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'Big Merv' wins one of his numerous hit-outs during the 1955 WANFL grand final.
That
Indefatigable 'Old East' Tradition
The East Fremantle Perspective
Were it not for the fact that the standard of play to which they were treated was of a consistently high order, Western Australian football barrackers during the decade immediately following World War Two might easily have been forgiven for giving vent to more than the occasional yawn of boredom. In the nine seasons between 1946 and 1954, the total of thirty-six finals spots available were monopolised by four clubs: South Fremantle and West Perth (a 100% record of nine appearances each); East Fremantle (eight appearances); and Perth (seven). Even amongst this elite group, however, there was a distinct pecking order, with South Fremantle far and away the pre-eminent force, winning six of the nine available premierships, and West Perth (two) and East Fremantle (one) mopping up the crumbs. As for Perth, the club had spent close to half a century meticulously eking out a reputation for itself as the quintessential ugly duckling of Western Australian football; since procuring their first flag in 1907, the Redlegs had failed to add to their tally, and after contesting losing grand finals in 1949 and 1950 the feeling by 1955 was that the proverbial boat had been missed. Between 1952 and 1954 the side managed a success rate of just 47.6%, and in 1954 it had bowed out of the finals with embarrassing meekness at the first hurdle against South Fremantle.
A year later, and South Fremantle, which topped the ladder after the home and away rounds with 16 wins from 20 matches, still seemed by some measure the best team in the competition. During the closing weeks of the season the side scored emphatic and confidence-boosting wins over each of the other three eventual finalists in the shape of East Fremantle (won by 35 points), West Perth (37 points) and Perth (54 points). According to most of the scribes, the 1955 premiership was "all over bar the shouting" (see footnote 1).
The WANFL premiership ladder at the end of the 1955 minor round graphically illustrated the gap in standard between the finalists and the 'also rans':
| P | W | L | F | A | % | Pts | |
| South Fremantle | 20 | 16 | 4 | 2314 | 1581 | 146.36 | 64 |
| East Fremantle | 20 | 16 | 4 | 2015 | 1471 | 136.98 | 64 |
| Perth | 20 | 14 | 6 | 1766 | 1438 | 122.81 | 56 |
| West Perth | 20 | 13 | 7 | 1914 | 1656 | 115.58 | 52 |
| East Perth | 20 | 7 | 13 | 1862 | 1913 | 97.33 | 28 |
| Swan Districts | 20 | 5 | 15 | 1446 | 1951 | 74.12 | 20 |
| Claremont | 20 | 5 | 15 | 1390 | 2022 | 68.74 | 20 |
| Subiaco | 20 | 4 | 16 | 1501 | 2176 | 68.98 | 16 |
Although Old Easts had finished with the same number of wins as South Fremantle, few observers seriously expected them to afford much of a challenge to the reigning premiers. Prior to the 2nd semi final, fifteen 'experts' were asked to predict the result: all 15 went for South Fremantle in what has to go down as one of the most resounding collective 'kisses of death' in football history. Playing with systematic aggression and purpose the East Fremantle team, particularly its on ballers, knocked the normally fluent southerners out of their stride right from the opening bounce, to the extent that by quarter time, with Old Easts leading 7.5 to 1.1, the game was as good as over. Admittedly, South Fremantle did manage to outscore the opposition 10.8 to 7.5 over the remainder of the game, but East Fremantle's eventual winning margin of 19 points was as emphatic as it was deserved.
If South's capitulation against Old Easts was surprising, it was nothing compared to what was to come in the following week's preliminary final against Perth. Despite having played well to defeat West Perth 12.18 (90) to 9.14 (68) in the 1st semi final there were few outside the Redleg fraternity who gave the red and blacks even the remotest chance of overcoming the slick, finals hardened southerners, but what the observers had failed to take into account was the fact that Perth, to a man, constituted a team on a mission, one that involved not just claiming a long overdue pennant after forty-eight years in the football wilderness, but doing so to commemorate and crown the achievements of one of the most accomplished footballers in the history of the game. That footballer was Merv McIntosh, and although he had not yet officially announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 1955 season, it was clear to everyone that his illustrious career was fast approaching its conclusion.
