Daryl Vernon is a former 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 who played with 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,...

 and the Sydney Swans

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...

 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...

 (VFL) during the 1980s.

A rover from Essex Heights, Vernon made four senior appearances for Richmond in the 1981 VFL season

1981 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1981.-Grand final:Carlton defeated Collingwood 12.20 to 10.12 , in front of a crowd of 112,964 people...

. He performed well in the reserves that year and shared the Gardiner Medal

Gardiner Medal

The Gardiner Medal was an Australian rules football award, formerly awarded to the best and fairest player in the VFL Reserves competition.Officially named the Seconds prior to 1959 and the Reserves from 1959 onwards, the competition ran from 1919 until 1999 and the medal was first awarded in...

 with Geelong's Malcolm Reed

Malcolm Reed (footballer)

Malcolm Reed is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League .Reed, recruited locally, made his VFL debut in 1978 but wasn't a regular member of the side until 1982. In between he enjoyed team success in the reserves, with premierships in 1980 and...

.

He spent 1982 in Western Australia, where he played for South Fremantle

South Fremantle Football Club

The South Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Bulldogs, is an Australian rules football club, based in Fremantle, Western Australia, playing in the West Australian Football League...

.

Vernon returned to the VFL in 1983 and signed with the Sydney Swans, who had relocated from South Melbourne the previous year. He played in the opening four rounds of the season and averaged 18 disposals, but didn't feature again until he played another four games early in the 1984 season.

He was back at Richmond in 1985 and in his third game of the season, against Melbourne

Melbourne Football Club

The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....

 at the MCG

Melbourne Cricket Ground

The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...

, starred with 30 disposals, an effort which earned him three Brownlow Medal

Brownlow Medal

The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...

 votes. Picked just twice more that year, Vernon left Richmond and captained Springvale

Casey Scorpions

The Casey Scorpions Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the Victorian Football League . The club was founded in 1903 as the Springvale Football Club and played under the name Springvale. In its history it has won 21 premierships...

 in the 1986 Victorian Football Association

Victorian Football League

The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...

 season. He was a member of their premiership winning team in 1987 and won the Norm Goss Memorial Medal

Norm Goss Memorial Medal

The Norm Goss Memorial Medal is awarded to the player judged to be the best afield in the Victorian Football League grand final.It is named after former player and administrator Norm Goss, Sr....

 for his grand final performance against Port Melbourne

Port Melbourne Football Club

The Port Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Borough, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne and is currently playing in the Victorian Football League ....

.