There is an old saying, “You can’t help bad luck” but Avoca had more than their share in 1969.
To capitalize on the Ruck dominance of Coach Bluey Marshall, the club set out to poach Greg Wright from Natte-Bealiba.
Greg had won the Lexton League Best & Fairest award, and appeared to be the answer to the Bulldog’s roving problems.
However, playing with Avoca he failed to capture the form that made his name part of Lexton league history.
By the end of the season, the club had its back to the wall, and had to beat Amphitheatre in the final home and away match to secure a finals berth.
It is now history that Avoca won the match, but a legitimate protest over a mistake by the timekeepers was upheld.
Amphitheatre won the replay, clinching fourth spot.
The match was also extremely painful for Avoca’s Full Forward Brian Coghlan.
He booted eight goals in the original match, taking his season’s tally to 100 goals, but kicked seven goals in the replay, which left him one short of the magic century.
Avoca players Brian George and Dale Farnsworth finished Runners up in the Lexton league Reserves and Under 15’s Best & Fairest awards. respectively.
The final piece of bad luck occurred when John Field broke his leg whilst playing at Moonambel, ending his career as a player.
However, Brian Coghlan provided some achievements that made 1969 worth remembering.
His disputed tally of 99 goals, set a new club record, eclipsing the 89 goals set by Ian Grant in 1953.
In a match against Moonambel, Brian booted eleven goals.
Ron Britten, a former Maryborough player and a fantastic clubman, won Avoca seniors Best & Fairest award, ahead of Brian Coghlan, with Gary McKenzie Best Under 20, Pat Harrison Best Under 18 and Ian Drummond Best Team Man.
The Reserves Best & Fairest was won by Brian George, with Ken Hall Runner Up.
Dale Farnsworth continued to show great promise by taking out the club’s best player trophy for the Under 15’s.
Meanwhile, after being beaten in three consecutive Grand Finals, Natte Bealiba were finally rewarded for their perseverance when they defeated Lexton by 10 points to win the 1969 premiership.
go to 1970
