“BOYHOOD MEMORIES LINGER FOR OLD CHAMP….”

“…. I walked across Trafalgar Oval ….It was pitch-black….and eerily quiet…..there was no-one around…..It took me back to when I was a kid……and the amount of times that I ran around that Oval…..listening to my Dad addressing his players at training…..and me, chasing the footy……”

“I often say to people ………go back to where you played your Junior football ….and just walk out on the ground….take a moment to soak it up, and reflect on how good it was when you were a kid…..”

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Mark Browning spent his growing-up years in two country towns – Trafalgar and Wangaratta…..

His Dad, Keith, was a stocky utility player in some battling South Melbourne sides of the early-fifties when he made the decision to head bush. Like a lot of stars of that generation, he was lured by an attractive coaching job which could consolidate his family’s future.

“Mum and Dad were both 22 when Trafalgar appointed him coach …..They’d never been there; had no car……In fact they got a lift up in the truck that was carrying their furniture……But that was the makings of them,” Mark says.

Keith landed a job as a Sales Rep with a Biscuit company and, in two separate stints with The Bloods, coached them for nine years…… interspersed with a spell as coach of Cora Lynn….. When he guided Trafalgar to the Gippsland League flag in 1962 the tiny town, which was fighting well above its weight, celebrated for weeks.

He was going on 34 ( “just about stuffed as a footballer”, according to Mark) when he received a job promotion, to Wangaratta, as a rep for the North-East/ Riverina.

“He played a few games with the Magpies, then retired….Anyway, work had become a priority and he was more interested in my footy by then,” Mark recalls.

“My parents had no idea about Kett Street being in a flood area when they bought a house down there, over the bridge. Old Jack White, the Wang President, warned Dad: “You’d better buy yourself a boat.”

“But I didn’t mind…..The best part about the floods was the fishing, especially in the swamps behind the Magpies ground……We caught plenty….Mind you, we had to fight the tiger snakes on the way through !…..”

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Mark followed the path of all avid local youngsters…….playing with the Blues in the

Midget competition, then moving up to Junior League club Centrals.

“The only trouble was that they were Brown and Gold…..the same colours as the ‘rotten Rovers’,” he quips.

His lifestyle focused on Footy, Basketball and Fishing…….and getting up to deliver newspapers around the West End six mornings a week: “Imagine it….the middle of winter….. freezing cold….you’d ride home, have brekky, then head off to school…..”

“I got paid on a Saturday morning – $5.25 for the week……Then I’d go to the Bakery and spend half of it….”

He remembers being selected in an O & M Schoolboys side, organised by the great Norm Minns, and picking up about 4 kicks for the week……”I thought I was pretty good, but that put me in my place,” he says.

Keith was now Victorian Sales Manager of the company, and had travelled back from Melbourne on week-ends for a couple of years, before the family made the move to East Doncaster.

“The 4-5 years we spent in Wang was fantastic (especially the fishing), but it was probably good timing to get down to the big smoke, as far as my footy was concerned…….I joined Beverley Hills juniors, which was in Fitzroy’s zone…..”

“I was still residentially tied to North Melbourne for another twelve months because Wangaratta was part of their zone; and was also eligible for South under the Father/Son rule.”

He was 16 when Fitzroy talked him into playing a practice match in the country……Lining up at centre half forward on the previous year’s Hampden League Maskell Medallist, Danny Harrington, he booted five goals and incited everybody’s interest….

“Dad said: ‘That’s worked out well, because South are really keen now…..They want to give you $500 to sign on and another $500 when you play your first game…….’ I’d always dreamt of following in his footsteps, so I was rapt….”

Thus began the career of a Swans champion…..

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It was a stuttering start …….He spent the first season, as a 17 year-old, battling away in the Reserves ( “I was awful….overawed” ), but once he broke into the seniors in Round 5, 1985, Mark was to become a fixture for the next 13 years.

What a story !

He was to experience the contrast of belonging to a League club on its knees, fearing for its future………to becoming part of the glitz and glamour of a no-expenses-spared acquisition by an eccentric private-owner…..

But initially, he had to establish himself……His first coach was Graeme John ( “a former star…. a terrific fellah”), who was succeeded by Ian Stewart.

“ ‘Stewie’ was probably the key coach for me……He gave the young blokes a real go, and used to play me on the opposition’s best player every week……I was only 183cm, but I might get Flower, Greig or Schimmelbusch on a wing….then I’d be playing full back on Blight or Quinlan, or CHB on Sidebottom…. It was a fantastic grounding…..”

Mark had just turned 21 when he was appointed as the Club’s Development officer; which involved him visiting Melbourne schools, and servicing their Riverina zone.

“It was great fun…….We’d hire a light aircraft from Moorabbin, land somewhere in the Riverina and conduct clinics for three days, in Wagga, Narrandera, Griffith or Ungarie …..We’d train with a local Club on Tuesday night.”

“I had team-mates queuing up to help me……As long as we were back for South’s training on Thursday night – and were still playing okay – all was good….”

There was no problem in that regard…..He’d become a star, and represented the state for six years straight. His eight games for the ‘Big V’ included winning a Simpson Medal against Western Australia.

“I loved playing for Victoria, because we didn’t have a lot of team success at South…….I remember, I was 21 or so, playing in the centre, against WA at Waverley……The first ruck was Dempsey, Tuck, Matthews; the half back line of Barker, Knights, Bruce Doull…..Then you had blokes like Teasdale, Southby, Kelvin Moore, Van der Haar…….I thought: ‘How good’s this…..’

“I’d barracked for South all my life, and it hurt to see them struggling….The place was run-down….Craig Kimberley, a fanatical Swan, and a really smart young entrepreneur, who started Just Jeans from scratch, was our President…… I thought, if a bloke like him couldn’t make it work then nobody could……I knew we were in real trouble…”

“They said: ‘Well, the options are, you can merge with someone, or go up and play at the SCG every second week’…..That sounded good to me…..We flew up there to play in 1982, then re-located in ‘83….”

“I was 25 when the move to Sydney came about……It was a real roller-coaster….I was vice-captain for a lot of that time…… The boys stuck together pretty tightly, but half-way through ‘84 a lot were struggling to get work, their wives were homesick, and the Club allowed half of the list to go back to Melbourne….”

