Vale Fred Bills

[Garibaldi Red]

just saw this, haven’t read the article yet but I remember watching him play a few times. Was he the WT player that jumped the fence and joined the crowd during a player count? I also recall him grabbing the ball froma ruck contest and running, then kicking, the ball the wrong way.

 

[Grave Danger]

just saw this, haven’t read the article yet but I remember watching him play a few times. Was he the WT player that jumped the fence and joined the crowd during a player count? I also recall him grabbing the ball froma ruck contest and running, then kicking, the ball the wrong way.

A nice write up of Fred here https://australianfootball.com/players/player/fred+bills/271

 

[Ford Fairlane]

I think Fred came off the bench to create the overpopulation of Torrens players.

Norm Dare jumped the fence and hid in the cheersquad.

 

[raptalia]

...and another lion hearted performance from Fred Bills.

That was the almost weekly call in the post match radio summary. Fred Bills was a West Torrens stalwart who deserved more success than he had. In fact I could never understand why he hung around at Torrens when he could have walked into a stronger side- but I guess that is loyalty.

Fred's strength was his ability to take a contested mark in defence as he often played the old ruck rover position resting in defence. I remember that game in the West when Fred Bills played the last quarter with an injury. I thought he broke a collar bone and stood in the forward pocket but it may be as Rucci reports. Time tends to build myths around events.

With the passing of Fred Bills and Bruce Light in recent times the game has lost two characters of the game. We still have good players in the game but do they have the colour of Freddie and the Colonel?

 

[1954]

Fred Bills was definitely a character, I remember him taking a mark between the grandstand wing and the half forward flank at Alberton during a game in the 1970's and kicking the wrong way.

RIP
Freddy Bills

 

[Garibaldi Red]

Fred Bills was definitely a character, I remember him taking a mark between the grandstand wing and the half forward flank at Alberton during a game in the 1970's and kicking the wrong way.

RIP
Freddy Bills

That incident may be the one I, incorrectly, referred to in my opening post. It was definitely at Alberton so it is likely to be.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

just saw this, haven’t read the article yet but I remember watching him play a few times. Was he the WT player that jumped the fence and joined the crowd during a player count? I also recall him grabbing the ball froma ruck contest and running, then kicking, the ball the wrong way.