John Bonney
# John Bonney

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

A wingman recruited from the small Tasmanian club Cooee, Bonney played in the St Kilda grand final team of 1971. 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.

Bonney died in Cobden, Victoria, on 20 February 2022 at the age of 75.

