Brian Leslie France (born 9 July 1939) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the West Perth Football Club in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) between 1958 and 1967. He was inducted in to the West Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2007, and is a member of the West Perth Team of the Century.[1]
| Brian France | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Brian Leslie France | ||
| Nickname(s) | Puffer | ||
| Date of birth | (1939-07-09) 9 July 1939 (age 82) | ||
| Original team(s) | Mount Hawthorn | ||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 86 kg (190 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre half-back | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1958–1967 | West Perth | 157 (2) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1962–1967 | Western Australia | 9 (0) | |
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Source: AustralianFootball.com | |||
France was recruited by West Perth from Mount Hawthorn. He made his debut in round one of the 1959 season, aged 19. Standing 183 centimetres (6 ft 0 in) and weighing 86 kilograms (190 lb), France quickly established himself in the West Perth line-up, winning a premiership in his second season as the Cardinals defeated archrivals East Perth by 32 points in the grand final. A bullocking centre half-back, he twice won the Breckler Medal as West Perth's best and fairest, in 1963 and 1965.[1]
France made his state debut in August 1962, against South Australia at Subiaco Oval. He would play nine state games in total, including four in the 1966 Australian National Football Carnival in Hobart.[2] In the 1966 WANFL season, France polled 18 Sandover Medal votes to finish third overall, just behind Bill Walker (20 votes) and Barry Cable (19 votes). He was in stellar form early the following year, but in round fourteen suffered a career-ending knee injury and never played again. Despite this he still polled 18 Sandover votes, finishing runner-up behind equal winners Bill Walker and John Parkinson.[1][3]
West Perth Football Club – Team of the Century | |
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announced October 2000 |
Western Australian squad – 1966 Interstate Carnival | |
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Western Australia 26.18 (174) defeated Victoria (VFA) 5.11 (41), at North Hobart Oval, 9 June 1966, crowd: 20,047 Western Australia 13.11 (89) defeated South Australia 10.14 (74), at North Hobart Oval, 13 June 1966, crowd: 13,969 Western Australia 17.13 (115) defeated Tasmania 16.10 (106), at North Hobart Oval, 16 June 1966, crowd: 10,199 Victoria (VFL) 15.10 (100) defeated Western Australia 13.7 (85), at North Hobart Oval, 18 June 1966, crowd: 23,368 | |
Coach: Murray |