COLD Victorian winters have taken their toll on Williamstown Football Club legend and AFL Hall of Famer Barry Round.
The 1981 Brownlow medallist packed his bags three weeks ago and moved to the Gold Coast to be closer to his children and grandchildren.
But Hobsons Bay won’t be without a footballer deemed worthy of the AFL Hall of Fame since Carlton great Alex Jesaulenko moved to Altona last year.
Round, who played 328 VFL games for the Bulldogs and the Swans between 1969 and 1985, was back in Williamstown last week during a visit to attend the Hall of Fame dinner.
Highlights of his stellar VFL career include a Brownlow Medal, and club best and fairest awards for the Swans in 1979 and 1981.
He was also named in the Swans team of the century.
After retiring from the VFL in 1985, Round played and coached for Williamstown in the then Victorian Football Association, participating in the 1986 and 1990 premiership teams.
He won the VFA’s best and fairest award, the JJ Liston Trophy, in 1987.
Round was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2001.
Round said he would miss Williamstown but the lure of a sunny climate had proved too tempting.
“It’s a good time of the year to move to Queensland,” he said.
“I’m the right age for it and the winters are starting to take their toll in Melbourne.”
Round said he would stay in touch with the Williamstown Football Club, where he remains a board member, despite living more than 2000 kilometres away at Queensland’s Miami Beach.
“I’ll be up and back a fair bit during the season so I’ll certainly catch the odd game,” he said.
“They’ve been a very successful, traditional club and it’s just been great to be a part of it.”
Williamstown Football Club general manager Brendan Curry said Round had been an inspiration to the club’s younger players for the past 23 years.
“The biggest thing about Barry is that everyone sees how committed he is to the club and the young blokes see that commitment and they must think there’s something special about playing for Williamstown,” Curry said.
