John Abley
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| John Abley | ||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Abley | |||||||
| Date of Birth | ||||||||
| Place of Birth | ||||||||
| Recruited from | Melbourne District Hawthorn Reserves |
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| Position | Full-back | |||||||
| Playing Career1 | ||||||||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | ||||||
| 1950-1961 | Port Adelaide (SANFL) | 212 | ||||||
| ¹ Club statistics to end of season | ||||||||
² Representative statistics to end of {{{repstatsend}}}
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John Abley was an Australian rules footballer who played with Port Adelaide in the SANFL during the 1950s and early 1960s.
Abley spent some of the 1949 season playing reserves football with Hawthorn and turned his back on a possible career in the seniors when he moved to Adelaide. He could easily have played for Glenelg instead of Port as after he arrived in Adelaide the area he planned on residing in was part of Glenelg's recruiting zone. Port Adelaide officials hastily arranged alternate accommodation in the hope of acquiring his services and he debuted for them in 1950.
A fullback, Abley first played in that position for Port in a 'Challenge match' in Broken Hill at the end of his debut season and after impressing was kept there for the remainder of his career. He was a member of the famed Port team which won six premiership in succession from 1954 to 1959.
He was a regular South Australian interstate representative and played a total of 23 games for his state. On three occasions he was selected as an All-Australian for his performances at the carnivals, in 1956, 1958 and 1961.
In 2001 Abley was named as the fullback in Port Adelaide's official 'Greatest Team', taking into account all players to have represented the club since 1870. The following year he was one of the inaugural inductees into the South Australian Football Hall of Fame.
