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We’ve heard the story about Walter Lindrum forcing the game of billiards to change their rules because of his mastery on the table. In the early fifties an East Perth player was responsible for the changing of a key rule in Australian Rules football. It had always been legal to “flick” the ball to a team mate, but Ted Kilmurray perfected the flick pass to such a high degree that it was very close to a throw.  It caused a lot of controversy at a time when Polly Farmer had revolutionised the art of handball into a much bigger part of the game than it had previously been. The laws were changed, requiring the handpass to be punched from the palm of the hand with a clenched fist.Ever inventive, Kilmurray  perfected the art of taking the ball from the top of a pack with his long arms when running away from goal and snapping it over his shoulder, with a high conversion rate. He was also able to improve his marking reliability by positioning himself for a high mark well in front of the body, making it almost impossible to be spoilt from behind.  Born at Wiluna, Ted Kilmurray  began his football career at Kenwick while at Sister Kate’s Orphanage, where one of his mates was Polly Farmer, who he later joined at East Perth. With new zoning laws being mooted, East Perth played the eighteen year old in one game in the 1952 season, for the sole purpose of tying him to the Royals. “Square” Kilmurray, as he was soon nicknamed because of his uncanny penchant of dropping into the goalsquare unchecked, was an instant success in 1953, playing initially in a forward pocket but later taking over at full forward. At five feet ten and eleven stone seven, he was a very flamboyant player, with long arms to be a strong high mark, and the pace and recovery to make him the perfect utility player. His handpassing from packs set up many a forward move for the Royals.It was only a matter of time before he found himself ruck roving. The ruck rover in those days was a player who could not only be a ruckman, but had the pace and anticipation to become a rover around the ground. Kilmurray was dangerous also when resting in the forward line. The advent of Jack Sheedy as captain coach of East Perth saw Ted Kilmurray take on a role as back up and foil for the ruck wizard Farmer, and, along with  Laurie Kennedy, Jack Hunt, Paul Seal, Kevin McGill, and Sheedy, East Perth formed a dynamic on ball presence, and was a significant factor in their domination of the WAFL in the late fifties.  After winning the 1956 grand final, East Perth figured in the next five, winning three, with Kilmurray a leading player. 1958 was a big year for Ted, with a Sandover Medal, a premiership, the Daily News and Sunday Times fairest and best, as well as the East Perth fairest and best award. A knee injury was the catalyst for his retirement in 1966, after 257 games for the Royals plus four in the Western Australian colours. In 2006 he was named on a half forward flank for the East Perth official “Team Of The Century, 1945-2005.” In the same year, Ted Kilmurray was inducted into the Western Australian Football Hall Of Fame. In 2005, he was selected in the Australian Football League's Indigenous Team of the Century.Ted “Square” Kilmurray was not only a great footballer, he was an innovator and a prototype for the ruck rover position for decades after he left the game.  

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