| Terry Moriarty | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Terrence Brian Moriarty | ||
| Born | (1925-07-03)3 July 1925 East Victoria Park,Western Australia | ||
| Died | 23 October 2011(2011-10-23) (aged 86) Nedlands,Western Australia | ||
| Original team | Victoria Park | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1942–1958 | Perth | 253 (27) | |
| 1944 | South Sydney | 7 (0) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1948–1954 | Western Australia | 9 (2) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1958. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
Terrence Brian "Terry" Moriarty (3 July 1925 – 23 October 2011) was anAustralian rules footballer who played with thePerth Football Club in theWest Australian National Football League (WANFL). Having won the club'sbest and fairest trophy in his first two seasons, Moriarty went on to play 253 games over a 15-season career, which remains a club record. He also played nineinterstate matches forWestern Australia. Having also served in theAustralian Army duringWorld War II, he was the winner of the 1943Sandover Medal as the best player in the competition, and was inducted into theWest Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
Born inEast Victoria Park, Moriarty played under-12 and under-14 matches for Victoria Park in the local Temperance League, and progressed to the Victoria Park side in the Metropolitan Juniors Football Association (MJFA) in 1941, aged 16. He attended St Patrick's Boys' School andAquinas College, playing football for both schools.[1]
Falling into thePerth Football Club'srecruitment zone, he made his senior debut for Perth in 1942 in the wartime age-restricted competition,[a] and won the club'sfairest and best trophy in his first season, playing mainly off a half-back flank.[2] He finished equal fourth in the 1942Sandover Medal for the fairest and best player in the competition, with nine votes. In 1943, he won both his club's best and fairest and the Sandover Medal, finishing with 28 votes to become the first Perth player to win the award.[b][3]
Moriarty enlisted in theArmy in September 1943, serving as agunner in the2nd Medium Regiment of theRoyal Australian Artillery.[citation needed]
He was posted toSydney for training, and played seven games with the South Sydney Football Club in theSydney Australian Rules Football League.[4] He returned to Western Australia in time for the first game of the 1946 season, and was discharged from service in September 1946.[5] He played with Perth on their tour of theEastern states in July–August 1946, which included matches inBroken Hill,Wagga Wagga[6] and Sydney. The game at Broken Hill attracted 5,000 spectators paying £389/15/9 where he was named in the best but did not kick a goal. Broken Hill won[7] The game against Southern Riverina was played at the Rock before a crowd of 1750 which was a record for a mid-week game in the area. Perth won 18.25 (133) to 14.4 (88).[8] The game against NSW was played at Trumper Park on 11 August, and reportedly attracted a crowd in excess of 10,000 paying an amazing £464/14/6 at the gate, with Perth winning the game 22.15 (147) to 18.16 (124).[9]
Most often used as a half-back flanker, Moriarty played in two losing grand finals for Perth, in 1949 and 1950, before finally achieving a premiership in 1955, despite receiving a broken nose duringthe grand final. He retired in 1958 after 253 games, which remains a club record. Towards the end of his career, he had been restricted by recurringhamstring injuries.[10]
Moriarty was inducted into theWest Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2010,[5] and died atSir Charles Gairdner Hospital inNedlands on 23 October 2011, after a short illness, withThe West Australian noting he was a "dour ball player with strong team values".[11]