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Paul Sproule
| Paul Sproule | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | 16 December 1944 | ||
| Original team(s) | Hobart (TANFL) | ||
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 77.5 kg (171 lb) | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1968–1971 | Essendon | 60 (60) | |
| 1972–1975 | Richmond | 86 (93) | |
| Total | 146 (153) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1976–1977 | Tasmania | 3 | |
| Coaching career | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 1976–78, 1983–84 | Sandy Bay | 102 (72–29–1) | |
| 1980–1981 | Hobart | 38 (20–18–0) | |
| 1985 | Richmond | 22 (9–13–0) | |
| Total | 162 (101–60–1) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1975. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Paul Sproule (born 16 December 1944) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), as well as for the Hobart Football Club and Sandy Bay Football Club in the Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL). He also served brief stints as senior coach of Richmond, Hobart and Sandy Bay.
An intelligent and skilled midfielder who could also kick the occasional bag of goals, Sproule is a member of what could be described as Tasmania's Golden Generation – a period where AFL Hall of Fame Legends Darrel Baldock, Peter Hudson, Ian Stewart and Royce Hart cemented their reputations in Victoria. He was a key member of the Richmond team that dominated the VFL during the early 1970s and went back-to-back in 1973 and 1974; he was consistently among the team's best players in finals matches. He also won premierships in the TANFL, captain-coaching Sandy Bay to a hat-trick from 1976 to 1978 and then coaching Hobart to the flag in 1980 after the club had finished wooden spooners the previous season.[1]
Kevin Sheedy, who played with Sproule at Richmond, spoke highly of his quality and value within the team:
Paul was an excellent player. He had an extremely intelligent football brain. He read the play extremely well and had that ability to get where the ball was all the time. He might have been under-rated outside of Richmond, but I can assure you that among his teammates he was very, very highly regarded.[2]
- ^ Greenberg, Tony (6 July 2016). "Sproule now a Tassie footy icon". richmondfc.com.au.
- ^ Greenberg, Tony (24 October 2012). "Top 20 Tiger trade pick-ups: No. 3". richmondfc.com.au.
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