Polly Farmer

Polly Farmer MBE
Farmer in 1954
Personal information
Full name	Graham Vivian Farmer
Nickname(s)	Polly
Date of birth	(1935-03-10)10 March 1935
Place of birth	North Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
Date of death	14 August 2019(2019-08-14) (aged 84)
Place of death	Murdoch, Western Australia
Original team(s)	Maddington (SSFA)
Height	191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	94 kg (207 lb)
Position(s)	Ruckman
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1953–1961	East Perth	176 (157)
1962–1967	Geelong	101 (65)
1968–1971	West Perth	079 (55)
Total		356 (277)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
1955–1971	Western Australia	31 (17)
1963–1965	Victoria	5 (?)
International team honours
1968	Australia
Coaching career3
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1968–1971	West Perth	91 (60–29–2)
1973–1975	Geelong	66 (24–42–0)
1976–1977	East Perth	45 (30–15–0)
1970–1971, 1977	Western Australia	6 (2–4–0)
Total		208 (116-90-2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1971. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 1977.
Career highlights
Club VFL Premiership player: (1963) 5× WANFL premiership player: (1956, 1958, 1959, 1969, 1971) 3× Sandover Medal: (1956, 1957, 1960) 2× Carji Greeves Medal: (1963, 1964) 7× East Perth Best and Fairest: (1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961) West Perth Best and Fairest: (1969) 2× Simpson Medal (grand final): (1959, 1969) Geelong captain: (1965–1967) Geelong Team of the Century West Perth Team of the Century East Perth Post War Team of the Century Representative Tassie Medal: (1956) National Football Carnival Championship: 1961 3× All-Australian team: (1956, 1958, 1961) 2× Simpson Medal (interstate): (1956, 1961) Overall Australian Football Hall of Fame – Legend Status (inaugural) AFL Team of the Century Western Australian Team of the Century – vice-captain Indigenous Team of the Century – captain
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Graham Vivian "Polly" Farmer MBE (10 March 1935 – 14 August 2019) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the East Perth Football Club and West Perth Football Club in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL).

Born in Western Australia and of indigenous heritage through his Noongar mother, Farmer is considered one of the greatest footballers in the game's history; when the Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, Farmer was among the 12 inaugural players given "legend" status.^[1] He is primarily recognised for the way he revolutionised ruckwork and handballing.

After retiring as a player, Farmer returned to Geelong to become the VFL's first coach of indigenous background,^[2] and he was also named coach of Western Australia's first State of Origin team.

The Graham Farmer Freeway in his hometown of Perth is named in his honour.