Leon Baker

Leon Baker
Personal information
Full name	Leon Francis Baker
Date of birth	(1956-08-17) 17 August 1956
Original team(s)	South Bunbury
Playing career¹
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1981-1983^[1] 1984-1988	Swan Districts (WAFL) Essendon (VFL)	64 (100) 86 0(70)
¹ Playing statistics correct to the end of 1988 season.
Career highlights
Essendon premierships 1984, 1985 Swan Districts premierships 1982, 1983 Swan Medal 1983 All Australian Team 1985 WA State of Origin Team 1984,1985

Leon Baker (born 17 August 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Swan Districts in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) during the 1980s.

Baker started playing senior football quite late by modern standards and was recruited by Swan Districts when he was 24 years old ^[2] after playing many years of football in the country leagues including Cairns in Queensland and South Bunbury in Western Australia. Regarded as a highly skilled and fearless player he slotted easily into the Swan Districts team that lost the 1980 Grand Final with Baker playing on a half forward flank. Swan Districts went on to win the next two grand finals with Baker playing in the centre and once at full forward. Baker was awarded the 1983 Swan Medal for being the club's fairest and best player.

Essendon Football Club then recruited Baker in 1984 where he played until 1988. A dual premiership player, Baker held down the centreman position in both the 1984 and 1985 grand finals. He came second in the club's fairest and best award for both years. Baker remained with the Bombers until the end of the 1988 season with injuries hampering his career toward the end.^[3] Swan Districts named Baker in their team of the century. Baker began coaching after retirement and has coached Gippsland club, Maffra and The Port Douglas Crocodiles in 1993.^[4]

References

↑ "Essendon Football Club - Champions of Essendon". 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
↑ "Swan Districts Football Club - Playertracker - Leon Baker". 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
↑ "Leon Baker - Player Bio". 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
↑ "Australian Rules - Footy in Paradise". 2002. Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-08-26.

External links

Profile at Australian Football

Swan Districts Football Club – Team of the Century

FB Melrose Lawson Murray

HB Nowotny Castledine Bagley

C P. Narkle Baker Krepp

HF Manning Sidebottom Richardson

FF Bunton Holdsworth Boucher

R Slater Nesbit Walker

I Mullooly Holden K. Narkle Anderson Langsford Holmes Beecroft

Coach Todd

Essendon Football Club 1984/85 VFL premiers

1984: Essendon 14.21 (105) defeated Hawthorn 12.9 (81), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground 1985: Essendon 26.14 (170) defeated Hawthorn 13.8 (92), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

4. Baker 5. Daniher (c) 8. Clarke 10. Foulds 13. Williams 15. Ezard 18. Vander Haar 22. Duckworth 25. Merrett 26. Thompson 27. Madden 28. Weston 30. Walsh 32. Watson 33. Hawker 38. Harvey

Coach: Sheedy

1985 All-Australian team

Coach Kevin Sheedy (Essendon)

South Australia Malcolm Blight (Woodville) Craig Bradley (Port Adelaide) Stephen Kernahan (Glenelg) Peter Motley (Sturt) John Platten (Hawthorn)

Victoria Dermott Brereton (Hawthorn) Terry Daniher (Essendon) (Captain) Garry Foulds (Essendon) Russell Greene (Hawthorn) Mark Harvey (Essendon) Mark Lee (Richmond) Roger Merrett (Essendon) Gary Pert (Fitzroy) Geoff Raines (Collingwood) Paul Roos (Fitzroy) Dale Weightman (Richmond)

Western Australia Leon Baker (Essendon) Gary Buckenara (Hawthorn) Rod Lester-Smith (Hawthorn) Michael Mitchell (Claremont)

Western Australian team – 1984 Interstate Championships

Western Australia 14.14 (98) defeated South Australia 14.13 (97), at Football Park, 9 June 1984 Western Australia 21.16 (142) defeated Victoria 21.12 (138), at Subiaco Oval, 17 July 1984

Both games	Aitken Bosustow Carter Daniels Hardie Harding Langsford Malaxos (c) Rance Wiley

State game vs. South Australia	Baynes Brenton Campbell Fogarty Hart Holmes Keene Mosconi Panizza Ware Wilkinson

State of Origin vs. Victoria	Baker Blackwell Cronan Dorotich Glendinning Holden Peake Purser Richardson Rioli Sidebottom Taylor

Coach: Todd

Western Australian team – 1985 Interstate Championships

South Australia 30.18 (198) defeated Western Australia 16.15 (111), at Subiaco Oval, 15 June 1985 Victoria 19.16 (130) defeated Western Australia 9.11 (65), at Subiaco Oval, 16 July 1985

Both games	Browning Mitchell G. Sidebottom

State Game vs. South Australia	Bairstow Bradmore Brennan Carter Caton Cousins Fogarty Harding Lamb Langsford (c) Rance S. Richardson Scott Skwirowski Waterson Wilkinson Wilson Wrensted

State of Origin vs. Victoria	Annear Baker Beasley Blackwell Buckenara Daniels Glendinning Hardie Holden Hunter Krakouer Lester-Smith Peake Purser Richardson Rioli Sewell A. Sidebottom Wiley

Coach: Todd

Western Australian team – 1986 Interstate Championships

Western Australia 18.19 (127) defeated South Australia 12.16 (88), at Football Park, 27 May 1986 Western Australia 21.11 (137) defeated Victoria 20.14 (134), at Subiaco Oval, 8 July 1986

Both games	Bairstow Ellis Harding Keene Laidley Lamb Macnish Miles Mitchell Peake Sartori Waterson Wilson

State game vs. South Australia	Bewick Christie Dean Malaxos Panizza Taylor Wiley Wilkinson Wrensted

State of Origin vs. Victoria	Baker Blackwell Buckenara Davidson Glendinning Hardie Lester-Smith Narkle Rioli

Coach: Alexander

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