“We never all trained together….so, if a bloke came up to play his first game, we’d hardly ever met him…..Somehow or other we got through……”

“Then the Edelsten thing came about ……All the excitement and glamour was great, and suddenly the Swans became front-page news……But you could always see that it was a car-crash waiting to happen….”

“It proved though, that if you started to win games of footy in Sydney, people would come……And they did, in their droves….”

(Left) Club leaders Barry Round and Mark Browning lead the Swans onto the SCG for one of their first games (Right) The promotion for the Sydney Swans swings into gear.

The Swans were flying, under Tommy Hafey’s coaching, in Mark’s final season – 1987. They booted a few scores of 150-plus points, and were drawing regular crowds of 35-40,000 to the SCG.

They finished second, were dealt severely by the injury-stick and capitulated in the finals. Mark had played a total of five finals in his career – four of them in his last two seasons with the Club.

“Just to illustrate how starved of success we’d been, my five finals was the most anyone had played with the Swans since the thirties…”

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So the illustrious Browning VFL career was over..…He’d played 251 games ( which places him 10th on the all-time Swans list ), was Club Best and Fairest and an All-Australian in 1983, Vice-Captain for four years, Captain in 1984-‘85, and is the only Swan to have played a century of games with both South Melbourne and Sydney.

He was inducted to the Club’s Hall of Fame in 2009.

Left: Youngster Mark Browning in one of earliest games . (Middle) On World of Sport, with Lou Richards and Bob Davis. (Right) Mark’s Dad Keith, a 53- game Swan during the fifties.

“I was only 30 when I retired, and wanted to continue somewhere with a real footy culture…….The Hobart President, Graeme Peck had been in my ear for a while, and I was appointed to take over from Peter Hudson as captain-coach….”

“It was a great Club, with great people……We loved it there…”

“Even though Tasmanians were passionate about their footy, I couldn’t believe there was nothing happening in the schools……We’d been busting our butts in Sydney trying to get into schools….”

“Billy Picken, who was coaching Clarence, agreed….We’d been employed by the TFL to get footy up and running….”

“We went to the Tassie CEO and pleaded our case…..We said: ‘Mate, you’ve gotta get school footy going…..He said: ‘Don’t worry; all the kids are playing with their Clubs ….”

“There’s no doubt about it, they took their eyes off the ball for a long time….”

Besides coaching, Mark ran a Hotel down on the Hobart waterfront, about five minutes walk from Constitutional Dock . He guided Hobart into the Grand Final in his second season in charge. They held a handy lead over North Hobart, but were run down in the closing stages….

“The next year we worked on our depth…..I found out there were about five guys earning most of the money, so we brought in a pay structure that ‘spread the love’…..I just got some kids who were recently out of the VFL Under 19’s and wanted to come down and play…..”

“The scores were just about level at three quarter-time in the 1990 Grand Final, in front of a crowd of 18,000…..We came out and kicked 10 goals against North Launceston in the final quarter, to win by 58 points…”

“That was certainly the highlight of my time at Hobart, but I was just as proud of our effort in beating them on a mud-heap in the Prelim Final two years later……Trouble was, we were cooked when we met North Hobart in the Grand Final….. ”

Mark was in charge of Hobart for five seasons, and coached the Tasmanian State team against Queensland in 1993.

He reflects that football in the state has been withering on the vine for some time…..”for instance, my old club Hobart – one of the most famous of all Tassie Clubs – can only field a Reserve Grade team in the Southern Football League this season” he says.

“I feel that if Tasmania hadn’t got that licence recently, football would have headed further down the gurglar…”

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The Sydney Swans again fell upon hard times whilst Mark was in Hobart in the early 90’s. Gary Buckenara accepted the ‘poison chalice’ as coach, but had failed to lift them out of the mire. After the ignominy of 18 straight losses ‘Bucky’ was sacked….

Mark received a phone call, offering him the job, and inviting him to Melbourne for an interview.

“I said: ‘Okay, but have I got the job ? ‘…….’Yeah, yeah’……”

“Anyway, when I arrived in Melbourne they mentioned: ‘Oh, by the way, someone else has bobbed up’…….I queried them: ‘Who’s that ?’…..’Ron Barassi’……’I said: I think I’m in a bit of trouble here….”

“But truly, getting Barassi was the turning-point for the Sydney Swans…..They’ve never looked back from there….”

Instead, Mark moved up to Queensland in 1994, and coached power club Southport into a couple of QAFL Prelim Finals.

“That was regarded as a bit of a failure for Southport, who are used to winning flags……I found the players’ attitude a bit more laid-back to Tassie, where they were used to crawling over broken glass for you….”

He then landed the job as the A.F.L’s Queensland Talent manager in 1996, and has been in the role ever since.

“Close to 160 kids from Queensland have played AFL footy since then” he says ….”Many of them didn’t come to the game until they were 15-16……We’ve had a lot of success by grabbing them from other sports.”

“The Suns and Lions have academies now….They do a lot of the legwork these days….I make sure the structures are in place; that the staffing’s right……..Female footy is flying up here……An unbelievable Girls Development program has been developed…..”

“The exciting thing about my job is that sometimes you can follow the kids’ careers for the next 12-14 years.”

“I say to them: ‘Grab the opportunity and run with it…….”

“A SALUTE TO A FOOTBALL PIONEER……..”

Alan Bell was a Wangaratta Rovers Pioneer…….Hawk Number 3 of the 790 senior players who have worn the Brown and Gold in their 73 Ovens & Murray years……..

‘Dinger’ was one of those old-style ‘characters’……He passed away in his sleep last Saturday, aged 91……We caught up with him six years ago, to pen the following story…………

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Just before the moths did too much damage Alan Bell packed away an old Black and Gold footy guernsey. It’s survived a couple of house-shifts, is 63 years old…….and is a reminder of the day he tangled with the greatest ruckman he’s ever seen…..

It was July 1954. Proudly representing the Ovens and Murray for the first time, he glanced across the centre circle at the Albury Sportsground, and spotted a lithe, dark-complexioned fellow from East Perth – not overly-tall and seemingly in his teens.

“He’s proceeded to jump all over me for a half……He was deftly palming the ball left, right and centre, and seemed to have mental telepathy with his rovers. I couldn’t get near the footy.”

