Danny Wise might just be the best Queensland footballer never to play at AFL level. Certainly there are many who say he could have … and should have.
Born and bred on the Gold Coast, he was a Southport premiership player at 17 in 1999 before a six-year stint in South Australia, where he played at senior level with Woodville-West Torrens and North Adelaide. Twice he played in the SANFL grand final, twice he represented SA at Under 21 level, and in 2001 he finished third in the Magarey Medal.
But the Gold Coast was always home, and the prolific midfielder returned to the tourist strip in 2006. Quickly re-establishing himself among the Queensland elite, he tasted premiership success again with Southport in 2006 and 2008.
In 2010 he won the Grogan Medal after finishing 4th in 2006 and 2nd in 2008 and ’09.
He also won the Southport B&F in 2010 after being runner-up three times, and was chosen in the AFLQ Team of the Year seven times in eight years from 2006 to 2013, missing out only in 2011 when injury intervened.
A regular standout in the Queensland side, he played every year for the Maroons from 2006 to 2013, and captained the State side five times in 2010-11-12.
Having played a total of 169 senior games for Southport and skippered the club from 2009-13, he was admitted to the Southport Hall of Fame in 2011 and received Life Membership in 2013.
And still he wasn’t done, finishing his career with two years at Burleigh in the QFA before retiring in 2015. He won the Ron Todd Medal as the League’s best player in 2014 and was runner-up in 2015.
A fitting addition to the Queensland Hall of Fame … Danny Wise.
AFLQ QLD
Partners
