REST IN PEACE - Chris "Stazza" Stasinowsky (9 October 1960 - 14 February 1988) - includes readers' comments and comment by Rick (Stazza's brother)

Leederville Oval on a fine winter's day (6/7/2011). Chris "Stazza" Stasinowsky played some of his greatest WAFL games for West Perth on this ground including his eight-goal effort from half-forward on 3 May 1980 when West Perth defeated East Fremantle 26.24 to 11.9. Perhaps one of the best footballers never to play VFL/AFL (Ross Gibbs was another), his death was a tragedy.

Rest in Peace - Chris "Stazza" Stasinowsky (suicide)

Born 9 October 1960.
Died 14 February 1988, aged 27, Nollamara, Western Australia.
(Death information supplied by WPFC historian Brian Atkinson by personal e-mail, 2 July 2012.)

West Perth, South Fremantle, Perth, and South Adelaide.

Chris Stasinowsky played 51 games for West Perth between 1979-82 and kicked 133 goals.

He also played 31 games for Perth between 1985-86.

He also played 26 games for South Fremantle between 1982-84.

He also played 18 games for South Adelaide (SANFL) in 1987.

WIKIPEDIA lists Stasinowsky as one of South Adelaide's "notable" players although he only played one season for the club.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Adelaide_Football_Club

"Stazza" made his debut for West Perth during the very bleak 1979 season for the club when it finished seventh (out of eight). Actually two highlights of this dark season were the debuts of exciting youngsters Ross Gibbs and Chris Stasinowsky. Stazza shone in the midfield for West Perth and blended well with the club's existing group of midfielders which included the ex-Norwood centreman David Palm from 1980-82 and the ex-Hawthorn premiership player Peter Murnane in 1982. Stazza was one reason the club progressed to the 1982 preliminary final. One of Stazza's best performances for West Perth was his eight-goal effort from half-forward on 3 May 1980 when West Perth defeated the reigning premiers East Fremantle 26.24 (180) to 11.9 (75) at Leederville Oval (Brian Atkinson, It's a Grand Old Flag, 2008, p. 189). Stazza played strongly in the 1986 first semi-final for Perth versus Claremont and in the 1986 preliminary final for Perth versus Subiaco. I think West Perth lost out by Gibbs and Stazza leaving the club at the prime of their careers. More importantly, it was extremely saddening to hear of Stazza's suicide.

FOOTNOTE: The late West Perth and South Adelaide player should not be confused with the very much alive Chris Stasinowsky who kicked nine goals for Cowwarr against Gormandale in North Gippsland (Victorian country) football on 3 June 2012 when Cowwarr won 28.20 (188) to Gormandale's 8.3 (51). See article "Saints sail to victory" by Lauren Carey, 4 June 2012.
http://www.latrobevalleyexpress.com.au/news/local/sport/football-australian-rules/saints-sail-to-victory/2580360.aspx

1 Online comment from SWANS&SOUTH (5 June 2008): "Yeah the late STAZZA RIP, what a sad loss...he had some talent that fella...took some screamers at Freo Oval…" 
[http://www.footygoss.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/9478/P15/].

2 Online comment from TUNDRAWOLF (7 July 2011): "Poor old Stazza was a troubled soul. I remember hearing of his suicide when I was living in Adelaide. It was on the news in Adelaide because I think he was playing for South Adelaide at the time, very sad. On his day he was brilliant, I remember a game against Subi when he kicked 11 or 12 goals playing for SF" [http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/wafl-video-archive-up-and-running.842388/].

3 Online comment from DARREN (Editor, ABORIGINAL FOOTBALL, 29 June 2012): "I'm a Claremont fan from when I was little, but West Perth's Chris Stasinowsky stood out as a good player, plus he had a shock of red hair (bless him!). Anyway, I vividly remember hearing the news that he died on Rottnest Island, I remember it being after the season (not sure what year, but early 80s for sure) and as I've gotten older I realise it had to be a post-season footy trip, I think 'drowning' was the cause. I really haven't seen anything on Chris, either from the Falcons or in general" [by personal email]. 
Web address for ABORIGINAL FOOTBALL:
www.AboriginalFootball.sportingpulse.net

4 Online Comment from Miss Brahms (name changed, 18 August 2012): Hi,

"I have just been sorting out my old photo and a certain photo reminded me of fun days in my youth. I thought of Stazza so I googled his name and found your blog. Thanks. At the time Stazza died all my friends heard terrible stories  and gossip of how  and why he died. We all have wondered how and why? 

