| Bernie Quinlan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Bernard Francis Quinlan | ||
| Nickname | Superboot | ||
| Born | (1951-07-21)21 July 1951 (age 74) | ||
| Original team | Traralgon | ||
| Height | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Weight | 97 kg (214 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre half forward/centre half back/ruck-rover | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1969–1977 | Footscray | 177 (241) | |
| 1978–1986 | Fitzroy | 189 (576) | |
| Total | 366 (817) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| Victoria | 4 (6) | ||
| Coaching career3 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 1995 | Fitzroy | 19 (2–17–0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1986. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 1995. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Bernard Francis Quinlan (born 21 July 1951) is a formerAustralian rules footballer who played for theFootscray Football Club andFitzroy Football Club in theVictorian Football League (VFL).
One of a handful of players to have won aBrownlow Medal andColeman Medal, Quinlan was an inaugural inductee in theAustralian Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Renowned for his prodigious long kicking, which earned him the nickname "Superboot", Quinlan played his best football late in his career, earning most of his individual accolades after he had turned 30. He holds the record for the most career games without playing in a Grand Final[1] and is one of five VFL/AFL players (the others beingShaun Burgoyne,Heath Shaw,Lance Franklin andPatrick Dangerfield) to have played 150 or more games at two separate clubs.[2]
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Quinlan was recruited fromTraralgon, which was inFootscray'szone, and arrived at Footscray halfway through the1969 VFL season.[3] TeammateBarry Round also made his debut in the same year, and coincidentally they would tie for theBrownlow Medal 12 years later in 1981, both by that time playing at different clubs.
Quinlan played 177 games for the club, playing mostly atcentre half-forward (also occasionally playing as acentre half-back). The 1970s were a tough time financially for the Bulldogs, and many quality players were cleared to other clubs. Quinlan was cleared toFitzroy in 1978 for 70,000dollars.[4] In October 1979, Quinlan was fined $500 for missing two training sessions with the Victorian squad the previous month. Quinlan had recently moved toBaxter and complained that he had not been notified in time by Fitzroy, but the VFL's administration managerAlan Schwab dismissed these as "inadequate excuses". In the end, he was left out of the squad going to Perth for theState of Origin Carnival.[5]In December 1979, the Lions and the football public were shocked when it was announced by club presidentFrank Bibby that Quinlan had told the committee he wanted to devote more time to his farm. With a year remaining on his contract, Fitzroy were desperate to retain his services and made Quinlan a substantial financial offer to stay.[6] Quinlan relented and returned for the1980 VFL season.
Fitzroy had an ordinary season in 1980. WhenRobert Walls took over as senior coach for1981, Quinlan and the Lions returned to form. He won theBrownlow Medal in 1981, tying with his former Bulldog teammateBarry Round (who had left the Bulldogs too by this stage). He also twice kicked more than 100 goals in a season: 1983 and 1984. Quinlan led a formidable forward line in the mid-1980s with the likes of Michael Conlan,Garry Wilson, David McMahon and Gary Sidebottom. Together withPaul Roos andGary Pert in the back line, they propelled Fitzroy to their most successful years in the post-war era.
He was a prodigious kicker of thefootball which earned him the nickname "Superboot".[7] He regularly featured in theWorld of Sport kicking competitions (a sports program which was popular inMelbourne for three decades).
