Norm Collins 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...

er who played with 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...

, Carlton

Carlton Football Club

The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...

 and Hawthorn

Hawthorn Football Club

The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...

 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).

Born in Malvern

Malvern, Victoria

Malvern is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Malvern had a population of 9,422.-History:...

, Collins played his junior football for Fitzroy and in 1924 made his VFL debut, alongside his elder brother Goldie

Goldie Collins

Goldsmith 'Goldie' Collins was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the VFL.He made his debut with Fitzroy in 1922 and the following season was the club's best and fairest...

. Another brother, Harry

Harry Collins (footballer)

Harry Collins was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League.Collins was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for bravery, before being killed in action in World War I....

, had also played at Fitzroy but was killed in 1918 while fighting in France.

Fitzroy had won a premiership in 1922 and as Collins found it difficult to break into the team, he transferred to Carlton after two seasons.

He was used initially at Carlton as a centreman but after sitting out of the 1928 VFL season

1928 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1928.-Premiership season:In 1928, the VFL competition consisted of twelve 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...

 the position had been taken up by new recruit Colin Martyn

Colin Martyn

Colin Martyn was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League .Martyn made his debut for the Carlton Football Club in round 3 of the 1928 season. He left the game at the end of the 1932 season.-External links:* at Blueseum*...

. When he returned in 1929, the former Fitzroy player was tried as a half forward flanker, rover and defender. He played finals that year, kicking two goals in Carlton's losing Preliminary Final team. However, he soon found himself out of favour and missed selection in the 1930 finals series and played only once in 1931.
Collins crossed to Hawthorn during the 1931

1931 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1931.-Premiership season:In 1931, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus one substitute player, known as the 19th man...

season where he played as a defender. He filled in as Hawthorn's captain on occasion. An injury ended his career in 1933. Just two months after making his last appearance for Hawthorn, Collins committed suicide.