Way back some 25- 30 years ago  a girl  that I shared a flat with went to teachers college with Stazza, we used to go out to parties in a group, I thought Stazza was a hunk, good looking and good bod.....say no more. He was so talented and I loved to watch him play footy. RIP Staz" [by personal email]

Lathlain Park can bar, Perth v Swan Districts, 2/7/2011. Stazza also played for Perth in 1985-86 (31 games) just prior to the formation of West Coast. He was one of many players who swapped between Perth and West Perth in the 1970s and 1980s.

OPINION: "1984 Sandover Medal Count Night at Perth Entertainment Centre: Response to the Critics 25 Years On", by Kieran James & Mike Blewett

West Perth cheer squad founders Mike B. (left) & Kieran J., 25 years on, Exchange Hotel, Kalgoorlie, 14/7/2011. We attended the 1984 Sandover Medal Count Night at Perth Entertainment Centre and had a great time. Fan behaviour was no worse than you got in the outer on any match day.

OPINION ARTICLE::

The authors will now discuss the WAFL Sandover Medal Night held at the now demolished Perth Entertainment Centre on Monday 27 August 1984. This was the first time ever that the presentation night had been opened to the general public and it has never been opened to the public again. The authors view the move as part of an effort to “take the game to the people”, a move towards empowerment at the same time as the WAFL commissioners were simultaneously disempowering people by negotiating to be part of an expanded VFL over the heads of the ordinary club supporters and even over two club presidents (Barker, 2004, p. 202).

The Entertainment Centre held around 8,000 people in those days. Tickets were sold to the event for a reasonable fee, three dollars per person or around the cost of a match-day concession ticket, and supporters were allocated specific areas within the venue according to the club they supported. The authors’ group made an effort to attend and secure tickets for the members and for the younger people in the group [West Perth FC cheer squad 1984-86] such as Michael aka Half and Thommo Junior (Thommo’s younger brother aged around eight). Given that the Medal Night was held on a weekday, winter’s evening in a city-centre venue not surprisingly the main group of people in attendance were the hardcore cheer squad members carrying their big flags and banners. Perth, Claremont, Subiaco, East Perth,and West Perth all had large vocal cheer squad groups there that night. Of course the authors’ group cheered and waved flags when a West Perth player scored a vote just like on any match day. Fitting in with the carnival mood of the whole evening, there were three tied winners of the award, Michael Mitchell and Steve Malaxos of Claremont and Peter Spencer of East Perth. Barker (2004, p. 194) is extremely unfair when he writes that: “The result was far more discordant then the mere presence of women could have been, with up to 3,000 fans jeering the tallying of votes for players from rival clubs”. The authors were there and the general behaviour that night was very good because the crowd was made up in large part by young and dedicated football supporters most of whom were cheer squad members and under the supervision of cheer squad leaders. The back page of The West Australian on the Wednesday after the Monday night count was very critical of the event and the booing and jeering of flag-waving supporters. Various identities were trotted out to condemn the night. Surprisingly, it was not The West Australian’s chief sporting writer, the late Geoff Christian, who wrote the piece but some unknown female journalist, Linda Byrne, perhaps drafted in from the front section of the newspaper. One wonders even whether the reporting of the Monday night medal count was held back until the Wednesday paper so that the count results were not reported prior to the reporting of the public backlash.

The sensationalist article by Byrne (1984, p. 128) opened up as follows: “Telephone switchboards ran hot at West Australian Newspapers, Channel 7 and talk-back radio programmes yesterday as people protested about the handling of this year’s Sandover Medal presentation”. The writer goes on to explain how callers were “disgusted” because the “winners were booed by jeering flag-waving fans” during the two-hour event which was also telecast live by Channel 7. George Michalczyk of West Perth was forthright, hostile, and even a tad moralistic and superior in his comments spoken in his capacity as head of the Players’ Association: “It was a commercial failure and a TV failure. I don’t think there are any positive things to say for it. I think the general public reaction will say that this will never happen again at the Entertainment Centre” (cited in Byrne, 1984, p. 128). Of course the vast majority of the fans present enjoyed themselves tremendously by behaving exactly as they would on any match day. Michalczyk need not have worried himself too much: by 1987 most of these noisy, teenaged, flag-waving fans would stop attending WAFL games (having shifted over to support West Coast Eagles in the national expanded VFL competition).

