How the West Was Really Won (Part IV) Quiz

Answer: Australian Rules Football

George Doig was such a prolific goal scorer in Western Australian football circles that he was dubbed the "Bradman of full forwards". Playing for his beloved East Fremantle, he became the first local player to kick 100 goals in a season (1933) and he would end his career in 1945 with 1,111 goals to his name.

Doig drew attention to his prolific talent in 1931, while playing in the Suburban League, as an 18 year-old and kicking his team's entire score of 26 goals and 20 points in a game against Palmyra. As a League footballer he would score a century of goals in nine consecutive seasons, including a bag of 152 (then an Australian record) in 1934 and he would head the West Australian goal kicking ladder on six occasions. World War II would prevent Doig from playing for three seasons and many scholars have tipped that his career tally could easily have finished nearer to 1,500 goals.

Answer: Australian Rules Football

Bunton is the son of an Australian footballing legend. His father won the State's fairest and best awards in both Victoria (the Brownlow Medal) three times and Western Australia (the Sandover Medal), also three times.

Born in Melbourne, Bunton Jr. moved to Western Australia when he was one year old. Afflicted with polio at an early age he played his junior football with calipers on his legs. As a player he played with raw courage, indefatigable determination and great football smarts. His team, Swan Districts, was an unfashionable outfit when he joined them in 1960, having won only two games in the previous year. Over the next three seasons, as a playing coach, Bunton would lift them to three premierships and he, personally, would win the Sandover Medal in 1962 as the League's best player. Adding to this list, he captained WA to a win at the Australian Football Championships in Brisbane in 1961.

In 1968 he moved to Subiaco and lifted them from the bottom of the ladder to three successive finals campaigns, setting them up for a drought breaking premiership in 1972. He returned to coach Subiaco in 1984, taking them to Grand Final victories in 1986 and 1988. Upon his retirement he had left an indelible legacy on the game, had accumulated 300 games as a player and 728 as a senior coach.

Answer: Australian Rules Football

The son of former East Perth (Royals) footballer Gus Glendinning, Ross joined the Royals in 1974 as an 18 year old and was immediately promoted to the senior side. His prowess as a key position player in either defense or attack was on show early, so much so that he finished runner up in the Sandover Medal, for the fairest and best player in the WA league, the following year. This brought him to the attention of the Victorian clubs, at the time, the premier football competition in the country, and he was soon recruited by North Melbourne in 1978.

Glendinning would win the Brownlow Medal in 1983, becoming the second West Australian to achieve the feat, would represent Victoria on two occasions and WA fifteen times. The latter included WA's historic win in the (inaugural) 1977 State-of-Origin match. He would return to Western Australia and see out his career with the newly formed West Coast Eagles. Among his many honors, Ross would be named in North Melbourne's Team of the (20th) Century and the medal for the best player in matches between the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Football Club also bears his name.

Answer: Australian Rules Football

Brad Hardie was 23 years old when he landed in Victoria to play his first season in the Victorian Football League and he did something extraordinary... he won the Brownlow Medal, as the fairest and best in the competition that same year. Why extraordinary? Because only one other footballer had achieved that feat prior to him, the legendary Hayden Bunton Snr.

Hardie was born in East Fremantle and made his league debut with the South Fremantle senior side at the tender age of 16 years. Three years later he was selected for the West Australian state side. Though short of stature, he proved to be a giant on the football field and was decorated accordingly. He became the first man to win the Tassie Medal, awarded to the fairest and best player in an Australian Football Championships, on two occasions and he won Simpson Medals in 1984 and 1986, as Western Australia's best player in State-of-Origin matches against Victoria.

Answer: Australian Rules Football

At a time when the Victorian Football League was considered the yardstick of the Australian competition, Stephen Michael was considered to be the finest footballer never to have played in it. Michael was one of the most athletic big men to grace the game, playing his entire career with his beloved South Fremantle, winning their fairest and best award on five occasions and piloting them to a premiership in 1980.

