A Season in the Country – 1975 in the Wimmera and Farrer Leagues: Episode 2
Lockhart Football Ground
1975 in the Wimmera and Farrer Leagues
Episode 2 Ararat’s Anzac Day reprisal
Featuring Ararat’s Wilf Dickeson
The Wimmera League
Demons v Rats
Match of the day: Horsham v Ararat
Friday 25th April 1975 (Anzac Day)
At City Oval, Horsham
Horsham, the ‘capital’ of the Wimmera, like Wagga Wagga, lies on the floodplain of a major river. The meandering Wimmera River passes through Horsham on its way westwards before it turns in a northerly direction towards its mouth at Lake Hindmarsh. Throughout its course, the Wimmera River is surrounded by all of the towns, between Ararat and Rainbow, whose football clubs make up the Wimmera League.
Motorists travelling on the western Highway between Melbourne and Adelaide pass through Horsham on their long journey. But the city and its hinterland are a destination in themselves with scenic attractions including the desert lakes, national parks and nearby Mount Arapiles. Horsham is also the gateway to the Wimmera-Mallee Silo Art Trail. Like vast tracts of inland Australia, open wheat fields and sheep grazing country can be seen from horizon to horizon.
The teams
Horsham
B: M. Toll, K. Cramer, K. Hill
HB: N. Brown, G. Chequer, G. Stenhouse
C: M. Hickmott, D. Farr, Brian Thompson
HF: B. Carr, W. Richardson, B. Roberts
F: M. Dalmau, I. Giles, G. Campbell
Foll: S. Holmes, P. Glare
Rov: P. Wood
Res: Bruce Thompson, G. Young
Ararat
B: P. Dohnt, I. Clark, R. Scherger
HB: L. Dunn, P. Gemmola, L. Mooney
C: B. Oliver, W. Dickeson, L. Leslie
HF: J. Seare, G. Todd, G. Harry
F: Graeme Dadswell, I. Boyd, R. Lloyd
Foll: D. Stephens, T. Davis
Rov: G. Kent
Res: K. Tassell
Ararat’s inability to knock Nhill over in the opening round had the Wimmera Mail-Times virtually writing off the Rat’s chances in 1975. The Anzac Day battle against Horsham at City Oval was going to be a stern test for Wilf Dickeson’s men who traditionally found the going tough at Horsham.
Before the match, Dickeson took his team into the first aid room to deliver some secret inspiration. Whatever he said got the Rats charged up and ready to flex some muscle, while their opponents seemed flat after the pre-match ceremony to unfurl the ’74 pennant.
The Wimmera Mail-Times football writer had egg on his face after Ararat’s impressive 21 point win over the Demons. It was superior fitness that told the tale of the Rats’ victory, which provided some revenge for their 1974 grand final defeat. Dickeson’s trademark coaching philosophy “train-them-hard” paid early-season dividends against the reigning premiers. Horsham players looked sluggish and disinterested in the contest, much to the disappointment of their supporters.
Final scores Ararat 14.12 (96) defeated Horsham 11.9 (75)
Around the Wimmera League grounds
In other games in the Anzac Day split round, Minyip surprised many by easily toppling Nhill, Warracknabeal were nearly over-run by Stawell, Dimboola got the four points against Jeparit, while Murtoa climbed to the top of the ladder by thrashing Rupanyup. It looked like a long winter ahead for Rup.
Next week Warracknabeal v Jeparit, Dimboola v Rapunyup, Minyip v Horsham, Murtoa v Nhill, Ararat v Stawell.
The Farrer League
Roundup
In the autumn sunshine most winning teams kicked big scores and enjoyed comfortable victories. Neighbouring town rivals, Holbrook and Culcairn, provided the closest contest of the round with the honours going to the ‘Grasshoppers’.
