Mick Nunan

Michael Nunan (born 12 April 1949) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who represented Sturt, Norwood and North Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and Richmond in the then Victorian Football League (VFL). He was also the last official senior coach of Fitzroy in 1996, resigning halfway through the season as news came out that the club was going to merge with the Brisbane Bears to form the Brisbane Lions.

Mick Nunan
Personal information
Full name Michael Nunan
Date of birth (1949-04-12) 12 April 1949
Original team(s) Port Pirie
Height 165 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight 63 kg (139 lb)
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
1966–1977 Sturt 188 (259)
1971 Richmond 1 (3)
1978–1979 Norwood 36 (34)
1980–1982 North Adelaide 34 (18)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
South Australia 3 (?)
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
1981–1992 North Adelaide 279 (157–120–2)
1996 Fitzroy 14 (1–13–0)
Career highlights
  • Sturt premiership player 1969, 1970, 1974, 1976
  • Norwood premiership player 1978
  • North Adelaide premiership coach 1987, 1991
  • Sturt Football Club player life member
  • SANFL player life member
  • North Adelaide Football Club life member
  • South Australian Football Hall of Fame inaugural inductee 2002
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

SANFL career

Nunan played his football as a rover.[1] He joined Sturt from Port Pirie in 1966 and during his 188 games with the Double Blues, he played in their 1969, 1970, 1974 and 1976 premiership sides. Having spent his whole playing career at Sturt under the tutelage of the legendary Jack Oatey, it was no surprise that Nunan was heavily influenced by him when he later became a coach.[1] He played in the 1978 premiership side during the first of his two seasons at Norwood. He then coached North Adelaide to premierships in 1987 and 1991 during his twelve seasons as senior coach.

His solitary VFL senior game came while he was on National Service training in Melbourne. The previous week he had played in the Richmond reserves side while fellow Sturt footballer and conscript, Malcolm Greenslade, played in the senior side. The next week they both played in the seniors. Both then returned to the SANFL.

Fitzroy coach

Nunan was at the helm for Fitzroy's last-ever AFL win, in Round 8 against Fremantle at Whitten Oval on 16 May 1996. It was an emotional day for many Fitzroy fans, and he described it as "a relief and reward for those players who had worked very hard to improve their skill levels".[2] After Fitzroy lost to Essendon in Round 13 and just 48 hours after Fitzroy merged with Brisbane, Nunan announced his resignation to the staff and players, which he had planned to do if a merger went ahead. As he left the room, he remembered that the club doorman, Tommy Couch, had taken a liking to Nunan's jacket and had asked him if he could have it if he couldn't fulfill his commitments. So he returned and handed Couch the jacket.[3]

References
  1. Connolly, Rohan (28 October 1995). "New coach Michael Nunan rolls up his sleeves and - The rebuilding begins". The Sunday Age.
  2. "The Last of the True Mighty Roars". Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  3. Howell, Stephen (24 August 1996). "Lion Will". The Sunday Age.

Bibliography
  • Hogan P: The Tigers Of Old, Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996


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