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Although football in Western Australia in 1980 remained in a superficially healthy state, attracting considerable media attention and enormous crowds, the signs of an imminent decline were already visible. Each year, more and more prominent players elected to head east in order to participate in a competition which was beginning its transformation from a local, suburban concern to one with overtly national pretensions. That competition, of course, was the Victorian Football League, and its inimical effect on Western Australia's major football competition, which in 1980 dropped the word 'national' from its name to become simply the Western Australian Football League, would end up being considerable. In 1980, however, there were still sufficient players of the very highest quality fronting up each Saturday afternoon on grounds like Fremantle Oval, Bassendean and Leederville to make the football on display the equal of that being played anywhere.
Proof of the quality of Western Australian football is easy to uncover: at the previous year's national state of origin carnival, for instance, the Western Australians, with a predominance of home based players, had conclusively defeated Victoria in the final to secure the championship. Further evidence came in 1980, when Claremont, which ultimately finished 4th in the WAFL, reached the semi finals of the VFL night series with wins over Geelong (by 5 points) and Hawthorn (by 32 points). The fact that Geelong went on to secure the VFL minor premiership in 1980 bears stark testimony to the quality of Claremont's football.
Equally impressively, in the same competition eventual WAFL premiers South Fremantle handed out a 23.19 (157) to 9.12 (66) hiding to reigning VFL premiers Carlton before bowing out by 39 points in the next round against Essendon in Melbourne. Had the game with the Bombers been played in the west, however, there is little doubt that a different result would have obtained.
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South Freo coach Malcolm Brown - click to enlarge. |
With teams of this calibre on their doorstep it is small wonder that Western Australian football fans turned out in record numbers to witness the opening round of the 1980 WAFL season. In a round which was split between Easter Saturday and Easter Monday, a total of 51,042 spectators paid to view some scintillating football, none more so than that provided by John Todd's Swan Districts, which laid down the gauntlet for the forthcoming season in style with a 111 point annihilation of 1979 premiers East Fremantle. Swans it was who rapidly emerged as the team to beat in 1980, winning their first 13 games in succession before going under to virtually the only team which would prove to have their measure all year, South Fremantle. The Bulldogs, coached by former East Perth champion Mal Brown, finished the season just as impressively as Swan Districts had started it, winning their final 12 games in a row to qualify for the finals in 2nd place, just 1 win behind the rampant Swans. The 2nd semi final between the 2 sides was tough and closely fought, with South Fremantle emerging winners by just 10 points. In the following week's preliminary final, Swan Districts emphasised the gap in class between the top 2 and the rest with a crushing 28.13 (181) to 15.15 (105) defeat of East Perth. |
With both grand finalists favouring a skilful, free running style of football the scene was set for a classic encounter. Although flag favourites South Fremantle led 3-1 in head to head meetings between the sides during 1980, there was no doubt that Swans had both the necessary mental capacity, and the players, to overturn the odds. Among these players were: flamboyant full forward Simon Beasley, who had netted 82 goals during the qualifying rounds, and had already added a further 13 in his side's 2 finals to date; the classy Narkle brothers, Keith and Phil; tough, clever and tenacious on baller Gerard Neesham; talented half forward Don Holmes; and smooth running defender Craig Holden.
South Fremantle too possessed an abundance of talented individuals, most notably a scintillating quartet of aboriginals in the shape of 1980 Sandover Medallist Stephen Michael, livewire wingman Benny Vigona, the dazzlingly skilful Maurice Rioli, and energetic and combative utility Basil Campbell. South's captain, Noel Carter, who had finished 2nd to Michael in the 1980 Sandover count, gave the side considerable experience and know how, which was augmented by former Victorians in the shape of Derek Shaw (ex Collingwood) and Wayne Delmenico (ex Melbourne). In addition, the southerners' grand final team had been boosted by the return after a bout of glandular fever of an 18 year old flame-haired prodigy called Brad Hardie, who would make a significant, if brief, contribution to the game, before going on to even greater things in future.
On a pleasantly warm and sunny spring afternoon, South Fremantle's Noel Carter won the toss and elected to kick to the western end of Subiaco Oval, into a slight wind.
