TRFM Gippsland League’s current crop of stars will draw inspiration from their illustrious predecessors, when they take the field in tomorrow’s Worksafe Community Championships.
The clash marks 40 years since the then-Latrobe Valley Football League first secured the state’s number one ranking, with victory over Bendigo Football League in the championship series grand final at Bendigo in 1979.
League life member Neil Meredith was part of that side, which blazed the trail and firmly stamped Gippsland’s reputation as a football powerhouse that claimed four titles in 17 years.
The tenacious rover admitted the historic game, which was the culmination of a series of game played throughout the season, was a “dirty day” for him personally as he “barely got a kick” but it remained a source of unforgettable memories.
“I played in all five of those games and it was the greatest honour because I never classed myself as a great footballer,” Meredith said.
“I’ve still got my footy jumper from the ’79 game and the ’80 one I did a stupid thing and gave it away to a friend… I haven’t seen it since.
“We were a tight knit bunch the 22 that were up there. Everyone got along really well and it was the start of the whole league becoming close knit.
“My mum and dad used to travel to all the games to watch me play and would always be talking to the locals. It was a really good time for footy and everyone wanted to be a part of it.”
The present-day adaptation of the championships is a far cry from the celebrated occasion it once was.
Players jumped at the opportunity to pull on the league jumper and footy fans flocked to venues around the state, often travelling great distances to watch their team play.
In 1979, the cheer squad from VFL club Footscray, which was zoned to the area east of Traralgon at the time, jumped on the train carrying the players to Bendigo, ensuring the crowd had its fair share of red, white and blue on the day.
For Meredith, the train trips were among the highlights of every campaign.
“The old train trips were a bit of fun and games. Our phys-ed man was Laurie Payne and when they stopped the train at one point all the players had to go into a caboose and do some warmups,” Meredith recalled.
“It was Payne by name, pain by nature, but he had us at our peak.”
Meredith, who played the majority of his club footy for Yallourn, said the likes of Jack Huxtable and Joe Hutchison - league president and secretary at the time - were pioneers when it came to interleague football and their passion and drive were the catalysts to Gippsland’s success and subsequent reputation.
They were aided by host of talented players, many with genuine superstar pedigree.
Captained by imposing ruckman Len Petch, with a young Jeff Gieschen as vice-captain, the household names were littered throughout the 1979 lineup.
“You never used to lead to Petchy because he couldn’t kick over a jam tin but he was a great ruckman and a great fella,” Meredith said.
“Dale Foster had just come back from Hawthorn… he played at centre half back and I remember he had a slashing game in the grand final.
“Bingle [Rob Ballingall] played in the centre mainly and he was a terrific footballer but our strength was probably our big guys. We had Ian Salmon and Johnny ‘Jack’ Gallus who was probably the best reader of the ball I ever played footy against.”
This year’s side, which sits 11th on the modern rankings system, will tread a similar path, staying in Bendigo tonight before continuing onto Cohuna where it will meet Central Murray Football League in the annual one-off game tomorrow.
The league will pay homage to the 1979 championship team, by wearing replica jumpers featuring white collars and the LVFL logo, with the years of previous title victories inscribed on the back.
1979 Championships Final at Bendigo – Latrobe Valley Football League 15.12 (70) d Bendigo Football League 9.16 (70)
LVFL: 3.3 4.8 11.11 15.12 (102)
BFL: 1.1 4.5 5.12 9.16 (70)
Goals –
LVFL: Ray Sweeney 3, Ian Jones 2, Dale Foster 2, Rob Ballingall 2, Jeff Gieschen 2, Stan Davidson 2, Peter Boyce 1, Peter Hall 1
Best –
LVFL: Len Petch, Dale Foster, Rob Ballingall, Stan Davidson, Jeff Gieschen, Gavin Bransgrove, Carl Vesty, Peter Hall
Umpires: Bill Dellar and Kevin Smith
GRAND FINAL TEAM:
Robert Ballingall, T Beveridge, Peter Boyce, Gavin Bransgrove, Peter Campbell, Stan Davidson, Dale Foster, Murray Frew, John Gallus, Geoff Gieschen (vice-captain), P Hall, Jim Hart (coach), Ian Jones, Ray Koeleman, Peter Lynch, D Mason, Neil Meredith, Len Petch (captain), Ian Salmon, Ray Sweeney, Carl Vesty, David Vogel, T Waters.
Last Modified on 20/05/2019 14:42
