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Denis
LANIGAN
Denis
LANIGAN
1895, 1897
FORWARD
180cm
81kg
Recruited From
Collingwood Juniors
Collingwood Debut
Round 1, 1895
Date of Birth
18 May 1874
Date of Death
01 February 1933
thumbnail
13
CFC GAMES
3
CFC GOALS
2
Finals
26
CFC Debut Number
V82
CFC VFA Debut Number

A talented flanker, Denis Lanigan holds the unique distinction of being the first player in VFL/AFL history to have played for three different clubs.

He first emerged onto the scene when he played a couple of games for Collingwood in the VFA season of 1895. He then became a semi-regular in the club’s first season in the newly-formed Victorian Football League in 1897, playing 11 further games – mostly on a wing or at half-forward – and snaring a few goals.

But after that promising season he won himself another little piece of history by being the only player to seek a permit to change clubs at a special VFL meeting in May of 1898. He sought, and was granted, a clearance to play with Melbourne. A year later, and after 16 games with the Redlegs where he was moved into defence, he was granted a clearance to Carlton, where he would play a further 14 games in his only season.

Those are decent numbers: 11, 16 and 14 games in three seasons with three good clubs. Yet he never seemed to want to hang around.

It was a similar story with his cricket. A highly talented all-rounder, Lanigan was playing with Richmond Cricket Club when he first rose to prominence as a footballer. At the time he moved from Collingwood to Melbourne he was described as “the well-known MCC ground bowler”. Then, after his first season of football with Carlton, he jumped ship and donned the whites at Princes Park too. He certainly wasn’t afraid of new environments.

Surprisingly, he didn’t appear at senior VFL level again after the 1899 season. He was cleared by Carlton back to Collingwood Juniors midway through 1901, and he played there for a number of years. He continued to play cricket, and was chosen as part of a Victorian 18 to play England 11 in 1903.

There is something missing in Denis Lanigan’s story. He played 43 senior games as either half-back or half-forward, and did well enough to be a near-regular with three different teams in three different seasons. But he never stayed, and nor did he progress. Exactly why his career panned out that way is something we’ll probably never know.

- Michael Roberts

CFC Career Stats

Season played Games Goals Finals Win %
1895, 1897 13 3 2 54.5%

CFC Season by Season Stats

Season GP GL B K H T D Guernsey No.
* Player statistics include VFA (Victorian Football Association) results
Full Name
Denis Lanigan
CFC Last Game
SF 1897
Total VFL Games
43
Total VFL Goals
6

Also Played For

Team League Years Played Games Goals
Melbourne VFL 1898 16 1
Carlton VFL 1899 14 2