Geelong Football Club is in mourning following the death of former coach, premiership player and club legend John Devine.
Devine, who was recruited from Colac as a 20-year-old, is being remembered as a tough defender, a prolific high mark who was capable of playing any position on the ground, and whose team-mates stood a little taller when he was on the ground.
He was a member of the legendary 1963 Cats premiership team and later went on to become a highly respected senior coach at Geelong.
He was runner up in the club’s best-and-fairest twice (1960 and 1965), was non-playing coach from 1986 – 88, and was awarded Life Membership in 1993.
In 2002 Devine was inducted into the GFC Hall of Fame.
Following his career in the then-VFL, Devine moved to Tasmania where he won three premierships as captain-coach of North Hobart, was captain of Tasmania’s interstate team, North Hobart Team of the Century captain, Life Member, Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductee, and in 2014 was elevated to Legend status in the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame.
In recent years he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.
He passed away on Sunday aged 82.
