William 'Bill' Desmond McGrath (born 3 December 1936 in Minyip

Minyip, Victoria

Minyip is a town located in the Wimmera Region of Victoria, Australia, North West of Melbourne. It is in the Shire of Yarriambiack local government area. At the 2006 census, Minyip had a population of 579....

) is a former National Party of Australia

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

 politician and Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er.

McGrath played in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 with South Melbourne

Sydney Swans

The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...

, who were captain-coached by Ron Clegg

Ron Clegg

Ron "Smokey" Clegg was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.A brilliant key position player at either centre half-forward or centre half-back, he was awarded the Brownlow Medal in 1949 while playing with the then South Melbourne Football Club...

. He played 15 of a possible 18 games in the 1959 home and away season. He also kicked 18 goals, including five in a win over Richmond

Richmond Football Club

The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...

 at Punt Road, with team-mate Bob Skilton

Bob Skilton

Robert John "Bob" Skilton was an Australian rules football player who played as a rover for South Melbourne and Victoria between 1956 and 1971....

 matching his tally. At the end of the year he returned to his family farm in Minyip but would continue to play and later coach in the Wimmera Football League

Wimmera Football League

The Wimmera Football League is based in Western Victoria, with clubs located in towns in the Wimmera region. The regional centres along the Western Highway from Ararat to Nhill as well as Minyip-Murtoa and Warracknabeal.The league is a major country league....

.

In the 1979 state election, McGrath was elected into the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

 as the member for Lowan

Electoral district of Lowan

The Electoral district of Lowan is a rural Lower House electoral district of the Victorian Parliament. It is located within the Western Victoria Region of the Legislative Council ....

. In his fourth term he was appointed Shadow Minister for Agriculture and after being re-elected for a fifth time in 1992, he became the Minister for Agriculture. He served in this position until 1996 when he was named Minister for Corrections and Minister for Police and Emergency Services. McGrath remained in that portfolio until his retirement in 1999, when he was replaced in his seat by Hugh Delahunty

Hugh Delahunty

Hugh Francis Delahunty is the Nationals member for Lowan in the Victorian Parliament.-Political career:Delahunty was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in the 1999 election to represent the electorate of Wimmera with 58% of the two party preferred vote...

, another former VFL player.