Les Bamblett facts for kids

Les Bamblett was born on August 5, 1963. He is a former Australian rules football player. He played for two teams in the top league, which was then called the Victorian Football League (VFL). These teams were the Melbourne Demons and the Footscray Bulldogs.

Early Life and Junior Career

Les Bamblett is an Indigenous Australian. He showed great talent in Australian rules football from a young age. He played as a forward, which means his main job was to kick goals for his team.

Winning the Morrish Medal

In 1982, when he was playing in the VFL Under 19's competition, Les won a special award. It was called the Morrish Medal. This medal is given to the "best and fairest" player in the competition. This means he was seen as the best player who also played by the rules and with good sportsmanship.

Starting in the VFL

The very next year, in 1983, Les Bamblett started playing in the senior VFL competition. His first game was against the Collingwood Magpies. In that first game, he kicked two goals! He played 10 more games that year, showing his skills in the big league.

Moving Clubs

After his first year with Melbourne, Les looked for new opportunities.

Joining Claremont

In 1984, Les trained with the Richmond Tigers. However, Melbourne and Richmond could not agree on a fee for him to move teams. So, Les decided to join a team called Claremont in the West Australian Football League. But, because of rules about moving players, he could not play any senior games there.

Playing for Footscray

Later in 1984, Les Bamblett received an offer from the Footscray Bulldogs back in Victoria. He decided to return and join them.

Career Highlights at Footscray

Les had a very successful year with Footscray in 1985.

Kicking Goals

In 1985, Les kicked 51 goals for Footscray. This was a great achievement! He was the second-highest goal-scorer for his team that year, right behind another strong player, Simon Beasley.

Playing in Finals

That same year, Les played in 24 games for Footscray. This included three important games called "finals." Finals are like playoffs, where teams compete to win the championship.

Dealing with Injuries

After his big year in 1985, Les faced some challenges. Over the next three years, he had problems with injuries. Because of these injuries, he could only play six more games.

Family Connections

Les Bamblett comes from a family of talented Australian rules footballers. Two of his nephews also went on to play in the Australian Football League. They are Chris Egan and Andrew Lovett.