This was also a time when the Western Australian Football League (WAFL) was at its strongest, Michael would win the Sandover Medal, for the fairest and best in the WAFL, twice and many believe he was cruelly denied a third. He would also win the Tassie Medal in 1983, when he led the WA side to victory at the Australian Football Championships, won the Simpson Medal for being the best afield against South Australia and was named captain of the All Australian side.

Answer: Field Hockey

Denning's career did not begin in Western Australia (WA). Born in Kenya, she moved to South Africa at an early age and represented Western Province. She moved to WA as a nineteen year old and settled there. Blessed with great speed, sharp reflexes, boundless courage and incredible balance she would make a name for herself as a full-back that representing Australia in 101 internationals. This also includes the gold medal winning team at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games.

She was such a dominant force in the game during 1988 that she was voted the WA Sport Star of the Year and received an Order of Australia medal in 1989. In the second half of her career she would develop her corner hitting ability and this led to her scoring 65 goals for her country.

Answer: Field Hockey

From 1977 to 1991 Craig Davies was an automatic selection in the Australian team. He played 193 games for his country and captained the side from 1987 through to 1991. During that period he was involved in Australia's historic World Cup victory over England in 1986 and represented Australia at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympic Games. He was selected for the 1980 Moscow Olympics which the Australia team boycotted.

Arguably one of the best defensive players Western Australia has produced, Davies was known for his meticulous preparation and his strict physical fitness regime. His play was characterized by his relentless tackling and accurate passing. So good was the latter that for most of his career he was Australia's designated penalty corner hitter.

Answer: Field Hockey

May Campbell came from the small Western Australian wheatbelt town of Moulyinning but she was a giant in realms of international hockey. Her stick work and ability to score goals bordered on being freakish and gave her an international career that spanned from 1935 to 1948. To provide some indication as to her scoring prowess, at the 1938 interstate championships she would score 20 of WA's 30 goals. Two years prior, there was no defense that could keep her at bay as she netted a remarkable 100 goals across state, interstate and international matches.

Campbell would devote over 50 years to the sport, serving as a player, coach and administrator and has been cited as a major influence in the development of the sport in three states - Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.

Answer: Field Hockey

As an indication of the prodigious talent that she possessed, Sharon Buchanan was selected to represent the Western Australian under 16 team when she was only 12 years old and would end up being chosen to represent her country at four Olympic Games. She was an integral member of the 1988 team at the Seoul Summer Olympic Games, producing two goals in the semi final that sealed Australia's victory over the Netherlands and then dominated at centre-half in the final as Australia strode to a gold medal.

She would captain Australia from 1989 until 1993, winning the Champions Trophy in Berlin in 1991, where she was named Player of the Series. She retired with a gold medal in the Champions Trophy in Amsterdam in 1993 and, during the course of her glittering international career, was chosen in the World XI on three occasions.

Answer: Field Hockey

In the realms of international hockey David Bell sits as one of the sport's highest achievers. Noted for his skill and efficiency, he has been widely recognized as one of the finest half-backs to have played for Australia, in an international career that began in 1976 and completed in 1986.

Superbly balanced and possessed of extraordinary vision on the field, he was a part of Australia's silver medal team at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympic Games and he captained the Australian team to victory at the 1986 Hockey World Cup. In retirement, he coached the Western Australian team from 1990-97 and was head coach of the Australian National Women's team from 2001 to 2004, guiding them to a win in the Champions Trophy in 2002.

Answer: Cricket

Langer built a career by regularly punching above his weight. He made his Test match debut against the might of one of cricket's most powerful pace attacks, that of the West Indies, in 1993. He made a name for himself when he partnered Adam Gilchrist to revive Australia's fortunes, chasing down 369 to defeat Pakistan in Hobart in 1999.

In 2001 he was promoted to the top of the batting order where he partnered Matthew Hayden and forged one of his country's greatest opening partnerships. In 122 Test innings together, the pair scored 6,081 runs at an average of 51.53. By the time his playing days were over he'd played 105 Tests, accumulated 7,696 runs with 23 centuries. He also finished as Australia's leading scorer in first class matches, with his total of 28,382 runs, at 50.23, exceeding the previous mark set by Sir Donald Bradman at 28,067.