Somewhat more tactfully than most commentators, and not wanting to upset either the moralizers or the fans, the then WAFL president Vince Yovich simply said that the event “lacked atmosphere” (cited in Byrne, 1984, p. 128) which it may have done, from the TV perspective, because of the cavernous and generic nature of the venue. To his credit, East Fremantle’s coach Ron Alexander simply gave full marks to Channel 7 for attempting something different. A Channel 7 spokesperson, station manager Mr Alan Richards, was misquoted by Linda Byrne, perhaps deliberately. At the start of the back page article Richards is proclaimed as having been surprised by the hostile reaction and Byrne takes this to mean the hostile reactions of the supporters on the night. In fact his full quote appears later in the same article and it is very clear that he is expressing surprise at the “hostile reactions” of the people who contacted TV and radio stations and the newspaper to complain about the count on the day after the event. Richards correctly and sensibly pointed out that the fan reaction that was heard was the same as you would hear in the outer on any ordinary match day. In Richards’ words: “As a television person watching the event last night I thought it was the right approach and was somewhat surprised by the reaction” (cited in Byrne, 1984, p. 128). Clearly the reaction Richards is referring to here is that of the bourgeois, public policers of decency and decorum on the Tuesday rather than the reaction of the fans at the count on the Monday night. You cannot invite the public to a venue known for loud rock concerts by bands such as AC/DC and Kiss and charge a very cheap admission price and then realistically expect black-tie, gala-dinner behaviour.

M. Mitchell (Richmond, 1987-91)

The moralistic public uproar resulted in the 1985 count being shifted back to its traditional venue, The Golden Ballroom of the Sheraton Perth Hotel, and the ordinary supporters were again excluded. Nowadays the Brownlow (AFL) and Sandover Medal (WAFL) nights are corporate events at luxury hotel ballrooms, with players and WAGS (wives and girlfriends) dressed up in their showy fineries. The counts have become fashion shows and places to be seen. Carlton AFL player Brendan Fevola’s behaviour at the 2009 Brownlow Medal Count included vomiting, swearing, spilling beer, simulated sex acts, and molestation of women (Hinde and Mayberry, 2011). No teenage cheer squad member behaved in such ways at the Perth Entertainment Centre in August 1984 although some of them might have accidentally spilled their soft drinks! Nonetheless, the ruling-class of football decided that it most definitely did not want the lumpenproletariat supporters to be in such close proximity at future medal count nights [by Kieran James and Mike Blewett, 21 May 2012].

S. Malaxos (Hawthorn, 1985)

1984 WAFL Sandover Medal Count Final Results: Steve Malaxos (Claremont) - 17 votes; Michael Mitchell (Claremont) - 17 votes; Peter Spencer (East Perth) – 17 votes; Laurie Keene (Subiaco) – 14 votes; Peter Menaglio (West Perth) – 14 votes.

All West Perth FC vote getters: Paul Mifka – 9 votes; Brian Perrin – 8 votes; Dean Warwick – 7 votes; Les Fong – 6 votes; Wayne Dayman, Doug Simms – 3 votes; Graeme Comerford, John Gastevich, Derek Kickett, Craig Nelson – 2 votes; Phil Bradmore – 1 vote.

Team totals (3-2-1 voting system): Swan Districts 73; South Fremantle 71; East Perth 66; East Fremantle 65; Claremont 63; Subiaco 60; West Perth 59; Perth 47.

(Source: The West Australian, Wednesday 29 August 1984, p. 127)

Some media quotes from the late GEOFF CHRISTIAN:

“The most disappointing feature of West Perth’s voting was that captain Les Fong, who set a consistent standard throughout the year, polled only six votes”.

“The umpires’ voting reflected the general opinion that West Perth wingman Paul Mifka was the best first-year player in league football”.

(Source: Geoff Christian (1984), “Three-way tie for the Sandover”, The West Australian, Wednesday 29 August, p. 127)  [archival research by Kieran James].

