Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Roy Rawlings. Roy's name will not readily spring to mind for most footy fans, as he played just four VFL games back in 1945, for Footscray.
Before arriving at Western Oval, Rawlings had plied his footy trade at VFA side Yarraville. His arrival at the home of the Bulldogs was heralded with some confidence, with captain-coach Arthur Olliver declaring after a pre-season practice match that Rawlings should "strengthen the attack".
Rawlings was not selected in the seniors for the premiership season opener but, on the back of eight-goal and five-goal hauls in the Seconds against Melbourne and Hawthorn, he was named at full-forward for the Bulldogs' Round 8 clash against second-placed Essendon. Rawlings managed just the one goal, but Footscray won the Western Oval match comfortably, and Rawlings retained his place the following — although not before a visit to the tribunal.
As revealed in the Gossip From Clubs column in the Argus on 11 June 1945, Rawlings was reported on a charge of striking Essendon's Cec Ruddell in the third quarter, putting him into the rare category of players who have kicked a goal and been reported on debut. Fortunately, he was cleared of the charge. Having escaped the wrath of the tribunal, Rawlings lined up for his second match against Carlton on June 16. Though the Dogs won again, Roy Rawlings was "overshadowed by Brown" of Carlton, according to the Sporting Globe's Bill Easton, and he failed to kick a major.
For his third match, the following weekend, Rawlings was selected on a half-forward flank. Once again, Footscray won but once again, Rawlings did not trouble the scorers. Despite being part of a 63-point win over the Saints, Rawlings was dropped. The Bulldogs did not appear to miss him once he was omitted, as they continued their victorious streak with wins over Collingwood, Richmond and Geelong to claim top place on the ladder after Round 13.
Footscray then slumped to lose four matches in a row, slipping back to third on the ladder. Rawlings was recalled for the Bulldogs' Round 18 match against Hawthorn. Though he again went goalless, Rawlings was named as one of Footscray's best by Percy Taylor in his match report for the Argus. Importantly, the return of Rawlings coincided with a return to the winners' list for the Dogs, as they prevailed by 16 points over the Hawks.
However, despite Percy Taylor's praise, Rawlings did not retain his place, returning to the Footscray Seconds for the final two rounds. The Bulldogs' seniors lost both of their final two matches, and they slipped out of the top four, where they had been stationed since round six, to miss out on finals action. The Dogs' only win in their last seven matches of 1945 was the one game in that period that Roy Rawlings had played. Perhaps the selectors should have shown him some lenience.
While the Bulldogs' seniors missed finals action, Rawlings did not. The Foostcray Seconds made the finals, going on to defeat Fitzroy in the 1945 VFL Reserves Grand Final.
Rawlings' short VFL career ended at four senior games, all four of them wins, and a VFL Seconds premiership. While Bulldogs' selectors may have hoped for more goals from Rawlings, they could hardly have asked him to improve on a 100% winning record!
Roy Rawlings' VFL career ended there. Indeed, it appears that his football career also ended there, as the newspapers of 1946 and beyond appear to make no reference to him at all. We know that Rawlings, who passed away in 2014 aged 93, was in the Australian army during the Second World War, and that he was discharged in November 1945, a few months after his last game for the Dogs, but where he went next remains unknown.
For now, as we mark the 100th anniversary of his birth today, the mystery of Roy Rawlings post-Footscray days remains unsolved.
If you have any further information about Roy Rawlings, please contact Andrew Gigacz at andrew@australianfootball.com.
