He’s nudging 60 now…..Fine of fettle, apart from a couple of dodgy knees which have undergone upwards of fifteen assorted scrapes and cartilage repairs……
He recalls that whenever he was able to muster a head full of steam in the latter part of his footy career, it felt like those old knee-caps were rotating on gravel.
“You just sucked it up, though…….That was the price I was prepared to pay…..After each game it’d be two bags of ice on the knees, a fag and a couple of cans……That’d fix me up,” says Brendan ‘Boofa’ Allan……..
***
He’s part of a famous Milawa football family…….He and his dad Laurie, uncles Kevin (Wobbles) and Tom, brothers Neville (Flossy), Mark (Spud), Kevin, cousin Wayne (Pup) and various members of the next generation, have amassed more than 1,400 games in the Red and Blue.
And that’s besides the forays that a few of them undertook when they moved further afield…….
People like ‘Boofa’ are priceless in sporting organisations…….I’ve seen it first-hand at the Cricket Club in which he’s still involved…..He captains and encourages the young B-Graders, lightens the mood, spreads good-will, then does more than his bit of off-field yakka to make sure the place is functioning properly……….
***
The five Allan siblings lived in Kerr’s Road, just under a kilometre from the Milawa Recreational Reserve:
“John Marks had a property nearby,” ‘Boofa’ recalls……”He owned a few wild dogs, and our main object was to avoid those mongrels so that we could get to training on time……”
“We got to know Johnny pretty well…..He loved the footy club and became a very generous benefactor…..But he always stipulated he didn’t want money to be spent on buying players…..just on improvements, like providing a set of weights, updating the kiosk, or assisting with renovations to the Clubrooms….”
“Not that people would have known……He was a pretty humble bloke and was still doing his turn on the Gate not long before he passed away….”
‘Boofa’ grew up around personalities like John Marks…..After starting in the Midgets, he moved into the Milawa Thirds when he was 12…..then was handed a couple of Senior games at the ripe old age of 15……It was the fulfilment of a childhood dream….
Milawa are recognised as a modern-day Ovens and King League powerhouse but, come the early eighties, their premiership successes had become relatively sparse……
They chalked up three flags in the twenties……In 1940, just as war-clouds were gathering, they snagged another; then had to wait until 1969 for ‘Jay’ Comensoli’s boys to break a lengthy drought.
But, by 1981, the Demons were again on the march…….
‘Boofa’ was showing plenty at this stage as a spirited rover/winger with good skills and a ton of spunk……Wangaratta coach Phil Nolan tried his best to lure him to the Norm Minns Oval.
“I spent a pre-season there, but I was doing my Carpentry Apprenticeship with ‘Pip’ Gardner, and didn’t have a car; so he suggested it’d be better to wait ‘til I got my licence….”
Instead, the 16 year-old featured in every game for Milawa. Chiltern were shaping as the hottest flag favourite for some time…..They notched up 13 straight wins before the Demons burst their bubble…….It was the prelude to a series of memorable contests between the arch rivals……
In the Prelim Final, for instance, Chiltern held a seemingly unassailable 32-point lead, 10 minutes into the last quarter, before being run down in the dying stages, and losing by five points.
So the two cellar-dwellers of the previous season were pitted against each other in the 1981 Grand Final…… Milawa had no answer to King Valley’s marking power, and lowered their colours by 29 points.
The following season Chiltern and Milawa locked horns in what is soberly described as the ‘Bloodbath Grand Final.’
It was on from the first bounce…..The ‘Chronicle’ described it thus: ‘The game won’t go down as one of the great moments of O & K footy…..It will be remembered for a vicious first half which shocked the crowd, and the Demons…….’
Milawa led by 19 points at half-time, but the unbeaten Swans, with a rampant Jock Lappin booting 12 goals, ran away in the last half, to win, 26.14 to 15.6.
In the Preliminary Final of 1983, the two slugged it out again, in atrocious conditions……Barely a goal separated the old enemies all day…..It was an unattractive game full of suspense and, when the final siren blew, they were dead level.
The Replay at North Wangaratta saw the Swans control things almost from the first bounce, as they stormed to a 62-point win….Having earned the right to defend their crown against Beechworth, they ran away from the Bombers in the final quarter……..
***
“We knew we weren’t far off winning a flag, and probably just needed a bit of luck….Some of our young blokes were starting to play pretty good footy and, of course, big ‘Mikka’ had a dream season in front of the big sticks in ‘84…” ‘Boofa’ recalls.
The Demons’ first flag in 15 seasons came in emphatic fashion…….
After sneaking home to beat Chiltern 18.11 to 17.11 in the Second Semi, they blitzed the Swans by 13 goals in the Grand Final…….
John Michelini finished with 116 goals for the season, Ken Beitzel started the Milawa onslaught in the ‘Big One’, acrobatic Al Saunders dominated the ruck contests and under-rated Peter Brown was voted Best Afield, in a one-sided game.
‘Boofa’ was finding plenty of the Sherrin, whether it be on a wing or roving……”I was supposed to change roving with ‘Flossy’(older brother Neville ), but shit, he was hard to get off the ball…”
“That flag was a bit of a triumph for Jeff Clarke, an excellent coach, who’d guided us into another Grand Final in his second year in the job….”
