1986 Preliminary Final - Subiaco Lions v
Perth Demons, Subiaco Oval.
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| Mark Zanotti (S), bogan till die. |
This match, as
with the last few rounds of the recently concluded 2013 WAFL season, was the disappointment
that long-suffering Perth Demons’ fans have come to expect every year since
1978. As that most excellent of football journalists, the late Geoff Christian,
wrote in his match report (full texts for both his match reports are reproduced
below taken from the following Monday’s West
Australian), the 1986 home-and-away season had shown that ladder leaders
Subiaco and East Fremantle were a class above all the other teams and
third-placed Perth was one clear step below the leaders but above fourth-placed
Claremont. The 1986 final round results surprised no-one and confirmed most
people’s prior expectations with Perth comfortably defeating Claremont in the
first semi-final and then Subiaco easily outclassing Perth in the preliminary
final. The only interest and twist in the tale was Subiaco losing to East
Fremantle in the second semi-final but then reversing this result in the Grand
Final two weeks later.
In my view Malcolm Gregory Brown’s great unheralded and forgotten
coaching achievement (he is best remembered today for his coaching efforts at
South Fremantle) was bringing Perth Demons to a very creditable third position
in 1986 after the club had been perennial cellar-dwellers in the early-1980s.
Subiaco and East Fremantle in 1985 and 1986 were A-class teams, both VFL/AFL
standard teams (in my opinion), and two of the best teams to have ever played
in the WAFL. Subiaco lost by less than a goal to Hawthorn in the 1986
end-of-season challenge match which certainly proves the Subiaco team of 1986
as being of VFL/AFL final-five standard. The inaugural 1987 West Coast Eagles’
team was basically an East Fremantle-Subiaco combined team with bit players
from the other clubs put into minor positions to make up the numbers. In a year
without two such obvious A-class teams Brown may have even achieved another
premiership with the Perth Demons contingent he had at his disposal in 1986.
Let us look at Perth’s record prior to the 1986 season (facts from WAFL
Online): 1979 8 wins 13 losses, sixth; 1980 7-14, sixth; 1981 3-18, eighth (this year
was when the rot really set in); 1982 3-18, seventh; 1983 4-17, seventh;
1984 5-16 eighth (this year was one of the most even competitions in WAFL
history with only nine wins separating first from last at year-end); and 1985
6-15, seventh (this year was Brown’s first year as coach). The improvement in
Brown’s first year is clear (one more win than in 1984 and three more wins than
in 1982). Geoff Christian pointed out that Perth’s improvement could be traced
back to the last two home-and-away games of the 1985 season when Perth beat
Claremont and then Swan Districts. Further improvement was noted by all,
including opposition fans, in the opening game of the 1986 season when Perth
drew against the previous year’s first semi-finalists West Perth on a hot March
Saturday at Lathlain Park.
Why do I rate Brown’s coaching performance so highly here? One reason is
that when you look back at Perth’s 1986 team from the vantage point of 2013 it
seems amazing that the club even made it to third position. The team had eight
to ten extremely good players but even out of that eight to ten few ever played
any VFL/ AFL football. Without doing any formal research (which might prove me
wrong) I believe only six players ever played VFL/AFL – Adrian Barich, Robbie
Wiley, Allan Montgomery, Earl Spalding, Mick Rea, and Brett Yorgey. Rea only played three games
at VFL/AFL club Melbourne before he shifted to the west so we can count it as
effectively just five players. The 1986 team was clearly not as good as the
1976-77 premiership team which had included the first-rate roving combination
of Robbie Wiley and Chris Mitsopoulos; the brilliant “team-within-a-team” in
defence which predated by 20 years anything West Coast’s defence achieved in
the 1990s; and the four North Melbourne recruits received in exchange for Barry
Cable. Furthermore, the 1976-77 Perth spearhead Murray Couper was a better
full-forward, at least from a technical standpoint, than Mick Rea, despite
Rea’s outstanding goalkicking efforts in 1985 and 1986. Yes, Wiley was still at
Perth in 1986 but the slim speedy teenager with the long flowing light-brown
hair of 1976-77 had been replaced by a slower but craftier aging veteran whose
hair-line was by 1986 rapidly receding. Geoff Christian and Ken Casellas still
named Wiley as the best Perth player but, like Brian Peake or cricketers
Michael Holding and Dennis Lillee, the craftiness and guile of the mature
versions still could not be compared with the energy and brilliance of the
youthful versions. Christian refers to Wiley winning eight fairest-and-best
awards from his eight years at the club. This was and is a remarkable
achievement from one of the best footballers of the second half of the
twentieth century but it means that Perth had not been able to replace him with
equally as capable young players. In fact, Perth had had few worthwhile
recruits to speak of between 1979 and 1984 (go on, name some). However, the
club did receive good service from those players it received from its many
exchanges with West Perth during the era. I would estimate that as many as ten
players travelled between these two clubs between 1975 and 1986.
