# Norm Lugg

Norman Victor "Norm" Lugg (15 March 1898 – 12 April 1936) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

## Family

The son of William Edward Lugg, and Mary Ann Lugg (1850–1938), née Gaskin, Norman Victor Lugg was born in Ararat, Victoria on 15 March 1898.
He married Jessie Mary Walsh in 1921.

## Military service

Lugg, who came from Ararat, was 17 years of age when he enlisted in June 1915, to serve with the AIF in World War I. Attached to the 4th Reinforcements of the 21st Battalion, Lugg embarked with his unit aboard the HMAT Hororata on 27 September 1915.
He was at one point known to have been recovering at a convalescent camp in Bolougne.
By the time he returned, on 19 February 1919, he was a Sapper with the 6th Field Company Engineers.

## Football career
### South Melbourne

Soon after his return to Australia, Lugg began training with South Melbourne, who were the reigning VFL premiers. He was described by the local newspaper as being a "solid individual who kicks like a champion with either foot", while noting that he "lacks dash a little". His efforts in training were enough to earn selection for the opening round of the season.
He was a regular member of the South Melbourne team throughout the 1919 VFL season, with 17 appearances. In round 12, against St Kilda, Lugg played in a record game for South Melbourne, in which they amassed the league's highest ever fourth quarter score, 17.4 (106), as well as the highest team score, 29.15 (189). The winning margin, 171 points, stood until the 1979 season. He was mentioned in The Argus as one of the South Melbourne players to have excelled in that performance.
His best game however came in South Melbourne's semi final against Richmond. A follower, Lugg had been playing as a defender when not in the ruck, but was picked as a half forward, to fill in for the absent Harold Robertson. He kicked three goals, marked strongly and was dominant in the ruck, a performance described as the "game of his life". It wasn't enough though to prevent a 14-point loss to Richmond, which eliminated South Melbourne from the finals.
In the 1920 VFL season, Lugg played 10 games for South Melbourne. He was unable to produce his form of the previous season, but did earn selection in the Victorian team which went to Sydney to play New South Wales.

### Fitzroy

Lugg, who was suffering from injuries incurred during his war service, was granted a permit to join Fitzroy early in the 1921 VFL season. He appeared in 12 games for Fitzroy, his year ending in round 17 with a three-week suspension for retaliation against Essendon player Roy Laing, who had struck him.

### Frankston

Not selected for Fitzroy in 1922, Lugg left for the Nepean Football League in 1923 as the new captain-coach of Frankston. Not long into the season, Lugg had to retire from football due to illness and also resigned as coach.

### Yeoman

He recovered well enough the following year to be able to accept an appointment to coach Yeoman in Tasmania's North West Football Union, a position he held for only one season.

## Death

Lugg died at the Caulfield Repatriation Hospital on 12 April 1936, aged 38, due to illness from injuries he had sustained in the war. He was married with three children.

## Footnotes

* 1 2 3 "Yeoman—N. V. Lugg". The Advocate. Burnie, Tasmania. 2 May 1924. p. 3. Retrieved 25 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ Deaths, Lugg, The Age, (Tuesday, 14 June 1938), p.1.
* ↑ First World War Embarkation Roll.
* ↑ "The AIF Project – Norman Victor Lugg". ADFA. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
* 1 2 3 Main (2009).
* ↑ "Projects for the Season". Record (Emerald Hill). Victoria. 26 April 1919. p. 3. Retrieved 24 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "Football". Record (Emerald Hill). Victoria. 3 May 1919. p. 3. Retrieved 24 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* 1 2 3 4 "Norm Lugg – Games Played". AFL Tables. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
* ↑ "Record Goal-Kicking". The Argus. Melbourne. 28 July 1919. p. 4. Retrieved 24 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ Ross (1996), p.96.
* ↑ Lovett (2004).
* ↑ "South Melbourne Scores 189 Points". The Argus. Melbourne. 28 July 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 24 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "Richmond Beat South Melb". The Referee. Sydney. 24 September 1919. p. 9. Retrieved 24 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* 1 2 "The First Semi-Final". The Australasian (Town ed.). Melbourne. 27 September 1919. p. 35. Retrieved 24 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* 1 2 3 "Death of Former South Player". Record (Emerald Hill). Victoria. 18 April 1936. p. 1. Retrieved 24 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ Holmesby (2007).
* ↑ "Football". Record (Emerald Hill). Victoria. 24 July 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 25 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "Australian Football". The Arrow. Sydney. 24 September 1920. p. 10. Retrieved 25 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "Sporting". The Argus. Melbourne. 26 May 1921. p. 5. Retrieved 25 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "Victorian Players Disqualified". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 23 September 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 25 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "Notes". Record (Emerald Hill). Victoria. 6 May 1922. p. 1. Retrieved 25 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "Norman Lugg Appointed". Frankston and Somerville Standard. Victoria. 11 April 1923. p. 6. Retrieved 25 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "Frankston's Coach". Frankston and Somerville Standard. Victoria. 30 May 1923. p. 5. Retrieved 25 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "The League". Daily Telegraph (Launceston). Tasmania. 2 May 1924. p. 7. Retrieved 25 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "Wynyard". The Advocate. Burnie, Tasmania. 22 April 1925. p. 3. Retrieved 25 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ Deaths: Lugg, The Age, (Monday, 13 April 1936), p.1.
* ↑ "Death of Norman Lugg". The Advocate (DAILY ed.). Burnie, Tasmania. 17 April 1936. p. 3. Retrieved 23 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.