John Devine

John Herbert Devine (22 June 1940 – 29 January 2023) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s, and Tasmanian Football League (TFL) side North Hobart between 1967 and 1974. Australian rules football career A defender, Devine was recruited to as a 20-year-old from Colac, and he made his debut for Geelong against Footscray in round 1 of the 1960 VFL season. Devine would quickly become an integral part of a rising Geelong team. On 6 July 1963, he was a member of the Geelong team that were comprehensively and unexpectedly beaten by Fitzroy, 9.13 (67) to 3.13 (31) in the 1963 Miracle Match. Given the nickname "Colac" by his teammates, in 1963 Devine was a member of Geelong's premiership team playing off the half-back flank where he was named amongst the best for Geelong. Devine would earn a reputation as a 'big-game player', consistently named amongst Geelong's best players in multiple finals matches. Devine would play 118 games for Geelong, was vice-captain from 1961 to 1966, and was runner-up in the Carji Greeves Medal in 1960 and 1965. He also represented Victoria. Devine's last game for Geelong was during the finals of the 1966 VFL season, where he would be suspended for striking David Shaw.