For a man whose football ambition was to play one league game, John Lewis certainly picked some tough opponents to debut on. His first league game at Claremont was in opposition to Mal Atwell, he made his initial appearance with Hawthorn on Syd Jackson, and accompanying him in the goalsquare on Subiaco Oval when he was selected for the State side was Laurie Sandilands. “Did OK, despite some buffeting, on Mal, Sandilands was goalless and managed to keep up with Syd,” was the tongue in cheek verdict.  Lewis was an under rated full back, whose hard tackling and uncompromising close checking with the aim of keeping his opponent to the bare minimum of opportunities was a feature of his play. A booming drop kick, he also read the game well. He readily attributes his achievements to two coaches, one at Centrals in his junior days, and the other former St Kilda full back Verdun Howell. “It was Verdun who transformed me into a full back, after I’d played most of my previous football on a half back flank,” he recalled. “He taught me the rudiments of playing on the top goalsneaks that were around then, where to position myself and when to spoil.”But it was in the under sixteens that John received the best advice. “My coach at Centrals, Bob McQuillan, noticed that I was ambidextrous, and gave me some tips about my kicking action,” he recalled. “I’d been the dropping the ball like a left footer and was kicking it with my right.” It turned out to be invaluable in the context of his football career, because it was the booming dropkick that became one of his trademarks. Lewis had a nomadic introduction to football, both in the juniors and seniors.His father, Ted, a Perth member, had several transfers in his employment, and John played with Carlisle Centrals, Carey Park, and Albany Railways in his formative years, before lining up with Railways senior side, under coach, former Perth star Bob Coleman, as a sixteen year old in 1966. While playing in the Country Schools Carnival in Perth that year, both Claremont and Perth made approaches but a later visit by Claremont committeeman Neil Martin and Ben Cook sealed the deal.  In round four of the 1967 season, Lewis lined up on a half back flank for Claremont against Perth. He did enough to keep his spot, becoming a regular in the side until being called up for National Service, and was posted to Puckapunyil in January, 1970. “The three quarter time huddles were an initial surprise to me,” he recalled. “The sherry bottle was a new innovation for us country lads.”   It was a football match that was organised between an Army side (coached by Kevin Sheedy) and North Melbourne that led to Lewis playing in the VFL. “We had a lot of good players in our side,” he said. “I had made the acquaintance of former Carlton player Bert Deakin, and received an offer from the Blues, followed by another from Hawthorn. I thought the Hawks may be the better option, so went there.”  Limited in availability due to army commitments, John took part in only a handful of reserves games with the Hawks in 1970, but played the last three games of the year in the league side, on a half back flank. Never having had a major injury, Lewis badly misjudged a hamstring problem that occurred in the pre season of 1971, and ended up with two more tears, causing him to miss ten weeks, which virtually put him out of league calculations for the year. In what was to be a premiership year for Hawthorn, it was a frustrating year for the West Australian.Completing National Service in November, 1971, John returned to Claremont, where full back John Grieve had just retired. Coach Howell saw Lewis as the obvious replacement, and it turned out to be a wise move. He proved to be more than a worthy replacement, eventually going one step further than Grieve in being selected to fill the position for Western Australia.  Claremont enjoyed a good season in 1972, and were fancied as premiership contenders that year, but went down to East Perth by fifteen points in the grand final. Lewis continued to be prominent the following season, although the Tigers fortunes waned alarmingly. The full back was winner of the club fairest and best trophy in 1973, and captained Claremont in 1974-75, becoming State full back for the Victoria clash at Subiaco Oval on July 13, 1974, in which he kept Laurie Sandilands goalless, though the visitors scrambled home by seven points. Starting on Jesaulenko in the 1975 replay on a very slippery VFL Park (Waverley), WA were no match for the Vics, suffering an eighty one point bath.A teacher, John Lewis retired after the end of the 1977 season as a twenty eight year old, having played a hundred and thirty nine games with Claremont and three at Hawthorn. “I had had enough, and wanted to advance myself with the Education Department, so that meant a transfer to the country,” he said. “I’d had a good run with injury, except for that season at Hawthorn, and thought it was time.” Assigned to Geraldton, he captain coached Chapman Valley for one year, then took over the Railways side the following season, before a one year transfer to Karratha led him to take the field there, followed by a stint at Binnu, seeing his coaching days out thirty kilometers away at the Northampton club.   John Lewis retired as a Primary Principal in 2009, and is still living in Geraldton.He and wife Noelene have two daughters, Cindy and Toni, the latter having presented them with a grand daughter, Mali. They enjoy fishing and boating, with a shack at Shark Bay a popular retreat, and the pair have recently built a twelve metre catamaran. John enjoys a round of golf, getting his handicap down to nine at one stage.   He rated West Perth’s Phil Smith as his hardest opponent. Graeme Moss, “always a significant influence,” Dennis Marshall, John Parkinson, and Bruce Duperouzel, “all highly skilled,” headed his list of Claremont players.There have been many fine full backs over the years, and the name of John Lewis doesn’t figure in most discussions on which were the greatest. But he achieved something that is a rarity for the key defensive position: a club fairest and best. One of the under rated players of the past, he was a fine contributor for the Tigers, and one that always gave a hundred percent.