Wilson, Anthony

BORN AUGUST 20TH, 1973, at Fairfield in Sydney's west, he started skating at 5 and was 8 years-old when his father introduced him to ice hockey. His first State tryout in 1985 at 11 or 12 took place at the Prince Alfred Park ice rink. "Dad did my skates up at 5 am with frozen fingers in the middle of winter". He played for the Blacktown Bullets in the NSW League, the team that morphed into the West Sydney Ice Dogs of the AIHL.

A foundation player with the Dogs, he moved to the Sydney Bears in 2002, returning in 2003 and remaining until his retirement 10 years later at the age of 40. At home on ice or inline skates, he coached the young Anthony Kimlim, a future minder for the National ice hockey team, in the Australian under-12 national inline hockey team.

He won the Goodall Cup representing New South Wales in 1996, in the AIHL in 2004 and again in 2013, his last season. He also posted impressive stats and awards at the international level, playing 63 games for the Australian national team on 14 occasions from 1995 to 2000; from 2002 to 2008; and 2010.

Captain of Australia when the Mighty Roos were promoted to Division 1 in 2008, the first time since 1962, he led one of the biggest victories in the country’s hockey history. In 2010, he was Best Defenseman in the Division 2 World Championship and won Division 2 gold, 3 silver and a bronze. He retired from playing after the 2013 season and was General Manager of Sydney Ice Dogs in the AIHL in 2015.

A 1.85m, 100kg ever-reliable defenseman with a "dirty big shot", Anthony Wilson's playing career spanned 34 years.