John Gallus (footballer)

Gallus, a ruckman and forward, first joined Melbourne in the early 1960s, from Drouin.^[1] In his first stint at the club, Gallus appeared in the VFL reserves competition, before leaving for Waverley, where he played in the 1966 VFA season, mostly as a centre half-forward.^[2][3] He was a member of the Waverley team which lost to Port Melbourne in the 1966 VFA Division 1 Grand Final.^[4]

From 1967 to 1970, Gallus played in the Latrobe Valley Football League (LVFL), for Bairnsdale and Maffra.^[5] He won the league's best and fairest award while at Bairnsdale in 1969 and won it again in 1970, with Maffra.^[5][6]

Back at Melbourne in 1971, Gallus played 20 senior games in his debut league season. He kicked three goals on debut, in a 105-point win over South Melbourne.^[7] His 31 goals for the year was the second most by a Melbourne player, behind Paul Callery, who kicked 38.^[8] He played a further eight games in the 1972 VFL season.^[9]

He later returned to Drouin to finish his career, after playing for Warragul and winning a third LVFL best and fairest award, in 1975.^[1][10]

• John Gallus's playing statistics from AFL Tables