{xtypo_dropcap}G{/xtypo_dropcap}eorge Young was an outstanding footballer with Subiaco, St Kilda, and Western Australia, but there will always be conjecture that he robbed himself of an even better career as a Test cricketer by opting for the winter game.

A stylish left hand opening batsman for Subiaco, he burst on to the Sheffield Shield scene in the summer of 1973 with an impressive 125 at number five in just his second game  for Western Australia but his departure for the VFL soon afterward was a bigger blow to the WACA than it was to the Subiaco Football Club, who managed to broker a swap for Ross Smith, the man who was to steer them to their first premiership for forty two years.  

It was ironic that Young wasn’t part of that flag, because he’d been one of the stars of the side in his four years in the maroon and gold. But it had been inevitable for most of those years that the talented wingman/forward would be lured East, and to be involved in a transaction that was to bring a flag to Subiaco brought him as much satisfaction as it did the club.

Recruited from Wembley Juniors, where mentor Ken Smyth laid the groundwork for what was to come later, Young went straight into the league side for the opening game of the 1969 season, lining up on a wing against East Perth’s Gary Gillespie. It was a year that Subiaco made the four only to finish eight points behind Perth in the first semi final, a result that was to be repeated the following season at the hands of East Perth, who won by fifty points.

Strong overhead, with graceful skills and a damaging kick, 1970 was to be a definitive year for George Young. Bursting into interstate football with an impressive display on Victorian Francis Bourke at the MCG in a Western Australian side that went down by six points, Young followed up with a best  on ground display against South Australia at Subiaco a fortnight later, when it was a four point loss to the Croweaters.

George’s form in State matches continued in 1971, with similar efforts against both Victoria and South Australia. Selected in the side for the 1972 Perth Carnival, he went on to gain inclusion in the All Australian team with a dominant exhibition against South Australia in a 48 point win, and two goals from a half forward flank against both Tasmania and Victoria.

Approaches from Collingwood, St Kilda, and South Australian club Norwood followed, with the Saints being the successful bidders. “I was impressed with Saints coach Allan Jeans,” Young recalled. “And I never had reason to regret my decision.”

In George’s first season at the Saints, the club qualified for its fourth finals series in a row, a record for St Kilda at the time. Young booted six goals from a half forward flank in a fifty three point win in front of 53,000 in the elimination final, but lost to Richmond in the first semi final a week later, with 86,000 in attendance. 

“It was a great experience, playing in the VFL,” said Young. “ There was pressure on every week, you always had to raise the bar a little bit more, and you were surrounded by good players.”

Staying at St Kilda for six years, George headed the club goalkicking list in four of them,with a bag of ten against Fitzroy,  and was runner up for a fairest and best.  From the 1975 season he was mainly stationed at full forward, giving opponents inches and weight, but consistent contributions in a losing side were impressive. 53 goals in 1975 were followed up by  56 in 1976, 58 in 1977, and 70 in his last year there, 1978.

Young’s 108 appearances in the VFL produced 284 goals, still high on the all time list of St Kilda goalscorers.

It was family reasons that brought him back to Perth and Subiaco Football Club, but the reunion was to be shortlived. After just one season, a knee injury caused George’s retirement from football, at the age of thirty, and seventy eight games with Subiaco to add to the 108 at St Kilda and ten distinguished State matches.

On the coaching panel at the Lions for eight years, Young was also at the Eagles for a further eight under Mick Malthouse.

In the fruit and vegetable business, where he supplies the hospitality industry, George is a life member of the Lions, and is a keen Subiaco man, as well as an Eagles member, and enjoys some social tennis. He regarded Carlton fullback Geoff Southby as his toughest opponent, but went for a Subiaco team mate as best he’d played with: Austin Robertson.  His two sons both lined up with Subiaco reserves but neither continued in the game.

The ability to perform on the big stage is a true indicator of a player in any sport, and George Young excelled when the going was tough, whether it be a State game against Victoria or a final at the MCG. Selection in Subiaco’s official Team of the Century was just recognition for a true star of the game.