Peter Bennett

Peter Bennett was already drawing attention as a talented young footballer in 1944 while in his final year at Melbourne High School and was recruited directly out of school by the St Kilda Football Club. A knee injury in his first game with the club later that year, however, took him out of the season and he joined the army, thereby remaining an amateur until 1947, when he was once again invited to join St Kilda.

His stint in the army had exacerbated his injury and he never fully recovered, but Bennett nonetheless stuck with the team through 1954, appearing in 103 games and scoring 258 goals during his tenure. During this time he also represented Australia in an exhibition water polo tournament at the 1950 British Empire Games and officially at the 1952 Summer Olympics, where his team finished joint-17th.

He had also been chosen to participate in the 1948 Summer Olympics, but turned down the opportunity to, according to differing sources, either to be able to continue his studies or to play with St Kilda. He got another opportunity to attend the Olympics, earning a spot on the water polo delegation to the 1956 Summer Games, and joined the national squad, captaining it to 9th place finish in the tournament.