First semi-final, 1986 - Perth Demons 24.18 (162) d Claremont Tigers 13.11 (89), Subiaco Oval.

Malcolm Gregory (Mal) Brown - a great motivator of men, he was expert at instilling mental and physical toughness into players and causing fringe players to turn into champions because he believed in them. Sadly his great effort in bringing Perth Demons to third in the WAFL in 1986 is largely forgotten today. He is a loveable larrikin and never politically correct - he is a reminder of a simpler time.

First semi-final, 30 August 1986 – Perth v Claremont, Subiaco Oval

Perth vs. Swan Districts, Lathlain Park, 2 July 2011.

Perth Demons have just won its first game of the season at home at Lathlain Park in the 2013 season as I write this. Perth supporters remain somewhat cynical and jaded at this time of year but never without hope. Since the dual premierships of 1976-77, Perth has only played three times in finals – 1986, 1991, and 1997 – with identical results each time. In both 1986 and 1997 a first semi-final win was followed by a preliminary final loss. In 1991 an elimination final win was followed by a first semi-final loss.

If we look at the 1986 season, most people were not at all surprised by the results of the finals series because they followed the league ladder at the end of the home-and-away rounds – Subiaco first, East Fremantle second, then a long way further back Perth and then a long way further back again Claremont. Although (despite the late Geoff Christian’s optimism about Perth’s prospects in his match report after the first semi-final), dedicated WAFL fans that year were convinced that the grand finalists would be Subiaco and East Fremantle because those two teams were a class above all their competitors as win-loss records of 17-4 (S) and 16-5 (EF) indicate. Perth was a long way back with 12-8-1. However, credit where credit is due. Perth had finished last or second-last in each season from 1981-84. Legendary WAFL coach one Malcolm Gregory "Mal" Brown took over as coach for the 1985 season and by season’s end obvious improvements were being noted by discerning critics with the club winning its last two home-and-away games. Mal Brown’s coaching was responsible for developing physical and mental toughness, self-confidence, and teamwork in his charges at Perth as he had done earlier with South Fremantle (1980 premiers and 1979 and 1981 runners-up). Perth drew against 1985 finalists West Perth on the first day of the 1986 season and people were forced to recognize that Perth had rapidly closed the gap between a fourth-placed team such as West Perth and itself. Mal Brown had the ability to turn ordinary fringe players into stars after he had injected them with healthy doses of self-belief. Examples include three former West Perth players John Gavranich in the ruck, Mick Rea at full-forward, and Ray Holden at full-back. Another ex-West Perth player, the late Chris Stasinowsky was also a fine contributor for Perth in 1985-86. (Really it's hard at times to think of Perth and West Perth as separate clubs given the two-way traffic of players between them in the 1970s and 1980s. To use an example from PFC's geographic territory the volume of traffic between the clubs rivaled Albany Highway outside Carousel during shopping hours.) Rea was a revelation, topping the goal kicking list in 1986 with 80 majors and beating the VFL/AFL standard defenders of other high-performing clubs. Rea proved himself again on first semi-final day 1986 when he kicked 6.3 and defeated Claremont’s John Hutton. 

For nearly 40 years Perth has continually had an absorbing but frustrating game-plan of kicking the ball sideways and backwards and generally over-finessing and lairising (to use a somewhat dated word favoured by my late grandfather who although living in PFC territory for his last 50 years never shifted his allegiance from the black-and-whites). This game-plan only worked in years such as 1976-77 and 1986 when Perth had midfielders talented enough to play this type of game. In 1986 these talented midfielders at Perth included such players as Robert Wiley (back from Richmond where he played 95 games from 1979-83), Allan Montgomery (back from Carlton where he played 33 games from 1982-85), Chris Stasinowsky (RIP), Joe Santostefano, Kim Fancote, Mark Watson, Adrian Barich, and Bryan Cousins. This day Perth’s attack was far too good for Claremont with the team kicking 24.18 including 6.3 from Mick Rea, 4.2 from Chris Stasinowsky, 3.2 from Earl Spalding, and 3.1 from Robbie Wiley. With Rea, Whittington, Santostefano, and Stasinowsky all coming back into the team for this match, Perth was at full strength and playing with self-confidence. It was able to put its losses in the last two qualifying games behind it. In my opinion, Santostefano and Stasinowsky were two of the best players of this era never to play VFL/AFL. Allan Montgomery, like Alan Johnson a decade before him, was a player who never drew attention to himself on or off-field but was remarkably talented and consistent and would have been one of the first players picked in any side. He was also one of the best players this day. Furthermore, in the past 40 years whenever Perth has been successful it has had a fast-leading and strong-marking full-forward, namely Murray Couper in 1976-77 and Mick Rea in 1986 (with the future Melbourne and Carlton player Earl Spalding also offering another tall key-position player option in 1986). Without such a full-forward, Perth's style of play means its players get bogged down around the half-forward line and hang on to the ball while running around in circles because they are afraid of losing possession.