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5 mins After a frenetic opening phase which has seen the ball travel repeatedly, at lightning pace, from end to end, Melrose's carefully weighted chip pass is marked at centre half forward by Richardson who coolly converts with a low, raking drop punt. Swan Districts 1.0; South Fremantle 0.0 9 mins As players jostle for possession in the Swan Districts goal square, Sweetman unceremoniously wrestles Neesham, who is in pole position to collect the ball, but has not yet done so, to the ground, and the umpire awards the Swans ruck rover a free kick for holding the man. From point blank range, directly in front, Neesham never looks like missing. Swan Districts 2.0; South Fremantle 0.0 15 mins On the front edge of the centre square Rioli collects Delmenico's handpass and quickly relays the ball, by hand, to Carter, who runs on, evades the flailing arms of a Swan Districts defender, and, from 35 metres out straight in front, makes no mistake. Swan Districts 2.1; South Fremantle 1.2 |
Mike Richardson - click to enlarge. |
After looking slower than Swans early, South are now controlling the play, but erratic disposal into the forward lines, brought about by stern opposition pressure, is repeatedly letting them down.
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South Fremantle skipper, Noel Carter - click to enlarge. |
20 mins Morley gains possession on left centre wing and initiates a series of bullet like handballs which ultimately find Vigona, free in space at half forward left, and the former St Marys player has ample time to steady, and meticulously drill the ball home from 35 metres to give his side the lead. South Fremantle 2.4; Swan Districts 2.2 31 mins From a boundary throw in deep in South Fremantle's right forward pocket Swans ruckman Sidebottom maneuvers himself into front position and deftly palms the ball to Skwirowski who runs toward the boundary, chased by Campbell. As Skwirowski attempts to bounce the ball, Campbell catches up with him and applies a vigorous tackle, whereupon the umpire blows to award the South big man a free for holding the ball. From deep in the forward pocket, on an acute angle, 'big bad Basil' nonchalantly saunters in and, using his 'wrong' kicking foot, the right, bisects the uprights with a fastidiously accurate drop punt. South Fremantle 3.6; Swan Districts 2.2 Moments later, the siren sounds with no addition to the score. Apart from the opening 10 minutes or so, South Fremantle have dominated play, but Swan Districts' desperation and resilience has kept the score down. QUARTER TIME: South Fremantle 3.6 (24); Swan Districts 2.2 (14) |
2 mins In heavy traffic near the true centre half forward position, Maurice Rioli snatches up the ball and, spotting Benny Vigona unmarked 20 metres to his right, finds him with a high, looping handball which sails over the heads of the surrounding pack. Vigona has time to take his bearings, straighten up, and kick truly from a distance of 45 metres. South Fremantle 4.6; Swan Districts 2.2
8 mins After a free kick is awarded against Solin for kicking in danger midway between left centre wing and half forward left for South Fremantle, an altercation erupts in which Solin and Campbell appear to be the chief antagonists, with the helmeted South player at one point appearing to head butt his opponent. Ignoring this indiscretion, however, the umpire allows the originally awarded free kick to stand, and O'Brien floats a careful pass across the face of goal to the unmarked Carter who marks easily. From approximately 40 metres out, directly in front, South's Tasmanian skipper has no trouble in registering his 2nd major of the game. South Fremantle 5.8; Swan Districts 2.4
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Don Langsford. |
11 mins Gillespie kicks in after a South Fremantle behind. The ball travels some 50 metres towards Swan Districts' right half back flank region where a pack forms, with South half forward Campbell getting up higher than anyone to punch the ball to ground. Anticipating brilliantly, Rioli swoops in, collects the ball, and wheels around onto his favoured left foot before unloading a towering drop punt which travels through the goals at post height. South Fremantle 6.9; Swan Districts 2.4 12 mins From the ensuing centre bounce, Michael taps the ball to O'Brien who is immediately collected high by Holden. From the resultant free kick, O'Brien delivers the ball to centre half forward where Delmenico gets his hands to the ball first only to drop it almost straight away. Somewhat surprisingly, however, the umpire awards Delmenico a mark, and the hefty South Fremantle centre half forward shows his gratitude by sending a high drop punt just over the heads of the goal line pack for full points. South Fremantle 7.9; Swan Districts 2.4 15 mins Langsford's high, hopeful kick from left centre wing is marked on the chest by Neesham, who is approximately 50 metres from goal on a rather acute angle near the boundary. Making light of the apparent difficulty of the shot, Neesham effortlessly splits the centre with a low, left foot drop punt. South Fremantle 7.9; Swan Districts 3.6 |
23 mins Mullooly's kick in after a South Fremantle behind sails out of bounds on the full deep in South Fremantle's left forward pocket. From the ensuing free kick, Benny Vigona is on target for his 3rd goal of the game despite Hoyer's desperate attempt to intercept the ball on the goal line. South Fremantle 8.10; Swan Districts 3.7
