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Some Stars of the '72 Perth Carnival |
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Peter McKenna (VFL) - leading goal kicker |
Ken McAullay (WA) - Tassie Medallist |
Tony Burgan (SA) - All Australian team |
John Williams (VFL) - All Australian team |
Mal Brown (WA) - All Australian team captain |
When the VFL annihilated Tasmania by 182 points in the opening match of the 1972 Perth Carnival any lingering doubt as to the superfluous nature of such contests was well and truly eradicated. By the early 1970s the Victorian Football League contained arguably around 80% of the nation's best footballers, a state of affairs which inevitably gave rise to lop-sided results on the representative front. Throughout its history the VFL had always been Australia's premier football competition; by 1972 sheer weight of numbers had inflated that superiority beyond any level previously attained and, as time would prove, the trend would be irreversible.
In terms of competitiveness and excitement then the 1972 Perth Carnival, in which the average margin of victory was 77 points, was a total wash-out (see footnote 1). For the first time in Carnival history, there were no close games, with the VFL's 44 point defeat of the hosts being the nearest thing to a 'thriller'.
East Perth defender and Western Australian Sheffield Shield cricketer Ken McAullay gave home supporters some small consolation by becoming the sandgropers' 7th Tassie Medallist.
| Points | |||||||
| Pld | Won | Lost | For | Ag | % | Pts | |
| Victorian Football League | 3 | 3 | 0 | 434 | 154 | 281.8 | 12 |
| Western Australia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 290 | 241 | 120.3 | 8 |
| South Australia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 266 | 278 | 95.7 | 4 |
| Tasmania | 3 | 0 | 3 | 177 | 494 | 35.8 | 0 |
| South Australia | Malcolm Blight (Woodville), Tony Burgan (Sturt) |
| Tasmania | Jim Leitch (Scottsdale) |
| VFL | David Clarke (Geelong), Gary Dempsey (Footscray), Gary Hardeman (Melbourne), Alex Jesaulenko (Carlton), Leigh Matthews (Hawthorn), Peter McKenna (Collingwood), Travis Payze (St Kilda), Len Thompson (Collingwood), David Thorpe (Footscray), John Williams (Essendon) |
| Western Australia | Bob Beecroft (Swan Districts), Malcolm Brown (East Perth - captain), Brian Ciccotosto (South Fremantle), Ken McAullay (East Perth), Ian Miller (Perth), Alan Watling (West Perth), George Young (Subiaco) |
| Placing | Player(s) | Votes |
| 1st | Ken McAullay (Western Australia) | 17 |
| 2nd | Len Thompson (VFL) | 9 |
| =3rd | Peter Marker (South Australia), Peter McKenna (VFL), Ian Miller (Western Australia) | 8 |
1972 Perth Carnival: Leading Goalkickers
P.McKenna (VFL) 19; G.Hewitt (South Australia) & P.Tierney (Western Australia) 11
[All images are clickable.]
SA coach Neil Kerley had plenty of reasons to look this disgruntled during the course of the championships. |
The Carnival's leading big man, Len Thompson of the VFL, marks strongly on the chest in front of SA's King's Cup rower Neil Button. |
WA's Mal Brown looks set to mark in the decisive game of the Carnival against the VFL. Leigh Matthews is the Victorian player, while Leon O'Dwyer is the other Western Australian in the foreground. |
'Big Bad Mal' again, this time winning a ruck tap. Mal Brown was later chosen as captain of the 1972 All Australian team. |
With his side trailing by 20 points, WA coach Haydn Bunton lays down the law to his players at ¾ time of the decisive game against the Big V. Sadly for him, the VFL ran away with the game in the final term, adding 5.7 to 2.1 to win easily by 44 points. |
VFL ruckman Gary Dempsey spoils his WA opponent Bob Beecroft's attempt to mark. Both Dempsey and Beecroft gained selection in the All Australian team. |
1. The average winning margins at Carnivals had been increasing steadily for years: at Adelaide in 1969 was 58 points; at Hobart in 1966 it was 57 points; and at Brisbane in 1961 it was 40 points. Back
