Garry Foulds

Garry Foulds (born 13 May 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer who played 300 games for the Essendon Football Club between 1974 and 1989. Described as "a ball magnet", Foulds spent the majority of his career playing on the wing or floating across the half-back line. He made his Victorian Football League (VFL) debut against Fitzroy in round 8 1974, after playing in the Essendon under–19s. He struggled to hold his place in the side before becoming a regular in 1977. Foulds was part of Essendon's Grand Final winning sides over Hawthorn in 1984 and 1985, along with playing in the 1983 Grand Final loss against the same opposition.

Biography While he attended St Bernard's College [college of fellow VFL/AFL 300 gamers, Simon and Justin Madden in Melbourne, Foulds played with West Essendon juniors in the Essendon District Football League. Then Essendon senior Victorian Football League [now AFL] captain, Des Tuddenham convinced Foulds to train with Essendon. "I was playing under-17s at the time and had just got home from training. My brother told me Des Tuddenham was at the door but I didn't believe him so I didn't bother to check. He came again and said he was waiting for me — I thought I would play along and went out to check and got the biggest shock of my life," Foulds said. By the end of the week he was training with Essendon and was playing in the under–19s.

He spent two years playing reserves and under–19s football before he made his senior debut in round 8 1974, against Fitzroy at Lake Oval. He struggled to hold his place in the side in the coming seasons, until he had a breakout season in 1977. The year saw him often win the ball across half-back or the midfield. Some experts said that Foulds would often have an "uncanny ability to be in the right play at the right time," and was a "dangerous player when he had the ball." Foulds says the 1984 Grand Final victory over Hawthorn was "probably his greatest memory," and was "more satisfying than playing 300 games."