The Ronald Dale Barassi Trophy

Ronald Dale Barassi was a very important Australian Rules footballer at 4 Australian Football League (AFL) clubs.

He played in six premiership winning sides for Melbourne and captained two of them.

He lifted Carlton from their lowest ever finish at the time to a premiership in four years and in 1970 won a second premiership in a grand final in which his halftime instruction of “Handball. Handball. Handball.” was a key moment in the development of the faster modern game.

He coached North Melbourne to their first two premierships.

When the Sydney football club looked like going out of existence, he changed the direction, image and mindset of the club in a 3 year stint as coach which was the foundation for Sydney’s consistent success in the modern era.

I fully support the idea of awarding a Ron Barassi medal to the captain of the AFL premiers every year.

But the truly unique greatness of the man is his importance at four clubs.

I propose that as soon as possible a Ronald Dale Barassi Trophy be awarded every year to the best performed club in AFL clashes between Melbourne, Carlton, North Melbourne and Sydney. The winner would be the club which averages the most victories in games played between them including finals. In the event of a tie it would be decided by percentage.

Geoff Fox, Melbourne, Australia, February 9, 2025