It is something of a paradox that Australian football, arguably the most quintessentially team-orientated of all the football codes, should simultaneously have developed one of the most highly formalised and widely revered mechanisms for recognising and lauding its individual champions. Soccer and gridiron, for example, do not really have equivalents for the Brownlow, Sandover, or Magarey Medals, by means of which football has, traditionally and to ever increasing fanfare and acclaim, extricated and elevated its heroes out of and above the common herd. For an Australian footballer to be recognised as the fairest and best player in his (or her) particular league over the course of a complete season is tantamount to a form of canonisation. Whereas a champion soccer player would typically be referred to as "having won so many championship medals and (highlighting the essentially international orientation of the sport) so many England caps", his Australian football counterpart would more usually be described in terms of the number of games played together with a description of the individual awards lining his trophy cabinet. Merv McIntosh thus becomes "Perth's 217 game, seven times best and fairest, 1953 All Australian and Tassie Medallist, and triple Sandover Medal winning ruckman", with the listing of the awards in particular being interpreted as a kind of invocation of greatness.
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Such a state of affairs only serves to heighten the paradox, for if you ask the average footballer about his aspirations and/or the source of his greatest pleasure while playing the game, he will tend to focus on just one thing: the winning of premierships. This is football's Holy Grail, it's raison d'être, it's driving force, and, for Merv McIntosh in 1955, it remained the single gnawing vacuum in his career. The combination of Perth's extended run of outs and the enormous popular esteem in which 'Big Merv' was held (see footnote 2) meant that the vast majority of the 25,250 spectators who attended the preliminary final at Subiaco Oval were solidly behind the Redlegs. Buoyed by this popular support, the underdogs played superbly to overcome the supposedly near invincible southerners by 12 points. The Merv McIntosh premiership bandwagon was on the move and, as East Fremantle would discover in a week's time, it was accelerating fast. |
'Big Merv' pictured during a WA state training session at the MCG - click to enlarge. |
That Indefatigable 'Old East' Tradition
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Con Regan - click to enlarge. |
What, then, of Perth's grand final opponents? 'Old Easts', as they were known at the time, were Western Australian football's most successful club, with a total of twenty-one premierships (see footnote 3) up to that point. Like Collingwood in Victoria, or Port Adelaide in South Australia, the club oozed both tradition and a sense of accomplishment. To play for East Fremantle was, not to put too fine a point on it, to acquire membership one of Australian football's most distinguished and select organisations. If any club was equipped to withstand the barrage of popular sentiment which had helped propel Perth into the grand final, and which was certain to escalate into overdrive on grand final day itself, it was East Fremantle. Moreover, Old Easts had a unique incentive to do well against Perth given that in 1907, when the Redlegs had last secured the flag, it had not only been at East Fremantle's expense, but it had been achieved in circumstances that might modestly be described as controversial. The final scoreboard after the 1907 grand final read East Fremantle 6.11 (47); Perth 6.6 (42) but, sensationally, post-match claims by Perth that one of East Fremantle's goals had been kicked after the half time bell were upheld by the WAFA Appeals Board and the result of the match - and the destiny of the 1907 flag - was reversed. Needless to say, this was not a decision calculated to increase the amount of affection felt between the clubs, and almost half a century later it remained a sticking point among Old Easts fans who boasted either long memories or an acute awareness of the club's tradition (in other words, all of them). |
During the 1955 minor round, the two clubs had faced one another on three occasions, with all games being closely fought. Perth had won by 14 points in round 7, with Old Easts turning the tables by 9 points in round 14. Then, in the final home and away clash of the season, East Fremantle had emerged victorious by the barest of margins after a tough, tight, inordinately strenuous encounter. The marginal supremacy enjoyed by Old Easts, coupled with the fact that they had enjoyed an extra week's rest during the finals, led the majority of the scribes to afford them narrow favouritism going into the big game. However, the near universality of acclaim and support for the Redlegs' favourite son would probably afford the underdogs a significant added stimulus - providing, of course, they didn't freeze under the intensified scrutiny.
