Friday 15 December 2017

ARTICLE: "Subiaco Oval: Every kid's field of dreams", by John Townsend, 22/9/2017

ARTICLE: Arthur Bancroft was seven when he first slipped across the road from his home next to the Perth railway line, climbed an ancient fig tree overhanging the fence and watched football at Subiaco Oval.

It was 1928, just 20 years after the first game was played at the ground initially known as the Mueller Road sand patch, but those joyous football memories were to sustain Bancroft during the most torrid years of his life a decade or so later.

Blood Bancroft was a survivor. He had two ships sunk under him during World War II, lived through the unspeakable horrors of the Burma railway and floated without food or water for six days in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

He had one ambition throughout those ordeals — to play football on Subiaco Oval, a goal he expressed in a charcoal mural at his first prisoner of war camp in Java and which later proved essential as he and four mates clung to wreckage hoping to be rescued.

“We kept our spirits up by talking about some of the things we would do if we ever got rescued,” Bancroft recalled just before his death in 2013. “I said I was going to play footy again on Subiaco Oval. And I did.”

Bancroft had played alongside Haydn Bunton Sr in his early days, the triple Sandover medallist saying little to the scrawny teenager other than growling “get out of my way” as he set sail for goal, but admitted he was fortunate to play as many as his 12 matches.

Bancroft’s sense of Subiaco Oval as the centre of his early universe was not an uncommon view for a ground that started as a weedy stretch of sand and evolved to become the headquarters of WA football.

Subiaco entered the league in 1901, five years after their beginnings in the lower First Rate Junior competition, but their battle to win games — they came last or second last in each of their first 11 seasons — was little compared with the struggle to find a suitable ground.

Their initial home ground Shenton Park, now Lake Jualbup, was often underwater, with drowning a genuine match day threat, while the common age at Mueller (now Roberts) Road provided an ad hoc venue in the 1890s but offered no security of tenure.

But Subiaco was a thriving town at the turn of the 20th century. It had the advantage of a separate identity to Perth and Fremantle, though the train line made it accessible to both, while the newly formed Subiaco Municipal Council saw football as essential to the health of the district and an ideal promotional vehicle for civic development.

It helped that Henry Daglish was simultaneously State premier, Subiaco mayor and club president.

He was possessed of robust powers of persuasion, assets that he employed to their fullest to see off a 1906 expulsion move before winning council support to develop the site that would soon become known as Subiaco Oval.

Crowd at EF v SD grand final
Like other WAFL clubs experienced later in the century, the establishment of a permanent base soon led to remarkable success, with Subiaco winning three premierships in four seasons from 1912. Another was added in 1924 as the club welcomed the arrival of the player who would contend with Bunton as the greatest of the club’s first half-century — Johnny Leonard.

Bancroft could not separate them as players but had a soft spot for Leonard, no surprise given that it was to watch his hero in action that prompted the seven-year-old to climb into Subiaco Oval.

The fig tree might be long gone but generations of children have followed Bancroft’s lead by flocking to Subiaco Oval with stars in their eyes and football in their hearts.

[This article was first published by John Townsend for The West Australian at the following link: https://thewest.com.au/news/perth/subiaco-every-kids-field-of-dreams-ng-b88607857z]

First semi-final 1985 – West Perth versus Swan Districts, Subiaco Oval, 31 August (Subiaco Oval), by Kieran James:

ARTICLE: West Perth earned a rematch against Swan Districts in the 1985 first semi-final played on 31 August 1985 at Subiaco Oval. In those days there was a grassed northern bank at the city-end and there was concrete terracing all along the Roberts Road or eastern side of the ground. These were the general admission ticket areas back then. In that era, for every final apart from the grand final, there was no need to pre-book tickets at Subiaco Oval unless you wanted grandstand seating. In those days semi-finals would attract between 20,000 and 35,000 people and the oval itself could accommodate close to 50,000. Nowadays grand finals struggle to attract even the type of crowds that semi-finals attracted in the WAFL’s Golden Era.