“John Zeibarth from Albury saved me at half-time…..’Give me a crack at this bloke,’ he said……But he fared no better.”

“It was my introduction to ‘Polly’ Farmer……..”

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Alan was a butcher for the entirety of his working-life. His dad, Les, opened Bell’s Butchery in Warby Street way back in 1929, and for as long as he can remember, Alan was helping out…..At the tender age of nine a basket was fixed onto his bike and he began delivering meat before school.

And when he started working full-time, one of his many tasks was to yoke up the Horse and Lorry and be ready to head to the Market before 6am.

“We lived just around the corner, in Moore Street. I loved my footy, so when I was old enough to play in the Junior League I joined Imperials, to whom I was residentially tied.”

Imps won the flag in 1948 and Alan took out the League Best & Fairest……His next move, he thought, was to the Magpies.

“But they obviously didn’t rate me very highly on the strength of a couple of training runs. Fate intervened; your Dad (Len) was coaching the Rovers and asked me if I’d like a game…..Best move I ever made.”

He played at full back in the Rovers 1949 O & K Grand Final loss to Myrtleford…..The following year he lined up at centre half forward for the Hawks’ debut match in the O & M.

With fellahs like Les Clarke and ‘Demon’ Ottrey, ‘Dinger’ helped to create, and drive, the playing culture of the Wangaratta Rovers in the early fifties.

In tough times, they were the heart of the Club. Wins were scarce in the first couple of years, and when they did cause the occasional upset, they celebrated it with gusto.

“Most Saturday nights, after the pubs closed, we’d head up to the Taminick Gap….I’d grab an armful of sausages from the shop, we’d set fire to a Blackboy and have a ‘barby’, washed down with a few cleansing ales….They were good times,” Alan recalls.

For the next seven years he was a constant in the side, playing at either end of the ground, or – despite standing only 5’11” and weighing 14 stone – proving a tough obstacle in the ruck…..To coin a phrase, he was a more than useful utility player.

He spent the entirety of his playing career in Brown and Gold except for one year – 1955.

At 23, and not long married to Joan, he accepted the coaching position at Whorouly…..”I wasn’t hitting it off too well with the Rovers coach at the time, and thought it’d be good to have a break.”

“The coaching aspect of it was fine….They were a great club, but it was the wettest winter we’d had for decades.”

“I’d drive Dad’s car out, and had to take the detour to North Wang because of the floods, then go via Bowman’s Forest to get to Whorouly for training…..It proved to be a long year.”

Bobby Rose had been appointed playing-coach of the Rovers in late ‘55 and Alan was one of the many who were swept up in a wave of enthusiasm that pervaded the Club.

He stepped back into the Senior side and was inspired, as the brilliant ‘Mr.Football’ weaved his magic and became the catalyst behind the Hawks’ rise to the top.

Alan again represented the O & M against the South-West League in 1958, but was starting to struggle for fitness. The long hours at work began to take effect and he was squeezed out of the Hawks’ side on the eve of their glorious 1958 finals campaign.

Like a few other stalwarts, he had dreamed of sharing in a Rovers premiership. He received some consolation the following week, when he and his mate Keith Ottrey led the Reserves to an easy flag victory over Albury.

Alan took over the running of the Butchery later that year, which meant that he’d no longer be able to cope with the hefty demands of footy training…….After a couple of senior games early in 1959, he spent his last two years helping out in the Reserves.

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His old mates often joked that the biggest contribution he made to the Rovers was to sire a trio of star footballers.

Alan admits that the boys gave he and Joan a terrific ‘ride’, as their careers stretched from the Findlay Oval…..and beyond.

Gary was barely 16 when he was thrust into the Rovers Senior team upon the completion of a season with Junior League club, Tigers. He’d played just six games when he was named on a half back flank in the 1972 Grand Final.

“It was a bruising affair, that one,” Alan recalls. “Someone ran through Gary early on, but he bounced back and ended up playing fairly well.”

“The next night there was a knock on the door…..It was North Melbourne Secretary Ron Joseph, who’d been at the game, and thought he was tough enough and good enough to be invited down to Arden Street.”

Strongly-built, and versatile, Gary spent a couple of years at North, playing 20-odd games with the Reserves, then moved over to VFA club Brunswick.

He returned to the Rovers to play his part in three more flags. After 107 games with the Hawks, he headed to Milawa as assistant-coach.

Gary was working at Dartmouth when he was tragically killed in a vehicle accident in 1984…..”The saddest day of our lives,” Alan says…..”You never get over it….”

Gary Bell (left). Graeme and Trevor (right)

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Graeme and Trevor, of course, are identical twins. They’ve always had a keen sibling rivalry…..When I asked Trev if he agreed with my summation that they were: ‘…Tall and lean…..adaptable….strong in the air….superb on the deck…and with ample pace…..’ he said that sounded okay, but suggested I point out that he had a touch more ability…..

They’d been part of the furniture at the Findlay Oval since they could walk……And when the O & M Thirds competition started in 1973, were the first pair to sign up.

At 17, Trevor slotted in at full back in the Rovers Senior line-up. Moved upfield in succeeding years, he received the umpire’s accolade as BOG in the 1977 and ‘78 Premiership wins.

After he had starred in another flag triumph, he was wooed by SANFL club, Norwood.

“The night before Trev had to make his decision about moving to Adelaide, he sat in his room and, as he mulled it over, drank a bottle and a half of wine…..He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the Rovers,” Alan recalled.

He was lured back to the Hawks in 1980, before clearances closed, in their pursuit of a fourth successive flag, but returned to Norwood the following year.

After spending three seasons with the Redlegs, he had six years with Athelston, in the Adelaide Hills competition. He still runs his own electrical business in Adelaide.

Graeme also developed into a fine all-round player. His greatest thrill in footy was undoubtedly figuring in the 1978 and ‘79 premiership teams, alongside Trevor and Gary.

Sometimes prone to bouts of inconsistency, he opted for a short stint at Greta, but on his return to the Hawks, played his best footy in the ruck, at the back end of his 166-game career.

A Life-Member of the Club, like his dad, Graeme’s involvement continued long after retirement, with the Past Players Association.

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Alan threw himself into golf upon his retirement, and spent plenty of time either playing, or helping out, around the Jubilee course. And he and Graeme would be at each home game to cast a close eye over his beloved Hawks…….