25 mins Despite dropping a straight forward chest mark at centre half forward, Rioli still has time to collect the ball, dodge cleverly around 2 onrushing Swan Districts defenders, and find Brad Hardie deep in the right forward pocket. The young South starlet, who has just entered the fray for the first time from the interchange bench, imperturbably slots the ball home. South Fremantle 9.10; Swan Districts 3.7
| 29
mins Tony
Morley, having been awarded a free kick for over the shoulder at half forward
right, sends a high, centering kick to the front of the goal square, where a
pack forms. Running in from the side, South's 1980 Sandover Medallist
Stephen Michael uses Hoyer as a step ladder to enable him to get a good 2 metres
of the ground and take a bona fide 'screamer'. Occasionally always the
most reliable of kicks for goal, not even Michael is going to miss from 15
metres out directly in front. South Fremantle 10.12; Swan Districts
3.7
32 mins South Fremantle manufacture a goal which highlights all the best features of their running game. At centre half forward for Swans, Phil Narkle tries to dodge around Derek Shaw, but the former Collingwood big man is undeceived and, in the resultant tackle, the ball pops out to Barrett, who looks up, spots Carter free on left centre wing, and finds that player with a carefully measured left foot pass. Carter immediately plays on with a long handball to Vasoli, who dodges around a defender and handballs in the direction of Morley. Dropping a metre or so short of Morley, the ball bounces high in the air, and Morley leaps up to redirect it into the path of Vigona, who promptly feeds Rioli. After a slight fumble, Rioli relays the ball to Vasoli, who feeds it back to Vigona. The Bulldog wingman delivers the ball to the teeth of the goal square where Michael soars high and gets his left hand to the ball, deflecting it into the path of Hardie, who has the easiest of jobs to soccer it over the goal line from less than a metre out. South Fremantle 11.12; Swan Districts 3.7 |
The Bulldogs' 1980 Sandover Medallist, Stephen Michael - click to enlarge. |
Just before the siren a behind from Haddow, the only survivor of the Bulldogs' previous premiership win in 1970, pushes the half time margin out to 54 points. HALF TIME: South Fremantle 11.13 (79); Swan Districts 3.7 (25)
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Brad Hardie, shown having just received 1 of his record 2 Tassie Medals - click to enlarge. |
10
secs Gerard
Neesham sharks the ball from the opening ruck contest of the term and delivers a
probing kick towards half forward left where it is marked at full stretch on the
fingertips by Solin. Without wasting any time, Solin plays on and
unleashes a powerful drop punt which swerves a good 20 metres from leg to off
before straightening up and sailing through for a goal. South
Fremantle 11.13; Swan Districts 4.7
8 mins The umpire bounces the ball 30 metres from South Fremantle's goal and midway between half forward left and the left forward pocket. Boucher wins the knock for Swan Districts, and the ball goes to ground, whereupon Cornell, reaching it first, taps it ahead of himself a couple of times before diving on top of it and punching it out to Vigona. Under intense pressure, Vigona immediately throws the ball onto his boot, sending it in the direction of the goal square. Running in from the left forward pocket, Tony Morley leaps high in front of the stationary pack, and marks the ball on his chest. From the left point of the square Morley, who has been moving into top form over recent weeks after missing the whole of the 1978 and 1979 seasons with a stress fracture of the foot, has no trouble in converting. South Fremantle 12.15; Swan Districts 4.7 |
10 mins The ball comes off hands just rear of centre half forward for South Fremantle and Noel Carter is on it in an instant. Skirting around 2 Swan Districts would be assailants, Carter straightens up and spears a pass towards former Bulldog skipper Tony Morley who marks 30 metres from goal, directly in front. His goal bound kick never deviates. South Fremantle 13.15; Swan Districts 4.7
14 mins Cronan marks Richardson's shot for goal right on the line and clears toward the left half back flank where Michael soars to tap the ball into the path of Vigona. Dashing on, Vigona pokes out a short pass to Rioli on the wing, who immediately handballs to Hardie 15 metres ahead of him in acres of space. Hardie canters forward, taking a couple of bounces, and kicks toward the left forward pocket where the ball is marked, centimetres from the boundary line, by Shaw, who plays on quickly with a high kick towards the goal square. The umpire, however, rules that Shaw was not entitled to play on as he was outside the playing arena when he did so. Forced to kick over the man on the mark, the 196cm, right-footed Shaw coolly converts with a left foot banana kick. South Fremantle 14.15; Swan Districts 4.7
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mins Swans show that they too are capable of
producing fast, flowing, run on football. From near the left half back
flank boundary Phil Narkle's pinpoint pass finds Don Holmes at left centre wing.
