Simon Beasley

Simon Beasley
Personal information
Date of birth	26 July 1956
Original team(s)	Swan Districts (WAFL)
Debut	Round 1, 1982, Footscray vs. Essendon, at Windy Hill
Height / weight	195cm / 102kg
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1982–1989	Footscray	154 (575)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1989.
Career highlights
Coleman Medallist 1985 Footscray leading goalkicker 1982–1988 Footscray Team of the Century Simpson Medallist 1981 (WA v VIC)

Simon Beasley (born 26 July 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Swan Districts in the WAFL and Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL), now known as the Australian Football League (AFL).

Recruited from Swan Districts in the WAFL, Beasley moved to Melbourne in 1982 to pursue his career as a stockbroker, and signed with Footscray in the VFL. He made his debut in the Round 1 of the 1982 VFL season against a rampant Essendon side at Windy Hill, the Bulldogs losing heavily by 109 points. However, Beasley did not take long to establish himself as a prominent full-forward, kicking 12 goals against Geelong in Round 16 and ending his debut season with a very respectable 82 goals in an under-performing side.

In 1985, the Bulldogs rose up the ladder, finishing in second place at the end of the home-and-away season before losing to Hawthorn in the Preliminary Final. Beasley played a key role, taking out the Coleman Medal with 93 goals during the home-and-away season, his personal best. He reached the century mark with a seven-goal performance in the First Semi-Final against North Melbourne and ended the season with 105 goals, becoming only the second Bulldog after Kelvin Templeton to kick 100 goals in a season. The following year his career was affected by a dispute with former club Swan Districts, who demanded $50,000 from the Bulldogs to keep Beasley in Victoria as the WAFL Swans believed his lease had expired^[1] – though nothing was actually given.

In 1988, Beasley kicked 82 goals to overtake Templeton as the Bulldogs’ most prolific goalscorer. However, after a major back injury in the pre-season Beasley played in the reserves for the first three rounds of 1989.^[2] He did return in the fourth round and kicked six goals the following week against Melbourne, but the following four rounds saw only six further goals and his knee and back injuries forced Beasley into retirement in June.

In 2006 Beasley was appointed to host the Western Region Football League's show on Channel 31, renamed The Simon Beasley Show.

Beasley obtained his bookmaker license in 2002. In 2009, he was charged with and pleaded guilty to breaching betting regulations between April 2006 and October 2008. Specifically, he had taken 1,598 bets totalling $3.8 million in turnover without lodging them with racing authorities. Beaseley was fined AUD$50,000 and disqualified from bookmaking for four years.^[3][4]

Playing statistics

^[5]

Legend
G	Goals	B	Behinds	K	Kicks	H	Handballs	D	Disposals	M	Marks	T	Tackles

	Led the league for the season only
	Led the league after finals only
	Led the league after season and finals

Season	Team	#	Games	G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
			Totals								Averages (per game)
1982	Footscray	18	21	82	67	181	48	229	120	N/A	3.9	3.2	8.6	2.3	10.9	5.7	N/A
1983	Footscray	18	20	69	37	136	34	170	92	N/A	3.5	1.9	6.8	1.7	8.5	4.6	N/A
1984	Footscray	18	18	61	37	128	16	144	99	N/A	3.4	2.1	7.1	0.9	8.0	5.5	N/A
1985	Footscray	18	25	105	41	172	23	195	127	N/A	4.2	1.6	6.9	0.9	7.8	5.1	N/A
1986	Footscray	18	22	88	48	156	23	179	111	N/A	4.0	2.2	7.1	1.0	8.1	5.0	N/A
1987	Footscray	18	21	73	47	146	32	178	124	3	3.5	2.2	7.0	1.5	8.5	5.9	0.1
1988	Footscray	18	21	82	29	142	15	157	107	3	3.9	1.4	6.8	0.7	7.5	5.1	0.1
1989	Footscray	18	6	15	15	39	8	47	33	2	2.5	2.5	6.5	1.3	7.8	5.5	0.3
Career			154	575	321	1100	199	1299	813	8	3.7	2.1	7.1	1.3	8.4	5.3	0.2

References

1. Stocks, Gary; ‘Swans Sue for $50,000’; The West Australian, 16 July 1986, p. 128
2. Linnell, Gary; ‘Dogs’ New Litter Leaves Blues Flat’; The Age, 3 April 1989, p. 32
3. , Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Bord, 3 April 2009
4. Millar, Paul (3 April 2009). "Bookmaker Simon Beasley disqualified for four years over scam". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
5. Simon Beasley's player profile at AFL Tables