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{{short description|Australian rules footballer}}
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{{Infobox AFL player NEW
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
⚫
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Eddie Melai
| name = Eddie Melai
| fullname =
| image =
| image =
| fullname = Eduard Herbert Melai<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/tributes/notice/death-notices/melai-eduard-herbert/3320729/ |title=Tributes:Eduard Herbert Melai |publisher=Herald Sun}}</ref>
| birth_date = 28 February 1941
| birth_date = {{birth date|1941|2|28|df=y}}
| death_date = 28 July 2004
| birth_place =
| birth_place = Netherlands
| death_date = {{death date and age|2004|4|28|1941|2|28|df=yes}}
⚫
| originalteam = {{AFL Gee}}
| heightweight =
| death_place =
| originalteam = [[East Geelong Football Club|East Geelong]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Holmesby|first=Russell|last2=Main|first2=Jim|title=The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers| publisher=BAS Publishing|year=2007|isbn=9781920910785}}</ref>
| height =
| weight =
| position = Ruckman
| position = Ruckman
⚫
| years = 1964<BR>1965–1976
⚫
| clubs = {{AFL SM}}<BR>[[Dandenong Football Club|Dandenong]]
| games(goals) = 7 (2)<BR> 202
| statsend = 1976
| statsend = 1976
| years1 = 1964
⚫
| club1 = {{AFL SM}}
| games_goals1 = 7 (2)
⚫
| years2 = 1965–1976
⚫
| club2 = [[Dandenong Football Club|Dandenong]]
| games_goals2 = 202
| careerhighlights = *[[Dandenong Football Club|Dandenong]] premiership player - 1967 & 1971
}}
}}
'''Eddie Melai''' (28 February 1941<ref name="statsrleague" /> – 28 July 2004<ref name="death" />) was an [[Australian rules football]]er most notable for his career with the [[Dandenong Football Club]] in the [[Victorian Football Association]] during the 1960s and 1970s.
'''Eduard Herbert Melai''' (28 February 1941<ref name="statsrleague" /> – 28 April 2004<ref name="death" />) was an [[Australian rules football]]er most notable for his career with the [[Dandenong Football Club]] in the [[Victorian Football Association]] during the 1960s and 1970s.


Melai played fifty games with {{AFL Gee}} reserves in the [[Australian Football League|Victorian Football League]] during the early 1960s,<ref name="200th">{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=31|title=Eddie nets a goal – 200 up!|author=Marc Fiddian|date=5 May 1976}}</ref> and was part of Geelong's 1963 reserves premiership team, but he did not play a senior game for the club.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geelongcats.com.au/club/history/premierships/reserves|accessdate=19 April 2014|title=Reserves|publisher=Geelong Cats}}</ref> He was cleared to {{AFL SM}}, and played seven matches there during the 1964 season.<ref name="statsrleague">{{cite web|url=http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/E/Eddy_Melai.html|title=Eddy Melai|accessdate=19 April 2014|publisher=AFL Tables}}</ref>
Melai played fifty games with {{AFL Gee}} reserves in the [[Australian Football League|Victorian Football League]] during the early 1960s,<ref name="200th">{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=31|title=Eddie nets a goal – 200 up!|author=Marc Fiddian|date=5 May 1976}}</ref> and was part of Geelong's 1963 reserves premiership team, but he did not play a senior game for the club.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geelongcats.com.au/club/history/premierships/reserves|accessdate=19 April 2014|title=Reserves|publisher=Geelong Cats|archive-date=15 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215000835/http://www.geelongcats.com.au/club/history/premierships/reserves|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was cleared to {{AFL SM}}, and played seven senior matches there during the 1964 season.<ref name="statsrleague">{{cite web|url=http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/E/Eddy_Melai.html|title=Eddy Melai|accessdate=19 April 2014|publisher=AFL Tables}}</ref>


