Tony Polinelli

Anthony James Polinelli is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League during the early 1960s.

Football

Polinelli started his career as a rover but developed into a dashing wingman.
On 6 July 1963 he was a member of the Geelong team that were comprehensively and unexpectedly beaten by Fitzroy, 9.13 to 3.13 in the 1963 Miracle Match. He was a reserve in Geelong's 1963 premiership side and only appeared on the field briefly during the last quarter.
It is said that he had a pipe which he would smoke during the half time of matches.
He was shortlisted for the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century but didn't make the final cut.

Athletics

Geelong encouraged him to train with Arthur Edgerton, a specialist sprint coach based in Geelong. Under Edgerton's guidance Polinelli won the 1966 Bendigo Gift before finishing second to Wodonga's Bill Howard in the 1966 Stawell Gift.