Another possible advantage enjoyed by Perth was to be found on the coaching bench, where former Carlton star Ern Henfry was much more of a household name than East Fremantle's George Meiers. After commencing his league career with Perth prior to World War Two, Henfry's football fortunes had really blossomed after he had been transferred to Victoria by his employers in 1946. After being forced to miss a year's football while awaiting a clearance, he wasted no time in becoming one of Carlton's, and the VFL's, most noteworthy performers, skippering the Blues to a premiership in his debut season, and later being appointed captain of the VFL state side, a rare honour indeed for a player of 'foreign blood'.
| Henfry returned to his original club Perth as
captain-coach in 1953, and in two seasons in that role steered the Redlegs to
consecutive 4th place finishes. By 1955, he had finished as a player, but
would continue to coach the side for another five seasons. George Meiers, by
contrast, spent only two seasons in control of East Fremantle, with his
charges contesting the finals on both occasions, but as far as the club
authorities were concerned the crucial statistic was that he failed to 'bring
home the bacon' in terms of delivering a flag. Consequently, in 1957
he would be replaced by former South Fremantle rover Steve
Marsh, who promptly repaid
the faith of the committee by steering the side to its first premiership since
1946.
Two years earlier, in 1955, the East Fremantle faithful were confident that George Meiers' men had the capacity to resist the tides of destiny, and overcome both Perth and the burgeoning sentiments of the local football-loving populace by capturing the club's first pennant in a decade, but it was not to be. The two hour sequence of events which simultaneously stymied Old Easts' premiership ambitions, and significantly augmented the already formidable Merv McIntosh legend deserves a prominent listing in any catalogue purporting to commemorate the greatest games in Australian football history. |
Ern Henfry - click to enlarge. |
The match summary which follows is based largely on a contemporary report by Claude Morris which appeared in the 'Daily Mirror' on the evening of the game (Saturday 8 October 1955).
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In front of a record grand final crowd of 41,659 (see
footnote 4) Perth skipper Keith Harper (pictured left) wins the toss and elects to kick with
the aid of 4 goal wind. The Redlegs dominate the opening exchanges but
prove wayward in front of goal, registering minor scores with their first 4
shots. After twelve minutes East Fremantle, cleverly concentrating on short
passing in the face of the formidable breeze, maneuver the ball the length of
the ground, with captain and perennial driving force Jack Sheedy rounding off
the move by finding Ray 'Oscar' Howard close to goal. Howard's kick
bisects the centre and Old Easts, after being under sustained pressure for most
of the game so far, have hit the front.
The remainder of the term sees East Fremantle packing the defence to limit the Redlegs' scoring opportunities. Of those which do eventuate, only one is converted, and although Perth take a 13 point advantage into the first change the consensus is that, given the strength of the wind, it is Old Easts who are ahead of the 8-ball. QUARTER TIME: Perth 2.7 (19); East Fremantle 1.0 (6) |
| Despite the fact that Merv McIntosh is rising to the occasion and continually beating Jack Clarke in the ruck, the Perth rovers Dick Walker and Harry Meredith prove unable to capitalise, and it is Old Easts who gradually begin to gain a stranglehold on the match. By midway through the term they have hit the front, and thereafter it is all one way traffic with rover Frank Conway in particularly effective touch, contributing 3 of his side's 7 goals for the quarter. Perth, meanwhile, are kept totally scoreless all term. Merv McIntosh is continuing to get his hands first to the ball at virtually every ruck contest, but it is to little avail as the East Fremantle on ballers are too quick and aggressive for their opponents. HALF TIME: East Fremantle 8.5 (53); Perth 2.7 (19) |
Frank Conway - click to enlarge |
Perth make a number of positional changes prior to the start of the 3rd quarter, most notable of which is the move of burly centre half back Bert Wansborough to centre half forward. Right from the opening bounce it is clear that the Redlegs have a new spring in their step. Within moments of the re-start Perth wingman and skipper Keith Harper, despite fierce opposition pressure, snaps his side's first goal since late in the opening quarter. As players re-assemble for the centre bounce there is more bad news for Old Easts as their centre half back Bob Hicks is forced to withdraw from the fray with an injured leg.
