Western Australia's triumph at the Brisbane Carnival of 1961 ought logically to have given Australian football a much needed shot in the arm. Here, at last, was undeniable proof that Victorian footballing pre-eminence was not in the nature of an unchallengeable 'given' (see footnote 1).  A year earlier, in Adelaide, South Australia had provided a clear indication that the Victorian empire was far from indefatigable with an historic 69 point triumph. It was not so much the margin of victory which had heralded the decline as the Vics' abject inability to trouble the goal umpires; their total of 3.12 (30) was their lowest in interstate football up to that point.

1.    This is not meant to suggest that Victoria's footballing pre-eminence had never previously been subject to scrutiny. By 1961, however, thanks to a burgeoning mass media and enhanced interstate communication such scrutiny could, potentially at any rate, be immediately and effectually engaged in by all members of the football fraternity. Unfortunately, few if any of the real power brokers in the game were watching. Moreover, the Melbourne press devoted fewer column inches to the Australian national football Carnival of 1961 than it did to events in local amateur football competitions.    Back