Jack Bisset

Who was Jack Bisset?

Jack Bisset was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club and played for and coached the South Melbourne Football Club in the VFL. His surname is often spelt as Bissett and it is unclear which spelling is correct.

Bisset started his football career at Nar Nar Goon, captaining their 1921 premiership side. He moved to Port Melbourne in the VFA in 1922 was fullback for their premiership side in that year. He was captain-coach of Stawell from 1926 to 1927. He began playing as a follower and moved to Richmond where he made his VFL debut in 1928. He spent two seasons with the Tigers, 1928 and 1931, both ending in Grand Final loses. In between his two seasons at Richmond he was captain-coach at Nhill.

In 1932 he was recruited by South Melbourne and became their captain-coach the following season. Bisset had an immediate impact on the club, guiding them to their first premiership in 15 years. He remained in the role until the end of the 1936 season having reached the Grand Final in every year. South Melbourne however could not repeat their 1933 success, losing the Grand Finals by 39, 20 and 11 points respectively. Having won 63 of the 80 games that he coached, Bisset was named coach of the Swans' official 'Team of the Century'.