In the newspapers leading up to the game the media columnists were split fairly evenly in terms of which team they thought would win the game. Swan Districts’ Garry Sidebottom was widely and correctly perceived to be the wild-card who, on a good day, could single-handedly destroy West Perth up forward[1] which is exactly what happened. West Perth also suffered from Menaglio being out injured[2]; Duckworth not having recovered from an absence caused by the after-effects of swallowing a fish bone[3]; and, although Comerford, Fong, and Michalczyk did play, they were well below their bests as a result of carrying niggling injuries into the game from the qualifying rounds[4]. Swans’ tough centreman Tony Solin had also been expected to miss the game on the Monday of the lead-up week[5] but he returned to play a very strong game. Rogers and the veteran Murnane missed the last qualifying game versus a lacklustre Claremont, but Murnane was expected to return for the semi-final and be able to slot in well to replace the injured Menaglio.[6] As it turned out Murnane did play but he was not listed in any commentator’s best-players list. Meanwhile, Rogers’ match statistics of one mark, zero kicks, and two effective handballs suggest that he was still incapacitated.

On first semi-final day, 1985, Mike B. and I took an early morning bus from Booragoon to the city-centre and then the train to West Leederville station. The West Perth cheer squad had arranged to meet at the Subiaco Road entrance gates, in the north-east corner of the ground, rather than at the more crowded Roberts Road gates in the south-east corner. Group members had planned beforehand to get tickets on the day and to be first in the gates when they opened which must have been fixed at about 8am or 9am. The cheer squad members needed to be early to claim a seat immediately behind the fence on the two rows of wooden seats in front of the grassed bank. Mike C. and Pete C. were ahead of Mike B. and me in line when we arrived. Mike and Pete were carrying their red-and-blue flags and wearing their long-sleeve West Perth replica jerseys. I can’t recall if they already had their tickets and were waiting for Mike B. and me outside the line or whether they were simply there already ahead of us in the queue. We all obtained our general admission tickets quickly and we (others may have been there too by then) were near the front of the waiting crowd when the gates opened.

The general admission tickets entitled you access to the grassed northern bank and to the concrete terracing but not to the grandstands. As was the practice in that era, our cheer squad members sprinted up and then down the grassed bank when the gates opened and claimed a section of seats directly behind the fence, sufficient to accommodate the core 15 people we were expecting for the game. The early arrivals claimed around eight spots on each of the first two wooden seat rows as had been agreed by everyone the week before at the final home-and-away game. The cheer squad sat in the north-east corner of the ground, directly behind the fence, in around the same place as Perth supporters placed a “Chris Mitsopoulos” fence banner during the 1977 grand final.[7]

Cheer squad members settled down to a long day of watching the early colts and reserves games which, coincidentally, all involved West Perth. The regular core group members all arrived, one by one and in twos and threes, and were offered seats in the group’s new “reserved” section. The crowd in the grassed banked area built up steadily throughout the day. By starting time for the main game most people seated on the grassed bank had given way to people standing up. In that era the bars and the food stands were located right at the top of the grassed bank at the city-end. No group member drank beer at games which, in hindsight, is somewhat surprising as several people were 18-years-old by August 1985.

Cheer squad members planned to enjoy the day; again there was a carnival atmosphere, but the group had been metaphorically sobered up by the recent encounter with the Swan Districts’ fans at Bassendean Oval so people were careful to avoid trouble. It was always uncertain which team the bulk of the crowd nearest you would support at finals games and, if you arrived at the ground very early, you might later find yourself surrounded by opposition supporters. Therefore, it was wiser to restrain your behaviour before the start of the main game.

We had all had previous experiences of West Perth losing final round matches. The team had entered the final four, but not made the grand final, in 1976, 1977, and 1978, and again in 1982 in Dennis Cometti’s first year of coaching. Group members were mostly too young to have properly experienced the 1975 premiership win; on this day in 1985 the core group, excluding Ben, Rob, Tony, Half, Mario, and Thommo Junior, ranged in age from 15 to 19 so in 1975 this core group would have been aged from five to nine. Group members had learned not to have high hopes of West Perth come finals’ time. To be honest people all expected a loss but we would have loved a win. In the end West Perth was duly defeated by Swan Districts in the first semi-final of 1985, 24.14 (158) to 19.12 (126) in front of an official attendance of 26,508 people.[8] The team had not been humiliated but I do remember clearly that the result was never in serious doubt this day. The result did not surprise the cheer squad members as all of us were West Perth fans of the drought era (to use Brian Atkinson’s term)!