The old Victoria Park station (prior to renovations).

If we look at the two named teams, Perth had a group of around ten very strong players with the rest playing above themselves due to Mal Brown’s motivational skills. The Claremont team had more players who either had already or would go on to play VFL/AFL including 17-year-old Chris Lewis in his third WAFL league game and a young Guy McKenna. Other VFL/AFL players included Derek Kickett (strangely named at full-forward where he played poorly), Steve Malaxos, Michael and David O’Connell, Michael Mitchell, Geoff Miles, John Hutton, and Mark Hepburn. By all accounts Perth played extremely well to finish the season with a 12-8-1 win-loss-draw record and to win the first semi-final by such a convincing margin. This was Mal Brown’s last great coaching achievement although it has gone largely unheralded because he failed to bring Perth to a premiership and because by 1987 many football supporters were no longer following the WAFL, having fallen head over heels in love with their new blue-and-gold winged girlfriend called West Coast Eagles FC. Of Perth’s 1986 team an aging but still excellent Robert Wiley was picked up by West Coast along with Adrian Barich. The full-text of the match report by the late Geoff Christian from the following Monday’s West Australian (reproduced below) makes excellent reading but, as mentioned, I think he allowed himself a momentary lapse from his usual restrained and logical analysis when he wrote that Perth would prove a dangerous challenger for Subiaco and East Fremantle. East Fremantle had defeated Perth (24.16 to 7.10) in Round 20 so it is doubtful that East Fremantle was feeling excessively worried about the prospect of meeting Perth.

Overall, Perth played brilliantly this game while Claremont played poorly. Mal Brown and the players deserve the utmost credit for their performances this 1986 season. The team was not as strong as the 1976-77 teams and it was faced with much stronger opposition in the form of Subiaco and East Fremantle sides which were both at VFL/AFL standard and certainly among the best that have ever played in the WAFL. If these two teams had not been so strong the 1986 Perth team might conceivably have made a grand final if not won a premiership. Perth fans had to wait until the 1997 season before the club again reached a preliminary final and by this time the WAFL was nearly unrecognizable to those people whom had known its former glory days.

The old Lathlain station (since demolished) looking south.

FOOTNOTE: By the way, I hope Perth Demons can continue to succeed on the field this 2013 season and bring some sunshine and joy back to the south-eastern suburbs. It has been great to see the Demons' singlets (white with club shield) and polo shirts again being worn with pride on the Armadale train line and in places like Gosnells Town Centre, places the mining boom seems to have overlooked and where every dollar is just about as hard to get as it has always been [by Jack Frost, 17 March 2013, footnote added 28 June 2013].       

Likely line-ups:

(Source: The West Australian, Saturday, 30 August 1986, p. 194)

Perth Demons FC

Backs: Cousins, Holden, Bogaards

Half-backs: Yorgey, Montgomery, Whittington

Centres: Santostefano, Wiley, Barich

Half-forwards: Garbin, Spalding, Ryder

Forwards: Stasinowsky, Rea, Lucas

Ruck: Gavranich, Fancote, Watson

Interchange (from): Newman, C Smyth, Grljusich, McCracken

In; Rea, Whittington, Santostefano, Stasinowsky

Out: Mount (thigh), Zaikos, Moir

Claremont Tigers FC

Backs: L Kickett, Hutton, McKenna

Half-backs: M O’Connell, Miles, Morton

Centres: Panizza, Malaxos, Povey

Half-forwards: Lewis, D O’Connell, Thorne

Forwards: Cook, D Kickett, Dintinosante

Ruck: Hepburn, Goulding, Mitchell

Interchange (from): Shepherd, Hann, Mumme, Tait

In: Malaxos, Mitchell, Goulding, Hutton

Out: Court

Match results – Saturday 30 August, 1986, Subiaco Oval

Perth FC 7.3 13.7 19.12 24.18 (162) d Claremont 3.2 7.4 10.7 13.11 (89)

Scorers: P: Rea 6.3, Stasinowsky 4.2, Spalding 3.2, Wiley 3.1, Ryder 2.5, Lucas 2.0, Barich 1.0, Bogaards 1.0, Fancote 1.0, Yorgey 1.0, Watson 0.2, Newman 0.1, Whittington 0.1.

C: Hutton 3.1, Morton 2.0, Panizza 2.0, Goulding 1.1, Hepburn 1.1, Lewis 1.1, Malaxos 1.1, Dintinosante 1.0, D Kickett 1.0, Thorne 0.4, Shepherd 0.1, Forced 0.1.

Weather: Fine, moderate south-westerly winds.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 1 September 1986, p. 81)

Attendance: 21,037 (from WAFL Online)

Free-kicks: P: 10, 4, 2, 2 – 18.