If we look at Perth’s team it relied very much on its eight or ten very
good players, including the late Chris “Stazza” Stasinowsky (the 1986
preliminary final was his last ever WAFL game – tragically he committed suicide
in 1988), Joe Santostefano (a player who was brilliant to watch, a real Brian
Peake type player who should have gone on even further in his football career
than what he actually achieved); Wayne Ryder; Earl Spalding; Bryan Cousins; Kim
Fancote; and Brett Yorgey. Cousins and Wiley, whilst still brilliant, were both
past their peaks, and Ryder was still very young. The Perth ruck of Ian Newman
and John Gavranich was very weak compared to Subiaco’s future West Coast
Eagles’ combination of Laurie Keene and Phil Scott, probably the best 1-2 ruck
combination to ever play in the WAFL. Overall, even while reading the team line-ups
in the year 2013, the Subiaco team appears far stronger than the Perth side.
This is why Brown’s coaching achievement in 1985-86 with Perth must be
highlighted. He brought average players, such as Mick Rea and John Gavranich
(both ex-West Perth) to achieve some success and the same comment applies to
Ian Newman. Brown brought veteran Stephen Mount and established footballer
Stazza over from South Fremantle, two very handy acquisitions and their arrival
at Perth was probably because of Brown’s influence. Clearly Perth’s line-up
also included eight or ten no-name players who probably played “above
themselves” in 1986 because Brown believed in them and encouraged them in his
inimitable style. To paraphrase the Bible, if Mal Brown (or John Todd) was for
you then who could be against you?
If we look at Subiaco’s team we reach a different conclusion: this was
one of the greatest teams ever assembled in the history of the WAFL and of
course Haydn Bunton Junior deserves much credit for putting this team together.
Subiaco had also been a very mediocre performer, fighting Perth in epic
contests for the wooden-spoon, in the late-1970s and early-1980s. The star
names in the Subiaco team are still well-known today and need no introduction
from me here. Many would go on to great careers at West Coast or at other
VFL/AFL clubs. However, if we look at the team closely we can see it was really
an excellent mixture of a few players left over from the bad days (Neil Taylor
and Phil Lamb); a few local emerging talents (Andrew Macnish, Mark Zanotti,
Dwayne Lamb, Todd Breman, Karl Langdon, and Warren Dean); a few veterans
returning from the VFL/AFL (the brilliant Peter Featherby, the Subiaco
equivalent of Robbie Wiley, especially);
and a few of those journeymen surprise-packets which have so often popped up in
WAFL premiership sides over the years such as forward-pocket player Stephen Sells
recruited from, of all places, the then VFA (now VFL). Although not a star or
legend, Sells made a solid contribution to the 1986 Subiaco premiership team.
