Aussie Rules was mourning the passing of Graham 'Polly' Farmer Wednesday, an indigenous trailblazer considered the game's "greatest big man" and revolutionary of the national sport.

Farmer has long-been regarded as one of the best Aussie Rules players of all time, playing 356 games between 1953 and 1971 in Victoria and his home state of Western Australia.

A ruckman, often the tallest player on the field tasked with jumping into his counterpart and tapping the ball to his teammates, Farmer pioneered the position by leaping early and at times grabbing the ball out of the air with two hands.

His athleticism and attacking passing to teammates by hand revolutionised the game and inspired generations of footballers.