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Led the league after season and finals |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 1969 | Footscray | 2 | 9 | 18 | 16 | 99 | 7 | 106 | 46 | — | 2.0 | 1.8 | 11.0 | 0.8 | 11.8 | 5.1 | — |
| 1970 | Footscray | 2 | 21 | 12 | 25 | 292 | 26 | 318 | 109 | — | 0.6 | 1.2 | 13.9 | 1.2 | 15.1 | 5.2 | — |
| 1971 | Footscray | 2 | 21 | 48 | 47 | 343 | 61 | 404 | 168 | — | 2.3 | 2.2 | 16.3 | 2.9 | 19.2 | 8.0 | — |
| 1972 | Footscray | 2 | 21 | 37 | 41 | 304 | 79 | 383 | 112 | — | 1.8 | 2.0 | 14.5 | 3.8 | 18.2 | 5.3 | — |
| 1973 | Footscray | 2 | 20 | 20 | 23 | 301 | 83 | 384 | 115 | — | 1.0 | 1.2 | 15.1 | 4.2 | 19.2 | 5.8 | — |
| 1974 | Footscray | 2 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 272 | 44 | 316 | 80 | — | 0.5 | 0.4 | 15.1 | 2.4 | 17.6 | 4.7 | — |
| 1975 | Footscray | 2 | 22 | 36 | 17 | 285 | 46 | 331 | 100 | — | 1.6 | 0.8 | 13.6 | 2.2 | 15.8 | 4.8 | — |
| 1976 | Footscray | 2 | 23 | 34 | 39 | 311 | 83 | 394 | 109 | — | 1.5 | 1.7 | 13.5 | 3.6 | 17.1 | 4.7 | — |
| 1977 | Footscray | 2 | 22 | 27 | 38 | 311 | 92 | 403 | 126 | — | 1.2 | 1.8 | 14.1 | 4.2 | 18.3 | 5.7 | — |
| 1978 | Fitzroy | 5 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 198 | 62 | 260 | 77 | — | 1.3 | 1.1 | 14.1 | 4.4 | 18.6 | 5.5 | — |
| 1979 | Fitzroy | 5 | 22 | 48 | 39 | 313 | 106 | 419 | 116 | — | 2.2 | 1.8 | 14.2 | 4.8 | 19.0 | 5.3 | — |
| 1980 | Fitzroy | 5 | 22 | 27 | 29 | 325 | 110 | 435 | 123 | — | 1.2 | 1.3 | 14.8 | 5.0 | 19.8 | 5.6 | — |
| 1981 | Fitzroy | 5 | 24 | 73 | 32 | 332 | 116 | 448 | 152 | — | 3.0 | 1.3 | 13.8 | 4.8 | 18.7 | 6.3 | — |
| 1982 | Fitzroy | 5 | 21 | 53 | 35 | 289 | 96 | 385 | 108 | — | 2.5 | 1.7 | 13.8 | 4.6 | 18.3 | 5.1 | — |
| 1983 | Fitzroy | 5 | 24 | 116 | 70 | 268 | 62 | 330 | 155 | — | 4.8 | 2.9 | 11.2 | 2.6 | 13.8 | 6.5 | — |
| 1984 | Fitzroy | 5 | 23 | 105 | 44 | 228 | 48 | 276 | 121 | — | 4.6 | 1.9 | 9.9 | 2.1 | 12.0 | 5.3 | — |
| 1985 | Fitzroy | 5 | 22 | 84 | 58 | 229 | 45 | 274 | 127 | — | 3.8 | 2.6 | 10.4 | 2.0 | 12.5 | 5.8 | — |
| 1986 | Fitzroy | 5 | 17 | 52 | 37 | 149 | 34 | 183 | 73 | — | 3.1 | 2.2 | 8.8 | 2.0 | 10.8 | 4.3 | — |
| Career | 366 | 817 | 612 | 4849 | 1200 | 6049 | 2017 | — | 2.2 | 1.7 | 13.3 | 3.3 | 16.6 | 5.5 | — | ||
Quinlan was picked up in the January 1972national service intake and posted toPuckapunyal with Footscray teammatePeter Welsh. He served in the Service Corp unit and rose to the rank of Lance Corporal.[9]During his playing career, Quinlan worked as a clerk for theState Electricity Commission of Victoria. He said in later years that he considered it a "dead-end job" and wished he had taken up a trade instead.[10]
After retiring as a player, Quinlan first joined theABC football commentary team when they had the broadcasting rights in 1987, and then switched to theSeven Network when they regained the rights in 1988. He worked as a commentator with the Seven Network until 1995.
Quinlan returned toFitzroy as senior coach for the1995 AFL season, when he replacedRobert Shaw, who left at the end of the 1994 season.[11] However, it soon became clear that he was out of his depth as a senior coach and was sacked after a 126-point loss toSydney Swans in Round 19, 1995. It was later revealed that senior playerJohn McCarthy was one of the key voices in having him removed.[12] Quinlan was then replaced byAlan McConnell as caretaker senior coach of Fitzroy Football Club for the rest of the 1995 season.[13]
The Brisbane Lions mascot Bernie "Gabba" Vegas is partially named as a tribute to Quinlan.[citation needed]
In 2017, Quinlan joined former footballersDon Scott andTony Jewell to form a landscaping and gardening crew, doing odd jobs around the Mornington Peninsula.[10]
He has worked as a weights coach with VFL teamPort Melbourne.[14]