Mark Zanotti was selected as best Subiaco player by all four newspaper
columnists (and it very rarely happens in football that you get unanimity among
four judges as to the best player). I remember watching Zanotti play for
Subiaco and West Coast, on TV and at the grounds, and he was one of the most
exciting footballers you would ever hope to see. The primary mental image I
have is of him going for long solo runs out of defence at Subiaco Oval, his
long black hair flowing behind him – a remarkable sight. He looked like a
classic heavy-metal fan or bogan of that era; you half expected him to drop his
cigarette packet out of his front pocket during one of his solo runs, go back
to pick it up off the ground, and then dispose of the ball without anyone
getting near him! He was very fast and agile for a somewhat bulky player and he
rarely lost his footing or messed up a bounce of the ball. It was totally
appropriate that he ended up playing out his career with the ultimate working-class
battlers club, Fitzroy, in its last-ever VFL/AFL decade. Zanotti’s Wikipedia page says he later
moved to London where he was involved in pioneering Aussie Rules with London
Gryphons. He would have been a scary proposition for anyone who had attempted
to pass him by through the narrow doors of an East London pub!
Andrew Macnish was also a very skilled footballer – very thin physically
but very speedy and nimble as well as being courageous and highly skilled. I
remember his brilliant mark on Justin Madden’s shoulders (that is 183 cm. or more
above the ground) at the city end half-forward flank in front of the concrete
terracing at a Tuesday afternoon state-of-origin match (probably 1986 but it
could have been any year from 1984-88, I was at all those games). Both Zanotti
and Macnish probably never achieved, in hindsight, the greatness they should
have achieved and both names are largely forgotten today. Macnish, whose time
in the VFL/AFL was beset with injuries, managed only 20 games for West Coast
and three for Geelong. Far less talented players than Macnish have played more
West Coast senior games. Off the field, his Wikipedia page reports that Macnish
was CEO at the Shire of Bridgetown from 1998 - 2003, CEO at Busselton from
2003-2010 and is now CEO at Dewatech (January 2011 – present). I would rank both
Zanotti and Macnish in the top 20 players I have ever seen play.
One of the main reasons Perth was
not able to defeat Subiaco this day in 1986 was that Subiaco’s attack was
nearly unbeatable –Todd Breman was an excellent old-school lead-and-mark
full-forward; Keene and/or Scott could also be successfully played at
full-forward; Sells unobtrusively could kick four goals a game from the forward
pocket, and Dean would add another four goals from centre-half-forward. Breman,
Dean, Sells, and Keene kicked 18 goals between them this day and the match was
won right there. For Perth, Rea only managed four and Stazza kicked four. However,
Santostefano could not post even a point and Wiley managed only two goals. To
win Rea needed to kick eight and the other three names mentioned plus Barich needed
to add another ten or twelve between them. This was possible but it didn’t
happen this day. Earl Spalding’s total of 1.1 from centre-half-forward was also
disappointing. Overall, Perth tried extremely hard, as it always does, but
Subiaco was a class above in talent and goal-scoring capacity. Perth had needed
a new young “Robbie Wiley” to emerge from the south-eastern suburbs but that
hadn’t happened (or he didn’t get off the train at Victoria Park station en
route to Lathlain Park!) Perth lacked the overall consistency and capability to
progress beyond third placing in this year (1986) when the top two clubs were
both remarkably strong.
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| Robbie Wiley (P) |
Can Perth offer any excuses for the loss? No. In the 1978 season full-forward
Murray Couper and key defender John Quartermaine missed the Grand Final. Perth
was only defeated by two points to East Perth in this match making the
Lathlain-based club very unlucky as Quartermaine and Couper combined were
definitely worth more to Perth than two solitary points. However, this preliminary
final day, all the big names were present for Perth. Adrian Barich had a relatively
quiet day (only two of the four newspaper judges listed him in their top-six
for Perth) while neither Stazza nor Santostefano played to their normal high
standards with no judge rating either player in Perth’s top-six. Lastly, we
should perhaps mention the free-kick count: 38 going to Subiaco versus 17 going
to Perth. Was Perth too aggressive this day? Christian makes no comment on it
in his match report. The only other possible reason for the divergent free-kick tallies is that the umpires were too harsh on Perth [by Jack Frost, 27 September 2013].
