Left: Warragul's Bob Baldry (left) and Moe's Gus Eaton (right) with the Gippsland League premiership cup.
The 1974 Latrobe Valley Football League grand final between Warragul and Moe lives long in the memory of all those that witnessed it and few more so than participants Bob Baldry and Gus Eaton.
As the two clubs prepare to face off for the 200th time this weekend, four-goal hero from that day, Baldry, vividly recalls the final moments of arguably their most famous meeting.
“I can still remember when the siren went who had the ball and it was Gussy Easton,” Baldry said.
“He was running towards goal and I was trying to catch him and he was getting further away from me with every step and then the siren went. Another 10 seconds and who knows what might have happened.”
The Gulls held on to win by four points and claim their first senior football premiership since the formation of the LVFL in 1954.
For the Lions, it marked a fourth grand final defeat in five years, taking the edge off what was otherwise a strong era for the club, kicked off by the 1967 premiership.
Eaton, whose 339 games stood as the club record prior to Peter Ainsworth eclipsing that mark last year, admits he had ‘tunnel vision’ when it came to match day and remembered few details of on-field action, but has never forgotten the near misses.
“I played in 1970 when we got done by Leongatha… in ‘72 we got done by Traralgon by a point, then in ‘73 by Sale by a point and then there was 74,” Eaton said.
“When I came to the club in 1961 we played in the finals nearly every year from there to 1979 so I was pretty lucky in that way.”
Warragul went onto win another premiership in 1976 in Baldry’s final game at the club.
It was truly a golden age, with Baldry playing alongside the likes of Barry Round and Alan Noonan, while Eaton counted Barry Rowlings and Ian Jennings among his high-profile teammates at Moe during that time.
Of the 198 other head to head meetings since 1909, the Gulls have won 107 times and Moe on 88 occasions, with three draws.
For more statistics on matches between Warragul and Moe lookout for this weekends official TRFM Gippsland League Record. Senior game starts at 2:20pm with live coverage on TRFM.
Last Modified on 20/04/2018 10:51