Laurie Keene (S) - fourth

Biography of Geoff Christian by Jack Frost: The late GEOFF CHRISTIAN (1934-98) was a remarkable sports-writer who wrote in an excellent, masterful, and charming prose style that few could duplicate today. He could make a Round  13 match between the two bottom-placed clubs played in pouring rain in front of 4,000 people sound as important, exciting, and earth-shattering as the Russian Revolution or the Arab Spring! His genuine enthusiasm for the WAFL and later for West Coast Eagles was authentic, genuine, and infectious. I love the descriptions, still in place in 1984, of the VFL, SANFL, and WAFL all as “league football” and, by implication, worthy to be called tier-one status.

Post-season 1986 - Swan Districts FC Club of Origin 17.15 (117) d Claremont FC Club of Origin 14.7 (91), Subiaco Oval.

The R.A. McDonald Stand, Bassendean Oval, 12/7/2011

Post-season 1986: Swan Districts Club of Origin v Claremont Club of Origin, Subiaco Oval, 4 October 1986

This now forgotten game was played as the curtain-raiser to the Subiaco v Hawthorn match at Subiaco Oval on 4 October 1986. It was played using State of Origin rules applied to club football so all of the stars of Swan Districts and Claremont from the grand final years of the early-1980s playing in the then VFL and the SANFL were permitted to come back to their Club of Origin for this game. It was not a novelty veterans' match as most of the returning players were still playing good football interstate or at other WAFL clubs (for example Gerard Neesham was by this time back at East Fremantle). Clearly the rules were somewhat of a work-in-progress as Derek Kickett played for Claremont whereas, during 1984, Swans’ last premiership season, he was playing at West Perth. Club of Origin rules only appeared to apply to bring players back to Claremont and Swans rather than to disqualify current players at those two clubs. I think extra authenticity could have been obtained had the clubs been limited to playing only players who had played for that club in the early-1980s as well as youngsters without any previous allegiances. West Coast supporters will notice the name “McKenna” among the long list of possible Claremont interchange players. A few players had retired from league football such as Ron Boucher who last played in 1984 but came back for this match to lead the first ruck and renew his heated rivalry with Graham Moss. It was Darrell Panizza’s last game for Claremont until his return to the club in 1990. He played with Woodville in the SANFL from 1987-89.

If this match had been played in 1984 or 1985 as a stand-alone fixture (a billing which it deserved) it might have attracted much more press and public interest and a huge crowd. By October 1986 the showy West Coast Eagles had been admitted to the expanded VFL and all of the public and media attention had shifted in that direction. This Club of Origin was a very interesting concept, perhaps a world-first in any code of sport, and I wonder whether we will ever see it again. It’s also very doubtful whether two stronger teams have ever played in a curtain-raiser match at Subiaco Oval. (Read through the two lists of best players below to verify this statement.)  I am very happy to present here full likely line-ups and match results for the game. Even in this festival-type match Claremont could not turn the tables on its arch-rival and the margin was similar to what we had been accustomed to from the clashes between these two teams in the early-1980s: Swans won by a convincing margin but it was no thrashing. You have to feel somewhat sympathetic towards Graham Moss and Claremont: they must have been one of the best WAFL teams of any era, golden or otherwise, to win only one league premiership. Of course West Perth had Swans’ measure in 1982, 1983, and 1984 (winning five out of the nine contests) but that is another story [by Jack Frost, 16 February 2012].

Facebook comment by Brad Willey (11 September 2018): "I went to the match just to watch the Swans v Claremont game. Ed Blackaby gave a glimpse of what he could have been had injuries and ill health not affected his time at Swans."

