Phil Brent Krakouer

PLAYER: 1978-1991 (Claremont 1978-81, North Melbourne 1982-1990, Footscray 1990-1991)  

GAMES: 238 (Claremont 90, North Melbourne 141, Footscray 7)  

GOALS: 423 (Claremont 192, North Melbourne 224, Footscray 7)   

HONOURS: Claremont Premiership player 1981: Claremont Leading Goalkicker 1978, North Melbourne Leading Goalkicker 1983,1985,1987:  

WA representative x 4  

Phil Krakouer was blessed with elite skills and dazzling speed during his WAFL/VFL/AFL career, which spanned more than a decade. His remarkable partnership with his brother Jim, made the pair household names in Australian Rules Football Australia wide and a magnet for patrons of both the WAFL and VFL/AFL competitions. 

Born in Mount Barker, Phil first played senior football as a teenager for North Mount Barker Football Club in the 1970’s.  

Krakouer moved to Perth to play with Claremont in the WAFL and made his League debut in 1978, a year after his older brother Jim first represented the Tigers.  

Phil’s near faultless ball-handling, acceleration, and goal sense soon made him a key player as a half forward flanker or wingman.  

In an outstanding debut season, he played all but one game, kicked 51 goals to lead the Claremont goalkicking and polled 13 Sandover Medal votes to finish 11th in the count.  

In his four seasons with Claremont, Phil was remarkably consistent and effective, polling 13, 10, 9 and 13 Sandover votes and finish in the top 15 placegetters in three of the seasons.  In 1981, he was one his side’s best players in the Grand Final against South Fremantle as Claremont claimed their first Premiership since 1964.  

In their four seasons together at Claremont, the Krakouer brothers developed into one of the most exciting and skilful partnerships in WA football history, the pair having an uncanny knack of finding each other with the ball.  

The partnership was to continue for a further eight seasons after the brothers, dubbed “Krakouer Magic”, left Claremont to play with North Melbourne in 1982.  

Phil was an immediate star of the VFL competition, playing 141 games for the Kangaroos and was the club’s leading goalkicker on three occasions. He averaged 16.5 disposals and 1.6 goals per game over his eight seasons.  

In 1990, Phil and Jim Krakouer both left North Melbourne due to salary cap pressures at the club and Phil finished his AFL career with seven games at Footscray  

As one of the most exciting players and a household name of his generation, it is fitting that Phil Krakouer joins his brother Jim in the WA Football Hall of Fame.