Benny Vigona

Benedict John "Benny" Vigona (born 9 October 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer best known for playing for South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).

Benny Vigona
Personal information
Full name Benedict John Vigona
Date of birth (1958-10-09) 9 October 1958
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
St Mary's 75 (132)
1977–1986 South Fremantle 165 (220)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1980–82 Western Australia 4 (1)
1985 Northern Territory 1 (0)
Career highlights
  • WAFL premiership player - 1980
  • NTFL premiership player - 1977/78, 1983/84
  • NTFL Team of Two Decades (1974–94)
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Biography

Vigona is from a large extended family who are heavily involved in Northern Territory football. His father, Anastasius, played for St Mary's in Darwin.[1] His brother Tony spent time with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) without playing a league match before playing with St Mary's. A nephew, Ronnie Burns played in the Australian Football League (AFL) with Geelong and Adelaide.[2]

Playing career

Vigona made his league debut for South Fremantle in 1977. He was a member of the Bulldogs' 1980 premiership-winning team. He played his last match for South Fremantle in 1986 having played 165 matches.[3]

During southern summers, Vigona returned to Darwin to play for St Mary's in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL). He played in two premierships for the Saints during the 1977/78 and 1983/84 seasons. He was the Chaney Medallist for best player in the 1977/78 NTFL Grand Final.[4]

He was the first player from the Northern Territory to become a life member of South Fremantle. In 1994 he was named in the NTFL Team of Two Decades for the period from 1974 to 1994.[5] In 2009 was included in the Bulldogs' Indigenous Team of the Century.[6][7]

References
  1. Loizou, John (16 July 2002). "Darwin footy legend Vigona passes away". Northern Territory News.
  2. Roffey, Chelsea (21 May 2009). "The Tiwi effect". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  3. "Every League Premiership Player in Page Finals System Era". West Australian Football Commission. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  4. "History of the NTFL" (PDF). AFL Northern Territory. p. 64. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  5. "History of the NTFL" (PDF). AFL Northern Territory. p. 152. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  6. "Indigenous Connection". South Fremantle Football Club. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  7. "Benny Vigona". Australian Football. The Slattery Media Group. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
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