1986 Preliminary Final - Subiaco Lions 26.12 (168) d Perth Demons 15.7 (97), Subiaco Oval.

1986 Preliminary Final - Subiaco Lions v Perth Demons, Subiaco Oval.

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.

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 40^th 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].