A Season in the Country – 1975 in the Wimmera and Farrer Leagues: Episode 3

 

Lockhart Football Ground

 

1975 in the Wimmera and Farrer Leagues

 

Episode 3                  Wagga Tigers overpower Magpies

 

Featuring Wagga Tigers captain coach Doug Priest and his former VFL teammate John Sudholz.

 

The Farrer League

 

                         Tigers       v       Magpies                     

 

Match of the day: Wagga v The Rock-Yerong Creek (TR-YC)

Saturday 3^rd May 1975

At Robertson Oval, Wagga Wagga

 

The city of Wagga Wagga might be the “place of many crows”, but in Australian Football circles it is the home of the Wagga Tigers. Not that the Tigers have the local football market all to themselves, experiencing strong competition from several other clubs and the rugby league community as well.

 

Wagga Wagga lies on the banks of the westwards flowing Murrumbidgee River, a presence that has been mostly, but not always kept at bay during seasonal floods with the aid of levee banks beside the city centre. The busy city of over 60 000 inhabitants stands at the crossroads of the east-west Sturt Highway and the north-south Olympic Way, while its pre-eminent historic transport connection is the Main Southern Railway.

 

 

Robertson Oval, Wagga Wagga

 

 

The Tigers’ home ground, Roberston Oval, was once known as Bolton Park, named after the precinct where it is located in central Wagga Wagga. Today it is one of the best sporting venues in country NSW, befitting a city renowned as a sporting mecca and host of the Riverina Sporting Hall of Fame. AFL pre-season games and Sheffield Shield matches have been staged at the ground in recent decades.

 

 

Wagga was tipped by the local press to continue its high-flying form of round two against 1974 premiers Collingullie. The Magpies experienced the reverse, a 76 point drubbing by Henty, and were not considered likely to topple the Tigers. Wagga’s spearhead, Greg Sheather, with 14 goals after the first two rounds, was seen as the main threat to the TR-YC defence.

 

 

Wagga and TR-YC team lists 1975

Source: The Crier Vol. 16 No. 3

(courtesy of NSW Australian Football Historical Society)

 

 

After an even first half, TR-YC kicked four goals in four minutes to take the lead but the Tigers responded with seven third quarter goals and finished with a blistering six goals to nil final quarter. They ran out winners by 68 points and clearly announced their credentials for season 1975. Greg Sheather booted eight for the winners and was named among Wagga’s best players alongside captain coach Doug Priest. With the win the Tigers looked forward to a trip to Priest’s old stomping ground, Holbrook, in round four.

 

Final scores: Wagga 23.22 (160) defeated The Rock-Yerong Creek 13.14 (92)

 

 

Around the Farrer League grounds

 

North Wagga 11.19 (85) d. MCU 6.15 (51), Collingullie 16.16 (112) d. Lockhart 14.25 (109), Henty 19.18 (132) d. Holbrook 10.8 (68), Temora 19.16 (130) d. Culcairn 10.7 (67)

 

Next week:     Culcairn v Henty, Collingullie v MCU, North Wagga v Temora, Holbrook v Wagga, The Rock-Yerong Creek v Lockhart

 

 

The Wimmera League

 

Roundup

 

Jeparit narrowly took the honours in against a fast-finishing Warracknabeal, Stawell pulled away in the last quarter to defeat Ararat, Murtoa held out Nhill, Horsham had a comfortable win against Minyip and Dimboola streaked away to a big win over Rupanyup.

 

Next week:     Jeparit v Ararat, Warracknabeal v Rupanyup, Murtoa v Dimboola, Stawell v Minyip, Horsham v Nhill

 

 

 This episode’s featured player: Doug Priest (Wagga)

 

Country football, in particular, is rich in family dynasties of players spanning the decades from the first days of local leagues to the present time. Within those families, the culture of playing footy is strong. Whether it is a genetic thing or simply family habit and expectation, players like Doug Priest have followed in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers, and witness their sons and grandsons continuing the tradition. The honour rolls and playing lists of many clubs are full of family names that appear and reappear from top to bottom.

 

Legendary Riverina football identity Doug Priest can look back proudly on his family’s life in football. His grandfather Norman commenced playing with Methul in 1912. Later, Doug’s father Mervyn took up football with Rannock before embarking on a football journey that took him to several South West and Farrer League clubs including the Wagga Tigers. His uncles were also fine footballers in the Wagga district. Doug first played for Holbrook before being recruited by South Melbourne in 1966. In 1970 he returned to the Riverina as captain coach of Ariah Park and finally, in 1972, joined his father’s former club Wagga. After his playing and coaching days ended, Doug watched his two sons build long and sterling football careers with the Tigers. Now he can follow his grandson as he establishes his place in the Priest family football dynasty.

