Gerovich was a key-position forward, best known for high-flying marks and his prolific goalkicking. One famous mark,[3] which he took in the 1956 WANFL preliminary final over East Fremantle's Ray French, is commemorated in a statue at Fremantle Oval by local sculptor Robert Hitchcock. The statue was based on an iconic photograph of the mark,[2] taken by The West Australian photographer Maurie Hammond and published on Wednesday, 10 October 1956.[4] The mark is also depicted in Jamie Cooper's painting the Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.[5]
On three occasions he was the WAFL's top goalkicker: in 1956 with 74 goals, in 1960 with 101 goals, and 1961 with 74 goals again. He also topped South Fremantle's goal-kicking tally eight times.[6] When he retired after the 1969 season he had kicked a total of 744 goals for South Fremantle.[7]
State football
Over the course of his career, he regularly represented Western Australia at interstate football and kicked 56 goals from his 18 representative games. Gerovich, of Croatian heritage, was an All-Australian at the 1956 Perth Carnival and played in the side which won the 1961 Brisbane Carnival.
↑"Family Notices". The West Australian. Vol.54, no.16, 219. Western Australia. 24 June 1938. p.1. Retrieved 8 March 2017– via National Library of Australia.
↑Jordan, Ray, ed. (1985). The Footballers: A history of football in Western Australia (1sted.). St George Books. p.71. ISBN0867780258. The most famous mark in WA football history.
↑Everett, Les (2006). "Gero will fly forever". australianrules.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