Last month he enjoyed a rollicking Re-Union lunch with several of his surviving team-mates from the Rovers 1958 and ‘60 Premiership teams. It was, ‘Dinger’ reckoned, right down his alley……..

The Pioneers from 1950: Alan Bell and Jack Dillon.

Jubilee stalwarts: Ralph Nalder, Greg Hogan, Alan Bell

“TITANIC BATTLE INSPIRES COUNTRY FOOTY RIVALRY…….”

Country football giants Ovens & Murray and Goulburn Valley tangle for the 27th time at the Albury Sports Ground this Saturday……….It comes 93 years after their initial clash at Wangaratta, back in June 1930.

Despite the fact that representative footy has fallen out of favour with the modern generation, the major-league near-neighbours are doing their best to promulgate what has always been an intense rivalry…….

In so doing, the barely-flickering flame of Inter-League football remains alive……

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It has waxed and waned over the years…….In fact, the O & M possibly laid claim to the revival of Inter-League matches when they selected a team to embark on a tour of New South Wales in June 1952.

The projected trip tickled the fancy of all O & M players, and they were keen to clamber on board, to be a part of the historic, week-long jaunt…….Even Corowa’s veteran captain-coach Tommy ‘The Turk’ Lahiff, who wasn’t selected in the squad, joined the travelling entourage….

The first port-of-call was the Riverina town of Leeton, where a huge crowd paid £177 to see the South-West League handed a football lesson:

“The visitors showed how to support a team-mate by running to receive a hand-pass……and they were equally adept at leading to position……..They also gained the advantage by their superiority in the air….This came as a big surprise, because the South-West team included some particularly high fliers……..” the ‘Murrumbidgee Irrigator’ reported.

It was a slaughter, as the O & M booted 7.6 to 0.3 in the opening term, on their way to a 24.16 160) to 7.10 (52) victory.

Champion Rutherglen spearhead Kevin Gleeson kicked 12 goals in the avalanche, whilst his dynamic Redleg team-mate Joey Gilfius chipped in with four.

Gleeson, a former Benalla star, was at the peak of his form in 1952. He finished the O & M season with 106 goals, including an 18-goal haul against Corowa……

Yarrawonga coach Marty McDonnell played superbly, as did the elusive Wangaratta rover Timmy Lowe……..

The Ovens and Murray team which toured New South Wales in 1952

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Five days later, the travelling caravan landed in Sydney, to prepare for a keenly-anticipated clash with the N.S.W Football League on Sunday June 15.

Astute judges predicted that N.S.W would have too many guns, but the ‘Sun-Herald’ reported that the underdogs prevailed:

“It was a boil-over at Trumper Park yesterday…..The O & M used clever handball, and its high-marking was excellent. The players’ anticipation was, at times, uncanny and every man kicked well…..”

Leading scorers for the winners were full forward Kevin Gleeson (7 goals), half forward Lester Yensch (4) and rover Tim Lowe (3).

Centreman Mac Holten, with clever handball and long kicks continually sent his team into attack….Ruckmen Graham Woods and Alan Cunneen were on top all day.

Ovens & Murray won easily: 17.24 (126) to NSW 7.5 (47).

The side, indeed, contained a host of stars…..

Playing-coach Holten had established a sizeable reputation, on and off the field, since his recruitment by Wangaratta, from Collingwood.

He was on the verge of guiding the Magpies to a record-equalling fourth successive flag……Timmy Lowe, his live-wire rover, won B & F’s in three of those years, and would take out the Morris Medal in 1953.

Myrtleford’s Neil Currie was in the process of establishing himself as the League’s premier full back…..He was to become a fixture in representative sides over the next eight years , and was crowned the Morris Medallist in 1957.

Keith Williams is often spoken of as being in the upper-echelon of all-time O & M greats. A proverbial bush champion, he clinched the 1947 Morris Medal at the age of 18, with Border United (Corowa) , then, in a brilliant season with Fitzroy, was voted the VFL’s best First-Year player.

Just as quickly as he’d flashed across the League kaleidoscope, he disappeared, …….returning to the O & M, where he undertook a three-year coaching stint at Rutherglen, followed by a season back at the helm of Corowa…..

“When I was coaching Rutherglen there were plenty in Corowa who wouldn’t talk to me…..” he once joked. “Then, after I went back to Corowa, Rutherglen people walking down the street would turn away from me…..”.

A severe back injury forced a 12-month lay-off. He contemplated retirement but, against doctor’s advice, Williams made a come-back with Corowa. Propped at full forward, he booted 100 goals.

He lived long enough to see his grandson, John Longmire compile a magnificent AFL career……

Marty McDonnell was one of the many VFL stars who continued their careers as bush coaches……

He’d been a stalwart defender – and regular Victorian representative – after he burst on the scene at Footscray in the mid-forties. After applying for the Bulldogs’ coaching position….. and missing out….he was approached to take on the job at Yarrawonga.

It proved a master-strike…..Highly-popular and a fine leader, McDonnell nurtured several of the youngsters who would form the basis of the Pigeons’ first flag, in 1959.

The war years robbed Stan Rule of a good portion of his career, but when he returned from active service he walked straight into the powerful Melbourne line-up. Standing 6’1” he was used as a ruckman/defender, played in a Demons’ premiership side and wore a Victorian guernsey in 1949.

He moved to Wodonga in 1951, as coach, and made an immediate impression, finishing third in the Morris Medal.

But every member of the side had his own footy story to tell…….The trip was hailed a huge promotional success, and it’s said that lifelong friendships were cultivated among the players, some who’d previously had only limited contact………

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Almost a year later, on June 2nd 1953, an Ovens & Murray team made the journey to Echuca, to play the Bendigo Football League, as part of the town’s Centenary Celebrations….

If you were thinking of scripting a match which would provide a showpiece for the best of Country football, this was it…..

Several of the players who’d toured NSW, including Holten, Lowe, Williams, Currie, Graham Woods and Keith Thomas, were selected for the Bendigo League clash, but a new wave of stars were coming through….

Albury ruckman Barry Takle and his team-mates Reggie Gard and John Ziebarth, Rutherglen speedster ( and future Stawell Gift-winner) John Hayes, and North Albury’s Stuart Strong were selected, along with Wangaratta defender Lionel Wallace.