Likely line-ups:

(Source: The West Australian, Friday, 3 October, 1986, p. 79, country edition)

Swan Districts FC Club of Origin team

Backs: Holden, Kenny, A Sidebottom

Half-backs: Langsford, Rance, Solin

Centres: K Narkle, Neesham, P Narkle

Half-forwards: M Richardson, Nowotny, Holmes

Forwards: Blackaby, Beasley, Sartori

Ruck: Boucher, Fogarty, Melrose

Interchange from: Skwirowski, G Sidebottom, Kimberley, M Smith, Gillespie, Hutton, Casey, Caton, Baker

Claremont FC Club of Origin team

Backs: L Kickett, Betts, Beecroft

Half-backs: Morton, Hepburn, Hutton

Centres: Gooding, Blackwell, Panizza

Half-forwards: P Krakouer, Ditchburn, Hunter

Forwards: Shaw, Ralph, D O’Connell

Ruck: Moss, Annear, J Krakouer

Interchange from: D Kickett, Lewis, McKenna, Pearce, Scott, Goulding, Melville, Colreavy, S Reynolds, Craig, Solomon

Match results – Saturday, 4 October, 1986, Subiaco Oval (curtain-raiser)
Swan Districts FC Club of Origin 3.6 8.9 12.13 17.15 (117) d Claremont FC Club of Origin 5.2 10.4 11.7 14.7 (91)

Scorers: SD: Beasley 5.1, Blackaby 3.4, Holmes, Boucher 2.0, Kimberley, P Narkle 1.1, Richardson, Casey, Sartori 1.0, Holden, G Sidebottom 0.2, Melrose, M Smith, Caton 0.1, Forced 0.1.

C: P Krakouer 3.0, Beecroft 2.0, Annear 1.3, Hunter 1.1, J Krakouer, D Kickett, Shaw, Ditchburn, D O’Connell, Melville, Blackwell 1.0, Scott, Panizza 0.1, Forced 0.1.

Weather: Mainly fine with light and variable winds.

Attendance: 20,600.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 6 October, 1986, p. 96)

Best players GARY STOCKS:

SD: E Blackaby 1, S Beasley 2, P Narkle 3, R Boucher 4, G Sidebottom 5, P Sartori 6.

C: W Blackwell 1, K Hunter 2, J Krakouer 3, J Annear 4, D O’Connell 4, B Beecroft 6.   

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 6 October, 1986, p. 96) [archival research by Jack Frost].

Post-season 1986 - Hawthorn FC 18.11 (119) d Subiaco FC 17.15 (117), Subiaco Oval, Perth

Leederville Oval, 6/7/2011, with the tasteful new Subiaco FC building at centre between the old main grandstand and the tin shed.

Subiaco v Hawthorn, Subiaco Oval, 4 October 1986

This long forgotten match pitted the WAFL premiers of 1986 Subiaco Lions against the VFL premiers Hawthorn Hawks. As can be seen from the newspaper article cited below, the clash of playing jerseys was resolved by a last-minute compromise. The thrilling last ten minutes of this match has recently been uploaded to YouTube.com (see link below). The victors received a prize of $20,000. The good crowd of approximately 20,600 shows perhaps that this type of match (played between two traditional club teams) was a never-explored national-league alternative concept to the formation of composite and generic super-clubs such as West Coast Eagles and Adelaide Crows. Therefore, this match represents a genuine “road not travelled by” (to cite the late American poet Robert Frost, 1874-1963). There is the possibility Subiaco could have done better than West Coast Eagles in the VFL in the 1987 season since Subiaco was able to enjoy a normal club support structure and had experienced three plus years of performing together and gelling as a team prior to 1987. Ken Spillman, author of the Subiaco FC official club history book Diehards: The Story of the Subiaco Football Club Volume 2: 1946-2000, writes as follows about this game on page 229: "The quality of that football club [Subiaco FC] and its 1986 team had already been proven but, if some outsiders remained sceptical, they were condemned to silence after the Lions clashed with the Victorian premiers at Subiaco Oval on Saturday, 4 October 1986. A week earlier, Allan Jeans' star-studded Hawthorn team had defeated Carlton by seven goals in the V.F.L. Grand Final, but Subiaco applied extraordinary pressure and was unfortunate to lose by two points, 18.11 (119) to 17.15 (117)". Spillman also mentions on page 226 of Diehards Volume 2 the results of a 15 March 1986 pre-season game at Subiaco Oval where Subiaco defeated St Kilda 25.25 (175) to 17.11 (113) [by Jack Frost, 14 February 2012]. 