In 1965, Melai crossed to [[Dandenong Football Club|Dandenong]] in the [[Victorian Football Association]] without a clearance. It was a historic transfer, as he was the first player to make the switch from the VFL to the VFA without a clearance after the VFA had terminated its transfer agreement with the VFL in April that year – a consequence of the bitter deterioration in relations between the two competitions following [[1965_VFA_season#Relationship with the League|North Melbourne's relocation to Coburg]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=55|author=Kevin Hogan|date=18 June 1966|title=Transfer rule averts "war"}}</ref>
In 1965, Melai crossed to [[Dandenong Football Club|Dandenong]] in the [[Victorian Football Association]] without a clearance. It was a historic transfer, as he was the first player to make the switch from the VFL to the VFA without a clearance after the VFA had terminated its transfer agreement with the VFL in April that year – a consequence of the bitter deterioration in relations between the two competitions following [[1965 VFA season#Relationship with the League|North Melbourne's relocation to Coburg]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=55|author=Kevin Hogan|date=18 June 1966|title=Transfer rule averts "war"}}</ref>


Melai became the mainstay ruckman of the Dandenong team over the next decade, a successful time which saw Melai win premierships in [[1967 VFA Grand Final|1967]] – notably knocking umpire David Jackson unconscious in an accidental collision during the controversial Grand Final<ref name="KOd">{{cite news|title=Umpire: How I got KO'd|date=25 September 1967|newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial|page=3}}</ref> – and [[1971 VFA Grand Final|1971]], and he played off in a further three Grand Finals in 1969, 1972 and 1975. Melai retired from the VFA in June 1976, after having played 202 games for the Redlegs.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=20|author=Marc Fiddian|title=Dandies pluck Roosters clean|date=5 June 1976}}</ref>
Melai became the mainstay ruckman of the Dandenong team over the next decade, a successful time which saw Melai win premierships in [[1967 VFA Grand Final|1967]] – notably knocking umpire David Jackson unconscious in an accidental collision during the controversial Grand Final<ref name="KOd">{{cite news|title=Umpire: How I got KO'd|date=25 September 1967|newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial|page=3}}</ref> – and [[1971 VFA Grand Final|1971]], and he played off in a further three Grand Finals in 1969, 1972 and 1975. Melai retired from the VFA in June 1976, after having played 202 games for the Redlegs.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=20|author=Marc Fiddian|title=Dandies pluck Roosters clean|date=5 June 1976}}</ref>


After retiring from playing with the club, he stayed on with Dandenong as a runner, and was suspended for six weeks after the 1976 Grand Final for using abusive language during the brawls for which that game became infamous.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|title=Haenen in the clear|author1=Marc Fiddian|author2=Ken Knox|page=34|date=22 September 1976|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC}}</ref> Melai continued to play football at suburban level until 1979. In the early 1990s, he served as a runner and team manager for the [[St Kilda Football Club]].<ref name="death">{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|title=VFA legend dies at 63 after stroke|date=29 July 2004|author=Nabila Ahmed|url=http://www.westofmoorabbin.com/04arch_R18a.html|accessdate=19 April 2014}}</ref>
After retiring from playing with the club, he stayed on with Dandenong as a runner, and was suspended for six weeks after the 1976 Grand Final for using abusive language during the brawls for which that game became infamous.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|title=Haenen in the clear|author1=Marc Fiddian|author2=Ken Knox|page=34|date=22 September 1976|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC}}</ref> Melai continued to play football at suburban level until 1979. In the early 1990s, he served as a runner and team manager for the [[St Kilda Football Club]].<ref name="death">{{cite news|newspaper=The Age |title=VFA legend dies at 63 after stroke |date=29 July 2004 |author=Nabila Ahmed |url=http://www.westofmoorabbin.com/04arch_R18a.html |accessdate=19 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419194139/http://www.westofmoorabbin.com/04arch_R18a.html |archivedate=19 April 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref>


