Like another country star in Don Langdon, Keith Doncon enjoyed only a short seventy five game career with East Perth, but it was long enough to stamp his claims as one of the greatest rovers in the club's proud history, verified in 2006, when the Royals named him in their Team of the Century 1945 to  2005.  The 174cm(5 foot 9) and 71.5kg(eleven stone) Doncon was all class, a gutsy, hard at it, pacy rover, with a strong overhead mark, complemented by his ability to read the play, and good goal sense. A long distance runner who represented Scotch College in eight hundred metre events, his stamina was a feature of his game.  Keith Doncon played his junior football at Wickepin, lining up with the seniors at sixteen, and honed his game in top company at Scotch College, where the first eighteen included many who would become stars of Western Australian football. A recently selected Scotch College Team of the Century was dominated by AFL and State players, with Doncon named as first rover. “John Leonard and Austin Robertson were great coaches, and helped me a lot,”Keith said.  When Doncon went back to the farm, one of his first visitors was legendary East Perth stalwart, Hec Strempel, who enticed the young rover back to the city. Making his league debut in 1963, Doncon couldn't put his heart into it, and returned to Wickepin after only a few appearances. “I had a few other distractions,” he recalled. “I had married young, and preferred the bush, so I went back,” he said. Keith Doncon starred with Wickepin in 1964 and 65, winning fairest and best for Wickepin in both years, as well as being voted Leo Graham Medal winner for the Upper Great Southern League. Nearing the end of the 1965 season, he received another visitor, East Perth and State coach, Kevin Murray, who persuaded him to have a run with the Royals in their end of season charity match at Bunbury. Murray was impressed with Doncon's performance, and immediately set about bringing him back to Perth Oval for the 1966 season. Doncon's return to  league football was inspirational. He was third in Sandover Medal voting, headed the East Perth goalkicking list, and played for Western Australia in the Hobart carnival, gaining All Australian selection. The roving trio for WA in that carnival was surely one of the best combinations ever placed on a football field anywhere: Cable, Walker, and Doncon. It was also the year that Keith played in a losing grand final, the first of two consecutive disappointing grand finals for him, and the closest he was to get to a league premiership.    In 1968, Keith went back to Wickepin as playing coach, also coaching Upper Great Southern to a Country Carnival success in Perth the same year. Enticed back to Perth Oval in 1969, he was once again a leading player for the Royals, but a knee injury received towards the end of that season cast a shadow over the career of Keith Doncon. 1970 saw him back once again with the Royals at the beginning of the season testing out his knee, but he wasn't happy with it and went back to Wickepin. Trying out again with his home side, all injury scares were cast aside as he recovered his previous form to be selected for the Upper Great Southern team that competed at the Great Southern Carnival, in which he played two games, was voted best on ground on both occasions, and was awarded the Caris Medal as best player at the CarnivalItching to get back into WAFL action, Doncon returned to Perth Oval, but broke down again at training.  He  had played only seventy five games with East Perth plus six for Western Australia, and it was a huge blow to the Royals as well as disappointing for Keith. “It wasn't what I would have liked,” he admitted. “I felt that my best football was in front of me, and from that aspect it wasn't great, but I have had the opportunity to play at the top level with some stars of the game, be part of a great club, plus meet some wonderful people, so I have to be grateful for that. Life is like that, you move on.” And move on he did. A decade after his last game of football, Keith Doncon took up bowls, and became a star all over again. One of Western Australia's leading bowlers, he represented the State regularly.  He was quick to acknowledge the class of Cable and Walker, while having a mention for Perth defender Bill Leuzzi as a hard man to shake. “I enjoyed playing with Kevin Murray, he was inspirational.” Keith Doncon's son, Brett, was also a Leo Graham Medal winner. A player who suffered from shinsplints over most of his career, which restricted his training and game preparation, he was a member of Wickepin's premiership side in last year's Upper Great Southern Grand Final, twenty years after after being in a losing grand final side in his first season    These days Keith is busy running the farm with wife Glenice, but still enjoys a regular game of bowls. Keith Doncon was a footballer who had the respect of all involved in the game. In a brief but dazzling time at the top level, he left a huge impression on the WAFL, as well as many memories for supporters of the East Perth Football Club.