John Bonney

Daryl John Bonney (21 May 1946 – 20 February 2022) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda.^[1]

John Bonney
Personal information
Full name	Daryl John Bonney
Date of birth	(1946-05-21)21 May 1946
Place of birth	Burnie, Tasmania
Date of death	20 February 2022(2022-02-20) (aged 75)
Place of death	Cobden, Victoria
Original team(s)	Cooee (NWFU)
Height	177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	71.5 kg (158 lb)
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1967–69, 1971–73, 1976	St Kilda	87 (79)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1976.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

A wingman recruited from the small Tasmanian club Cooee, Bonney played in the St Kilda grand final team of 1971.^[2] As an aspiring young player, he rang Collingwood hoping for a game, but was turned away. Wanting to play with a strong team, he then called St Kilda (which played in the 1966 VFL Grand Final), was accepted and played from the bench in the first game. In a career that was riddled with injuries, his nose was broken nine times, and he had a near fatal injury in which his spleen was punctured by a kick to the stomach. He missed the 1970 and 1974 VFL seasons due to family reasons and the 1972 VFL season due to a knee injury.^[3]

Bonney died in Cobden, Victoria, on 20 February 2022 at the age of 75.^[4][5]