Likely line-up:

(Source: The West Australian, Friday, 3 October, 1986, p. 80, country edition)

Subiaco FC

Backs: B Taylor, Crutchfield, Brown

Half-backs: Willett, Zanotti, P Lamb

Centres: Carpenter, MacNish, Dargie

Half-Forwards: Georgiades, Dean, Langdon

Forwards: Keene, Breman, N Taylor

Ruck: Scott, D Lamb, O’Loughlin

Interchange from: Sells, Wilkinson, Lee, Sparks, Gray, Roberts
(Hawthorn FC's likely line-up was not published in The West Australian.)

Playing uniforms: Hawthorn FC: Gold training jumper with HFC logo on front, brown shorts, brown socks.

Subiaco FC: Regular jumper, white shorts, maroon and gold hooped socks.

(Source: The West Australian, Friday, 3 October, 1986, p. 80, country edition)

Match results – Saturday, 4 October, 1986, Subiaco Oval

Hawthorn FC 3.3 7.5 13.9 18.11 (119) d Subiaco FC 5.1 11.4 13.11 17.15 (117)

Scorers: HFC: Dunstall 4.1, Curran, Russo 4.0, Greene 2.2, Brereton 2.1, Buckenara 1.2, Jenke 1.1, Platten 0.2, Loveridge, Eade 0.1.

SFC: Sells 4.2, Keene 3.2, Breman 2.1, Georgiades 2.0, Scott 1.2, Willet 1.1, Macnish 1.1, Lee 1.1, Carpenter, Langdon 1.0, N Taylor 0.1, Forced 0.4.

Weather: Mainly fine with light and variable winds.

Attendance: 20,600.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 6 October, 1986, p. 96)

Team rankings GEOFF CHRISTIAN:

HFC: P Russo 1, R Morris 2, J Dunstall 3, G Dear 4, R Lester-Smith 5, R Eade 6.

SFC: N Taylor 1, P Scott 2, D Lamb 3, M Zanotti 4, A Macnish 5, G O’Loughlin 6.

GARY STOCKS:

HFC: P Russo 1, R Morris 2, J Dunstall 3, C Langford 4, P Curran 5, R Lester-Smith 6.

SFC: D Lamb 1, N Taylor 2, G O’Loughlin 3, P Scott 4, M Zanotti 5, A Macnish 6.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 6 October, 1986, p. 96)

Watch the last ten minutes of this SFC v HFC (1986) match on YouTube at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDGX3wiBdMk

Coach’s Comment:

Hadyn Bunton Junior (Subiaco FC): 
“The important thing about this game is that we proved we are well and truly up to VFL standard”.

(Source: Anonymous (1986), “Bunton looks on bright side”, The West Australian, Monday, 6 October, 1986, p. 96)

Match analysis

Quote from the late GEOFF CHRISTIAN:

“It was a superb effort from Subiaco based, to a large degree, on the individual excellence of captain Neil Taylor, ruckman Phil Scott, ruck-rover Dwayne Lamb and centre-half-back Mark Zanotti”.

(Source: Geoff Christian (1986), “Thriller a sign of next season”, The West Australian, Monday, 6 October, 1986, p. 96) [archival research by Jack Frost].

The late GEOFF CHRISTIAN was a remarkable sports-writer who wrote in an excellent, masterful, and charming prose style that few could duplicate today. He could make a Round 13 match between the two bottom-placed clubs played in pouring rain in front of 4,000 people sound as important, exciting, and earth-shattering as the Russian Revolution or the Arab Spring! His genuine enthusiasm for the WAFL and later for West Coast Eagles was authentic, genuine, and infectious. I love the descriptions, still in place in 1984, of the VFL, SANFL, and WAFL all as “league football” and, by implication, worthy to be called tier-one status [brief bio by Jack Frost].

Round 13, 1985 - West Perth FC 18.17 (125) d East Fremantle FC 18.15 (123), Subiaco Oval.

West Perth 1985 team (photo courtesy Lost WAFL Facebook page)

Round 13, 1985 – West Perth v East Fremantle, Subiaco Oval

Brian Peake in younger days c. 1977

This match showed West Perth had a very strong line-up in the 1985 WAFL season. In this game we defeated the eventual premiers East Fremantle and ended that team’s twelve-match winning streak. We believed at the time we were unlucky to lose to Swan Districts in the first semi-final as, on our day, we think we could have beaten East Fremantle and possibly also Subiaco had we progressed further. WP beat EF in two out of the three qualifying matches in 1985 (including once at EF Oval) and Subiaco in one out of the three qualifying matches. This is how finals series often pan out, and especially so during the WAFL Golden Era. In other words, you had the “paper-scissors-rock” scenario where: A can beat B, B can beat C, C can beat D, but D can beat A. This is probably the situation which existed in the WAFL finals series of 1985. West Perth fans view 1982 and 1985 as years of wasted opportunities [by Jack Frost, 5 February 2012].