‘Lioney’ Wallace was a sandy-haired dairy farmer, who the Magpies took years to extricate from the clutches of his home club, Greta.

His arrival in O & M footy coincided with Mac Holten’s coaching reign at Wangaratta…..

“He’s the best country footballer I’ve ever come across”, said Holten. “He’d have been a sensation if he’d played in Melbourne….”

Holten’s vice-captain for this game was Billy King, a former South Melbourne ball wizard, who played in the 1945 ‘Bloodbath’ Grand Final and was renowned for his skills. He’d been a regular Victorian representative and had coached Corowa for two seasons before accepting the job at North Albury.

King was a man for the big occasion, and was destined to play an integral role in this encounter……

Lionel Wallace

Marty McDonnell in his Footscray days

Mac Holten

The brilliant Billy King

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Important big man Kevin Curran, had suffered a rheumatic attack and was a late omission for Bendigo, but their coach Alan McDonald remained optimistic about their chances.

Followers Harry Equid, Dick McGillivray and strong centre half forward Ike Illsley needed to be countered, as did their small men, Hosking, Evans and Bull, who had all made their way onto VFL lists in the pre-season.

The huge crowd of 10,000, assembled at Park Oval, Echuca for what was freely accepted as the unofficial ‘country championship of the state’, could hardly believe how the game unfolded.

Bendigo completely dominated for two and a half quarters, and led by seven goals well into the third term.

It was a matter of ‘how far Bendigo’……

It was at that stage that shrewd O & M coach Holten made a crucial move, shifting himself from the centre to the forward line, and allowing Billy King to take over in the mid-field.

King breathed fresh life into his struggling side, and by lemon-time they trailed by only 22 points….

The final term was a thriller…….O & M had now wrested the ascendency and, in the dying stages Keith Williams goaled, to see them trail by just 4 points.

From the resultant centre bounce O & M big man John Zeibarth marked strongly and drove the ball into the goal-mouth where Elg, in great style, dodged two opponents to snap a goal.

The O & M now led by two points with four minutes remaining…

Dick McGillivray received a penalty free for Bendigo and his long, towering punt kick split the big sticks, to restore the home team’s advantage.

In reply, John Hayes grabbed the ball from the centre and thumped it forward……As it swung into the pocket, the ever-elusive Timmy Lowe snapped truly to beat the siren by seconds……….

Ovens and Murray: 2.4 (16), 3.5 (23), 6.11 (47), 11.13 (79)

Bendigo. : 3.2 (20). 8.6 (54), 10.9 (69), 11.11 (77)

Best: O & M : K.Thomas, W.King, R.Gard, N.Currie, G.Woods, W.Morris.

Bendigo. : Evans, Illsley, McGillivray, Dryburgh, Equid, Carter.

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The following season – 1954 – the inaugural Victorian Country Championships were held at Ballarat, comprising teams from O & M, Ballarat F.L, Bendigo F.L, Mornington Peninsula F.L and Goulburn Valley………..Fittingly, after the previous season’s titanic struggle, O & M met Bendigo in the Final.

It was almost a carbon copy of their first encounter……A wayward Bendigo had led 6.20 to 5.8 at three quarter-time, but were swamped in the final term, going down by eight points, 11.11 (77) to 8.21 (69).

The Country Championships had arrived with a bang……..

“ALLIE………ADDING THE MOTHERLY TOUCH…….”

Meet Allie Murray…….middle-aged Riverina school-teacher…..doting mother of five……self-confessed sporting ‘nut’…..former pub chef……ex-Newsagent…..and warm-hearted, bubbly personality…….

You may have noticed her on the sidelines at Rovers games, clad in the regulation pink O & M Trainer’s top……. assisting with the 101 jobs that bob up on match-day…… casting a motherly eye over injured players……all the while observing what’s unfolding on the field of play…..

Allie Murray (right) and Mandie Allen prepare to help fallen Hawk, Ryan Stone.

Allie’s been a trainer for 15 or so years…..Ever since the kids were whippersnappers, playing junior footy in Ganmain….

“They had no-one to help out, so I said: ‘I’ll have a go…..What’s required ?….’ I did a course….Been doing it ever since….I love it….It’s my way of being involved….” she says.

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Allie grew up on a farm at Matong ( 11km from Ganmain, 66 km from Wagga ) and says she’s been following footy ever since she was born……

Her Dad ( Pat Quinn ) has been recognised for his services to the game with a Life Membership of AFL Riverina. Among his other gongs are an OAM and a Commonwealth Sport Achiever’s Award.

“He and Mum have always been heavily involved….At the local games they’d be first there and last to go. Dad played, then umpired for years and years…..He’s 93….still mows the Ganmain Oval….”

“They wait up to watch Nick’s Adelaide games when they come on Austar at 2am……They’re mad-keen…..Mum has a ‘Wall of Fame’ at home, featuring all the grandkids’ clippings…….they buy all the papers and cut out anything about ‘em….”

“Dad once beat the eventual Stawell Gift winner in one of his lead-up races…..I tell Sam that’s where he inherited his running ability…..It certainly didn’t come from Pete….”

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In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a family more deeply-orientated in the game…….

Allie’s husband Peter was a football journeyman of sorts; a talented 197cm ruckman-forward who began his career with the Lavington juniors, was recruited by South Melbourne, then returned to Lavi, where he became an O & M star, and regular inter-league rep.

He headed out for a spell as coach of Jindera, then got the coaching job at Ganmain-Grong-Grong-Matong……That’s where he met Allie, one of the Lions’ keenest supporters……

Three years later, in a dream season with Henty, he booted 135 goals to help the Swans to the 1990 Hume League flag.

After another coaching stint at Jindera, the Murray’s moved up to Walwa to operate the local Pub….

“Pete promised me I wouldn’t have to cook …….Three weeks after we’d arrived, there I was, in the kitchen…..I had Sam and Nick whilst we were up there, and they talked Pete into coaching the footy team – Border-Walwa……”

“I was well-overdue with Sam the day they were to meet Cudgewa in the ‘97 Grand Final……I asked Pete: ‘What happens if the baby arrives today ?”

He said: “Allie, we can always have another kid, but we may not get the opportunity to win another premiership…..”

