Football legend Carl Ditterich is facing several charges over alleged historic child sex offences.
The 78-year-old was charged by the Bayside Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation team.
The alleged incident involves one victim at Heatherton in 1985.
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Ditterich, who had retired from league football in 1980, is charged with three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency.
He did not appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for a brief mention on Friday.
A lawyer stood in his place and submitted a medical certificate from Bendigo Health to explain Ditterich’s absence.
He is due back in court again on June 18.
Ditterich debuted for St Kilda at the age of 17 and became one of the VFL’s leading ruckmen.
But he was also frequently in trouble with the tribunal, costing him 30 matches during his career.
Ditterich tallied 285 games for the Saints and Melbourne and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
He unsuccessfully stood as an independent candidate for the Victorian state seat of Swan Hill in 1999.
– with AAP