Round
16, 1984 – East Perth v West Perth, Perth Oval
This
was the second close and exciting finish to West Perth versus East Perth “Perth
derbies” during the 1984 home-and-away season. It is often said that Fremantle
derbies are usually tough contests regardless of the positions of the two teams
on the league ladder. The same could be said for Perth derbies. However, East
Perth was in a rebuilding stage in 1984, like South Fremantle, and it only just
made the finals series. Although West Perth was in the final-four after the
loss in this Round 16 clash it finished the season badly and failed to make the
finals. Following West Perth in the 1980s was a disheartening experience as the
club often defeated leading teams only to lose games it should have won. In
this game Les Fong and Peter Menaglio, as usual, were outstanding for West
Perth. Both should be regarded as legendary names across the WAFL today but
sadly that does not appear to be the case. Why not a “Les Fong-Robert Wiley”
trophy for Perth versus West Perth games? It might make more sense than Stephen
Michael-Barry Cable Cup (for Perth versus South Fremantle games) as at least
Wiley and Fong actually played against each other and played the same position!
We note in this game West Perth
coach Dennis Cometti again playing players out of position. Phil Bradmore was
named at centre-half-back rather than in his customary centre-half-forward
position while David Marsh’s match report suggests the workmanlike but hardly
charismatic ex-Swan Districts defender Graeme Comerford played at centre-half-forward!
Craig Nelson was named at centre-half-forward rather than in the ruck. The 1983
Sandover Medallist John Ironmonger remained with East Perth in 1984 and he
dominated West Perth’s inexperienced ruckmen Stuart Crole and Ramsay
Bogunovich. Craig Nelson does not appear to have played in the ruck although he
was in the starting side according to Saturday’s West Australian. The surprise success of country recruit Kim Rogers
in the ruck for West Perth in 1985 is one factor which contributed to the
club’s finals appearance that year.
However, in this 1984 game, it
was the type of game West Perth really should have won if it wanted to play
finals football. East Perth was in the rebuilding stage but the club mixed new
players with the remains of the 1978 premiership side very well and the club
was very competitive in 1984 and never disgraced. In this East Perth team
old-hands such as Grant Campbell, Stan Magro, Peter Spencer, and Wayne Otway
(the only remaining 1978 premiership player in the team that day) played
alongside many exciting young players who would go on to have great careers in
the VFL/AFL including Glenn Bartlett, Michael Christian, Richard Dennis (out
injured for this game), and the one and only Alex Ishchenko.
The 1984 WAFL season was
extremely tightly fought, few teams were uncompetitive, and few teams were far
ahead of the pack. Only ten premiership points separated South Fremantle
(second) from Claremont (seventh). Leader East Fremantle could hardly have
claimed to have dominated the season with 11 wins and 5 losses and a percentage
of 110.31% after Round 16. Only one club, South Fremantle, had a percentage
exceeding 120% and only last-placed Perth had a percentage below 85% (but a
still very respectable 82.16%). Claremont (seventh) had won 7 and lost 9. Even
the struggling Demons had won 4 games by Round 16. It is to the credit of past
and present WAFL administrators and club leaders that the competition was so
evenly poised and it suggests the zoning system was working well at this point.
The competition had eight strong, traditional, and well-supported clubs all
playing out of their traditional home grounds. This is very unlike the present
AFL where of the Victorian clubs only Geelong, Melbourne, and arguably Richmond
still plays matches at the traditional home ground.
My 1984
season notes, written during the 1984 season, state:
“East
Perth 19.15 d West Perth 18.17. Perth Oval. Michael [Blewett] lost lens at
Claisebrook Station. Huge record cheer squad – talked to [West Perth
coach Dennis] Cometti before the match. Timeclock wasn’t working – thrilling
last quarter. Great games by [John] Gastev and [Derek] Kickett”
[underlining in original].
There was a large
group of people in the West Perth Cheer Squad that day. It was a fine day and
the team was playing the traditional rivals. I think that the cheer squad had
its complete contingent of around 15 dedicated members there that day, plus the
many hangers-on you would get at away games. It was a happy carnival-like
atmosphere as most away games for the group were. Dennis Cometti talked to the
group members from across the fence before the match. The group probably had
around 10 to 15 red-and-blue flags. It was a “thrilling last quarter”, I wrote
in 1984, and the time clock was not working at this stage of the match. I listed
John Gastev and Derek Kickett as West Perth’s best two players while David
Marsh of The West Australian listed
these two as third and fourth best respectively. The West Perth cheer squad
members enjoyed the thrilling finish and we were not too distressed to lose the
game. A large cheer squad group walked back through the old entrance (now gone)
at the south-east corner of the ground and headed back to Claisebrook Station.
