Peter Charles Banfield 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 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...

 and the Brisbane Bears

Brisbane Bears

The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995...

 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.

Playing Career

Banfield was recruited from North Ringwood made his way into the Essendon team having played under-19s football at the club. He participated in the Essendon reserves 1983 premiership and after being unable to establish himself in the seniors, won a PIE Best & Fairest in 1986. When he did make it into the VFL side, 11 times in total, Essendon won all their games.

Brisbane picked up Banfield for their first ever VFL season in 1987

1987 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1987.-Night Series: defeated 8.10 to 8.6 in the Final at Waverley Park.-Leading goalkickers:...

 and he took part in their inaugural appearance in Round 1 starting in the back pocket

Back pocket

In Australian rules football, the back pocket refers to a position on the field deep in defence.Back pocket players, situated in the backline, need to have good spoiling skills and usually, quality back-pockets are noted for their hardness....

. He only missed two games that year collecting a career best 197 kicks, 93 handballs and kicking 9 goals. After three seasons in Brisbane where he played a total of 45 games, Banfield played league football in his third state, 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...

, by joining West Adelaide.

Banfield played 95 games with the club over four years and won their Best & Fairest award, the Sam Suckling Medal in 1991. In 1991 Banfield's form was a contributing factor in West's late season form change which saw them win 9 of their last 11 minor round games to surge into the finals. This continued in the finals but was halted in the Grand Final against North Adelaide. Banfield contributed to be a major contributor for West Adelaide under the coaching of Neil Kerley

Neil Kerley

Donald Neil Kerley OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. Known to his mates as either Neil or Knuckles and to South Australian football fans as King Kerley or simply "Kerls", he is best known for taking three clubs to four SANFL premierships over three decades as both a...

 in 1992 and '93 but he team failed to recapture their late 1991 form and finished a disappointing 6th and 8th in both seasons.

Following the 1993 SANFL season, Peter Banfield retired from league football having played a total of 56 VFL games for Essendon and Brisbane from 1984-89 and 95 SANFL games for West Adelaide from 1990-93.

Coaching Career

As a coach, Banfield steered ACT club Ainslie to three successive premierships from 1994 to 1996. This earned him the job of St Kilda's assistant coach, firstly to Stan Alves

Stan Alves

Stan Alves, OAM was an Australian rules football player and coach. He played 226 games for the Melbourne Football Club in the 1970s, captaining them from 1973–1976 and finishing runner-up for the Brownlow Medal in 1975, before joining North Melbourne in 1977. Legend has it that he chose to play...

 and then to Tim Watson

Tim Watson

Timothy Michael "Tim" Watson is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, sports journalist and media personality.He is notable for his long career at the Essendon Football Club as a player where he participated in several premiership teams...

. He crossed to 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....

 in 2001 for a two year stint as Neale Daniher

Neale Daniher

Neale Francis Daniher is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League . Neale was also an Assistant Coach to the Essendon and Fremantle Football Clubs and the Coach of the Victorian State Team and the Melbourne Football Club...

's assistant. The 2003 and 2004 season were spent as coach of the Bendigo Bombers

Bendigo Bombers

The Bendigo Bombers Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia playing in the Victorian Football League .-Brief history:...

 and he then was put in charge of the Casey Scorpions

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...

before resigning in 2007.