Graham Leydin

{{Short description|Australian rules footballer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}

{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}

{{Infobox AFL biography

| name = Graham Leydin

| image =

| fullname = Graham William Leydin

| birth_date = {{birth date|1940|3|21|df=y}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| originalteam = Moonee Valley{{cite book|last=Holmesby|first=Russell|last2=Main|first2=Jim|title=The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers| publisher=BAS Publishing|year=2007|isbn=978-1-920910-78-5}}

| height = 173 cm

| weight = 67 kg

| position =

| statsend = 1964

| years1 = 1959–61, 1964

| club1 = Essendon

| games_goals1 = 35 (18)

| careerhighlights =

}}

Graham William Leydin (born 21 March 1940) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Nicknamed Yabbie, Leydin won a best and fairest at the Essendon Under-19s in 1958.

He played mostly as a rover or at half forward and arrived at Essendon from Moonee Valley. Leydin usually came off the bench during his VFL career, which is from where he started the 1959 VFL Grand Final, which Essendon lost to Melbourne.[http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/G/Graham_Leydin.html AFL Tables: Graham Leydin] Retrieved 5 July 2011. He made 16 appearances in each of his first two seasons but played just two games in 1961.

Due to his employment, he had to move to the country in 1962 and began playing for the Wangaratta Rovers and he won their best and fairest in 1962.{{cite web |title=Wang Rovers FNC - Best & Fairest |url=https://wangrovers.com.au/best-fairest/ |publisher=Wang Rovers FNC |access-date=7 November 2022}}[http://www.essendonfc.com.au/team/player-past.asp?id=538 Essendon Football Club: Leydin, Graham] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326001813/http://www.essendonfc.com.au/team/player-past.asp?id=538 |date=26 March 2012 }} Retrieved 5 July 2011. He was runner up in the 1963 Ovens & Murray Football League best and fairest award, the Morris Medal to former Collingwood premiership player, Ken Bennett.{{cite web |title=O&MFNL - Morris Medal Winners |url=https://omfnl.com.au/best-and-fairest/ |website=Ovens & Murray FNL |access-date=6 November 2022}}

Leydin briefly returned to Essendon in 1964 and after adding just one more game to his VFL tally, finished the season at Brunswick. His time with Brunswick included a stint as captain and ended when he joined the Doutta Stars as captain-coach in 1972.The Age,[https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=xBZVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bpMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2605,4259541 "Rose to miss next game"] (23 April 1969) p. 13. Retrieved 5 July 2011. He guided the Stars to a premiership in his first year and then retired as a player, but remained as coach until 1975.

His coaching career took him back to Moonee Valley, where he was in charge for two seasons, before acting as senior coach of Strathmore in 1978 and 1979. Leydin coached Essendon's Under-19s side for a season in 1981 and then spent six years as a member of the North Melbourne coaching staff, working as a junior development officer and assistant coach. He returned to Strathmore in 1988 for another two year stint as senior coach.

Leydin played 53 first eleven games for North Melbourne Cricket Club from 1957/58 to 1968/69.{{cite web |title=Victorian Premier Cricket 1st Eleven Players |url=http://premier.cricketvictoria.com.au/CV-1st-XI-Player-Register-and-Career-Stats.aspx?rw=c |website=Victorian Premier Cricket |publisher=Cricket Victoria}}

Leydin won the Wangaratta & District Cricket Association's A. Grade batting average and aggregate in 1962/63 and 1963/64.{{cite web |title=Wangaratta & DCA Batting Awards |url=http://www.wangarattadca.vic.cricket.com.au/content.aspx?file=35%7C32568l |publisher=W&DCA |access-date=7 November 2022}}

He was a proficient cricketer in Wangaratta during the early 1960s and represented the Victorian Country Cricket League team which hosted both the Marylebone Cricket Club in Shepparton in December 1962 and South Africa at Benalla in December 1963. [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/277/277519/Other_matches.html CricketArchive: Other matches played by Graham Leydin (2)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929225024/http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/277/277519/Other_matches.html |date=29 September 2015 }} Retrieved 5 July 2011.