Deniston "Denis" Marshall (born 17 October 1940) 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 in the (then) West Australian National Football League

West Australian Football League

The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...

 (WANFL) and 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).

Marshall was a dashing centre/half back flanker who debuted at age seventeen with Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

n club Claremont

Claremont Football Club

The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League . Its official colours are navy blue and gold....

 in 1958. He represented his State in that first year. He went on to represent Western Australia 14 times during his career — and represented Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 a further eight times in interstate matches

Interstate matches in Australian rules football

Australian rules football matches between teams representing Australian colonies/states and territories have been held since 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition and international matches meant that football games between state representative teams were...

. Marshall won four best and fairest

Best and Fairest

Best and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.In the...

 awards with Claremont and was runner up in the 1962 Sandover Medal

Sandover Medal

The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League...

 award for the fairest and best player in the WANFL.

When recruited to Victorian side Geelong

Geelong Football Club

The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...

 in 1964 he burst on to the League scene as a readymade star. Marshall’s stay in Victoria would be brief. He played just 85 games from 1964 to 1968 but won the Cats' best-and-fairest in 1966 and was second in the 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...

 in 1968 before returning to Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 at the age of 27.http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=23411

He was selected in the All-Australian Team

All-Australian Team

The All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and a coach, of the best performed during the season....

 following the 1966 Hobart Carnival

1966 Hobart Carnival

The 1966 Hobart Carnival was the 16th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It was the final time that Tasmania hosted a carnival....

.

In 2004 Marshall was inducted into both the WA Football Hall of Fame and the Australian Football Hall of Fame

Australian Football Hall of Fame

The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established...

.

Career highlights

Playing career

• Games: 259
  • Claremont 1958 - 1963, 1969 - 1972 175 games
  • Geelong 1964 - 1968 84 games 25 goals

Player honours:

• Runner up Sandover Medal 1962
• Runner up Brownlow Medal 1968
• Geelong Best & Fairest 1966
• Claremont Best & Fairest 1959, 1961, 1963, 1970
• All Australian 1966
• Represented Western Australia 14 games
• Represented Victoria 8 games

Coaching record:

• Claremont 1969 - 1971 (64 games, 28 wins, 35 losses, 1 draw)