C: 10, 5, 6, 6 – 27.

Team rankings: GEOFF CHRISTIAN:

P: A Montgomery 1, I Newman 2, B Yorgey 3, R Wiley 4, C Smyth 5, J Lucas 6.

C: C Lewis 1, G Miles 2, M Hepburn 3, J Hutton 4, C Shepherd 5, M O’Connell 6.

KEN CASELLAS:

P: B Yorgey 1, R Wiley 2, J Gavranich 3, A Montgomery 4, M Rea 5, B Cousins 6.

C: C Lewis 1, M O’Connell 2, G Miles 3, M Hepburn 4, C Shepherd 5, J Hutton 6.

GARY STOCKS:

P: B Yorgey 1, A Montgomery 2, R Wiley 3, A Barich 4, I Newman 5, J Gavranich 6.

C: C Lewis 1, G Miles 2, M Hepburn 3, C Shepherd 4, M O’Connell 5, B Cook 6.

DAVID MARSH:

P: B Yorgey 1, A Montgomery 2, I Newman 3, J Gavranich 4, R Wiley 5, M Rea 6.

C: C Lewis 1, M O’Connell 2, G Miles 3, S Goulding 4, C Shepherd 5, D O’Connell 6.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 1 September 1986, p. 81)

Complete match report (full text):

By the late GEOFF CHRISTIAN:

“Perth played well enough for long enough against a sub-standard Claremont in the first semi-final on Saturday to sound a genuine warning to the losers of the Subiaco-East Fremantle second semi-final at Subiaco Oval next Saturday.

“Perth emerged from this game in top form, with no serious injury problems and with the prospect of having key defender Stephen Mount and rover Stephen Lally available on Saturday week.

“There was no need to tell Perth yesterday that they will not have things as easy against either Subiaco or East Fremantle as they did on Saturday, when they controlled the action from the start with a minimum of interference.

“But Perth could not have expected to do more in a dress-rehearsal for the preliminary final than to kick 24.18 – their second-highest score in final-round football – and win by 73 points in what was the most one-sided first semi-final since 1959.

“That was when Subiaco beat Perth by 129 points at the start of a final-round trip that ended in a grand-final clash with East Perth.

“Perth now plan to travel the same route in 1986 – win the preliminary final and qualify for their first grand final appearance since 1978 when they lost to East Perth.

“Saturday’s semi-final was a no-contest; an exercise which left all Claremont fans with amnesia.

“But Perth fans enjoyed the after-glow of victory and they had plenty to remember about a match in which their team snapped back into form with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of attacking efficiency.

“These who believed the 1986 premiership battle was a two-way contest between Subiaco and East Fremantle were left pondering whether the Demons have the skill to bridge the big gap between the first semi-final and the grand final.

“Subiaco probably thought a little deeper and longer than East Fremantle because it was only three weeks ago that Perth beat Subiaco 21.10 to 11.18 at Subiaco Oval.

“East Fremantle would not have ignored the fact that Perth handled a meek challenge from Claremont nearly as easily as did the Sharks at Claremont Oval a week earlier, when they won 27.14 to 13.11.

“Perth swept back into form after two weeks on the outer on a healthy winning mixture of dominant play on the ball, excellent forward work and strong defensive play against a Claremont side that was out-of-business by half-time.

“Perth will have to create a similar set of circumstances to advance further in this year’s final round, but the following features of their football were excellent signs:

-          The combined ruck work of Ian Newman, who was superb in the first half, and John Gavranich, who turned on his best 45 minutes of football for the year in the second.

-          The roving of [Robert] Wiley, who absorbed a heavy head-shot late in the second term and gave a second-half display that was testimony to his skill and courage. The support from Mark Watson and Kim Fancote was of the standard required to win in up-tempo football.

-          The capacity of forwards Mick Rea (6.3) and Chris Stasinowsky [RIP] (4.2) to give telling comeback performances that destroyed the stability of the Claremont defence by quarter-time.

-          The versatility of Brett Yorgey, who slipped neatly into the centre in the first quarter to help lift the efficiency of Perth in a performance that guaranteed him a place in the best-player list.

-          The effectiveness of Craig Smyth (opposed by Steve Malaxos) and Jack Lucas (v Michael Mitchell) in their personal duels with two of Claremont’s most capable attacking players.

-          The experience and skill of key defender Allan Montgomery, which went on display in telling fashion throughout. He set a standard that was quickly followed, notably by Mick Garbin, who had a significant win over Derek Kickett.

-          The second-half form of wingman Adrian Barich and centre-half-forward Earl Spalding, both of whom will be required to play that well (and for a little longer) in the [preliminary] final”.

(Source: Geoff Christian (1986), “Devastating Demons deliver warning”, The West Australian, Monday, 1 September 1986, p. 84) [archival research by Jack Frost].