Playing on immediately, Holmes handballs to Narkle, who has followed his own
kick downfield, and the Swans rover scurries on, bouncing the ball 3 times,
before launching a high, left foot kick in the direction of the goal square.
In front position, Hoyer gets his hands to the ball, but blatant interference
from Kelly forces him to drop it. The umpire is in a perfect position to
spot the infringement, however, and from the ensuing free kick Hoyer has no
problems in converting. South Fremantle 14.15; Swan Districts 5.7
18 mins Boucher wins the hit out at the ensuing centre bounce and expertly guides the ball to Melrose who, despite being immediately tackled, manages to off load a quick handball to Holden, whose high kick to centre half forward is vigorously contested by a pack of players before spilling to ground. Langsford reaches the ball first and cleverly feeds Richardson, who is the one team mate in the vicinity who is unmarked. Richardson straightens up onto his favoured left foot and splits the centre with aplomb. South Fremantle 14.15; Swan Districts 6.7 19 mins Swans again win the ball out of the centre courtesy of Phil Narkle, whose kick travels to just left of centre half forward where Beasley, for once, has managed to maneuver himself in front of McKay. As the Bulldog full back tries desperately to spoil he ends up interfering with his opponent who is promptly awarded a free kick. Renowned as one of the most accurate kicks in football, Beasley's shot for goal from 45 metres out on the slightest of angles is straight as a die. South Fremantle 14.15; Swan Districts 7.7 |
Phil Narkle. |
21 mins South Fremantle mount a quick, counter-attacking thrust down their right wing. Carter gathers the ball and handpasses in field to Delmenico who is pushed in the back moments after unloading a prodigious kick which strikes the right goal post. The umpire awards the Bulldogs an FAD ('free after disposal'), from which Stephen Michael, from point blank range, has no difficulty in registering his 2nd major of the match. South Fremantle 15.15; Swan Districts 7.7
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The magical Maurice Rioli - click to enlarge. |
24
mins Richardson, almost in the centre
circle, handballs to Neesham, who has plenty of time to measure his options
before finding Solin, who is leading just to the left of centre half forward,
with a searing, low, left foot drop punt. Solin's somewhat tentative
looking kick from a distance of close to 50 metres just evades the goal line
pack to register full points. South Fremantle 15.15; Swan Districts
8.7
28 mins Deep in their left back pocket Swan Districts are awarded a free kick for out of bounds on the full. The kick is taken by Skwirowski, who thumps the ball almost to left centre wing where Stephen Michael soars over the pack to punch it 15 metres back in the direction of the South Fremantle goal. After being gathered up by Campbell, the ball is then relayed on in quick succession to Carter, Morley, and finally O'Brien, whose stabbing, low, right foot shot from 15 metres out on a 60 degree angle is perfectly judged. South Fremantle 16.15; Swan Districts 8.7 31 mins Michael marks on his chest at left centre wing, and quickly plays on with a handball to Rioli, whose underground handball finds Vigona on the left half forward flank. Vigona runs on and shoots for goal, only to see the ball fall short adjacent to the left goal post. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, Hardie manages to get both hands to the ball and hold on to it despite considerable duress. He then runs around the mark to improve the angle and kicks truly. South Fremantle 17.16; Swan Districts 8.7 |
As the ball is bounced in the centre of the ground to re-start play the siren sounds to end a quarter which has seen some superlative football from both sides. THREE QUARTER TIME: South Fremantle 17.16 (118); Swan Districts 8.7 (55)
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Ron Boucher. |