Likely line-ups:
(Source: The West Australian, Saturday, 13
September 1986, p. 186)
Subiaco FC
Backs:
Crutchfield, Brown, Willet
Half-backs:
Wilkinson, Zanotti, P Lamb
Centres: Dargie,
O’Loughlin, Carpenter
Half-forwards:
Georgiades, Dean, Macnish
Forwards: Sells,
Breman, N Taylor
Ruck: Keene,
Featherby, D Lamb
Interchange
(from): Scott, Lee, Langdon
In: Wilkinson,
Lee, Langdon
Out: B Taylor
(thigh), Sparks (suspended).
Perth FC
Backs: Cousins,
Garbin, Whittington
Half-backs:
Yorgey, Montgomery, Smith
Centres:
Santostefano, Wiley, Barich
Half-forwards:
Fancote, Spalding, Bogaards
Forwards: Ryder,
Rea, Stasinowsky
Ruck: Newman,
Lucas, Watson
Interchange (from):
Gavranich, Mount, Lally
In: Mount, Lally
Out: McCracken
Match results – Saturday, 13 September
1986, Subiaco Oval
Subiaco FC 4.5
10.6 20.8 9.6 26.12 (168) d Perth FC 3.1 5.5 9.6 15.7 (97)
Scorers: S:
Breman 5.3, Dean 5.2, Keene 4.1, Sells 4.1, Georgiades 2.2, Macnish 2.2, Scott
2.0, N Taylor 2.0, Featherby 0.1.
P: Rea 4.0,
Stasinowsky 4.0, Yorgey 2.1, Wiley 2.0, Fancote 1.2, Spalding 1.1, Ryder 1.0,
Cousins 0.1, Watson 0.1, Forced 0.1.
[Note: Chris
Stasinowsky’s match statistics in his last ever WAFL game: 6 marks, 6 kicks, 5
effective kicks, and 9 effective handballs.]
(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 15
September 1986, p. 96)
Weather: Fine,
moderate south-westerly winds.
(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 15
September 1986, p. 96)
Attendance:
23,503 (from WAFL Online)
Free-kicks: S: 14,
10, 10, 4 – 38.
P: 3, 4, 9, 1 –
17.
Team rankings:
Geoff Christian: S: M Zanotti 1, P Scott 2, P Lamb 3, A Macnish 4, G O’Loughlin
5, M Crutchfield 6.
P: R Wiley 1, B
Yorgey 2, S Mount 3, A Barich 4, M Garbin 5, R Bogaards 6.
Ken Casellas: M
Zanotti 1, P Scott 2, G O’Loughlin 3, C Brown 4, P Lamb 5, P Featherby 6
P: R Wiley 1, B
Cousins 2, M Watson 3, S Mount 4, R Bogaards 5, B Yorgey 6
Gary Stocks: S: M
Zanotti 1, G O’Loughlin 2, P Scott 3, C Brown 4, P Featherby 5, M Crutchfield
6.
P: B Yorgey 1, R
Wiley 2, M Watson 3, B Cousins 4, K Fancote 5, S Mount 6.
David Marsh: S: M
Zanotti 1, G O’Loughlin 2, P Featherby 3, P Lamb 4, C Brown 5, A Macnish 6.
P: B Yorgey 1, K
Fancote 2, R Wiley 3, B Cousins 4, A Barich 5, M Watson 6.
(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 15
September 1986, p. 96)
Coach’s Comment:
Mal Brown
(Perth):
“It was just not
our day. Subiaco had a point to prove and they did. All I said to my players at
three-quarter time was ‘Don’t capitulate’. They didn’t and I reckon we can look
back at the last 12 months with a great deal of satisfaction. The only sadness
for us on Saturday was over Allan Montgomery, who received a broken wrist. He
made a great return to WA football this year”.
