Stephen "Wally" Wallis (born 27 October 1964) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He currently holds the club record for most consecutive games from debut.

Stephen Wallis
Personal information
Full name Stephen Wallis
Date of birth (1964-10-27) 27 October 1964 (age 60)
Place of birth Leongatha, Victoria
Original team(s) Leongatha (GFL)
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1983–1996 Footscray 261 (57)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1985, 1991 Victoria 3 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1996.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Originally from Leongatha, Victoria, Wallis arrived at the Footscray in 1982 and suffered an injury in a reserves game which kept him out for the rest of the season. He made his senior VFL debut in 1983 and became a solid defender and occasional midfielder. During this time he completed his schooling at Trinity Grammar, commuting to Kew from Maidstone.[1]

In 1989, Wallis was appointed captain of the Bulldogs,[2] and became a representative of Victoria in State of Origin. Midway through 1991 he suffered a broken wrist, forcing him to miss the rest of the season, but returned in 1992 to help the Bulldogs to the finals. However, injury struck again early in the following year when he badly injured his knee.

In 1996, he announced his retirement and played his last game in a three-point loss to Essendon (which is documented in the film Year of the Dogs).[3]

His son Mitch Wallis was drafted in the 2010 national draft under the father–son rule.[4]

Statistics

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[5]
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1983 Footscray 24 22 7 13 287 226 513 102 0.3 0.6 13.0 10.3 23.3 4.6
1984 Footscray 24 22 7 12 292 160 452 76 0.3 0.5 13.3 7.3 20.5 3.5
1985 Footscray 24 25 6 10 464 158 622 178 0.2 0.4 18.6 6.3 24.9 7.1
1986 Footscray 24 22 6 6 325 142 467 112 0.3 0.3 14.8 6.5 21.2 5.1
1987 Footscray 24 22 3 6 329 145 474 68 46 0.1 0.3 15.0 6.6 21.5 3.1 2.1
1988 Footscray 24 13 7 1 156 121 277 36 19 0.5 0.1 12.0 9.3 21.3 2.8 1.5
1989 Footscray 24 22 3 1 247 181 428 80 33 0.1 0.0 11.2 8.2 19.5 3.6 1.5
1990 Footscray 24 19 1 1 216 186 402 73 24 0.1 0.1 11.4 9.8 21.2 3.8 1.3
1991 Footscray 24 10 0 1 106 90 196 40 19 0.0 0.1 10.6 9.0 19.6 4.0 1.9
1992 Footscray 24 24 12 1 343 185 528 112 43 0.5 0.0 14.3 7.7 22.0 4.7 1.8
1993 Footscray 24 4 0 0 50 30 80 22 7 0.0 0.0 12.5 7.5 20.0 5.5 1.8
1994 Footscray 24 23 3 1 245 125 370 83 34 0.1 0.0 10.7 5.4 16.1 3.6 1.5
1995 Footscray 24 12 2 0 115 60 175 43 18 0.2 0.0 9.6 5.0 14.6 3.6 1.5
1996 Footscray 24 21 0 1 224 117 341 76 22 0.0 0.0 10.7 5.6 16.2 3.6 1.0
Career 261 57 54 3399 1926 5325 1101 265 0.2 0.2 13.0 7.4 20.4 4.2 1.6

References

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  1. ^ "Interview With Steve Wallis". www.woof.net.au. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  2. ^ Honour Roll
  3. ^ DVD Review of Year of the Dogs
  4. ^ Calder Cannons
  5. ^ Stephen Wallis' player profile at AFL Tables
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