Likely line-ups:

(Source: The West Australian, Saturday, 29 June, 1985, p. 183)

West Perth FC

Backs: N Fong, Comerford, Mugavin

Half-backs: Laidley, Cutler, Dayman

Centres: D Bewick, Bell, Warwick

Half-forwards: L Fong, Bradmore, Mifka

Forwards: Martin, Stephens, Chaplin

Ruck: Rogers, Menaglio, Gastev

Interchange: Binder, Duckworth

In: Martin

Out: D Simms

East Fremantle FC

Backs: Christie, Forman, O’Sullivan

Half-backs: Wake, Browning, Wilson

Centres: Rankin, Wrensted, W Jones

Half-forwards: Lester-Smith, Lockyer, Neesham

Forwards: Alexander, Waterson, Bushell

Ruck: Harding, Peake, Mainwaring

Interchange: Hoult, Green

In: Neesham, Bushell

Out: Brennan (thigh), Regan (groin).

Selections:

GEOFF CHRISTIAN: East Fremantle

KEN CASELLAS: East Fremantle

GARY STOCKS: East Fremantle

DAVID MARSH: West Perth

(Source: The West Australian, Saturday, 29 June, 1985, p. 183)

Match results – Saturday 29 June, 1985, Subiaco Oval

West Perth FC 4.3 7.7 14.10 18.17 (125) d East Fremantle FC 4.4 9.11 13.12 18.15 (123)

Scorers: WP: Menaglio 4.2, Chaplin 4.1, Martin 3.1, Stephens 3.0, Gastev 2.2, L Fong 1.4, Mugavin 1.0, Warwick 0.2, Rogers, Bell, N Fong 0.1, Forced 0.2.

EF: Waterson 4.5, Lockyer 3.1, Mainwaring 2.1, Lester-Smith 1.2, Peake, Bushell 1.1, Wake, Wrensted 1.0, Harding, Neesham 0.1, Forced 0.1.

Official attendance: 8,358 (from WAFL Online)

Weather: Fine with light north-westerly breeze.

Free kicks: WP: 10, 8, 8, 3 – 29.

EF: 12, 7, 4, 2 – 25.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 1 July, 1985, p. 93)

Best players:

1 Peter Menaglio (WP) - A superb performance as a ruck-rover. Kicked four goals and was an inspiring influence.

2 Phil Bradmore (WP) – Strong, determined and effective at centre-half-forward where he was a focal point in attack. [He was ] at his best under pressure in the last quarter.

3 Gerard Neesham (EF) – Another creative performance in the midfield from where he organised many of the team’s best moves.

Team rankings:

WP: P Menaglio 1, P Bradmore 2, B Bell 3, N Mugavin 4, M Stephens 5, P Mifka 6.

EF: G Neesham 1, G Hoult 2, P Wilson 3, D Rankin 4, C Waterson 5, M Wrensted 6.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 1 July, 1985, p. 93)

Watch the last three minutes of this WP v EF (1985) match on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZukmvEPuzs

	Rd. 13
	P	W	L	%	Pts
E FREM*	13	12	1	166.84	48
SUBI**	13	8	5	112.04	32
W PERTH	13	7	6	96.10	28
S DIST	13	7	6	88.32	28
S Frem	13	6	7	105.87	24
Clare	13	6	7	97.96	24
Perth	13	3	10	84.42	12
E Perth	13	3	10	71.00	12

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 1 July, 1985, p. 93)

*eventual 1985 WAFL premiers

**eventual 1985 WAFL runners-up

The late Chris Mainwaring (EF)

GEOFF CHRISTIAN comments on the umpiring:

“The performances of umpires David Johnson and Ken O’Driscoll in the West Perth-East Fremantle match on Saturday warrants close examination by the WAFL Umpires’ Board tonight.

