DOB: 3 September 1944
Debut: Round 1, 1963 against St. Kilda at Junction Oval
Last Game: Round 20, 1968 against Richmond at MCG
From: Cooee
Number: 15 (1963-1964), 31 (1965-1968)
Honours
Best and Fairest - 1968
Games: 92
Goals: 36
Career Statistics
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Winning % |
| 46 | 0 | 46 | 50.00 |
Born in Victoria, and the son of a former Fitzroy Seconds player, Groom went to Tasmania as a child. He left again at 12 and played in the Melbourne Fourths and Thirds sides before returning home for two seasons. During his second stint in Tasmania he played for his state against both the VFA and VFL, and was a hotly sought after recruit. He had also been a talented sprinter and long jumper, representing Tasmania in the 1962 National Athletics Championships.
When he returned to Melbourne in 1963 he impressed in practice matches and was eventually cleared by Cooee to begin a VFL career. Promoted to the seniors immediately, Groom made a name as a pacy centre-half forward with good marking ability.
After a strong debut season he suffered a recurring hamstring injury in 1964 which restricted him to 12 games at centre half-forward, and kept him out of the 1964 Grand Final side.
Groom inherited the 31 jumper vacated by Ron Barassi at the end of 1964, but continued to battle the hamstring injury through 1965 and was restricted to eight games. He was finally cured by a visit to a physiotherapist, who immediately cured his hamstring complaint, allowing him to exploit his pace for the first time in two years.
At the end of 1968, having just won the Best and Fairest, Groom announced that he wanted to return to Tasmania to take up a job with his father in law's legal firm. His old club were forced to try and win a clearance for him to move back, and Groom remained on the Melbourne senior list but did not play a game that year. After six months he won his freedom and returned to Cooee, playing for the Tasmania in that year's Interstate Carnival.
In 1975 Groom was elected as Liberal MP for the Tasmanian federal electorate of Braddon at his second attempt. He held the seat until 1984, serving as Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development from 1977 to 1978 and Minister for Housing and Construction until November 1980. He resigned from the Federal Parliament before the 1984 election then re-entered politics as a member of the Tasmanian assembly in 1986. He served as Minister for Forests, Mines and Sea Fisheries and from November 1988 to June 1989 was Deputy Premier.
The Liberals lost government, and in 1991 he successfully challenged for the leadership of the party. At the 1992 election he became premier, serving one term after his party failed to win enough seats to govern in their own right at the 1996 election. Groom remained in parliament until 2001 and was appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia in 2010. He was also inducted to the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame.
| Year | Games | Goals | Brownlow |
| 1963 | 19 | 17 | 1 |
| 1964 | 12 | 9 | 0 |
| 1965 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 1966 | 16 | 7 | 1 |
| 1967 | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 1968 | 19 | 0 | 3 |
Lists
Famous for other things
Interstate recruits
Media
Age - 10/04/1963, 03/07/1964, 22/04/1969
Mercury - 17/05/2008
Links
Boyles Football Photos
Demonwiki image gallery
Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame
Wikipedia profile