Barry Davis (footballer)


Barry Davis is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League with Essendon and North Melbourne, before coaching his original team between 1978 and 1980.

Essendon career

In the summer of 1961 Barry Davis and a school friend asked to train with Essendon in a bid to play in the under 19s. Davis impress many that he was ask to participate in preseason practice matches that included players from the main list. He played in the reserves for round 1 of season 1961.
Recruited from Essendon High School Davis made his debut with Essendon Football Club in the VFL in the second round of 1961, Davis played off the half-back line and was quite a prolific player. Davis never played with the under 19s even though he was eligible.
He went on to play 218 games and kick 65 goals for the club, winning the Bombers' best and fairest award three times – in 1968, 1969 and 1971. He captained the side in 1970 and 1971, also winning premierships in 1962 and 1965. He was named in Essendon's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'.

North Melbourne career

Moving to North in 1973 under the VFL's short-lived "10-year rule", which allowed players with ten years' service at one club to move to another club without a clearance, Davis won North Melbourne's best and fairest in his first year at North. He went on to captain the Roos' first ever premiership side in 1975, his final VFL season. He had played 71 games and kicked 54 goals for North before retiring. He was also named in North Melbourne's team of the century.

Coaching career

Davis coached his original club, Essendon, from 1978 to 1980, with a 30 win, 36 losses and 1 draw record. He resigned and made way for Kevin Sheedy, who coached the club until the end of the 2007 season.

Champions of Essendon

In 2002 an Essendon panel ranked him at 15 in their Champions of Essendon list of the 25 greatest players ever to have played for Essendon.

Statistics

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1961
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1962
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1963
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1964
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1965
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1966
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1967
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1968
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1969
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1970
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1971
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1972
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1973
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1974
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1975
! colspan=3| Career
! 289
! 119
! 123
! 4121
! 708
! 4829
! 1128
!
! 0.4
! 0.6
! 18.7
! 3.2
! 22.0
! 5.1
!