Temora 21.16 (142) d. Mangoplah 10.8 (68)
North Wagga 25.19 (169) d. Lockhart 14.23 (107)
Wagga 24.17 (161) d. Collingullie 12.15 (87)
Henty 19.11 (125) d. The Rock-Yerong Creek 7.7 (49)
Holbrook 14.16 (100) d. Culcairn 12.8 (80)
Next week North Wagga v MCU, Collingullie v Lockhart, Wagga v TRYC, Henty v Holbrook, Temora v Culcairn
This episode’s featured player: Wilf Dickeson (Ararat)
Wilf Dickeson pulled on the guernseys of four Wimmera League clubs in a football career that started at Nhill in 1964. His Wimmera football journey as a player ended at Rupanyup in 1977. Along the way he captain coached Dimboola (1972-73) and Ararat (1974-76) after returning to the country following two seasons in the VFL where he played 23 senior games for Richmond (1965-66). Dickeson played in the back pocket for the Tigers in the years immediately before their rise to the summit in 1967.
His tally of 466 games was spread across 10 different clubs from country Victoria, the VFA and the VFL between 1964 and 1985. Dickeson was a much travelled footballer with a varied resume with similarities to prominent country footballers Tim Robb (North Melbourne) and Frank Hodgkin (St.Kilda). All had significant VFL careers followed by decades of service to many country clubs.
Dickeson’s involvement in footy endured into the new millennium when he was drawn back into coaching roles at Moyston-Willaura in 2006 and later with the Grampians Giants All Abilities Football Club (2016-2018).
In next week’s episode the spotlight returns to the Farrer League. In the match of the day Wagga meet The Rock-Yerong Creek. The featured player in round three is Wagga Tigers captain coach Doug Priest. We will also introduce you to a former South Melbourne teammate of Priest, who hailed from Rupanyup.
In the VFL, the Kangaroos were still without a win and stood just one rung above the bottom of the ladder. Not even Phil Baker’s classic mark, standing on the shoulders of the pack, followed by a 70 metre torpedo goal could inspire his side to victory. The Magpies got home against the inaccurate Cats, while reigning premiers the Tigers were thrashed by the Bulldogs. The Bombers and the Hawks remained the only unbeaten teams after four rounds.
The ongoing saga involving South Melbourne utility player John Pitura, who was standing out of football at the time, took a new twist. Pitura wanted to go to Richmond after a contract disagreement with South, but the Lake Oval officialdom had other ideas. In April 1975 they sought to draw Brent Crosswell and David McKay, and then Vin Waite instead, into a trade deal with Carlton. The disgruntled Pitura threatened legal action against the league to challenge its permit and clearance rules under restraint of trade. At the brink, the VFL backed away. If the case had gone to the Supreme Court it could have blown the entire VFL zoning system apart.
Pitura was eventually cleared to Richmond after South Melbourne were forced to relent. Pitura got what he wanted; Richmond, obsessed with gaining him, had a costly ‘victory’; South got Graeme Teasdale (who won the ’76 Brownlow) together with Brian (‘Whale’) Roberts and Francis Jackson; and in the end Crosswell and Waite remained at Princes Park. The Pitura-to-Richmond deal was a messy business, but was just the forerunner of ugly trade wars that the Tigers would regret for decades.
The 1970s was an era in which big sideburns were in fashion. The facial hair sculpture was equally popular in the country as in the city.
Horsham’s Peter Glare North Melbourne’s Malcolm Blight North Wagga’s Neil Polsen
Meanwhile…
The Australian embassy in Saigon was evacuated and the final flights carrying consulate staff took off leaving behind hundreds of South Vietnamese citizens with close connections to Australia.
In Canberra, the Minister for Minerals and Energy, Rex Connor, was facing Treasury scrutiny over a record $2000 million loan he was seeking to raise from Middle Eastern countries.
Read more episodes of A Season in the Country – 1975 in the Wimmera and Farrer Leagues HERE
To Geelong’s Record Run, click HERE.
Peter also wrote about St. Kilda’s premiership season in his 1966 and All That series. You can read that 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.
Now the 1975 season is rolling!
Bit of a surprise Temora’s big win over Mango? I’m guessing at home where they have always been hard to beat.
Also nice to read of Wilf Dickeson who I got to know when we were working at Central Qld Univ. He was the head of the Melbourne campus.
Many people at Wagga Tigers rate John Pitura as one of the best the club has produced..
Brent Crosswell did not last too much longer at Carlton!
Thanks again, Peter. I am enjoying the series.