“Close attention should be paid to the circumstances involving kicks for goal by East Fremantle pair Colin Waterson at the end of the second quarter and Chris Mainwaring [27 December 1965 - 1 October 2007, REST IN PEACE - JF] at the end of the game.

“The decision by Johnson not to allow a goal kicked by Waterson as the siren sounded to end the first half was controversial.

“His action in running back to consult the goal umpire after his original decision had been challenged by East Fremantle captain-coach Ron Alexander smacked of indecision. That would not be viewed favourably by the board.

“There was a lack of overall control at the end of the game [Geoff-Christianise for “it was a bloody shambles” – JF] when Mainwaring was awarded a free-kick by O’Driscoll as the final siren sounded.

“Mainwaring was 30 metres from goal when given the free-kick. When he took the kick about 2min. later he was 35m from goal.

“In no circumstances should Kim Rogers, the West Perth player on the mark, been allowed to move up a conservative 5m and make the shot for goal that much more difficult”.

(Source: Geoff Christian (1985), “Umpires under fire”, The West Australian, Monday, 1 July, p. 93)

“Winter of the Seventeenth Goal”

Match analysis

Quotes from the late GEOFF CHRISTIAN:

“West Perth re-polished their reputation as a team for the special occasion with a stylish and dramatic flourish on Saturday when they turned Peter Menaglio’s 150^th game into a bonanza by beating East Fremantle by two points at Subiaco Oval.

“The quality of the victory on Saturday reflected the esteem in which Menaglio is held at West Perth. It also proved that East Fremantle, 128-point winners over the Falcons on May 4, are not invincible and that sheer persistence in the face of impending defeat is frequently a recipe for victory.

“East Fremantle had West Perth on the canvas twice on Saturday – when they led 11.11 to 7.8 at the 10min. mark of the third quarter and 18.14 to 15.12 at the 20min. mark of the last term.

“They [EF] had played well enough when it counted to blunt the West Perth challenge to a point where victory appeared almost a formality.

“But that was to seriously underestimate the spirit that has developed at Leederville Oval this year and the commitment the players have developed for days of significance for one of their own.

“Menaglio did his part. He was man of the match, providing the cause for victory with a magnificent start-to-finish contribution which included four first-half goals and a string of second-half opportunities.

“Centre-half-forward Phil Bradmore came to the party with an outstanding display in attack which was complimented by a four-goal effort from rover Gavin Chaplin, three goals from ruckman-forward Mark Stephens (who appears to improve at each outing) and a further three from David Martin, who had the honour of kicking the final goal of the game which brought victory.

“Many of these scoring chances were directed through centreman Brendon Bell and wingman Paul Mifka and one through key defender Noel Mugavin, whose dash down the right flank in the last term ended up with him kicking the 17^th goal which provided the final burst of inspiration required to win.

“It was expected pre-match that East Fremantle’s high-polished attack, led by Colin Waterson and Andrew Lockyer, would prove too productive for a West Perth defence which is not the most stable in league football.

“And it looked that way in the first half and for the first 15min. of the third term. In the first half, Lockyer, who kicked three goals, was one of East Fremantle’s best players.

“East Fremantle’s well-organised midfield play provided more than enough chances in attack and the defence was sound enough, despite the absence of Bryce Forman and Michael Brennan to limit West Perth to 7.7 for the half.

“West Perth coach John Wynne’s move of bringing John Duckworth on to the field after half-time was a master-stroke. Duckworth blotted Lockyer out of the game.”

(Source: Geoff Christian (1985), “Falcons celebrate big occasion in style”, The West Australian, Monday, 1 July, p. 92) [archival research by Jack Frost].

The late GEOFF CHRISTIAN was a remarkable sports-writer who wrote in an excellent, masterful, and charming prose style that few could duplicate today. He could make a Round 13 match between the two bottom-placed clubs played in pouring rain in front of 4,000 people sound as important, exciting, and earth-shattering as the Russian Revolution or the Arab Spring! His genuine enthusiasm for the WAFL and later for West Coast Eagles was authentic, genuine, and infectious. I love the descriptions, still in place in 1984, of the VFL, SANFL, and WAFL all as “league football” and, by implication, worthy to be called tier-one status [brief bio by Jack Frost].