Garry Sidebottom was unbeatable with his nine goals, the equal record highest score by any footballer in a WAFL final round match. Dawson writes that: “[Swans’ rover Barry] Kimberley played the kick behind the play role to perfection when West Perth had the breeze, ensuring Swans path to the preliminary final”[9]. West Perth’s losing score of 19 goals was commendable and, according to Atkinson, on most days would have been good enough to win the game.[10]

A look at the scoring records suggest that West Perth in 1985 suffered from the lack of a regular full-forward with the club’s on-ball and half-forward-line running players bobbing up to kick much of the team’s scores. Mark Stephens (27 games, 1982, 1984-86[11]) was named in The West Australian newspaper to play full-forward in the first semi-final but he kicked no goals or points and may not even have played. Top scorers for the day for West Perth were centre-half-forward Phil Bradmore with 4.1 and Derek Kickett with 4.1. Running players were the only other West Perth men to kick more than one goal with the remaining multiple goal scorers being Darren Bewick 3.1, Corry Bewick 2.2, Les Fong 2.2, and Peter Murnane 2.0. Incredibly no recognized full-forward was recruited by West Perth for the 1986 season and West Perth fans had to endure the ignominy of watching West Perth reject Mick Rea perform splendidly for Perth in both 1985 and 1986 playing as a conventional lead-mark-kick full-forward. On first semi-final day 1985, the presence of full-forward Sidebottom and Swans’ mental toughness honed by years of successful finals’ campaigns were clearly the two main differences between the teams.

In the end, Swan Districts failed to progress further beyond the preliminary final in 1985, and Ron Alexander’s East Fremantle defeated Haydn Bunton Junior’s Subiaco by a mere five points in the grand final. I watched the grand final not with the cheer squad but with my father and grandfather seated in the middle-tier of the three-tier grandstand at the western-end of Subiaco Oval (following a family tradition rather than a cheer squad tradition this time around). I can remember walking back to our car after the game, heading back into Subiaco proper, and we stopped a few times to let my grandfather take short rests sitting on little brick walls and similar. After West Perth had been eliminated, we all understood that the cheer squad’s duties and commitments were over for the year.

West Perth Football Club (continued)

Ironically, to pour salt into the wounds, West Perth defeated eventual premiers East Fremantle two out of three times in the 1985 home-and-away rounds. None of the cheer squad members would have regarded East Fremantle as clear favourites had West Perth gone on to encounter the Sharks in the 1985 grand final. West Perth probably had the Moss Street-based club’s measure. Football is made up of vagaries, trivia, and ironies such as this. In fact, from 1976-86, the pre-West Coast Eagles part of the drought era, West Perth generally had a strong record against the eventual premiers. Most West Perth supporters believed that the team could beat anyone on its day, throughout the drought era, with the possible exception of the 1979 season. However, from 1976 through to 1985, West Perth was always choked or outplayed or outmuscled in those final round matches it did manage to play in. It might have been a nerves problem and /or a matter of self-belief. West Perth was up against highly professional and disciplined teams coached by legendary and expert WAFL coaches including Ken Armstrong (Perth); Mal Brown (South Fremantle and Perth); Haydn Bunton Junior (Subiaco); and John Todd (Swan Districts).

Those hardcore West Perth supporters of the drought era were not foolish enough to fail to see a pattern at work. The team clearly ran on enthusiasm, confidence, emotion, and passion during those years. Whereas most other clubs started slowly under a new coach only to reach first the finals, then to lose a grand final, and then finally to win one, West Perth peaked in the first year of a new coach and then the trend was downhill until the next new coach was brought in! As examples of the normal course of events at other clubs, Perth lost in 1974 but won in 1976 and 1977; East Perth lost in 1976 but won in 1978; South Fremantle lost in 1979 but won in 1980; Swans lost in 1980 only to win in 1982, 1983, and 1984; East Fremantle lost in 1977 but won in 1979 and later lost in 1984 but won in 1985; whilst Subiaco lost in 1985 but won in 1986. Later on VFL/AFL club West Coast, famously, lost in 1991 but won in 1992 and 1994. The principle even applied to pre-drought West Perth when it lost in 1973 but won in 1975. It was certainly true, in that era, that “you had to lose a grand final before you could win one” and this adage became wise advice in Western Australia not only for football but for life in general. Dawson also, referencing this period in WAFL history, refers to what he terms “an old football adage”, i.e. “you must lose one to understand what is needed to win one”.[12]

However, departing from the normal pattern at the other WAFL clubs, West Perth won in 1975 in Graham Campbell’s first year; reached the finals in 1982 in Dennis Cometti’s first year; and reached the finals again in John Wynne’s first year in 1985. However, West Perth failed to make the finals in Cometti’s second and third years (1983 and 1984); and again in Wynne’s second year (1986). Even in the immediate post-West Coast era the club made the finals under George Michalczyk in his first season in 1989 only to be wooden-spooners for his next two seasons.[13] The theory that this constituted a unique West Perth pattern was a fairly convincing one although, in all of the years, there were a host of other factors that no doubt could also be used to explain the various rises and falls. It seems that the West Perth playing group became enthusiastic under a new coach but then became bored and lackadaisical by the coach’s second year. It didn’t seem to be a very mature response to the outside observer.