(Source: Geoff
Christian (1986), “Perth can close with a smile”, The West Australian, Monday, 15 September 1986, p. 97)
Complete
original match report #1 (full-text):
By the late
GEOFF CHRISTIAN:
“Perth’s 1986
football season ended one week short of the grand final but at the same time
marked the beginning of a new era for a club that has come back strongly after
having been out of business since 1978.
“Perth are now
considering a move back to their traditional home at the WACA Ground next year
as coach Mal Brown ponders his future and wonders if there is (for him) football
life after 40.
“Brown
celebrates his 40th birthday on October 16 and by then he will have
[to] decide whether to complete the final year of his three-year contract with
Perth or be like an old soldier and merely fade away.
“WA’s entry into
a national competition would have a significant bearing on Brown’s decision.
“He was in no
mood to talk about his future after Saturday’s 71-point loss to Subiaco but
more inclined to reflect on what has happened at Lathlain Park since he took
over as coach for the 1985 season.
“It has been a
success story for a club that faced financial disaster a year ago but has
clawed its way back, if not into the black then into a position where the
future is more assured.
“The success can
be traced back to the second-last game of 1985 when Perth beat Claremont and
then followed that win with another over Swan Districts a week later.
“Those two wins
marked the start of the revival. This year Perth won 121/2 qualifying games and
the first semi-final in the first season they have won more games than they
have lost since 1978.
“There is no
doubt Perth were the third-strongest side in league football this year – well
below pacesetters East Fremantle and Subiaco and well above Claremont, who
finished fourth.
“Perth’s
pre-match confidence ran high, believing they could beat Subiaco and create the
first East Fremantle-Perth grand final since 1977.
“But the task
was beyond Perth and that was obvious, if not from the start then certainly by
half-time.
“‘It was just
not our day’, Brown said. ‘Subiaco had a point to prove and they did.
“‘All I said to
my players at three-quarter time was “Don’t capitulate”. They didn’t and I
reckon we can look back at the last 12 months with a great deal of
satisfaction.
“‘The only
sadness for us on Saturday was over Allan Montgomery, who received a broken
wrist. He made a great return to WA football this year’ [the Mal Brown quote
ends here].
“On Saturday,
Perth could not match Subiaco’s capacity on the ball and the ability of the
Lions to create scoring chances. Nor could they match Subiaco’s goalkicking
efficiency after quarter-time, which produced 22.7 in the next three terms.
“Despite the
second-quarter loss of [Allan] Montgomery, the Perth defence played solidly,
quality efforts coming from Stephen Mount at centre-half-back and full-back
Mick Garbin.
“The Perth
defence has been rebuilt this year and [has] developed into a solid unit in
which Bryan Cousins [has] played a leading role.
“Captain Robert
Wiley, Perth’s best player on Saturday, continues to maintain a high standard
of football and leadership. He looks set to win the club’s fairest-and-best
award for a record eighth time – in his eighth season with the club.
“Full-forward
Mick Rea retained his [WAFL] goalkicking crown and became the first Perth
player to win the award twice. In 1985 he kicked 100 goals; this year he
managed 90 of which 23.3 were kicked against Subiaco.
Centre-half-forward
Earl Spalding and flanker Wayne Ryder were losers on Saturday but their
football this season has helped turn Perth into winners. They are young
forwards with their best football still to come.
“That also
applies to ruckman Ian Newman, who will not forget the 1986 final round quickly.
He graduated from the school of hard knocks after receiving painful lessons
from Geoff Miles in the first semi-final and Phil Scott on Saturday”
[full-text].
(Source: Geoff
Christian (1986), “Perth can close with a smile”, The West Australian, Monday, 15 September 1986, p. 97)
Complete
original match report #2 (full-text):
By the late
GEOFF CHRISTIAN:
“Subiaco should
take another long hard look backwards to the composition of their 1985
final-round side in a bid to go forward in the grand final against East
Fremantle at Subiaco Oval next Saturday.
“That
observation became apparent when watching Subiaco go part of the way to
restoring their football fortunes – and the balance of their team – in the
preliminary final against Perth on Saturday.