“It’s a great little town….He actually coached them to two flags and they lost another one by three points…….I even got to play in a Netball premiership….”

“So you had a bit of ability as a Netballer, Allie ?”, I ask……..”Well… I played a lot of sports, but wasn’t very good at them …….Let’s just say I was a handy team player….. How’s that ! ”

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The Murray boys, Paddy ( now 27 ) Sam (25), Nick (22) and Toby (19) made their way through Ganmain’s Auskick program, whilst the baby of the family, Molly (17) was slotted into a Netball team the moment she could qualify.

The Murray’: Sam Paddy, Molly, Toby, Nick, Allie and Peter at the SCG for Nick’s AFL debut.

Theirs has been a long, winding, much-travelled – sometimes chaotic – sporting odyssey.

No more so than when they were re-united at Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong during the Covid Year of 2020…..…

“When the borders were being closed Nick and Sam, who’d been living in Melbourne, and intending to play with Williamstown, headed home,” says Allie.

“Nick hates the city, so he got a job back on the farm…..We all lived in this tiny little house…..Molly and Sam shared a room, and we all just got through…..That’s what you did in Covid…….Because they’d all started at GGGM, they were one-pointers…..Molly also played Netball, and won a premiership, which was great…..”

A touch over two years earlier the Murray name had been thrust into the footy spotlight when Sam – a 187cm, 86kg bundle of energy – earned a Rising Star nomination for a brilliant display in defence, in just his third AFL game.

He’d averaged 20 disposals and four marks since he broke into the Collingwood side, but a scintillating display in a win against Carlton brought him under notice.

It wasn’t that Sam had been an overnight success…….

As a dashing youngster from Henty he’d been overlooked for a spot in the Murray Bushrangers squad in 2015……… “He tried out twice for them, but they told him he was too slow,” Allie recalls.

Instead, he was recruited by the Wodonga Raiders, flourishing under the tutelage of Daryn Cresswell, and finishing third in the Morris Medal, aged 18.

Those who saw him ‘turn it on’ in an Elimination Final at the Findlay Oval that year certainly placed an asterisk beside his name.

‘Cressa’ probably had an influence in him being picked up by the Sydney Swans in the November Rookie Draft……But despite being named in the NEAFL Team of the Year and starring at both ends of the ground in successive seasons he was unable to crack it for a senior debut with the Swans.

Collingwood identified his pace and ability to break the defensive lines, picking him up in the 2017 trade period…..They were delighted with his progress, but Sam’s world caved in when, after 13 AFL games, he was embroiled in a Drug saga later that season…..

“We couldn’t sleep when the news broke,” says Allie…….”Pete and I were sitting up in the middle of the night….He said: ‘Come on, we’ve gotta go,’…….We jumped in the car and were down in Melbourne by 8 o’clock the next morning……”

“That was a hard time in Sam’s life, when he was rubbed out…..He was just so grateful that the Rovers gave him another chance….”

“He’s embraced the Rovers since he’s been there, and loves coaching..…..It’s another step in his personal development……He’s enjoying the guys and the sense of community in the Club….”

From left: Nick, Sam and Toby Murray.

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Sam operates his own Social Media Marketing business in Melbourne. Older brother Paddy works with him.

Paddy’s earlier footy career with Henty had been hindered by a succession of knee injuries. He built a reputation as a composed defender with Western Region F.L club North Footscray over the past two seasons, but Sam talked him into having a run with the Rovers this year.

Nick also encountered a few hiccups on his way to football stardom …….

He began at Henty, and graduated to the Murray Bushrangers, playing 21 games, interspersed with eight appearances with the Greater Western Sydney Reserves.

He was recruited to the Rovers in 2019, where his aerial deeds and close-checking in seven games in defence continually came under notice.

The Hawks were resigned to losing him when things returned to normal after Covid…..But he’d already been overlooked in two National Drafts and wasn’t over-optimistic about his chances of being picked up.

He was toiling away on the farm back home when Adelaide invited him to try out for the vacant spot on their list……..A month or so later, in Round 2, 2021, he was lining up on Lance Franklin in his debut for the Crows at the SCG.

“Nick did it so tough….It was so deserving that he’d finally made it,” says Allie.

Former Crows player Stephen Rowe added: “It’s remarkable. I doubt there will be a bigger football debut story than this one….Three weeks ago not on a list….Six weeks ago, sitting on a tractor in the Riverina…..And now he’s playing on Buddy…”

In his subsequent 34 games with Adelaide Nick has become recognised as one of their most important players ……He has made the full back spot his own, and is playing with the poise of a veteran.

“Nick’s still very much a country boy,” Allie adds…..”He lives in town with Ned McHenry, one of the Adelaide players, and has bought a farm out at Mt.Barker, about 45 minutes north of Adelaide…….He rang up, excited the other day….. The sheep are about to lamb……and he’s just bought a really good Stock Trailer…”

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19 year-old Toby’s pursuit of his AFL dream seemed on track when he signed with Essendon’s VFL side earlier this year.

He’d progressed through the Murray Bushrangers program and enjoyed an excellent 2022, including selection in the NAB Team of the Year. As a raw 200cm ruckman/forward he displayed promising signs in his intermittent appearances with the Rovers.

The Hawks expected to have only limited access to the exciting youngster. When he decided to spend the year full-time in the Brown and Gold, they were tickled pink.

Toby started a new job at Reece Plumbing in Camberwell recently, and lives with Sam and Paddy. His footy also seems to be developing by the week. It wouldn’t surprise if League scouts were casting an eye in his direction.

17 year-old Molly made her A-Grade Netball debut with the Hawks three weeks ago, after spending the earlier games in the lower grades.

She attends Xavier College in Albury, and Allie, who teaches at St.Joseph’s, Culcairn, brings her down to train once a week at the Findlay Oval.

Sam, Peter, Toby and Paddy Murray with their uncle, former St.Kilda legend Bob Murray….Celebrating Paddy’s debut with the Hawks in 2023.

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“The travel is so much easier this year, because we’ve got four of the kids in the one spot,” Allie says.

“In other years it was nothing for Pete and I to travel from Culcairn, to Henty, to Shepparton ( for a Bushies game ), then on to Melbourne, in a week-end…….Sometimes we’d try to slot in a trip to Adelaide to catch Nick’s game….”

