AS ROUND 11 of the Peter Jackson VFL dawned upon the football public in Victoria, we were blessed with some incredible weather as we headed towards the middle of winter.
Before leaving home, I needed to clean the ice of the windscreen, and noted the temperature gauge hovering just above freezing.
The car was reluctant to start, and the air was... I refuse to accept it was cold... it was crisp. The sky was clear and the sun was out. To me, this was a perfect winter’s day!
Our journey on this day took us to Visy Park in Carlton, formerly known as Princes Park, to see the Northern Blues host Williamstown.
Regular readers will note that this is not the first time the Blues have hosted my visit, this second visit being due to their alignment with the Carlton Football Club.
Whilw the Northern Blues history with Visy Park is somewhat brief in the overall scheme of things, the history of the venue itself is a lot more famous.
The stadium now known as Visy Park played host to VFL/AFL games from 1897, the inaugural year of that league.
Carlton hosted matches at the venue from 1897 until 2005, and other tenants over the journey have included Hawthorn, Fitzroy, the Western Bulldogs, and South Melbourne, and in the Peter Jackson VFL-era, the Northern Blues and Collingwood have hosted matches at the venue at various times.
Non-Australian football tenants have included the Wallabies (Rugby Union), Carlton (Soccer), Victorian Bushrangers (Cricket), and Jeff Fenech (Boxing). Visy Park was also host of the VFL Grand Final in World War II years of 1942-43, and 1945, and was a regular home of the Peter Jackson VFL Grand Final up until 2007.
Entering the ground gives non-Carlton people like myself the shivers. So much history and tradition has been created on the grass, and also notably, in the grandstands. The venue has changed a lot over the years, as we enter on the northern wing.
To our left is the John Elliott Stand, followed by (clockwise) the Legends Stand, the Richard Pratt ‘Ski Jump’ Stand, the Carlton Football Club Training Facility (formerly the Heatley Stand and Social Club), and the Ald Gardiner Stand. The bulk of the catering is near our entrance point, and there is a cafe in the new facility at the western end of the stadium. The surface is in superb condition, and it is a great viewing venue.
As we wandered around the ground looking for a good vantage point in the sun, we noted many things.
The wooden seats are starting to become weather-beaten, and a lot of plastic seating areas have been removed, but there’s still plenty of space to rest those weary legs. The coaches and stats boxes are more-than twice the size they were when the venue regularly hosted matches, and the roof of the Legends Stand is showing signs of rust in the structure, but nothing a bit of TLC won’t fix!
At half time, we paid a return visit to the Famous Northern Blues BBQ which had been transplanted from Preston for the day.
Thanks to the improved weather and therefore larger turnout than in Round 8, the demand for sausages, burgers and steak sandwiches was a lot greater on this day.
The band of loyal volunteers manning the fort were on the verge of being overwhelmed, but fought on valiantly as we finally got to treat ourselves to a burger with onions. It was definitely worth the wait, fresh from the BBQ, hitting the spot as classic Peter Jackson VFL fare should!
The match saw Williamstown kick away in the final term after a close match for the majority of the afternoon, eventually winning by a comfortable 32 points.
As the media continues to ask the question whether the AFL will once again contemplate a third Melbourne-based venue for some matches, the names of Punt Road Oval and Visy Park constantly pop up in calculations, so perhaps this grand old lady of the inner-north still has some life left in her!
Last Modified on 27/06/2013 08:34