“Subiaco borrowed
a page out of their 1985 selection manual in choosing the team that beat Perth
by 71 points – 26.12 to 15.7 – in the preliminary final at Subiaco Oval on
Saturday.
“Moves from that
page included switching Michael Crutchfield to full-back, using Phil Scott as
the No. 1 ruckman and making full use of Laurie Keene’s size and skill as a
goalkicker.
“The moves all
worked as well as could be expected.
“Crutchfield
played effectively against Mick Rea and on that form is the automatic choice to
oppose Darren Bennett next Saturday. Scott came back to near his best form with
a relentless display of power in the ruck and Keene accepted manfully a change
in roles, which helped the overall balance of the side – the attack in
particular.
“The Lions
should now turn to the page with the centreline and read that Phil Lamb and
Andrew Macnish were their wingmen in the 1985 grand final.
“Then the
selectors should have a look at the first-half statistics of their wingmen in
the first half of the [preliminary] final against Perth.
“Those figures
reveal that Greg Carpenter, Ian Dargie and Mick Lee, who shared the wing work
in the first hour for Subiaco [JF note: quarters were then 25 minutes plus
time-on of around 5 minutes so 30 minutes per quarter or 1 hour per half], had
a combined total of only 10 kicks, two marks and two handpasses.
“That level of
contribution is simply not good enough and indicates a serious lack of
involvement from the wingmen when the going was at its fastest on Saturday.
“Certainly, a
repeat of these figures in the first hour of the grand final would create
considerable problems for Subiaco against an East Fremantle side that dominated
the midfield in the second semi-final.
“Subiaco have
used the new combination of Carpenter and Dargie on the wings for most of the
season, but the time has come for an urgent review.
“The [Phil] Lamb-[Andrew]
Macnish combination has appeal. Lamb has a solid defensive component in his
game and Macnish has the speed and brilliance to succeed at Subiaco Oval.
“Both were in sharp
form against Perth on Saturday. Lamb was suspended in a back-pocket opposed to
will o’the wisp forward Wayne Ryder and Macnish was dashingly effective as a
free-running half-forward.
“Subiaco could
be loath to move Lamb because he helped form an outstanding full-back unit with
Crutchfield and Clinton Brown, who played impressively in a pocket.
“But Macnish
still has to survive a tribunal hearing tomorrow evening before he is eligible
for the grand final.
“Macnish was
reported by field umpire Ken O’Driscoll for allegedly having struck Perth’s
Bryan Cousins in the third quarter on Saturday.
“It was a minor
offence and one that should not have been brought to the attention of the
tribunal.
“The penalty for
Macnish’s late tackle on Cousins should have been a free-kick – nothing more,
nothing less. Macnish had been tackled high twice in the preceding 10min. and
received free-kicks. Those tackles were no more deserving of a report than
Macnish’s on Cousins.
“Subiaco’s
willingness to switch Phil Lamb to a wing could depend to a large degree on the
fitness of defender-rover Brian Taylor, who did not play on Saturday because of
a strained thigh muscle.
“There is every
indication Taylor should be fit for next Saturday and if that is so he would be
certain to come into the side.
“The size of
Subiaco’s score [against Perth] has little (if any) bearing on the prospects of
Subiaco’s upsetting East Fremantle for the premiership next Saturday.
“It was a
re-assuring victory for Subiaco, a timely show of spirit in the face of little
adversity and a performance that should help restore morale and confidence.
“Perth simply
did not have the midfield skill or the explosive power and pace to recreate the
situation Subiaco faced and could not handle in the second semi-final a week
earlier.
“Subiaco should
closely examine the composition of their attack for a battle against a strong
and hard-hitting East Fremantle defence.
“Keene is needed
to play in the forward lines for most of the time. He was the full-forward last
year and should be used in tandem with Todd Breman next Saturday” [full-text].
(Source: Geoff Christian (1986), “Subiaco must
do bit of thinking”, The West Australian,
Monday, 15 September 1986, p. 100) [archival research by Jack Frost].