4 mins Rioli picks up the ball in the centre of the ground and handballs forward 15 metres to O'Brien who is running out from goal. O'Brien handballs to his left to Michael whose towering punt kick travels almost to the goal line where Swans defender Mullooly competes in the air with Shaw. Despite appearing to be in a perfect position to mark, Mullooly allows the ball to roll down his arms onto the ground, whereupon Shaw gleefully soccers it over the line from less than a metre out. Having previously played 15 games with Collingwood in the VFL, including the losing 1979 grand final against Carlton, Shaw is today making his 16th appearance for the Bulldogs. South Fremantle 18.17; Swan Districts 8.7 6 mins Despite losing his footing as he leads from the right forward pocket to half forward right, Simon Outhwaite manages to mark strongly on the chest before securing only his 2nd ever goal in League football. Outhwaite has just come onto the ground to replace Brad Hardie, who has injured an ankle. South Fremantle 19.17; Swan Districts 8.7 8 mins Craig Hoyer comfortably marks Ron Boucher's pass 30 metres from goal on a 45 degree angle on the left hand side and makes no mistake. South Fremantle 19.17; Swan Districts 9.8 |
12 mins Cornell kicks towards a pack at left centre wing. The ball spills off hands and is gathered by O'Brien who, spotting Carter in space 60 metres from goal more or less straight in front, fires a low pass in his direction which Carter safely marks. Carter's perfectly timed spiral punt kick just has the legs to carry over the goal line for full points. South Fremantle 20.17; Swan Districts 9.8
14 mins Maurice Rioli tears through the centre of the ground, adroitly side stepping 2 opponents, before finding Basil Campbell 40 metres nearer to goal. Campbell has time to prop, look up, and spot Outhwaite leading into the right forward pocket. Campbell's pass to Outhwaite is juggled by that player before being dropped, but the umpire blows to indicate that Outhwaite's opponent had illegally held on to him while he was not in possession. From the resultant free kick, Outhwaite splits the centre. South Fremantle 21.17; Swan Districts 9.8
| 15
mins
Kevin Cornell takes a free kick in the left back pocket for South Fremantle.
He kicks towards centre half back, where the ball is strongly marked by Derek
Shaw. Playing on immediately, Shaw handballs to Rioli, who just as quickly
relays it to Carter near the centre of the ground. Carter takes a single
bounce before finding Delmenico at centre half forward with a bona fide 'grass
burner'. Delmenico turns to face goal, spots O'Brien leading into the
right forward pocket, and lofts a high, awkward looking pass in that player's
direction. The ball falls just short of O'Brien, who nevertheless manages
to trap it before handballing to Outhwaite 10 metres closer to goal.
Outhwaite draws a Swan Districts defender towards him and then handballs high
into the goal square to find an unmarked Noel Carter, who has followed the play
up the field. Carter gleefully runs into an open goal to register his 4th
6 pointer of the game. South
Fremantle 22.17; Swan Districts 9.8
17 mins Umpire Bob Phillips bounces the ball midway between right centre wing and half forward right for South Fremantle. Swans ruckman Sidebottom wins the tap, but it goes straight to Vasoli, who promptly spears out a handball to Campbell. After struggling to get a handle on the ball, Campbell thumps it goalwards where it is collected by Cronan, who handpasses to Carter. The Bulldogs skipper steps adroitly around an attempted tackle from Neesham before handballing to Outhwaite, who is standing virtually on the goal line, and would have to fall over to miss. South Fremantle 23.17; Swan Districts 9.8 23 mins Don Holmes takes a free kick from near the front edge of the centre square and propels the ball to within 15 metres of goal. The ball tumbles to ground in front of the assembled pack of players, and Craig Holden, running across the face of goal from right to left, reaches it first before snapping truly, across his body, with his left foot. South Fremantle 23.17; Swan Districts 10.8 25 mins Holden passes 20 metres in field from half forward left and finds Holmes who, with only his 7th kick of the afternoon, makes no mistake. South Fremantle 23.17; Swan Districts 11.8 |
Rod Barrett. |
28 mins Phil Narkle at left centre wing kicks to centre half forward where Gillespie and Richardson contest the mark. Gillespie gets his hands to the ball, but is unable to hold on to it, and after it spills to ground it is grabbed by Kelly. With nowhere to go, Kelly squeezes out a flaccid looking handball which is seized upon Richardson, who runs his full distance before rifling the ball home from 35 metres. South Fremantle 23.17; Swan Districts 12.8
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Graham Melrose - click to enlarge. |
29
mins
Melrose, running away from goal, scoops up the ball near the half forward right
boundary, turns back in field, and prods a high kick towards centre half
forward, where Simon Beasley gets a perfect ride on the back of O'Brien enabling
him to soar some 2½ metres into the air and take arguably the mark of the day.