 

 

The many highlights of Doug Priest’s life in football started with a premiership at Holbrook in 1964. Next came 26 games with South Melbourne followed later by three flags with the Wagga Tigers (1975 as captain coach, 1977 and 1978). Along the way he won a Baz Medal (1977 Farrer League best and fairest award). But his football journey continued as a coach of representative teams, including the Farrer League and the Riverina Football League, with great success. One of his most rewarding days as a coach was a victory over the Wimmera League in the VCFL championships in 1982. A former club president, Doug has continued his long association with the Wagga Tigers to this day and was awarded life membership of the club in 2017.

 

 

Doug Priest (right) in his South Melbourne days

 

 

Among South Melbourne’s recruits in 1966 were two strapping young country boys, one from Holbrook in the Riverina and the other from Rupanyup in the Wimmera. South Melbourne’s Holbrook rookie was Doug Priest, while their Rupanyup recruit was John Sudholz. They were not only teammates with the ‘Bloods’, but were to become best mates. Several years later John was a groomsman at Doug’s wedding.

 

Sudholz, known widely as ‘Jumbo’, played 86 games for South Melbourne between 1966 and 1971. His services were sought by a handful of VFL clubs, but he chose South as the prospects of playing in the seniors were better at the Lake Oval club. Too small for a ruckman in the VFL, Sudholz played mostly as a key forward and kicked 176 goals, including 62 in 1970. He was the club’s leading goal kicker each year from 1967 to 1970.

 

After two games in 1971 John returned to the family farm at Rupanyup and resumed football with the local side. His return to the Wimmera drew the attention of rival club Murtoa who were very keen to sign him as captain coach. An offer of $50 per week was attractive, but the loyal Rupanyup man chose his former club after they matched the figure.

 

It was a good decision as he led the Panthers to a premiership in 1973, coincidentally, over Murtoa. Sudholz won the Wimmera League best and fairest award, the Toohey Medal, in 1971 and his club’s top award twice, 1971 and 1973. A series of heavy knocks to the head eventually forced his retirement in 1974 although he was convinced to pull on the boots for the seconds 10 years later. John Sudholz was named as centre half forward in Rupanyup’s Team of the Century.

 

The two South Melbourne recruits from 1966 still meet up from time to time to share their love of the game and to reminisce about their old playing days in the red and the white.

 

 

In the VFL

 

Carlton 12.19 (91) defeated St. Kilda 7.16 (58), Footscray 12.9 (81) defeated Collingwood 9.16 (70), Fitzroy 19.11 (125) defeated Essendon 15.17 (107), North Melbourne 12. 15 (87) defeated Geelong 11.5 (71), Hawthorn 19.22 (136) defeated Melbourne 11.15 (81), Richmond 19.23 (137) defeated South Melbourne 12.14 (86)

 

After four losses to start the season, North Melbourne were desperate for a win against Geelong down at Kardinia Park. The Cats pounced early with a new game style – long, direct kicking – racing away to a 29 point lead, but soon returned to their fall back game of “pussy-footing around” – indirect, ineffective short passing. Led by their small men, the Kangaroos rested the ascendancy from the Cats after quarter time and went on to take the four points, leaving their opponents winless after five rounds. Best players for the winners were centre half back Malcolm Blight, captain Barry Davis, wingman Keith Greig and the small men, Barry Cable, Graham Melrose, Peter Chisnall and Paul Feltham.

 

In next week’s episode of A Season in the Country we return to the Wimmera to see Stawell take on Minyip. The featured player is Stawell’s captain coach Greg Perry.

 

 

Meanwhile …

 

An armada of small boats carrying several thousand South Vietnamese refugees was preparing to leave Singapore for Australia. In the US press it was reported that thousands of Cambodians had been executed by the Khmer Rouge after the fall of Phnom Penh.

 

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was in Jamaica attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference as the Opposition was enjoying a rise in popularity under newly elected leader Malcolm Fraser.

 

The Roman Polanski film, Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunnaway was still drawing movie-goers at Australian cinemas. Hollywood ‘disaster movies’ were all the rage in the mid 1970s, with The Towering Inferno and Earthquake among the most popular in 1975. Television viewers could feast on the American family sit coms, The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family, while the Australian duo of Matlock Police and Homicide were must-watch weekly shows. Number 96 and The Box shared a mortgage over the late night adult drama audience.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

To return to our Footy Almanac home page click HERE.

 

Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

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