[This article is taken from Chapter 4 (pages 142-147) of the book Goodbye Leederville Oval: History of West Perth Cheer Squad 1984-86 by Kieran James which can be bought at Lulu.com or Amazon.]

[1] Christian, G. (1985a), “Swans prepare for an early blitz”, The West Australian, 30 August, pp. 191-2; Stocks, G. (1985b), “A driving force ...”, The West Australian, 31 August, p. 192.
[2] Christian, ““Swans prepare for an early blitz”.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] See the 1977 WAFL grand final DVD which is available from the Perth Football Club main office or at the merchandise store at Lathlain Park on match days.
[8] Atkinson, It’s a Grand Old Flag, p. 335.
[9] Dawson, John Todd, p. 221.
[10] Brian Atkinson, personal interview, 8 July 2011.
[11] Atkinson, It’s a Grand Old Flag, p. 375.
[12] Dawson, John Todd, p. 183.
[13] Brian Atkinson, personal interview, 8 July 2011.
Port Adelaide Magpies supporters @ Foxtel Cup match versus Claremont, 16 July 2011 @ Subiaco Oval (attendance: around 1,000).

Round 10, 1984 - West Perth FC 11.22 (88) d East Perth FC 10.10 (70), Leederville Oval.

Two Applecross Junior Football Club stalwarts reunite 25 years later, Roy "The Spoon" George (centre) and Doug Stirling (right). The positions in this picture are appropriate as Dougy held down the wing position in 1983 (Under 15s) and Roy was often in the ruck or holding down a key position. He later shocked the high-school football community by leaving Applecross mid-season for Karoonda (separate article on this coming soon). Roy was hardcore East Perth and I went with him to this 1984 game at Leederville Oval when the Falcons proved too good in the end for Roy's Royals.

Round 10 (Monday 4 June), 1984 – West Perth v East Perth, Leederville Oval

My WAFL 1984 season notes, compiled during 1984, state that I watched this home game with my good school friend Roy "The Spoon" George, an East Perth supporter with a strong dislike of the Garlic Munchers. Like many people in that era, Roy dressed like a typical 1980s bogan with his black jeans, black DBs (desert boots), skinhead haircut, and East Perth playing jersey on WAFL match days. He enjoyed teasing Swan Districts' fan Andrew G. aka "Gilby" for only daring to wear brown DBs although Gilby assured him that he simply preferred the brown ones and fear was not the issue! To be completely honest, I do not have a vivid memory of this game. The West Perth Cheer Squad [1984-86] had formed by this stage of 1984 but it was still very small and low-key. The cheer squad probably had five or six people and two flags. Most likely Mike B., Courtney, Rohan H., and Thommo were there, along with the eight-year-old Michael, known as “Half”, from Bayswater. I can’t recall whether the group sat directly behind the northern end goals, the normal home for West Perth cheer squads (both this group and the previous one), or further around just behind the boundary fence in front of the scoreboard bank. Because Roy was there, it was more likely that everyone sat in that more neutral location, but closer to the northern-end goals than to the city-end goals. It was a very warm (26.8 degrees) fine Monday of the split-round. West Perth supporters must have enjoyed the final quarter greatly when West Perth came from behind to win this close contest. However, Roy G. probably wasn’t very happy with the result!

What is somewhat surprising is Stuart Crole leading the first ruck for West Perth. (I never regarded Crole as a very memorable type of player.) Note that Craig Nelson was named at centre-half-forward but was leading the ruck in the last quarter and it was his rucking efforts, rather than those of Crole, which won the plaudits of Geoff Christian (see below). Furthermore, West Perth won with Phil Bradmore out of the team. [Note: Stuart Crole played 18 games for West Perth in 1984-85 and 1989.] The continual appearance of Les Fong and Peter Menaglio in the best three players on the ground suggests that these two players consistently failed to receive the accolades and recognition which they deserved. Neither would have looked out of place in the initial 1987 West Coast Eagles squad although, arguably, the new expanded VFL team came two or three years too late for them. The East Perth player “Sheldon” is not to be confused with the Carlton premiership rover Ken Sheldon who never played in the WAFL. The East Perth ruck-rover is Lance Kelly and not Phil Kelly.