Melai died at age 63 after suffering a stroke in 2004.<ref name="death" /> Later that year he was named as the ruckman of Dandenong's Team of the Century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://footystats.freeservers.com/Footystats/TOTC.html|title=Teams of the Century|accessdate=19 April 2014|publisher=Footystats}}</ref>
Melai died at age 63 after suffering a stroke in April 2004.<ref name="death" /> Later that year he was named as the ruckman of Dandenong's Team of the Century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://footystats.freeservers.com/Footystats/TOTC.html|title=Teams of the Century|accessdate=19 April 2014|publisher=Footystats|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507043415/http://footystats.freeservers.com/Footystats/TOTC.html|archive-date=7 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
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*{{AflRleague|ref=E/Eddy_Melai.html|alt=Eddie Melai}}


==External links==
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
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*{{AFL Tables|ref=E/Eddy_Melai.html|alt=Eddie Melai}}
| NAME = Melai, Eddie

| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Australian rules footballer
| DATE OF BIRTH = 28 February 1941
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 28 July 2004
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melai, Eddie}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melai, Eddie}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:VFL/AFL players born outside Australia]]
[[Category:Dandenong Football Club players]]
[[Category:Dandenong Football Club players]]
[[Category:South Melbourne Football Club players]]
[[Category:Sydney Swans players]]
[[Category:East Geelong Football Club players]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)]]

Latest revision as of 05:47, 24 February 2024

Eddie Melai
Personal information
Full name Eduard Herbert Melai[1]
Date of birth (1941-02-28)28 February 1941
Place of birth Netherlands
Date of death 28 April 2004(2004-04-28) (aged 63)
Original team(s) East Geelong[2]
Position(s) Ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1964 South Melbourne 7 (2)
1965–1976 Dandenong 202
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1976.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Eduard Herbert Melai (28 February 1941[3] – 28 April 2004[4]) was an Australian rules footballer most notable for his career with the Dandenong Football Club in the Victorian Football Association during the 1960s and 1970s.

Melai played fifty games with Geelong reserves in the Victorian Football League during the early 1960s,[5] and was part of Geelong's 1963 reserves premiership team, but he did not play a senior game for the club.[6] He was cleared to South Melbourne, and played seven senior matches there during the 1964 season.[3]

In 1965, Melai crossed to Dandenong in the Victorian Football Association without a clearance. It was a historic transfer, as he was the first player to make the switch from the VFL to the VFA without a clearance after the VFA had terminated its transfer agreement with the VFL in April that year – a consequence of the bitter deterioration in relations between the two competitions following North Melbourne's relocation to Coburg.[7]

Melai became the mainstay ruckman of the Dandenong team over the next decade, a successful time which saw Melai win premierships in 1967 – notably knocking umpire David Jackson unconscious in an accidental collision during the controversial Grand Final[8] – and 1971, and he played off in a further three Grand Finals in 1969, 1972 and 1975. Melai retired from the VFA in June 1976, after having played 202 games for the Redlegs.[9]

After retiring from playing with the club, he stayed on with Dandenong as a runner, and was suspended for six weeks after the 1976 Grand Final for using abusive language during the brawls for which that game became infamous.[10] Melai continued to play football at suburban level until 1979. In the early 1990s, he served as a runner and team manager for the St Kilda Football Club.[4]

Melai died at age 63 after suffering a stroke in April 2004.[4] Later that year he was named as the ruckman of Dandenong's Team of the Century.[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Tributes:Eduard Herbert Melai". Herald Sun.
  2. ^ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
  3. ^ a b "Eddy Melai". AFL Tables. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Nabila Ahmed (29 July 2004). "VFA legend dies at 63 after stroke". The Age. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  5. ^ Marc Fiddian (5 May 1976). "Eddie nets a goal – 200 up!". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 31.
  6. ^ "Reserves". Geelong Cats. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  7. ^ Kevin Hogan (18 June 1966). "Transfer rule averts "war"". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 55.
  8. ^ "Umpire: How I got KO'd". The Sun News-Pictorial. 25 September 1967. p. 3.
  9. ^ Marc Fiddian (5 June 1976). "Dandies pluck Roosters clean". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 20.
  10. ^ Marc Fiddian; Ken Knox (22 September 1976). "Haenen in the clear". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 34.
  11. ^ "Teams of the Century". Footystats. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
[edit]
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