“People think we’re weird when we say we come down from Culcairn……Why ?……We get to see four of our kids playing sport every week-end…..I go from the Netball to the Football…..You chat to everyone…..It’s wonderful…… you get to meet a lot of lovely people…..“

“And the training allows me to become closely aligned to the boys……They’re a really nice group……So tight-knit…..”

“I say to them: ‘Now, I’m going to be like your mum……Just listen to me……Sometimes they need that…..”

“A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE…………”

September 1958

“…….The train trip back to Wangaratta was a slow one….Banners flew and streamers filled the air, and there was loud and sustained cheering from hundreds of fans at every station they passed…When they reached their home station they were met by the town’s brass band… The band struck up the Club’s song; they were soon joined by hundreds more fans and the whole mob marched from the station to the ground, where they were met by an even bigger crowd…….

“Over 3,000 people celebrated with their heroes…….

“The party continued for the whole week-end and was still in full swing on Monday morning…..Four bullocks were killed and barbecued and many, many kegs of beer were consumed….”

From: Bob Rose, A Dignified Life ( by Steve Strevens )

Sixty-five years later:

An assortment of old Rovers…..elderly gentlemen.……silver (or sparsely) haired.….some hobbling, favouring decrepit hips, knees and aching frames….. grin as they shake hands and fall into rowdy, cheerful, dressing-room banter.. …….

I’ve counted 25 premiership players among this gathering of around forty, ranging in age from early-seventies to early-nineties……Several are Club Hall of Famers; others wore the Brown and Gold with varying degrees of distinction…….

One of the reasons they’re here is to pay homage to the surviving members of the Rovers’ famous 1958 and ‘60 premiership teams…..

1958 Premiership Team: Back Row: Ted McSweeney, Noel Warren, Pat Tully, John Frawley, Geoff Lack, John Tanner, Arthur Smith, Les Gregory, Neil McLean, Don Ellison, John McMonigle, Jim Chapman, Ray Burns. Front Row: Len Greskie, Ron Macklan, Les Clarke, Max Newth, Bob Rose, Bob Watson, Tony Chambeyron.

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Tony Chambeyron is one of them……A couple of strokes over recent years have curtailed the mobility of the lightly-built Stanley orchardist….. His short-term memory’s not all that flash either, but his eyes light up when he recognises a few of his old team-mates….

Tony was 21 when the lure of playing under the great Bob Rose dragged him away from the Beechworth Bombers. His knack of being able to find the footy saw him play in the mid-field in both of the flags.

“The Rovers helped him out with an FJ Holden Ute when successive apple crops were ruined by hail,” his son Paul says. “He really appreciated that…. Dad stayed on the farm all his life, and didn’t play that much after his 73 games with the Rovers…..He and mum just concentrated on the orchard, and raising us six kids……He loved it when I, and my son Ben, both came down here to play ….”

John Tanner followed a family tradition when he pulled on the Greta guernsey. His first season, he reckons, was about 1948. He was going on 15……One of his team-mates was a small, nuggety kid called Max Newth.

Clockwise: Paul and Tony Chambeyron, Les Gregory, John Tanner, Max Newth, Norm Bussell, Noel Richens, Alan Bell.

Ken Boyd (standing), Brian O’Brien, Ross Gardner.

They both played in the Purple and Golds’ legendary 1954 Premiership win over Chiltern, in which Greta got up in the dying stages of a 45-minute last quarter….

“Two Rovers officials, Jack Maroney and Frank Hayes, called out to see me and ‘Newthy’ early in 1956, and invited us in…..”

“It was ‘Rosey’s’ first year, and they didn’t really have to twist our arms….I was only a touch over 6’0” and he slotted me in the back pocket, looking after the resting ruckmen, with an occasional run on the ball……I was opposed to a fellah named Percy Appleyard in that ‘58 Grand Final….”

John says he and ‘Newthy’ travelled in together for much of his time at the Rovers……..“We got up to a bit of skulduggery over the years…..”

He remained closely attached to Greta after returning home, but enjoyed watching his son Greg play in two flags during a fine career with the Hawks…..

Max ‘Pigsy’ Newth was just 5’6”; a rough-hewn shearer, who could be swung onto the ball, into the centre or up forward, with equal effect.

It was Bob Rose’s idea to use him as a spearhead….reasoning that, with his pace, toughness and sure hands he could hold a decided advantage over lumbering full backs.

He roved in two premierships and kicked 202 goals in 89 games…..But he says he got his comeuppance when opposed to Yarrawonga’s hard-hitting full back John ‘Oscar’ Ryan in the ‘59 Grand Final.

“I’d always suffered from asthma, but he hit me so hard he knocked it right out of me…..I never suffered from asthma from that day on.”

‘Pigsy’ later coached Greta and Tatong in a 400-game career, which concluded at the age of 40……

“His favourite trick used to be opening a long-neck with his teeth…..And he got plenty of practice,” says John Tanner.

Ray Burns had recently graduated from the Police Academy when he was transferred to Wangaratta. As a Richmond Reserves footballer he was highly sought-after by both local clubs…..”but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play under Bob Rose”.

‘Burnsy’ was tough, durable and a big-game player; a coach’s dream, really……And if there were any opponents who needed to be softened-up, the cop with the flattened nose, spread generously across a ‘lived-in’ dial, gladly accepted the assignment.

After starring in both premiership victories, he embarked on a successful coaching career with Moyhu and Tarrawingee, returning to the Rovers as assistant coach in 1967…….

A long stint in the Pub game followed, as Licensee of Port Melbourne’s London Family, a favoured watering-hole of Wharfies, Painters and Dockers and ‘colourful identities’.

“My head was used for a football on more than one occasion….They sure kept me on my toes,” says Raymond Michael Burns, who’s now retired, back in his old home town of Shepparton…..

Les Gregory has aged gracefully……He still looks like he could run a few steady laps, even at the age of 85.

Walking straight into the Rovers side in 1957, from Milawa, via Junior Magpies, he was a football contortionist……a winger who could slip and slide, dodge and weave around opponents, then drive a sizzling drop-kick goalwards.

He was already a star when he lined up, aged 20, in the ‘58 Grand Final……Wodonga coach Des Healy played on the scintillating youngster all day…….”It took away a lot of their drive, because Healy was more intent on nullifying Les…” Bob Rose later reflected.

