Remember when the first quarter of every grand final featured an all-brawl? As this clip from the 1990 Ovens and Murray league grand final shows, in many ways we should be glad that the good old days have been left behind. The teams are Wodonga in the maroon and white stripes and Lavington in the [Read more]
Bendigo Relections: Two Blues celebrate dual 1980 BFL premierships
May 12, 2010 by 4 Comments
by Richard Jones EAGLEHAWK celebrates its 1980 senior and reserves premierships at Canterbury Park this weekend. Thirty years on with the 2010 top-of-the-table clash between the Two Blues and Golden Square unfolding in front of them, the flag-winning stars of yesteryear will spend a day of reminiscing. Eaglehawk came from 14 points down late in [Read more]
KEN PIESSE’S 10 FAVORITE FOOTBALLERS FROM … BALLARAT
May 2, 2010 by 1 Comment
How can you have 35 goals kicked against you, in one game and yet be a Hall of Famer at both the Redan and the North Melbourne Football Clubs? Fun-loving extrovert Barry Cheatley has never been one to allow the facts to spoil a good story so yes… he did have the misfortune to run [Read more]
BLOODS TAKE ON ST KILDA IN 1904 MIDWEEK CLASH
May 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment
SOUTH Bendigo played matches against a number of Melbourne-based teams in the early part of last century achieving more success at home on the Upper Reserve than in the city. At the end of August 1904, the Bloods travelled to Melbourne for a full-scale match against VFL cub St Kilda. The Saints posted 13 goals [Read more]
KEN PIESSE’S 10 FAVORITE FOOTBALLERS FROM … THE OVENS & MURRAY
April 29, 2010 by 6 Comments
Each week prominent football author and commentator Ken Piesse will feature 10 of his personal favorites from the major country Leagues. Buffalo Creek has surely not had a more famous drifter. The tiny Myrtleford township was home for Gary Ablett snr. during his devastating six month assault on Ovens and Murray football, the launching pad [Read more]
LOCAL FOOTY: Superdogs enjoy a big win
April 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment
SUPERDOGS START SEASON WITH SIZZLING WIN by Nick Kossatch A new look Riverland Superdogs outfit took to the park at Lyrup Oval and demolished River Murray by 47 points in the masters AFL over 35’s season opening round. From the outset, new recruit and son of West Adelaide 1983 premiership player Ben ‘Ben 10’ Meuret, [Read more]
Bendigo Easter
April 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Wednesday 7 April 2010 There are bats living in Bendigo’s beautiful Rosalind Park. Grey-headed flying foxes, to be precise. Their arrival is the most preposterously unlikely thing to happen in the city since Phil Carman joined the local umpires’ association. Apparently, the heavy rainfall and storms up in Queensland and New South Wales sent the [Read more]
Country Footy: Tough year ahead for Waaia
April 2, 2010 by 1 Comment
by Josh Barnstable It’s that time of the year again. That time of the year when all the hard yards you put in at training pays off on that one day in September, albeit a bit less significant compared to that ‘other’ one day in September. Country football is back, and the Picola League is [Read more]
Local Footy: Broken Hill Lizards bust ‘bench-less’ Riverland Superdogs in trial match
March 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment
by Nick Kossatch The Riverland Superdogs over 35’s master’s football team lost their trial game against a fit, classy and skilled Broken Hill Shinglebacks side by 31 points at Lyrup Oval on Saturday. It could have been much worse after the boys from the Silver City began sensationally with ‘silver-serviced’ deliveries to their big forwards. [Read more]
Local Footy Flashback: Bendigo FL – Round 1, 1960
March 23, 2010 by 5 Comments
FIFTY YEARS AGO IN THE B.F.L. — ROUND ONE, 1960 by Richard Jones TWO close finishes highlighted the opening round in the BFL half a century ago, a time when life was much simpler and less hectic.
