A member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Halbert has had a long involvement in Australian rules football in South Australia, as a player, coach and administrator.[1] Halbert was also a Bradman Medalist in the 1961/62 & 1964/65 seasons, denoting the greatest domestic cricketer in the State for that season. He is the only person in history to claim the title of Magarey Medalist and Bradman Medalist.
Playing career
Halbert was a centreman and first played for Sturt in 1955. In his debut season he finished second in the Magarey Medal count to Lindsay Head and in 1958 was again the runner up with Head winning another Medal. He also polled well in 1960 but again finished second, this time losing to Barrie Barbary. The Medal was finally his in 1961, his 20 votes enough to hold off the challengers. Sturt had actually finished with the wooden spoon that season but it was a good year for Halbert, as well as winning that elusive Magarey Medal he was also picked in the All Australian team after his performances for the South Australians at the Brisbane Carnival. He represented South Australia at interstate football at total of 17 times during his career. In 1962 he was made captain of Sturt and led them to a premiership in 1966, their first flag since 1940. Injuries prevented Halbert from playing in Sturt's 1967 and 1968 premiership sides, and he was forced to retire. He finished with a then club record 251 SANFL games.
In 1979 he became coach of Glenelg, leading them to the 1981 and 1982 SANFL Grand Finals where they were beaten by Port Adelaide and Norwood respectively. He left The Bay after the '82 Grand Final and replaced the legendary coach of Sturt, Jack Oatey in 1983. Halbert would lead the Double Blues to his third Grand Final appearance in three years but again luck was against him when Sturt were defeated by West Adelaide. After the Double Blues could win only eight matches in 1984 and finished seventh, Halbert was replaced as coach by Mervyn Keane. It was his last senior coaching position in the SANFL, although he became a state selector during the late 80s and through the 90s.
Halbert was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
^"John A Halbert MBE AM". SANFL. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
External links
John Halbert at AustralianFootball.com
CricketArchive page for John Halbert
May 05, 2023
john, halbert, irish, hurler, hurler, john, arno, halbert, born, september, 1937, former, australian, rules, footballer, played, sturt, football, club, south, australian, national, football, league, sanfl, personal, informationfull, namejohn, arno, halbertdate. For the Irish hurler see John Halbert hurler John Arno Halbert MBE AM born 5 September 1937 is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League SANFL John HalbertPersonal informationFull nameJohn Arno HalbertDate of birth 1937 09 05 5 September 1937 age 85 Place of birthHyde Park South AustraliaPlaying career1YearsClubGames Goals 1955 1968Sturt244 253 Representative team honoursYearsTeamGames Goals South Australia16Coaching careerYearsClubGames W L D 1979 1982Glenelg0 97 64 31 2 1983 1984Sturt0 48 26 22 0 Total145 90 53 2 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1984 Career highlightsSANFL Premiership player 1966 Magarey Medal 1961 Sturt captain 1962 1968 4 P T Morton Medal 1958 1960 1961 1964 All Australian team 1961 South Australian Football Hall of Fame inducted 2002 Australian Football Hall of Fame inducted 2017Source AustralianFootball comA member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame Halbert has had a long involvement in Australian rules football in South Australia as a player coach and administrator 1 Halbert was also a Bradman Medalist in the 1961 62 amp 1964 65 seasons denoting the greatest domestic cricketer in the State for that season He is the only person in history to claim the title of Magarey Medalist and Bradman Medalist Playing career EditHalbert was a centreman and first played for Sturt in 1955 In his debut season he finished second in the Magarey Medal count to Lindsay Head and in 1958 was again the runner up with Head winning another Medal He also polled well in 1960 but again finished second this time losing to Barrie Barbary The Medal was finally his in 1961 his 20 votes enough to hold off the challengers Sturt had actually finished with the wooden spoon that season but it was a good year for Halbert as well as winning that elusive Magarey Medal he was also picked in the All Australian team after his performances for the South Australians at the Brisbane Carnival He represented South Australia at interstate football at total of 17 times during his career In 1962 he was made captain of Sturt and led them to a premiership in 1966 their first flag since 1940 Injuries prevented Halbert from playing in Sturt s 1967 and 1968 premiership sides and he was forced to retire He finished with a then club record 251 SANFL games In 1979 he became coach of Glenelg leading them to the 1981 and 1982 SANFL Grand Finals where they were beaten by Port Adelaide and Norwood respectively He left The Bay after the 82 Grand Final and replaced the legendary coach of Sturt Jack Oatey in 1983 Halbert would lead the Double Blues to his third Grand Final appearance in three years but again luck was against him when Sturt were defeated by West Adelaide After the Double Blues could win only eight matches in 1984 and finished seventh Halbert was replaced as coach by Mervyn Keane It was his last senior coaching position in the SANFL although he became a state selector during the late 80s and through the 90s Halbert was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2017 He also played two first class cricket matches for South Australia in the 1961 62 season References Edit John A Halbert MBE AM SANFL Retrieved 16 June 2014 External links EditJohn Halbert at AustralianFootball com CricketArchive page for John Halbert Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Halbert amp oldid 1122369394, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