Rose was a huge Gregory fan, believing he had all the attributes to become a top League winger.

He went down to St.Kilda on match permits, and played promisingly enough in three Saint victories……”When the permits had expired, Rosey rang me: “Are you happy down there ?”….”Not really,” I replied…….”Well, we’d love to have you back…..”

He played in three further premierships, in amassing 186 games, before hanging up his boots….

Ronnie Macklan had enjoyed a dream debut season, fresh from Junior League club Imperials, when he was selected on the bench for the 1958 Grand Final, in his 11th senior game.

The 17 year-old blonde-haired rover had fought his way back from a mid-season jaw injury, and his promising performances saw him voted the Club’s Best First-Year Player…….Unfortunately a few injury set-backs in subsequent years stilted his progress, limiting him to just 30 senior games, before he headed out to Moyhu in 1964…..

Bob Watson’s school-teaching travels had connected him to a few Clubs, including Geelong West, Tatura and Myrtleford ( where he won a Best & Fairest ) before lobbing at the Rovers in 1958.

“I sat on the bench for a couple of weeks, early on, and approached ‘Rosey’…..I said: ‘Look Bob, this isn’t doing anybody any good…..I need a bit of game-time’……”I thought he’d put me in the eighteen next week, but instead I’ve spent the next nine weeks in the Seconds !…..”

“My form must have been alright because I won the Seconds B & F……Luckily, I got promoted on the eve of the Finals…”

Watson played in two flags, and two losing Grand Finals, before moving on to Koo Wee Rup. He finished his career as coach of Greta.

Don Ellison’s footy journey began at South Bendigo ( where he played in a flag in 1956 ), on to Yarrawonga, then to the Rovers in 1958.

“The President at the time, Jack Turner, arranged a job for me at Holdensen-Neilson’s Butter Factory and I was boarding with the family of one of my team-mates, John ‘Slab’ Frawley,” Don recalls.

“I was 23, and life was one big adventure…..I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be lining up on a back flank in this team of stars….”

Ellison’s luck with premierships continued the following season, when he returned to Yarrawonga and played in their dramatic Grand Final win over the Hawks…..He’s one of only three surviving Pigeons from Billy Stephens’ team.

“I had a few years with Myrtleford, then coached Bright in 1965…..We lost nine games by less than a goal…..Fair dinkum, I was the worst coach ever….., “

He still resides in Myrtleford, and is recuperating after a spell in Hospital : “The old ticker’s playing up a bit these days,” quips the 88 year-old.

Neil McLean’s life as an academic took him around the world, but he still has fond recollections of his 71-game career with the Rovers.

He was recruited from Glenrowan, as a 6’1”, 16 year-old in 1957 and found his niche on a half forward flank.

“I remember playing on a former South Melbourne player, Don Star, in that ‘58 Grand Final……I got roughed up early on, and Ray Burns came to my rescue, thankfully…..”

Neil also played in the 1960 premiership……Whilst studying in Melbourne he would return home each week-end.

He hit a rich vein of form when Richmond recruited him in the early sixties…… “I was best-afield in the Reserves and was touted to make my VFL debut the following week. But fate intervened. I fell over the top of a pack at training and injured my knee…..That was that, virtually….”

He played for BFL club Ballarat whilst doing an Arts-Teaching Degree in the old mining town…..then began studying for the Ministry……After spending 20 years in England as a Professor of I.T, he returned to Australia 1989, and still resides in Wollongong………

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Roley Marklew served an ‘apprenticeship on the run’ when thrust into the Senior side mid-way through 1960……He was just 16 ( a Collingwood six-footer ) and was tried in a variety of positions, as the Hawks marched into the finals, four games clear of second team, Wodonga.

In just his ninth game, Marklew experienced premiership success……Huge expectations were placed on the adaptable youngster…..He battled to cope, and headed out to Tarrawingee for three seasons.

He returned as a much more complete player, and was one of the ‘hard-heads’ in premiership sides of 1971 and ‘72, finishing with 162 games.

After a coaching stint at North Wangaratta, he returned to perform decades of unstinting off-field service with the Rovers….His son Rick (229 games) and grandson Alex ( currently on 92 games ) carried on the Marklew tradition ….

For good reason Noel Richens was nicknamed ‘The Mudlark’; but his game involved much more than his renowned wet-weather skills……..He joined the Rovers in the mid-sixties, from Junior Magpies, but didn’t really cement a senior spot until 1959.

His ability to play multiple roles saw him contribute handily in the 1960, ‘64 and ‘65 premierships during his 133 senior games, interspersed with coaching Tarrawingee for two seasons…..He went on to coach the club’s Reserves and Thirds….

Brian ‘Nipper’ Hallahan was a highly-touted Greta recruit. At 18, and in his first O & M season, he played a prominent role in the 1960 premiership.

An accurate left-foot kick, he read the play astutely, and produced the best footy of his 119-game career as a winger in Ken Boyd’s title-winning sides of 1964-‘65.

He later embarked on a coaching career at Wilby and Cohuna, both of which he led to flags.

Ray Thompson had hands the size of meat-plates and could hoof the footy a ‘country-mile’……Whenever he sidled back after plucking one of those towering pack marks up forward Hawk fans would yell: ’Line ‘em up Thommo……’

He left school at 14 and joined the family Brickworks business. Long hours, and physically-demanding work developed his imposing stature and stood him in good stead when he began playing O & M football in 1959.

He graduated straight from WJFL club Centrals to the Rovers seniors……..Besides being a match-winner up forward, he could save games with strong intercept marking when consigned down back.

‘Thommo’ showed his class in the 1960 decider, but figured in equally-important roles in the successes of ‘64 and ‘65.

Sadly, a ‘dickey’ knee, which gave way in 1966, terminated a brilliant career……… restricted to just 143 games…..

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It’s almost a lifetime ago now, but memories of these footy heroes of my early teens…..their kicking and running styles….their character….their idiosyncrasies……are still embedded in my mind……….it was fascinating to see the glint in their eyes, as the old fellahs reflected on the days of yore……

Lex James (9) flies in the 1960 Grand Final.

Neil McLean.

Co- President Wally Pasquale with Club great Neville Hogan.

Part of the record crowd at the 1960 O & M Grand Final