Country Footy: Coaches who stamped their mark on the BFL
March 11, 2010 by 6 Comments
By Richard Jones JOURNALISTS and senior coaches often form prickly relationships, but it doesn’t mean that there’s no dialogue between the two parties. Here in the Bendigo league there’s been some remarkable figures. Clearly success is measured by the number of premierships a senior coach garners for his club yet I have found some mentors, [Read more]
Local Footy: Former AFL stars make impression in Bendigo league
February 20, 2010 by 1 Comment
By Richard Jones THERE’S plenty of stories about former Bendigo and central Victorian footballers who’ve made the transition from local comps to the AFL. For example the four Selwoods, Nick Dal Santo, Greg ‘Diesel’ Williams, Geoff Southby, Rod Ashman, Jimmy Buckley, Peter McConville and Trevor Keogh all made the trip down the highway to the [Read more]
Local footy: Memorable administators in the Bendigo Football League
February 18, 2010 by 23 Comments
By Richard Jones JUST as in football’s playing ranks, there’s never a shortage of memorable characters running affairs at club or league levels. Here in the Bendigo league we’ve had controversial and colourful presidents and chairmen, feisty secretaries and treasurers, but also a sound quota of extremely gentlemanly and thoughtful people. But it doesn’t matter [Read more]
Local Footy: No shortage of characters in Bendigo footy
February 2, 2010 by 3 Comments
By Richard Jones IT SHOULD come as no surprise to footy followers that our unique Australian code draws plenty of ‘characters’ to weekly matches. Here in central Victoria we have attracted, and continue to attract, our fair share. Over a period of three decades I’ve seen quite a few.
Footy: Prato’s journey to Bulldogs not as exotic as Daw but no less remarkable
December 17, 2009 by 7 Comments
By Richard Jones The Majak Daw story makes a nice yarn. But how about Maryborough boy, Eddie Prato, taken by the Western Bulldogs with pick No.58 in the AFL rookie draft? Eddie spent most of 2009 playing basketball with the Ballarat Miners in the South East Australian Basketball League. At 6 ft 8 ins in [Read more]
Footy: Superdogs find plenty to yap about on trip south
November 11, 2009 by Leave a Comment
By Nick Kossatch The Riverland Superdogs ventured to the south east of South Australia over the weekend and by all reports, that region was painted red. Bordertown was the overnight stop on Friday night. The Bordertown Roosters Footy Club were the hosts and provided many beverages and plenty of food for the hungry and thirsty [Read more]
General Footy Writing: Watch out for the termite mound!
September 24, 2009 by 1 Comment
I’ve recently moved to Galiwinku, which is the second largest Aboriginal community in Australia. It is based in a place called Elcho Island, which is a part of Arnhem land and situated about 500 kilometres east of Darwin. There are only 3,000 people in the community, but surprisingly there are eight football sides that make [Read more]
Jones Files: Square keep Sandhurst at bay to earn grand final victory for the ages
September 17, 2009 by 2 Comments
By Richard Jones GOLDEN Square plays off with old rivals South Bendigo in this Saturday’s Bendigo Football League grand final. The Square Bulldogs went down by a goal to Eaglehawk in last September’s cliffhanger decider. The Bloods, meanwhile, have made the grand final for the first time since 1995. Perennial losing preliminary finalists, South snapped [Read more]
Local Footy: Hume league to honour old Coreen league
September 17, 2009 by 5 Comments
By Barry Malone The Coreen and District Football League folded in 2007 after 98 years of serving the people of the southern Riverina, specifically the area north of Corowa. This Saturday, at the Hume league grand final between Osborne and Jindera at Walbundrie, Hume league officials will host a “wind-up” of the Coreen league. It’s [Read more]
Local Footy: Demise of Benalla District league spark cherished memories in sad circumstances
September 17, 2009 by 2 Comments
By Hamish Cameron Last Sunday, Bonnie Doon went back-to-back winning the final Benalla and District league premiership by 15 goals against Swanpool. After more than 60 years in existence, the league will now disband, leaving five clubs to go their separate ways. For posterity’s sake, now is a good time to reflect on playing for [Read more]
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