Western Australian football great and former West Coast coach John Todd has died aged 86.
Todd was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2003, and made a legend in the West Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
He was the youngest-ever winner of the Sandover Medal as a 17-year-old with South Fremantle in his debut season in 1955 and carved out an impressive playing career before a knee injury ultimately cut it short.
Todd then made his mark as a coach.
Todd claimed six WAFL premierships – four with Swan Districts (1982, 1983, 1984 and 1990), one with East Fremantle (1974) and one with South Fremantle (1997) – and also coached WA in State of Origin and Australia in International Rules matches.
He was West Coast’s second-ever coach (after Ron Alexander and before Mick Malthouse), leading the Eagles from 1988-1989, including their first-ever finals appearance in his first year.
“John Todd was successful in every aspect of his football journey and influenced so much of West Australian football to demand the highest standards and seek for constant improvement,” AFL chair Richard Goyder said.
“To win premierships at three different clubs is an extraordinary achievement. He moulded players into great teams but I want to acknowledge too that John had an unbelievable love of the game and football people across his entire life.
“In the privilege of being able to spend time with him in recent years, he was still a regular attendee at games, engaged with everyone across football and was a great advocate for the game and what it could do for people and communities.
“He was incredibly tough, building his career after injury took away his playing days, and he had the highest standards as a coach, but he was also incredibly generous and he was a person who made our game great, particularly in WA in the time when state league football was the pinnacle of the game.”
Todd’s memory will be honoured at the Australian Football Hall of Fame inductions later this month.