Langer was appointed coach of the Western Australian Shield team and the Perth Scorchers in 2012. He would lead the Scorchers to three Big Bash titles in six years, and the State to a One-Day Cup victory. Appointed coach of the Australian Men's Eleven he took the side to a World T20 title in 2021 and retained the Ashes in 2019 and 2021-22.

Answer: Cricket

John Inverarity was a fine cricketer, but he made more of a mark on Western Australian cricket with his astute captaincy. Blessed with a photographic memory he became a master tactician, identifying the strengths and weaknesses in all of his opponents and was able to inspire and generate the best out of his own team members. Under his captaincy WA enjoyed one of its most prolific periods of success, winning four Sheffield Shields and two limited over competitions.

As a batsman, Inverarity was obdurate and placed a high price on his wicket. By the end of his career he'd played more matches, scored more runs and made more centuries than other player who'd represented Western Australia. This was partly helped by his inability to break into the Australian Test team with any regularity. He managed to tour England on two occasions and earned the Baggy Green cap to play in six Test matches for his country. Ever evolving, he became a spin bowler and improved to such an extent that in his closing years he regularly discussed as a bowling option for the Test squad.

Answer: Cricket

Alderman was a devastating renderer of the art of swing bowling and was one of the most respected bowlers in the world during the 1980s. He had a happy knack of taking significant hauls in his debut appearances; claiming five for 65 in his first game for his state (1974) and then five for 62 in his first Test, against England in 1981.

The English conditions suited Alderman's bowling and he managed to take a staggering 42 wickets during that 1981 series. He would hound the Englishmen in their own home again in 1989, this time claiming 41 wickets and being one of the driving forces behind Australia securing the Ashes.

Answer: Cricket

Born in Bellingen in New South Wales in 1971, by the time he'd retired from cricket in 2008 he was seen as the greatest wicket-keeper batsman to have played the game and hailed as the man who'd forever changed the role of that position.

An entertaining left-handed batsman, he moved to Western Australia in 1994 after struggling to make his way into the New South Wales side. His explosive batting and accomplished keeping skills soon saw him in the Australian Test team. At the completion of his career he'd amassed17 Test and 16 One Day centuries, recorded 416 Test and 472 One Day dismissals, became the first player to hit 100 sixes in Test matches and became the first man to score fifty runs in three consecutive World Cup finals.

Gilchrist was selected as Wisden's Cricketer of the Year in 2006, the One Day International Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004, was inducted into Sport Australia's Hall of Fame in 2012 and Australia's Cricket Hall of Fame in 2015.

Answer: Cricket

Sadly, when the name Kim Hughes is mentioned amongst Australian cricketing aficionado, the first image that comes to mind for most is that of his tearful exit upon resigning as the captain of the Australian cricket team, rather than that of the trailblazing stroke-player that captured the hearts of many across the globe.

Hughes was only 15 years old when he made his first senior century, playing first grade in the Perth pennant competition. However, it would be another six years before he could force his way into the strong Western Australian batting line-up but, when he did, he did so with a bang. Coming to the crease with his state side in serious trouble, he hammered the powerful New South Wales attack to all parts, registering 119 runs on debut in 166 minutes of scintillating stroke play. The "Golden Boy" had arrived.

Hughes' elevation into the Test arena was rapid and he soon became the first West Australian to captain an Australian team. For once though, his timing was off, as his captaincy coincided with a tumultuous period in Australian cricket. The country's fortunes were on the wane as it continued to negotiate the gap between the establishment players and those that had returned from the renegade World Series outfit. Hughes' cavalier approach was not suited in this environment and, after 28 Tests as Australia's leader he resigned.

Some, like this author, will put that aside and prefer to recall the courage he displayed scoring a courageous century on a treacherous Melbourne Cricket Ground against the powerful West Indies bowling attack in 1982. No other batsmen ventured beyond forty runs on that track. Alternatively one is also drawn to that spectacular thumping he dished out at Lords in 1980, flaying the English bowlers to the tune of 117 and 84 in two innings, or the sublime masterclass as he tamed India's imposing spin attack with a spellbinding double hundred in Adelaide in 1981.