AFL mourns 438-game legend and Brownlow winner Barry Round

The Australian Rules world is mourning the passing of Brownlow Medal winner Barry Round, a champion player for Footscray/ Western Bulldogs and South Melbourne/ Sydney Swans, who has died aged 72.

Round was a legend for his affability and durability. He joined Footscray (now Western Bulldogs) as a 17 year old, and between 1969-75 played 135 senior games with the Bulldogs. In 1976 he moved to South Melbourne and between 1976-85 played 193 games with the Swans. From 1986-91 he coached and played for Williamstown in the VFA. He retired at 41 with 438 senior games to his credit.

Round was captain of the Swans from 1980-84 and led the club to the night premiership in its first year as Sydney in 1982. He won the Club Best and Fairest (now known as the Bob Skilton Medal) in 1979/81 and was second in 1976 and third in 1977. In 2003, Round was selected in the South Melbourne/Sydney Team of the Century as first ruck. He was an inaugural inductee into the Swans Hall of Fame in 2009 and elevated to Bloods Champion in 2022. He also kicked 157 goals for the club.

In 1981, at the height of his powers, Round tied with one of his oldest mates from Footscray, Bernie Quinlan, in the Brownlow Medal. Round had a strong record in the Brownlow, finishing fourth in 1979 and sixth in 1982.

Aged 36, Barry moved to the Williamstown Seagulls in the VFA, as captain coach. He had immediate success, taking the club to a premiership in his first year. He repeated this achievement in 1990. Between 1987-89 he won three consecutive Callahan Medals as Williamstown’s Best and Fairest. At 37, he also won the Liston Medal to go with his Brownlow. Aged 40 he won the Norm Goss Medal as best on ground in the 1990 VFA Grand Final and was selected as first ruck in the club’s Team of the Century. Meanwhile, Barry’s son David won the Best and Fairest in 1999.

Round played five times for Victoria (VFL) and represented the VFA on four occasions. Fittingly, he was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2001 and attended the 2022 event in June at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium.

At 193cm (6’4’’), Round was not particularly tall but his bulk (he played at 108kg) made him nigh unbeatable at boundary throw-ins or in contested marking situations. At bounce-downs his athleticism and judgement made him consistently one of the dominant ruckmen in both the VFL and VFA. His extraordinary anaerobic capacity was often underrated. Later in his career at Sydney he often played at centre-half forward.

Round’s influence on the Australian Rules code becoming a national competition was profound. He laid the foundations and gave the game in NSW a giant boost, convincing South Melbourne players the relocation to Sydney was their only option. Virtually every player bought in based on their belief in Round’s judgement.

In 1994, to honour Round and the pioneers who brought the club to Sydney in 1982, the Swans’ created in perpetuity the Barry Round Best Clubman Award. Most years Round himself was on hand to present the award and congratulate the recipient of the prize that bore his name.

Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham said Round was “a big man who leaves behind a legacy which will forever live in the folklore of our club. His impact at the Swans reaches far beyond the playing arena. He was among those who led the club through the turbulent relocation era in the early 1980s and his support and influence were crucial to the move ultimately going ahead, in the face of much opposition.”

Pridham said Round remained immensely popular at the club and across the AFL – “a unifying figure who identified the positive in everything and everyone. His impromptu renditions singing ‘The Gambler’ and ‘Sweet Caroline’ were always a highlight when Barry attended club functions.”

Former Swans chair Richard Colless described Round as “one of the greatest and most influential players in our nearly 150-year history.

“Barry was a supreme optimist. He exuded confidence about every aspect of the club. (And life in general). I genuinely never heard him say a bad or negative thing about anybody or any aspect of the club and for someone who had been denied any meaningful on field success I never once heard him talk about what might have been.

“On the MCG immediately after the (Swans) 2005 premiership win there was Roundy with his scarf draped over his massive shoulders and the joy that he was experiencing was infectious. It was like he had finally got the success he’d been denied. The fact he hadn’t actually played wasn’t the point. The Swannies had finally prevailed.”

Round was 72. He leaves behind a wife Jenni, children David and Natalie, and several grandchildren.