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Bob Hicks - click to enlarge. |
Direct from the ensuing
centre bounce Perth force the ball forward again in a move which culminates in
Wansborough out-muscling East Fremantle full back Don Monteath to mark within
easy range of goal. He converts, and suddenly those Redlegs supporters who
have remained in the ground (many having left in despair or disgust at half
time) have a reason to find their voices.
Perth players who had scarcely been sighted earlier like half forwards Reg Zeuner and Roy Harper, rover Frank Walker, and defenders Brian Ashbolt and Stan Henderson are suddenly rediscovering the touch which helped advance their team to the grand final. Nevertheless, for several minutes the East Fremantle defenders gird up their loins and manage to repel virtually everything the Redlegs can throw at them. It is not until late in the term that Wansborough, with his second major, manages to re-ignite his team and precipitate a late salvo which generates a flurry of scoring. With 5.3 for the quarter to the opposition's solitary behind Perth are right back in the game, at any rate on the scoreboard. However, the fact that Old Easts will be enjoying the advantage of a still formidable breeze in the closing stanza makes them appear odds on favourites to secure the flag. THREE QUARTER TIME: East Fremantle 8.6 (54); Perth 7.10 (52) |
The Redlegs' worst fears rapidly materialise as Old Easts enjoy the better of the opening exchanges in the 4th term, adding 2.1 in double quick time to extend their lead to 15 points. Then, almost out of the blue, a miracle goal by Perth's sprightly and talented rover Walker, where he out-sprints two opponents before gathering the ball under pressure and converting from an acute angle, raises the black and reds' ledger once again. It is the first goal kicked into the breeze since the twelve minute mark of the opening term, and the inspiration it imparts is clearly discernible as Perth surge forward again from the ensuing centre bounce and Wansborough brings the margin back to 3 points.
| Both sides are now playing
desperate, gritty football, making for an untidy but at the same time absorbing
spectacle. East Fremantle regain the ascendancy for a few minutes but
vigorous and determined defending, especially by Ashbolt at full back, limits
them to just 1.1 when 3 or 4 goals might have been expected to ensue from their
dominance.
With McIntosh an imposing figure at every stoppage - of which there are many - Perth finally manage to force the ball ahead of centre and are immediately rewarded when half forward Bill Curtis goals from a free. The margin is now less than a kick, and the Redlegs players, scenting victory, begin to lift all around the ground. As Perth half back Terry Moriarty outmarks Jack Sheedy he receives a back hander to be going on with, eliciting a torrent of derision and anger from the pro-Redlegs crowd. The atmosphere in the ground is now at fever pitch, with Old Easts hanging on grimly as Perth surge forward repeatedly. A behind to full forward Des Foynes brings Perth to within 4 points and the East Fremantle defenders, under increasing pressure, begin to clear the ball blindly. One such frantic clearance is marked by Perth centre half forward Reg Zeuner, who returns the ball with interest in the direction of a pack of half a dozen or so players near the goal front. Rising high above everyone else, Redlegs ruckman Tom Davis, who is resting in the right forward pocket, manages to hang on to a vital mark before kicking truly to put his side 2 points in front with seven minutes still to play. |
Jack Sheedy - click to enlarge. |
