A gifted footballer whose natural skills covered the full range of the champion's repertoire, Nicky Winmar proved to be an inspired recruiting selection. He came to the Saints with a reputation for inconsistency, but in his first three years ran second in the best and fairest and also won the award. He was a superb kick and had the capacity to soar for huge marks from only a couple of steps. The understanding he developed with Tony Lockett made them one of the most formidable combinations in the game.

He was the first Aboriginal footballer to play 200 AFL games. Growing up as a youngster he would practise on a muddy piece of ground that had been hosed to replicate the wintry conditions in Melbourne. Aside from his superb ball skills he was also a technically perfect tackler who could mow down unsuspecting players with his lightning pace. He could anticipate the direction players would take on the field and could nail them with a superbly applied tackle every time.

His famous display of his skin colour to a Victoria Park crowd was a landmark in the stamping out of racial discrimination in the game.