Max Kruse | |||
---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||
Date of birth | 29 October 1958 | ||
Original team(s) | Leeton ( SWDFL) | ||
Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Weight | 91 kg (201 lb) | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
1979–1985 | South Melbourne/Sydney | 88 (32) | |
1986–1989 | Glenelg | 73 (25) | |
Total | 161 (57) | ||
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1989. | |||
Career highlights | |||
| |||
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Max Kruse (born 29 October 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Melbourne/Sydney in the Victorian Football League (VFL). [1]
Kruse was named after his father, Max Kruse, a former Prahran ruckman who represented the Victorian Football Association at the 1953 Adelaide Carnival. [2] [3] Kruse senior was appointed coach of New South Wales club Leeton in 1957 and his son was born the following year. [2]
In 1978, Kruse kicked 52 goals for Leeton, [4] playing mainly from centre half forward and finished third in the league medal, the Gammage Medal, on 16 votes. [5] He played in their 1978 premiership when Leeton defeated Turvey Park in the SWDFL grand final.
A centre half-forward / centre half-back, Kruse joined South Melbourne in 1979 and played eight games that year, all from round 13. [6] He made another nine appearances in 1980, then from 1981 to 1984 put together 53 consecutive games. [6] A thigh injury in 1985 kept him out of the league team for much of the year and he played only three games. [2] [6] It would be Kruse's final season with the Swans, he then spent four years with Glenelg from 1986 to 1989, after moving to South Australia for business reasons. [2] He was a member of Glenelg's 1986 premiership team. [7]