“When you hark back, you appreciate what a good team we had……Lionel Schutt, of course, was a star, and his brother Brendan held down fullback……Not the quickest mover, but gee, he could read the play, and used his body well…..Wayne Hawkins, beside him in a back pocket, could shut players down and had a bit of run in his legs…….My cousin ’Pup’ was hard at it, had no respect for his own body, and stood up for his team-mates…..”
“Mario Pane was a very strong centreman who’d squeeze the life out of anyone he tackled.”
“But one fellah I felt for was Ian McCormick, who missed because of the broken jaw he suffered in the Second Semi…….”
Milawa’s 1984 Premiership team
The Demons snared their second successive premiership in 1985…….. After a stellar career with Wang.Rovers, Barrie Cook completed a nostalgic return to his home club, taking 11 marks and picking up 22 kicks in the huge Grand Final win against Bright.
‘Boofa’ completed a fine season by finishing runner-up to brother Neville in the Club B & F. He decided that if he was ever going to test himself in O & M footy, now was the time…….
***
He got himself super-fit doing a pre-season with Wangaratta, and was also invited to play in a night practice match with the Rovers by their new coach, Merv Holmes.
He performed okay, too, but decided that he’d do the right thing and stick by the ‘Pies…….
“Mid-way through that season in the first Local Derby, Merv – God rest his soul – forgot about the ball and steam-rolled right over the top of me…..No elbows or anything….Just laid me on my arse and moved on…..He was still dirty on me for turning my back on the Rovers, I reckon.”
“To think, I’d been one of the mascots, running out beside ‘Holmesy’ when he played for Milawa in that ‘69 Grand Final…..”
‘Boofa’ spent two seasons at Wang as a regular Senior player, before returning to Milawa to become assistant-coach to Gary Voss. He won the first of a hat-trick of Club Best & Fairests, then took over the coaching job in 1989.
“I was sort of thrown into it when ‘Vossy’ gave it away…..Gee, it’s a lot of hard work, particularly the recruiting side of it…..It’s not a 6-month job, that’s for sure…..”
His first two years at the helm certainly didn’t provide much joy……In fact, the Demons finished equal bottom in 1990 – hardly a precursor to what was to become the highlight of ‘Boofa’s’ footy career….
“We were young and pretty fit, and were right in the mix half-way through the season….Then we topped up our list by talking Ray Card into playing, picking up Mark Higgs and Andrew Stevens, and re-recruiting Simon Byrne – a 17 year-old centre half-back…..”
“Some people say that the ‘91 Grand Final against Greta was one of the best of all time….. Clean, play-on at all costs, skilful…..Higgsy’ kicked 5 of his 7 goals in the last quarter, and with a minute and a half to go, ‘Chuck’ O’Connor floated one through the big sticks to give us the lead.”
“The ball was bobbling around in Greta’s forward line when the siren sounded.”
Milawa had snuck home by five points – 19.10 to 18.11…..The captain-coach was awarded the Medal as Best Afield that day, but acknowledges that there a few who could have taken the honour – including Ray Card…..
“ ‘Cardy’ played a terrific game…..His knees were ‘shot’, and he couldn’t train, but you got a hell of a lot out of him on a Saturday …..He played out of his skin…..It was his first flag in a memorable career.”
The Demons of 1991
***
‘Boofa’ was lured back to Wangaratta the following year, but lasted only a handful of games before injury forced him onto the sidelines. He’d played the last of his 48 games with the ‘Pies, and spent the rest of the season as a Selector.
He returned to Milawa as playing-coach for another two seasons, then spent the remaining five playing years of his career as an opportunist forward, with an occasional run through the middle…..
“I was buggered at that stage…..All my pre-season revolved around riding a bike…..” he says.
When he retired in 2000, after 307 games with the Demons, he’d spanned three decades as a player, and says he wouldn’t have changed a thing.
“People ask why I didn’t you give it more of a go at Wangaratta, but I struggled to get to training there, and was happy at Milawa….”
“It’s a good family club…..Mum ran the kiosk with ‘Tup’ and my Aunty Anna …..Dad (who was also a 300-gamer at Milawa) did the time-keeping……I reckon they would’ve seen just about every game I played….”
“If I happened to pick up 40 possessions, all Dad would say was: ’Not bad’….He certainly didn’t rap us up, and wouldn’t butt in unless we asked him something….”
The O & K Hall of Famer still spends his winter Saturdays watching Milawa…..His son Harry plays at centre half-forward and proudly adorns the number 5 guernsey that ‘Boofa’ wore with such aplomb…….
Footnote
* From his early teens, Brendan Allan’s summers were spent representing Milawa in tennis and cricket. He played more than 200 WSCA games and has over 100 to his credit in all grades, with Rovers-United-Bruck.
* Since ‘Boofa’s retirement, Milawa have another three footy premierships to their credit -2009, 2013 and 2019.
The coach urges his charges on in the 1991 Grand Final
Three of Milawa’s finest : Brendan Allan, Jeff Clarke and Mark ‘Spud’ Allan.
This story appeared first on KB Hill’s website On Reflection and is used here with permission.
All photos sourced from KB Hill’s resources unless otherwise acknowledged.
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