Robert Alfred "Bob" Rahilly (c. 1889 – 1935) was an 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...

 player. He was born in Ballarat, Victoria

Ballarat, Victoria

Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...

.

Playing career

Rahilly's senior career began in Ballarat for South Ballarat Football Club. In 1910 he moved to Fitzroy

Fitzroy Football Club

The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...

 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...

 where he played 33 matches before leaving in late 1912 to return to South Ballarat.

In a match for Fitzroy in 1911

1911 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1911.-Premiership season:In 1911, the VFL competition consisted of ten teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their...

 against St Kilda Rahilly hit the goalposts four times in a match, which remains a record for VFL/AFL football (Alby Pannam

Alby Pannam

Albert 'Alby' Pannam was an Australian rules footballer who played in the VFL between 1933 and 1943 and then again in 1945 for the Collingwood Football Club. He then was captain/coach for the Richmond Football Club Seconds side from 1946 to 1952, leading them to the premiership in 1946...

 equalled this feat in 1936).

Rahilly spent time at Sturt

Sturt Football Club

Sturt Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League. The club is best known for its period of dominance from 1966–76 under legendary coach Jack Oatey, during which it revolutionised the style of play by emphasising teamwork and accurate ball...

 in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 during 1913 before moving to Broken Hill

Broken Hill, New South Wales

-Geology:Broken Hill's massive orebody, which formed about 1,800 million years ago, has proved to be among the world's largest silver-lead-zinc mineral deposits. The orebody is shaped like a boomerang plunging into the earth at its ends and outcropping in the centre. The protruding tip of the...

.

The 1914 season saw Rahilly return to the VFL, playing two matches for Essendon

Essendon Football Club

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

 before moving again to Northcote

Northcote Football Club

Northcote Football Club, nicknamed The Dragons, was an Australian rules football club which played in the VFA from 1908 until 1987. The club's colours were green and yellow and it was based in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote...

.

Military service

Rahilly enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force

Australian Imperial Force

The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...

in June 1915, leaving Melbourne in November 1915 on HMAT Ascanius. After serving in France and rising to the rank of Sergeant, Rahilly returned to Australia in March 1919.

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