Jack O’Halloran – Wangaratta, Wodonga
Jack O’Halloran’s timing was impeccable when he landed at Wangaratta in the early 1970s from Howlong after winning the Hume league’s Azzi medal with a record 34 votes.
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The Magpies arch-rivals, Wangaratta Rovers, were on their way to a remarkable seven premierships for the decade beginning with flags in 1971-72 and 1974-75.
But there was still some joy to be had for the Magpies who emerged as a force under the coaching of Phil Nolan.
The rivalry between the Hawks and Magpies had also built again after peaking a decade earlier when the Rovers beat their nearest neighbour in successive grand finals.
A star ruck-rover, who could accumulate big numbers of possessions and take a strong contested mark, O’Halloran won back-to-back best and fairests for the Magpies in 1975-76.
The two seasons were the high-points in his 121 appearances in black and white which saw him selected in the club’s Team of Legends.
The Magpies peaked late in the 1976 season and jumped the Rovers in the first quarter of the grand final with O’Halloran a major architect in the win.
O’Halloran lost the Morris Medal on a count-back to Rovers’ Andrew Scott in 1975 before being presented the award retrospectively many years later.
He won the medal in similar circumstances in the Magpies premiership year with those he tied with, Mike Andrews and Greg O’Brien, receiving their medals at the later date.
O’Halloran’s nephew and present Albury co-coach Shaun Daly replicated his Morris medal winning feat when he took out the award in 2011.
O’Halloran, a railways employee, joined Wodonga for three seasons from 1978 and added a further 51 matches to his personal tally.
Wodonga played the Rovers in the 1979 grand final, but despite leading by eight points at the last change, the Bulldogs suffered the same fate as many in the decade.
