", he played as a full-forward and holds the VFL/AFL record for career goals, scoring 1,360 goals in total.

Gregory Donald Williams is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Geelong, the Sydney Swans and Carlton in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. A midfielder, he is a dual Brownlow Medal winner and at his peak was the then-highest-paid player in the history of the sport, including an under-the-table $200,000 bonus payment. He was also linked to further controversy during the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Barker</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1956

Trevor Graeme Barker was an Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Jeans</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1933

Allan Lindsay Jeans was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame at its inception in 1996. Jeans was known for his oratory and motivation skills as a coach and led St Kilda and Hawthorn to a total of four premierships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenny Hayes</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1980

Lenny Hayes is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1999 to 2014. He is currently an assistant coach at the St Kilda Football Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Ball</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1984

Luke Patrick Ball is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the St Kilda and Collingwood football clubs in the Australian Football League. From 2003 to 2009 he played 142 games for the St Kilda Football Club where he was captain in 2007 and best and fairest and All-Australian in 2005. He is one of the only players in AFL history to have played in four consecutive grand finals for two clubs; for St Kilda in 2009 and for Collingwood in 2010, the 2010 replay and 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Gwilt</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1986

James Gwilt is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played with the St Kilda Football Club and the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Dal Santo</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1984

Nick Dal Santo is the senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club in the AFL Women's competition and a retired Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda and North Melbourne in the Australian Football League (AFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verdun Howell</span> Australian rules footballer

Verdun John Howell is a former Australian rules footballer who played senior football in Tasmania and in the VFL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Blake (footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer

Jason Blake is a former Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). An "undersized tall defender and occasional ruckman", he held the record for the most games played (209) without receiving any Brownlow Medal votes until he eventually received two Brownlow votes for Round 11 in 2012. The record was subsequently beaten by Nick Smith.

Jesse W. Smith is a former Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda and North Melbourne in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the son of former North Melbourne player, Ross Smith. Formerly playing for North Melbourne, he was drafted to play for St Kilda in 2010, and retired at the end of 2010.

Geoff Cunningham is a former Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarryn Geary</span> Australian rules footballer

Jarryn Geary is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Geary was St Kilda captain from 2017 to 2020 and co-captain in 2021.

Edwin Ernest 'Eddy' James was an Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong in the years before and following the formation of the VFL.

Alistair Smith is an Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He currently plays for Perth in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).

Milne Norman McCooke was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Sinclair (footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer (born 1995)

Jack Sinclair is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Booth</span> New Zealand Australian-rules footballer

Douglas George Booth is an Australian academic and former Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He is dean of the School of Physical Education at the University of Otago.

References

  1. ↑ "AFL Tables - Greg Burns - Stats - Statistics".
  2. ↑ Piesse, p. 220.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.