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Benny Vigona

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Benny Vigona
Personal information
Full name Benedict John Vigona
Date of birth (1958-10-09) 9 October 1958 (age 66)
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
  • WAFL premiership player - 1980
  • NTFL premiership player - 1977/78, 1983/84
  • NTFL Team of Two Decades (1974–94)
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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ Loizou, John (16 July 2002). "Darwin footy legend Vigona passes away". Northern Territory News.
  2. ^ Roffey, Chelsea (21 May 2009). "The Tiwi effect". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Every League Premiership Player in Page Finals System Era". West Australian Football Commission. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  4. ^ "History of the NTFL" (PDF). AFL Northern Territory. p. 64. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  5. ^ "History of the NTFL" (PDF). AFL Northern Territory. p. 152. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Indigenous Connection". South Fremantle Football Club. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  7. ^ "Benny Vigona". Australian Football. The Slattery Media Group. Retrieved 28 July 2014.