Born Numurkah, Victoria December 25, 1881 - died Frankston City, Victoria, July 22, 1967

Recruited to Carlton from Footscray (VFA)

Carlton player No. 175

At Carlton

Premiership player 1906, 1907 & 1908

Had there been an equivalent of the Norm Smith Medal minted for Grand Final day 1906 then the brilliant 24 year-old half-back flanker ‘Billy’ Payne would surely have been the recipient.

A fleet-of-foot, long-kicking and often flamboyant footballer, Payne was considered one of ‘Jack’s Lads’, having been cherry-picked by Jack Worrall to take Carlton to a long-awaited Premiership.

Convinced and presumably financially-coerced to relinquish ties with Footscray, Payne fronted up in dark Navy Blue for the first time against St Kilda, just prior to the 1904 finals series.

His second coincided with the semi-final against Essendon and his third the Grand Final where the team fell four goals adrift of Fitzroy.

Two years later, Payne’s spectacular high-marking and ground level prowess thrilled the captive audience of more than 44,000, and contributed chiefly to an emphatic and equally historic Carlton Grand Final victory.

Payne was there to experience the euphoria of Grand Final victory in 1907 and ’08, and equally so the pain of 1909 Grand Final defeat - alternating between centre half-back and full-back throughout. As the cornerstone of the Carlton defence, Payne prided himself in his capacity to win the one-on-ones and to be the playmaker with his rangy, penetrating kicks.

In mid-1912, Payne, the inaugural wearer of Carlton’s No.2, unfortunately became embroiled in a dispute – either with the newly-appointed Coach Norman Clark, select committeemen or all of the above.  As a consequence, the 127-gamer parted company with the club and never played again.

But the three-time Carlton Premiership player’s legacy at Princes Park remains intact, as the first in a glorious line of club greats to secure Best On Ground status in a VFL/AFL Grand Final.