The WAFL League Table (below) shows the closeness of the competition after Round 10 with five of the eight clubs having won five games and the top two having won six. Only Perth had slipped behind the mid-table teams. East Fremantle recovered very well to enter the top four after Round 10 and then go on to contest the 1984 grand-final. West Perth was well placed to contest the final round, but to the acute disappointment of supporters, it drifted away and missed the final-four in this last year of the Dennis Cometti coaching era. Although Geoff Christian of The West Australian is full of praise for West Perth’s victory against East Perth (see below) the team disappointed by failing to go on to beat higher-placed teams, especially away from home, after the uplifting home draw against South Fremantle in Round 6 and the Round 14 home win against Swan Districts. Nineteen eighty-four was a year where if all games had been played at Leederville Oval West Perth could have become premiers. (West Perth won six, drew one, and lost two from its nine Leederville Oval home games in 1984.) By Round 10 of the season it was already clear that Claremont would struggle to reach its third consecutive grand-final. It had begun to feel the effects of player departures to the VFL/AFL as well as the natural aging process [by Kieran James, this revised version dated 18 October 2013].

Likely line-ups:
(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 4 June, 1984, p. 79)
West Perth FC
Backs: Dayman, Hendriks, Comerford
Half-backs: Lockman, Mugavin, Bonson
Centres: Warwick, Michalczyk, Mifka
Half-forwards: Kickett, Nelson, Falconer
Forwards: Simms, Davis, Gastevich
Ruck: Crole, Menaglio, Fong
Interchange: Fraser, Morgan
In: Crole, Fraser
Out: Bogunovich (thigh), O’Brien
East Perth FC
Backs: Carpenter, Kohlman, Fullarton
Half-backs: Da’Rui, Bartlett, Solin
Centres: Hawkins, Spencer, Williams
Half-forwards: Blakely, Campbell, Sheldon
Forwards: Wilson, Scott, Delborrello
Ruck: Ironmonger, Kelly, Papotto
Interchange: Cocker, Otway
In: Otway, Delborrello, Cocker
Out: Morgan (lacerated chin), Higgins, Berry, R Sparks (thigh)

Selections:
GEOFF CHRISTIAN: West Perth
KEN CASELLAS: West Perth
ROBERT WAINWRIGHT: West Perth
DAVID MARSH: East Perth
TIM GOSSAGE: West Perth
(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 4 June, 1984, p. 79)

Match results – Monday 4 June, 1984, Leederville Oval
West Perth FC 3.8 5.12 7.18 11.22 (88) d East Perth FC 3.4 5.8 9.8 10.10 (70)
Scorers: WP: Kickett 3.2, Simms 2.3, Fong 2.2, Crole, Gastevich 1.2, Nelson, Davis 1.1, Mifka, Menaglio 0.3, Morgan 0.1, Forced 0.2.
EP: Scott, Delborrello 2.1, Otway, Williams, Campbell, Blakely 1.1, Spencer, Sheldon 1.0, Papotto, Wilson 0.1, Forced 0.2.
Weather: Fine, moderate north-westerly breeze.
(Source: The West Australian, Tuesday, 5 June, 1984, p. 90)
Perth minimum 14.7C at 6.50am, maximum 26.8C at 2.10pm (June averages 10.0 and 18.2)
(Source: The West Australian, Tuesday, 5 June, 1984, p. 90)
Attendance: 14,011 (from WAFL Online)   
Free kicks: WP: 10, 7, 7, 10 – 34.
EP: 9, 7, 10, 4 – 30.
(Source: The West Australian, Tuesday, 5 June, 1984, p. 90)

Best players:
Derek Kickett & Les Fong
1 Les Fong (WP) – Another great performance of roving. Had 26 kicks and made 10 hand passes in a powerful four-quarter effort.
2 Peter Menaglio (WP) – A dashing performance as a ruck-rover. Used his speed to brilliant effect in the mid-field.
3 Craig Nelson (WP) – Strong and purposeful effort in the ruck where he held control, especially in the second half.

