Past Player of the Week - Peter Francis

[The Speaker]

Peter Francis

​

DOB: 16/01/1958

Height: 185 cm

Weight: 83 kg

Playing number: 17

Arrived: Joined from Fitzroy at the end of the 1986 season

Debut: Round 1 vs Footscray, 1987

Games: 19

Goals: 2

Won: Premiership - 1979

Departed: Retired at the end of the 1988 season

Peter Francis was a journeyman footballer in the VFL who played for four clubs. Born in Heathcote, he played his junior footy for the local club, and then played for South Bendigo before being picked up by Carlton in 1978. He played every game in 1979 from his round three debut to the winning Grand Final, and seemed on his way to becoming a club legend. But instead he became the other half of the Frank Marchesani trade, and was told he was being traded for the Lion halfway through 1981, just before a match. He missed out on two more Carlton premierships, and only stayed with Fitzroy for two more seasons before moving to Richmond. He played three seasons of diminishing gametime before making his final move to Windy Hill for the 1987 season, retiring after 1988.

Francis was a wingman and half-back flanker who ran all day and used the ball well when he got it, but who never managed to play as regularly as he did in his debut season. After his retirement, Francis immediately went into coaching, starting with Box Hill in 1989 and then becoming the St Kilda reserves coach in 1991. He then moved on to the Gippsland Power, where he has been regional manager for over a decade.

 

[yaco55]

Wow - I can't remember Francis playing for EFC ! I clearly remember the rest of his career - He was a smooth moving wingman with decent skills.

 

[efcboy]

I can't remember this guy at all!

 

[Beerfish]

Nor I.

 

[Pweter]

Wow, this is the first one of these Past Player threads where I've thought "who?". I have vague, and I mean vague, memories of him as a Tiger and no memory of him playing for us.

 

[efcboy]

Wow, this is the first one of these Past Player threads where I've thought "who?". I have vague, and I mean vague, memories of him as a Tiger and no memory of him playing for us.

Yeah I'm the same and I've seen pretty much every match since the early 80s. Must have been underwhelming!

 

[srobbo]

Remember him at Richmond, vaguely at Essendon (thinning/receding red curly hair??). 1987 would spit up alot more of these random players i bet if we dug a little deeper. That year we seemed to go for alot of those B graders/has beens to cover up long term injuries to A graders, sudden departure of players to other clubs etc.

 

[Run and carry]

Nope. Don't remember him.

 

[windyhill]

I do, another sheedy attempt at proving other clubs wrong. They were right here, he was done and dusted by the time he got to us.

 

[Panna Witchy Salitou]

Good contributor in a bleak season. He played on the wing IIRC, with Gavin Keane on the opposite side.