Big V Humbled In The Apple Isle

The Tassie Team That Downed the 'Big V'

BACK ROW (L-R): J.Fitzallen, M.Pascoe, S.Morcom, I.Hayes, J.Ross , R.Geard, D.Parremore

THIRD ROW (L-R): N.Conlan, G.Smith, T.Shadbolt, M.Lawrence, G.Mason, C.Moore, B.Strange, B.Payne

SECOND ROW (L-R): J.Pelham (Trainer), D.Gale, K.Sheehan, J.Hawksley (Vice captain), J.Metherell (Coach), S.Spencer (Captain), A.Webb, B.Loring , D.Lewis (Manager)

FRONT ROW (L-R): M.Kelleher, M.Steel, R.Withers, D.Lester

Some sports lend themselves readily to acts of 'giant killing'. Soccer, where superiority in skill does not translate automatically into superiority on the scoreboard, is perhaps the classic example. In Australian football, however, examples of ostensibly 'inferior' teams triumphing against the odds over significantly stronger opponents are comparatively rare. In part, this is because Australian football, by its very nature, precludes a 'playing for a draw' mentality. Whereas in soccer it is possible to claim even the sport's most illustrious prizes by deliberately setting out merely to contain rather than outscore the opposition, such containment policies would never work in Australian Rules where success depends on the effective deployment and expression of skill rather than on its attempted suppression.

Tasmania's renowned 13.13 (91) to 12.12 (84) defeat of a VFL 'second best' selection at York Park, Launceston on 13 June 1960 must therefore be regarded as proving that, on that one occasion at least, the Tasmanian players were better exponents of the skills of Australian football than their much vaunted opponents.

Exhibiting great pace and combining with greater effectiveness than their opponents Tasmania jumped the 'big V' with 4 goals to 1 in the opening term, and thereafter the Vics were always playing 'catch up' football. With former Melbourne rover Stuart Spencer prominent for the apple islanders Tasmania maintained its dominance during the 2nd and 3rd terms, but as the 4th quarter opened there were signs that the Victorians were at last starting to find form. With Essendon's Ken Fraser controlling the pivot, and club mate Hugh Mitchell marking everything which came his way, the Vics hit the front midway through the final term and from that point on might reasonably have been expected to run away with affairs (after all, this was what almost invariably happened where VFL interstate sides were concerned). However, with more than 15,000 Tasmanians baying for Victorian blood it was the home side which suddenly lifted a notch, and, in a desperation move, the VFL's captain-coach, 'Bugsy' Comben, ordered his players to stack the back lines. This proved to be a costly mistake as Tasmania were able to exploit the spaces created elsewhere on the ground and surge to a 7 point victory. Perhaps the most ironic feature of the match was that arguably the two best players afield were Victorian Stuart Spencer, playing for his adopted state of Tasmania, and the VFL's Taswegian centre half back Verdun Howell.

The win was in some senses the culmination of a great career for Tasmania's coach, Jack Metherell, a West Australian who had earlier played in the VFL with Geelong, and coached North Hobart with great success. Metherell was a stickler for hard work and team discipline, attributes which his charges consistently exhibited to optimum effect on arguably the most auspicious afternoon in Tasmanian football history.

1960 Interstate Match: Tasmania vs. Victorian Football League 'B'

Big V Humbled In The Apple Isle