1966 and all that: Round 10 – Collingwood v St. Kilda
Faltering Saints lose top spot
Saturday 25 June
Victoria Park
The visit to Victoria Park to play Collingwood in Round 10 was a disaster for the faltering Saints. Top spot was on the line, but the bigger stake was the potential psychological advantage of a victory prior to meeting again in September.
St. Kilda were without ruckman Alan Morrow who was suspended. They made several other forced changes to the team that succumbed to the rampaging Tigers in Round 9. Des Kennedy, Jeff Moran and Kevin Roberts were out, but with skipper Darrel Baldock, Ian Stewart and Ian Cooper back the side looked strong on paper.
Local St. Kilda recruit Paddy Murphy was rewarded for his good form in the Reserves with a position in the senior team. Like most players on debut he would not have expected to have a ‘blinder’. A mishap with a football that went astray during the warm up cost him his contact lenses. The 19 year old Murphy’s afternoon did not improve and his tally of four disposals in a losing team cost him further opportunities in the otherwise very strong 1966 Saints outfit.
St. Kilda never looked like adding to their poor record of three previous wins at Victoria Park. After half time the Saints were humiliated by the ruthless Magpies who piled on 10 goals as they soared to a 72 point win. Led by Wayne Richardson who kicked six goals and Errol Hutcheson in command on the wing, Collingwood took control and blasted St. Kilda out of the game.
Only the defensive efforts of Bob Murray and Brian Sierakowski helped save St. Kilda from a bigger defeat. Darrel Baldock, lacking his usual zest, was clearly hampered by an infected leg which he sustained a week earlier in the ANFC carnival.
The Magpies’ victory allowed them to take top spot on the ladder from the Saints and favouritism, in many circles, for the ’66 flag. St. Kilda could remain optimistic however, as they lost a game when their big guns failed to fire. Given injury free players and their stars shining, St. Kilda would present a more potent challenge to Collingwood in the finals. Five unlucky Saints and four Magpies would not be in their team’s final 20 on grand final day 1966.
In Tasmania that weekend, New Norfolk full forward Peter Hudson reached the 100* goal tally for the season… and it was still the month of June (* also including intrastate and ANFC games). Hudson was soon to join the strong contingent of Tasmanians in the VFL and embark on his illustrious career with Hawthorn.
Scores
Collingwood 2.2 (14) 7.7 (49) 13.11 (89) 17.15 (117)
St. Kilda 1.2 (8) 4.4 (28) 5.5 (35) 6.9 (45)
Goals –
Collingwood: Richardson 6, Wallis 4, Graham 2, Urquart 2, Henderson, Pitt, Waters
St. Kilda: Austin 2, Breen, Griffiths, Mynott, Neale
Best –
Collingwood: Hutchesson (best on ground), Richardson, Waters, Urquart, Thompson, Rose, Wallis
St. Kilda: Murray, Sierakowski, Mynott, Stewart, Breen
Kevin Rose (brother of Collingwood coach Bob Rose) had a day out with 27 disposals as did Wayne Richardson also with 27. For the Saints, Barry Breen and Verdun Howell were the leading possession gatherers.
Injuries:
St. Kilda – Baldock (recurrence of leg injury)
Collingwood – Graham (bruised calf)
Umpire:
Crouch
Crowd:
37 607
Reserves: St. Kilda 11.13 (79) d. Collingwood 9.6 (60)
Under 19s: Collingwood 18.10 (118) d.. St. Kilda 5.8 (38)
Around the grounds
At Arden Street – North Melbourne 8.17 (65) d. Carlton 6.6 (42)
At Windy Hill – Essendon 14.16 (100) d. Richmond 15.6 (96)
At the MCG – Melbourne 1.17 (83) d. Fitzroy 3.7 (25)
At the Western Oval – Footscray 8.19 (67) d. South Melbourne 8.7 (55)
At Kardinia Park – Geelong 17.15 (117) d. Hawthorn 8.9 (57)
Read The Age, Monday 27th Jun 1966, for coverage of all matches HERE.
Leading goal kickers
Roberston (South Melbourne) (3) 35
Fordham (Essendon) (4) 34
Guinane (Richmond) (1) 33
Graham (Collingwood) (2) 30
Goode (North Melbourne) (2) 27
Baldock (St. Kilda) (0) 23
The Ladder
Collingwood 10 9 1 36 157.0
St. Kilda 10 8 2 32 135.4
*Richmond 10 7 2 30 123.1
Essendon 10 7 3 28 112.3
———————————————————————–
Geelong 10 6 4 24 124.0
Carlton 10 5 5 20 114.4
*North Melbourne 10 4 5 18 90.6
South Melbourne 10 4 6 16 102.1
Footscray 10 4 6 16 85.3
Hawthorn 10 3 7 12 73.7
Melbourne 10 2 8 8 73.1
Fitzroy 10 0 10 0 51.4
* Drawn game
Highlights of the round
Essendon came back to top form with a thrilling win in a see-sawing battle against Richmond. For the second time in three rounds the Tigers failed to grasp the four points which would be vital come the end of the home and away season.