Team rankings:
WP: L Fong 1, P Menaglio 2, C Nelson 3, G Comerford 4, J Gastevich 5, D Warwick 6.
EP: G Campbell, G Bartlett 2, G Williams 3, M Blakely 4, T Papotto 5, L Kelly 6.
(Source: The West Australian, Tuesday, 5 June, 1984, p. 90)









P
W
L
D
%
Pts
S FREM
10
6
3
1
128.61
26
SWAN D*
10
6
4
-
113.50
24
W PERTH
10
5
4
1
89.00
22
SUBI
10
5
5
-
107.76
20
Clare
10
5
5
-
101.28
20
E Frem**
10
5
5
-
95.78
20
E Perth
10
5
5
-
89.02
20
Perth
10
2
8
-
83.91
8
(Source: The West Australian, Tuesday, 5 June, 1984, p. 90)
*eventual 1984 WAFL premiers
**eventual 1984 WAFL runners-up

Match analysis
Quotes from the late GEOFF CHRISTIAN:
“West Perth, inspired by captain Les Fong, produced a magnificent against-the-wind quarter in the final term to break the back of East Perth’s resistance on the way to a stirring 18-point victory - 11.22 to 10.10 – at Leederville Oval yesterday.
“It was the most impressive sustained 30 minutes of football West Perth have displayed this year, an effort that gave them their fifth win of the season and a firm grip on third position on the premiership table.
“East Perth, two points in front at three-quarter time, managed only a meagre 1.2 in the last quarter as they saw victory slip out of their hands as they slid from fourth to seventh place on the league ladder.
“But they could not find the composure, technique or stamina in the last quarter as West Perth kicked the first three goals of the term and then hung on grimly till the finish.
“West Perth, who kicked a wasteful 5.14 in their two turns with the breeze, were far more effective going the other way, kicking a tally of 6.8, including the match-winning 4.4 in the final quarter.
“It was a performance of sheer guts because the match was as much a test of courage as skill.
“The man who did most to mirror that was [Les] Fong. He was at his typical best and his display, combined with that of co-rover John Gastevich, ruck-rover Peter Menaglio and ruckman Craig Nelson gave the Falcons control on the ball, particularly in the last quarter.
“The explosive speed of Gastevich complemented the more deliberate aspects of Fong’s football; Menaglio’s pure speed enabled him to make telling break aways from the mid-field; and big-man Nelson controlled the ruck duels against John Ironmonger.
“East Perth’s roving provided by Tony Papotto, Wayne Otway and Angelo Delborrello, lacked the consistency of West Perth’s and so did the quality of their ruck-roving that was solid for 21/2 quarters but disappeared under the pressure of the last quarter.
“East Perth were able to move to the lead against the breeze in the third term because they kicked 4.0 and held West Perth to 2.6.
“East Perth traded heavily for 21/2 quarters on the skills of centre-half-forward Grant Campbell who was a sure avenue to goal in his battle against Noel Mugavin.
“The Royals had a wing winner in Glyn Williams and the defence led by centre-half-back Glen Bartlett (nine marks) and flanker Robert Solin was sound under considerable pressure.
“But West Perth made two significant moves that helped eliminate two winning situations for East Perth by bringing interchange player John Morgan on to a wing in the second quarter and shifting Graeme Comerford to centre-half-back midway through the third.
Peter Menaglio
“Morgan, normally a half-back, took eight telling marks on a wing and gradually West Perth, with a strong finishing effort from Dean Warwick, took charge on the wings.
“East Perth’s centre-line problems were compounded because centreman Peter Spencer found opportunities, and room, hard to find in a battle against George Michalczyk.
“Comerford, who had been in excellent touch early, continued in that fashion against [Grant] Campbell, and added extra stability to a West Perth defence that had looked shaky at times.
“With [Grant] Campbell well held in the last quarter, East Perth simply did not have the alternative routes to goal needed to blunt the West Perth offensive”.
(Source: Geoff Christian (1984), “Fong guides West home”, The West Australian, Tuesday, 5 June, p. 92) [archival research by Kieran James].

OPINION: On the Prison Bars: From Destiny by Dr Norman Ashton (2018), p. 153.

From Destiny by Dr Norman Ashton (2018), p. 153: Given who the opponent was to be in 1997, a letter of 1 September 1995 from Collingwood Pre...