HUGH GAVIN

Some players represented Western Australia. Some led Western Australia. A two-time premiership captain at Essendon, Gavin arrived in Boulder in 1903 and immediately changed the landscape of Goldfields football. Known for his commanding marking, leadership and football mind, he became captain-coach of the Boulder Tigers and one of the dominant figures of the early game.

His influence extended well beyond Boulder. In 1911, Hugh Gavin was appointed captain-coach of Western Australia at the Adelaide National Carnival — leading the state in all four representative matches and even finding the goals himself.