Two of the league’s leading ruckmen, ‘Polly’ Farmer (Geelong) and Don McKenzie (Essendon) were reported in round 10 giving their clubs and supporters a nervous wait for the tribunal decisions. Both clubs, on target for the final four, could ill afford to lose key players. Farmer was on report for striking and McKenzie for unduly rough play. The Geelong captain had never been reported before in his 248 game career (76 with the Cats). His ‘fine service to football’ was taken into consideration by the tribunal, and although found guilty was free to play against the Demons in round 11. McKenzie was severely reprimanded, but like Farmer, was not suspended.
Country Footy
In the Ovens and Murray League, Rutherglen (the Redlegs) 15. 11 (101) defeated Myrtleford (the Saints) 10.14 (74). St. Kilda’s Ken Baker was recruited from Rutherglen in 1965. Baker played only nine games for the Saints, but in rounds ten and eleven 1966 he produced his best performances with 17 disposals in each game.
In other O&M results that round – Wodonga (the Bulldogs) prevailed over Albury (the Tigers), Wangaratta (the Magpies) easily accounted for Corowa (the Spiders), Wangaratta Rovers (the Hawks) were far too strong for Benalla (the Demons) and North Albury (the Hoppers) enjoyed a big win over Yarrawonga (the Pigeons).
1966 was to be Albury’s year. Led by ‘The Weed’, Murray Weideman, the Tigers defeated Wangaratta to claim their first Ovens and Murray flag in 10 years. Unlucky Wangaratta, coached by Ron Critchley, recorded three successive grand final losses in both seniors and reserves – 1964, 1965 and 1966.
Meanwhile …
It had been a difficult week, not just for the Saints. Australians were rocked with the news of the attempted assassination of ALP leader Arthur Caldwell in his car after an anti-conscription rally in Sydney. Luckily Caldwell was saved from a more serious injury, and possibly death, by the car’s window. The politician was showered in fragments of glass which became embedded in his jaw.
In Vietnam, the US were ramping up bombing raids of oil installations over the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong as ‘Operation Rolling Thunder’ continued. In response, trade unionists, students and women in Sydney protested against the bombings.
Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones jumped to the top of the pop charts, matching St. Kilda’s darkening mid-season mood and Collingwood’s ascension.
Read The Age, Monday 27th Jun 1966, for coverage of all matches HERE.
Read more of Peter Clark’s weekly reviews of St Kilda’s triumphant 1966 footy season HERE
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About Peter Clark
is a lifetime Geelong supporter. Hailing from the Riverina, he is now entrenched on the NSW South Coast. His passion for footy was ignited by attending Ovens and Murray League matches in the 1960's with his father. After years of watching, playing and coaching, now it is time for some serious writing about his favourite subjects… footy, especially country footy, and cricket.
Max Urquart. A wet weather specialist recruited from Urana.
Actually he was playing for Corowa when Collingwood picked him up , but prior to then turned out for Urana.
Glen!
As always so good to read Peter.
Thanks!
St Kilda would turn the margin against Collingwood around by 73 points on 24 September 1966.
Yes Glen! Maxie Urquhart from the Urana Spiders.
Another bloke playing in the VFL at that time from the Coreen league was Cec Rheinberger (Oaklands) for Fitzroy. And like Urquhart he went to the VFL from the O & M, in this case, Yarrawonga.
We missed out on naming him in the list for NSW Greatest Team on this basis, but we got Urquhart!
Plus a number of others such as Greg Nichols (originally Barooga) that the VFL historians hadn’t dug deeply enough into…
Thanks Glen.
I remember Max Urquhart when he was at Corowa. He was one of my favourite O&M players.A rugged, reliable utility player.
Ta Dr Rocket.
I have vague memories of Cec Rheinberger from my childhood, though i use to confuse him with Noel Zunnenberg.
Not much @ Oaklands. Even as a kid 50+ years back i recall there was storage for the wheat, then the goods train would pull up @ the siding to take a load. I have no memory of a general store or a pub there, but i’m well aware of Oaklands.
Dr Rocket, i’m having problems placing Greg Nichols.
Glen!
Yess Glen!
Oaklands once were Hawks, although mostly yellow and maroon for much of their history, but now are Crows.
Joined with Urana to become the Billabong Crows.
Greg Nichols, aka Spiros, played one game for Geelong, but most famously tipped his old club off about Gary Ablett Snr when he was coaching Myrtleford. Originally from Barooga, he went to Geelong from Cobram.
Ta Dr Rocket.
I was barracking for Geelong back in 1979 but Spiros sole appearance against South Melbourne in 1979 escapes my recollection.
I always thought another Geelong player came from Barooga; David Cameron . Circa three decades later i now read he came from Echuca ! What have i been thinking !?! He apparently comes from down Colac way but wanted to play for Geelong so moved up to their recruiting zone.He played some good games for the Cats.
Glen!
Thanks Glen!
Interesting about David Cameron.
Gary Cameron who was at the Cats at the same time supposedly came from Katamite.
Any relation I wonder?
Thanks Dr Rocket. If only the pies could have reproduced that result in 1966 in late September.
I remember watching the game on the radio in Mr Gibbs’s (family friend) new holden premier on a family outing to Maroondah Dam for a picnic BBQ: I was 9 years old. There were at least 8 of us in the sedan!