There is no ensuing anti climax either, as his kick for goal sails right through
the centre. South
Fremantle 23.18; Swan Districts 13.8
31 mins Haddow in the left back pocket hurriedly clears the ball toward centre half back where it is intercepted by Phil Narkle. Swerving cleverly to avoid attempted tackles from Barrett and McKay, Narkle runs into the clear, straightens up, and, from approximately 35 metres out, directly in front, registers yet another consolation goal for Swans. South Fremantle 23.18; Swan Districts 14.8 33 mins Holmes has marked at half forward left when the siren sounds to end the game and hordes of fans race onto the playing arena. Holmes subsequently converts, to reduce the final margin to 58 points, but there can be no doubt that his team has been comprehensively outplayed. However, despite the one-sided nature of the game the 46,208 spectators in the ground have been treated to a marvellous exhibition of the Australian code, with at least 2 'screamers' of the highest order (Michael's and Beasley's), the sparkling ball skills of Rioli, Vigona and the Narkle brothers, superb defending from McKay, Kelly and Barrett, the formidable aerial prowess of Shaw, Boucher and Delmenico, and the controlled tenacity of Carter and Neesham. FINAL SCORE: South Fremantle 23.18 (156); Swan Districts 15.8 (98) |
Somewhat surprisingly, the 1980 grand final represented the zenith of South Fremantle's achievements under Mal Brown. In 1981, the side again reached the grand final, but effectively kicked itself out of contention, registering 12.24 (96) to Claremont's 16.15 (111). Thereafter, however, with the exception of an unconsummated minor premiership in 1983, the Bulldogs returned to the fold.
Swan Districts, by contrast, would emerge as Western Australian football's dominant side of the early '80s, perfecting the pacy, tenacious run on game which had been witnessed in embryonic form in the 1980 grand final, and winning 3 successive premierships between 1982 and 1984. The supreme irony from South Fremantle's point of view, of course, was that Swan Districts' mentor during this halcyon phase was former red and white legend John Todd.
As for Western Australian football itself, the decline brought about by player leakage to the VFL would rapidly accelerate, so that when the West Coast Eagles, containing a predominance of local players, entered the prototype national competition in 1987 it proved incapable of anything more than mid-table mediocrity. Had a composite Perth-based side been admitted to the VFL as early as 1980, however, it seems logical to assume, given the preponderance of local talent then available, that it would have challenged strongly for the premiership, a state of affairs which would not have gone down at all well with the VFL's parochially purblind authorities who, even at that point in time, were plotting an interstate expansion of their competition, one which would be undertaken in a spirit of unmitigated conquest rather than co-operation (see footnote 1).
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Pts | |
| South Fremantle | 3.6 | 11.13 | 17.16 | 23.18 | 156 |
| Swan Districts | 2.2 | 3.7 | 8.7 | 15.8 | 98 |
BEST - South Fremantle: Carter, McKay, Rioli, Michael, Vigona, Delmenico Swan Districts: Neesham, Boucher, Skwirowski, Richardson, Solin, Gillespie
GOALS - South Fremantle: Carter 4; Hardie, Outhwaite, Vigona 3; Michael, Morley, Shaw 2; Campbell, Delmenico, O'Brien, Rioli Swan Districts: Richardson 3; Beasley, Holmes, Hoyer, Neesham, Richardson, Solin 2; Holden, P.Narkle
SIMPSON MEDAL (best on ground): Maurice Rioli (South Fremantle)
ATTENDANCE: 46,208 at Subiaco Oval
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1. At the end of the 1980 season, East Perth submitted an application to field a team in the VFL. In typically arrogant fashion, the VFL peremptorily declined the application, and returned it to the Royals without comment, clearly implying that the promulgation of any formal response on their part would be conferring a credibility on the application which it did not warrant - in other words, it was beneath their (imagined) dignity. Return to Main Text
