Player Inductee
Cooee/St Kilda/Burnie, Centre/Rover/Half Forward, 1962-1979
> 87 games, 79 goals, St Kilda, 1967-69, 1971-73 and 1976
> Member of St Kilda’s losing grand final team of 1971
> 90+ games, Cooee, 1962-66 and 1978-79
> Cooee best and fairest, 1964, 1965 and 1966
> Represented Tasmania eight times, including at the 1966 Australian Carnival
> Represented Victoria against West Australia, 1971
> Captain-coached Burnie, 1974-75, including 1974 NWFU premiership
> Captain-coached Cooee to 1978 NWFU and state premiership
> Lefroy Medal for best Tasmanian player, 1965
In 1978 John Bonney became the first person to coach two NWFU clubs to premierships after leading Burnie to a win in 1974 and Cooee to triumph in 1978. Bonney was a tough rover/half forward who had suffered a severe injury as a teenager and was told he would never play football again. Bonney overcame the odds to carve out a tremendous playing and coaching career in Tasmania and Victoria.
