Moments In Time

The Age

Saturday July 29, 2006

Paul Daffey

A Lake Oval bog, 1981

NEVER AGAIN

THE most arresting aspect of this picture, taken during the VFL match between South Melbourne and Fitzroy at the Lake Oval in round 14, 1981, is that you will never see its like again at Australian football's highest level. Improved turf science and, more specifically, the absence of cricket wickets in the middle of AFL grounds have driven boggy centre areas into the history books. Former Fitzroy player David McMahon, who is pictured peering past umpire Ian Robinson, said there was a stark contrast between playing on the two ovals at either end of Albert Park Lake. South Melbourne's Lake Oval was prone to becoming muddy while the Junction Oval, which was Fitzroy's home ground from 1970 to '84, had sandy soil. McMahon, who played for the Lions from 1973 to '84, said there was never any mud at the Junction Oval. If it rained, water sat on the oval's surface and the ball skidded through. For this reason, McMahon said, Fitzroy players learnt to put their bodies behind the ball.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

In McMahon's memory, winter in those days started in April and kept going for six months. He recalled inevitable bogs at Moorabbin, even on sunny days, and tractor-tyre marks at Kardinia Park after efforts had been made to soak up water from the turf. McMahon said the worst ground for wet conditions was VFL Park, which he recalled was permanently sodden, especially on the members' wing. This was because the grandstand blocked the afternoon sun.

JUST SLOP

Of the 1981 game in the photo, McMahon recalled that Fitzroy won in a hard slog. "As you can see, it was just slop," he said. The former tough half-forward and centreman, who now owns Hume Highway Timber, was keen to recall the performance of former teammate Les Parish, who kicked five goals that day to be Fitzroy's best player (regular leading goal-scorer Bernie Quinlan kicked three goals). Parish, renowned for his tattoos in an era when they spoke of hard men rather than fashion sense, died from cancer before his 40th birthday. "He was a lovely bloke," McMahon said.

BLACK BOOTS

Ian Robinson, who umpired 353 VFL games before retiring after the 1987 grand final, was unable to remember the particular game at the Lake Oval, but said such conditions were common. After seeing the photo, he said it must have been a muddy day because he and fellow umpire Glenn James were wearing black boots rather than white ones. In the picture, Robinson is searching for a spot on which to bounce the ball. "I enjoyed those conditions, as long as the mud didn't go too far down," he said. "I would flatten a spot with my foot."

MUDLARK MURPHY

Robinson, who is now the professor of computer science and computer engineering at La Trobe University, said one of the best wet-weather players of his era was former Fitzroy, South Melbourne and North Melbourne centreman John Murphy, the father of present Carlton midfielder Marc Murphy. According to the report in The Age about the 1981 game at the Lake Oval, which Fitzroy won by 23 points, the best player was South Melbourne ruckman Barry Round, who had 50 touches.

AS REPORTED

"It was not a memorable match. The standard was very ordinary, and there was a marked lack of discipline from too many players. There was a succession of incidents, one brawl at the 21-minute mark of the third quarter involving 25 players."

Mike Coward in The Age, Monday, June 20, 1981

MORE SPORT

While that Monday edition features reports on the five VFL games played in the mud in Melbourne, a big back-page display is given to the high-scoring spectacular at the Gabba between Essendon and Hawthorn. Essendon's marking power, as well as a slight edge in pace, enabled it to win by 18 points, 22.19 (151) to 20.13 (133), before a record Gabba crowd of 20,351. According to the votes from Ron Carter, Essendon ruckman Simon Madden was best on ground and his brother Justin was second best. The other big game was at VFL Park, where few could work out how Collingwood had defeated fellow top team Geelong by 18 points.

FRONT PAGE

The main picture shows the carnage from a fire that destroyed a large part of the South Melbourne market. According to the report, flames of up to 30 metres roared through the market's southern section. Under a boab tree near Broome, an Aboriginal elder accuses Father Sephraim Sanz, the 72-year-old overseer of a remote Benedictine mission, of treating Aborigines like dumb children. The elder says Father Sanz made everyone line up for lunch with billy cans and plastic buckets while a sister ladled "slop" into the buckets through a hole in the kitchen wall.

AFTERMATH

Fitzroy went on to lose the 1981 first semi-final to Collingwood by a point, leaving it in fourth place. South Melbourne finished ninth. Barry Round and Bernie Quinlan tied for the Brownlow Medal. In 2004, Ian Robinson watched tapes of reportable incidents for the AFL and recommended whether a report should be made. He now has no involvement in football. In 1996, David McMahon was on the board at Fitzroy when the AFL overruled the club's intentions of merging with North Melbourne. McMahon is still on the board at Fitzroy, which now supports local football clubs, but he has no interest in the Brisbane Lions and a lessening regard for AFL football. He prefers to watch his son Ryan play for Port Melbourne. "It was a game of combat for 100 years," he said. "Now it's different."

© 2006 The Age

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