Ralph Green (footballer)

Ralph Green
Personal information
Full name	Ralph Frederick Green
Date of birth	8 June 1911
Place of birth	Adelaide, South Australia
Date of death	9 March 1991 (aged 79)
Original team(s)	Colonel Light Gardens
Height / weight	183 cm / 84 kg
Position(s)	Fullback
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1930–31, 1933, 1935–45 1932 1934	Sturt Carlton West Perth	157 (44) 005 0(2) 020 (17)
Coaching career
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1941, 1945, 1947–48	Sturt	72 (41–31–0)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1948.

Ralph Frederick Green (8 June 1911 – 9 March 1991) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Sturt in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He also had stints at Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and West Perth in the Western Australian National Football League.^[1]

Green, who played as a forward in his early years with Sturt, was lured to Carlton in 1932 and as a result missed out on playing in Sturt's premiership team that season. His time at Carlton was plagued by injuries and he was only able to play five games.^[2] In 1933 he returned to Sturt and in the same year represented South Australia at the Sydney Carnival.^[3] The following season he joined West Perth and was a member of their 1934 Grand Final winning team.^[3] From 1934 to 1940 he played once more for Sturt, as a full-back, a position in which he was regarded as one of the best in the league.^[3] He missed another premiership in 1940, this time through injury. Appointed captain-coach in 1941, he led his club all the way to the grand final, where they lost narrowly to Norwood.

The league went into recess for three seasons due to the war and Green served briefly with the Royal Australian Air Force in 1943.^[4] He resumed his SANFL career in 1945, as Sturt's playing coach.^[3] The following year he did not play or coach at Sturt, with Bo Morton taking up the position of senior coach. In 1947, Green returned to the club after Morton resigned. No longer a player, Morton coached Sturt for two more seasons and guided them to finals in each of those years.

References

1. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-920910-78-5.
2. AFL Tables: Ralph Green
3. Australian Football: Ralph Greenf
4. WW2 Nominal Roll: Green, Ralph Frederick