My season notes record that the joint founder Mike B. lost his contact lens at
Claisebrook Station after the match. Group members took a long time looking for
it.
 |
| Ted "Square" Kilmurray, G. Farmer, Laurie Kennedy. |
The whole
group took up nearly one carriage on the city-bound train. At Perth station
group members split up and the majority of the members went to take their
various buses back to the northern suburbs. (This was before the building of
the Clarkson train line.) Mike B. and I headed through the city streets to St George’s
Terrace to take the Number 105 bus to Booragoon, still holding one giant
red-and-blue flag each. Mike and I often met the Perth and Claremont cheer
squads in the city-centre in those days and everyone from all groups would
exchange friendly greetings and match results much like the Victorian cheer
squads of that era used to do at Flinders Street Station. This day in 1984 was
a fantastic match in the best tradition of the WAFL Golden Era, played between
two traditional rivals with a good atmosphere and on a lovely fine day. Our cheer
squad then was one of the largest groups we ever managed to assemble. This day was
probably the first when the cheer squad existed in mature form and it was one
of its best days. I remember a great atmosphere of camaraderie among the group
increased by Dennis Cometti exchanging a conversation with group members before
the game. The large Aboriginal pro-East Perth family groups that used to sit
under the big trees behind the southern-end goals gave the cheer squad absolutely
no problems nor we them. Bassendean Oval in 1985 would not be quite so
welcoming.
Likely
line-ups:
(Source: The West Australian, Saturday, 21 July,
1984, p. 189)
East
Perth FC
Backs:
Magro, Kohlmann, Christian
Half-backs:
Fullarton, Bartlett, Sheldon
Centres:
Carpenter, Blakely, Solin
Half-forwards:
R Sparks, Campbell, D Morgan
Forwards:
Ironmonger, Scott, Papotto
Rucks:
Ishchenko, Spencer, Otway
Interchange:
Cocker, Walsh
In:
R Sparks, Ishchenko, Magro, Walsh
Out:
K Sparks, Berry, Kavanagh, Dennis (ankle)
Backs:
Dayman, Hendriks, Comerford
Half-backs:
O’Brien, Bradmore, J Morgan
Centres:
Warwick, Michalczyk, Mifka
Half-forwards:
D Kickett, Nelson, Gastev
Forwards:
Bogunovich, Simms, Davis
Ruck:
Crole, Menaglio, Fong
Interchange:
Bell, Mountain
Selections:
KEN
CASELLAS: East Perth
DAVID
MARSH: West Perth
GARY
STOCKS: West Perth
ROBERT
WAINWRIGHT: West Perth
TIM
GOSSAGE: East Perth
(Source: The West Australian, Saturday, 21 July,
1984, p. 189)
Match results –
Saturday 21 July, 1984, Perth Oval
East
Perth FC 2.5 9.9 14.12 19.15 (129) d West Perth FC 1.5 7.9 12.12 18.17 (125)
Scorers:
EP: R Sparks 4.2, Papotto 3.3, Campbell 3.0, Otway 2.1, Solin 2.0, Scott 1.4,
Spencer 1.2, Blakely 1.1, Carpenter 1.0, Ironmonger 1.0, Morgan 0.1, Fullarton
0.1.
WP:
D Simms 5.1, Kickett 4.3, Gastev 3.2, Fong 2.0, Hendriks 1.1, Nelson 1.1,
Bradmore 1.1, Warwick 1.0, Menaglio 0.3, Comerford 0.3, Mifka 0.1, Forced 0.1.
Weather:
Fine, moderate southerly breeze.
(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 23 July,
1984, p. 85)
Attendance: 8,505
(from WAFL Online)
Free
kicks: EP: 9, 8, 5, 5 – 27.
WP:
11, 9, 11, 4 – 35.
(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 23 July,
1984, p. 85)
1 John Ironmonger (EP)
– Was a dominant ruckman throughout. Knocked the ball intelligently, marked
strongly and used constructive handball.
2 Peter Menaglio (WP)
– A strong and creative ruck-roving performance, with a particularly brilliant
second half.
