Benny Vigona
| Benny Vigona | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Benedict John Vigona | ||
| Date of birth | 9 October 1958 | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| St Mary's | 75 (132) | ||
| 1977–1986 | South Fremantle | 165 (220) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1980–82 | Western Australia | 4 (1) | |
| 1985 | Northern Territory | 1 (0) | |
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Source: AustralianFootball.com | |||
Benedict John "Benny" Vigona (born 9 October 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer best known for playing for South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).
Biography
[edit]Vigona is from a large extended family who are heavily involved in Northern Territory football. His father, Anastasius, played for St Mary's in Darwin.[1] His brother Tony spent time with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) without playing a league match before playing with St Mary's. A nephew, Ronnie Burns played in the Australian Football League (AFL) with Geelong and Adelaide.[2]
Playing career
[edit]Vigona made his league debut for South Fremantle in 1977. He was a member of the Bulldogs' 1980 premiership-winning team. He played his last match for South Fremantle in 1986 having played 165 matches.[3]
During southern summers, Vigona returned to Darwin to play for St Mary's in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL). He played in two premierships for the Saints during the 1977/78 and 1983/84 seasons. He was the Chaney Medallist for best player in the 1977/78 NTFL Grand Final.[4]
He was the first player from the Northern Territory to become a life member of South Fremantle. In 1994 he was named in the NTFL Team of Two Decades for the period from 1974 to 1994.[5] In 2009 was included in the Bulldogs' Indigenous Team of the Century.[6][7]
References
[edit]- ^ Loizou, John (16 July 2002). "Darwin footy legend Vigona passes away". Northern Territory News.
- ^ Roffey, Chelsea (21 May 2009). "The Tiwi effect". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "Every League Premiership Player in Page Finals System Era". West Australian Football Commission. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ "History of the NTFL" (PDF). AFL Northern Territory. p. 64. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ "History of the NTFL" (PDF). AFL Northern Territory. p. 152. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ "Indigenous Connection". South Fremantle Football Club. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ "Benny Vigona". Australian Football. The Slattery Media Group. Retrieved 28 July 2014.