The exit of John Haygarth, Ian Goodchild, Tony Jolly, Brian George and Barry Donnellan left the club seriously depleted in 1965.
Bill Constable, a Natte Yallock farmer was appointed Coach.
Although he was a good footballer, Bill was also renowned for his rough, tough, no nonsense approach to the game.
In a match against Waubra on 22 May, 1965, Bill was reported, with team mate Graeme Pora, for abusing the umpire.
There are no other details, but the mind boggles!
Whilst he was no umpires man, Bill did catch the eye of club officials, who voted him Avoca’s Best & Fairest.
Relying mainly on local youth, the seniors finished in eighth spot.
Max Robertson was one of the team’s rising young stars, winning the award for the Most Consistent and the Leading goalkicking award.
Other youngsters who shared club awards included Ian Drummond, Ken Field, Neil Hamer and Alf Benham.
Although the season held little joy for the seniors, it was a triumphant year for the Reserves coach Col Evans, who won the Lexton League Reserves Best & Fairest with 18 votes. It was a remarkable effort, considering Col was 40 years of age.
Lance Farnsworth won the Club Reserves Best & Fairest award, whilst John Baglin was Most Determined.
Life membership was presented to Keith McDonald.
From a team point of view, it was a much better year for the Under 15’s, although they were bitterly disappointed to lose the Grand Final to Natte Bealiba by just one point. Avoca 5.9.39 to Natte 5.10.40
Details are sparse, but better players in the final series included Gary Mckenzie, who also won the club Best & Fairest award, lance Farnsworth, Stan Barker, Jimmy Vernon and Ken Hall.
In a thrilling Grand Final, Beaufort defeated Navarre by 4 points.
go to 1966