3 Russell Sparks (EP)
– An enterprising performance on a half-forward flank where he continually set
up attacking moves.
Team rankings:
EP: J Ironmonger 1, R
Sparks 2, G Campbell 3, W Otway 4, M Blakely 5, D Morgan 6.
WP: P Menaglio 1, L
Fong 2, J Gastev 3, D Kickett 4, P Bradmore 5, D Warwick 6.
(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 23 July,
1984, p. 85)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P
|
W
|
L
|
D
|
%
|
Pts
|
E FREM**
|
16
|
11
|
5
|
-
|
110.31
|
44
|
S FREM
|
16
|
9
|
6
|
1
|
122.46
|
38
|
SwAN D*
|
16
|
9
|
7
|
-
|
115.97
|
36
|
W PERTH
|
16
|
8
|
7
|
1
|
96.29
|
34
|
E Perth
|
16
|
8
|
8
|
-
|
89.18
|
32
|
Subi
|
16
|
7
|
9
|
-
|
97.30
|
28
|
Clare
|
16
|
7
|
9
|
-
|
91.64
|
28
|
Perth
|
16
|
4
|
12
|
-
|
82.16
|
16
|
(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 23 July,
1984, p. 85)
*eventual
1984 WAFL premiers
**eventual
1984 WAFL runners-up
Match
analysis:
 |
| Phil Bradmore |
Quotes
from DAVID MARSH:
“East
Perth’s rush towards the 1984 final round [KJ note: echoes of 1978] gained
momentum at Perth Oval on Saturday when they forced West Perth to stagger and
then fall at the end of a contest that was survival of the fittest.
“East
Perth, 10 points down late in the final quarter, recovered to win by four
points – 19.15 to 18.17.
“It
was a magnificent game in which the East Perth players, after appearing on the
brink of being over-run by West Perth, showed tremendous character to fight
back and snatch this thrilling victory.
“However,
West Perth’s bid for success showed plenty of raw courage from a team which
finished with only 15 fit men.
“West
Perth lost veteran centreman George Michalczyk at the 12-minute mark of the
first quarter with a dislocated shoulder, ruckman Ramsay Bogunovich at the
six-minute mark of the second quarter with a knee injury, and
centre-half-forward Graeme Comerford (elbow), full-back Geoff Hendriks (knee)
and back-pocket player Wayne Dayman (ankle) [REST IN PEACE – the author] all
carried injuries at the finish.
“Another
shadow is over the club with brilliant half-forward Derek Kickett, Brian Perrin
and John Morgan facing the tribunal tonight after being reported following
separate incidents.
“It
was not a happy day for West Perth. It was hard for them to accept the
philosophy that the East Perth victory was what football needed to sustain more
interest in which clubs will play in the 1984 final round.
 |
| Peter Menaglio |
“East
Perth led 14.12 to 12.12 at three-quarter time, which stemmed from excellent
ruck work from John Ironmonger, livewire roving from Wayne Otway and a dominant
half-forward line of Russell Sparks, Grant Campbell and David Morgan.
“Strongly
built Mark Blakely worked hard in the centre to instigate several forward
thrusts for the home side and ruck-rover Peter Spencer played well in patches.
“West
Perth’s two best players were ruck-rover Peter Menaglio and rover Les Fong, who
covered tremendous ground and were chief kick-getters.
“Fong
finished the game with 27 kicks and Menaglio had 22 (with 14 in the second
half). They provided West Perth with momentum on the ball and to a certain
extent helped to nullify Ironmonger’s dominance in the ruck.
“West
Perth’s half-forward flankers John Gastev and [Derek] Kickett were outstanding.
“Dean
Warwick and Paul Mifka showed pace on the wings and Doug Simms kicked West
Perth’s first four and their sixth goals from full-forward”.
(Source:
David Marsh (1984), “East Perth’s rush picks up”, The West Australian, Monday, 23 July, 1984, p. 84)
 |
| South-west corner gates, Perth Oval, for Glasgow Celtic versus Perth Glory friendly match, 9 July 2011. |
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| Kick-off for the first-half, Glasgow Celtic versus Perth Glory friendly match, 9 July 2011. |
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| The south-east corner of Perth Oval, Lord Street, 9 July 2011. There used to be an entrance gate here during the 1980s and WAFL football supporters arriving from Claisebrook train station would enter the ground here. |