Amazingly, this proves to be the last score of the game. With Merv McIntosh continuing to dominate in the air, and all bar half a dozen of the Perth players 'flooding defensive fifty' (to appropriate modern parlance), East Fremantle, despite monopolising possession, prove incapable of getting close to goal. During the final minute of the game the Redlegs play classic defensive football, with man of the moment McIntosh thumping the ball over the members' stand boundary line on no fewer than seven occasions. The siren sounds and, miraculously, Perth has outscored East Fremantle for the quarter by 4 points kicking against a breeze which, prior to the last term, had permitted only 2 goals to be kicked into it. More to the point, the archetypal 'gentle giant' of Western Australian football has, at long last, been rewarded with the pinnacle of achievement for an Australian footballer, a premiership. Members of the crowd surge onto Subiaco Oval, but Merv McIntosh's distinctive grey head is clearly visible amidst the swaying sea of bodies. It is an image which will endure long in the minds of many of the spectators fortunate enough to have attended one of the most dramatic matches in Australian football history. FINAL SCORE: Perth 11.11 (77); East Fremantle 11.9 (75)
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Forced by their legion of fans to abandon the sanctuary of the dressing room, the Perth players were hoisted onto shoulders and ferried around Subiaco Oval in a joyous celebratory procession. Not long after the grand final, Merv McIntosh, having been awarded the Simpson Medal as best player afield (see footnote 5), officially announced his retirement from the game, adding still more poignancy to the outcome. He had in actual fact resolved to retire at season's end earlier in the year, but apart from confiding in a select group of friends, who had honoured his wishes that the decision remain secret, he had kept his plans close to his chest. Without McIntosh's formidable all round impact, the Redlegs' fortunes gradually waned somewhat over the remainder of the 1950s, although the side at least continued to qualify for the finals. After missing the major round between 1960 and 1962 the club rose from the metaphorical ashes with unprecedented extravagance over the remainder of the decade to establish itself, with 3 consecutive flags between 1966 and 1968, as one of the greatest all round sides in Western Australian football history. Although Merv McIntosh was no longer leading the way on the field, there can be little doubt that his legacy was an important contributory factor in propelling the erstwhile ugly ducklings of Western Australian football into an era of swan-like majesty and splendour. |
Merv McIntosh celebrates his inclusion in WA's squad for the 1947 Hobart Carnival where he would make the first of his 24 interstate appearances. (Click to enlarge.) |
The East Fremantle Perspective
As was suggested above, East Fremantle supporters either have long memories or keen senses of tradition (or both), and with the bitter aftertaste of the controversial 1907 defeat against Perth still lingering it is hardly surprising that this follow up loss 48 years later did not exactly elicit a magnanimous response. Jack Lee summed up the reaction from within the club with a typical blend of terse frankness and eloquence:
"De mortuis nil nisi bonum" is a Latin phrase that advises us to say nothing about the dead unless it is good. Right at the start, that admonition stifles discussion of the 1955......grand final in which Perth beat Old Easts by 2 points.
Speaking conservatively and with "de mortuis" in mind, it can be stated that many of our supporters, including players, were less than happy with what they claimed was a poor exhibition given by the umpire, a former EF player; he moved into the persona non grata category as far as East Fremantle Oval was concerned, from then on.
Many of our old-timers remembered that Perth's only previous premiership had been won after a protest that was generally regarded as completely ridiculous, following EF's win, 6.11 to 6.6, in the grand final. Perth claimed that a free kick, awarded to Charles Doig by umpire Ivo Crapp and resulting in a goal, had been given after the half time bell had been rung. Amazingly, the protest was upheld.
So few at East Fremantle were really enthusiastic about Perth's win in 1955. (See footnote 6)
This might seem like preposterously exaggerated sour grapes, but at the same time it could perhaps be argued that one reason great clubs are so successful is that they somehow manage to cultivate within themselves a consummate disdain for failure which involves never giving the opposition a morsel of credit, before, during or after the contest - except, of course, when the contest is won. 'Winners can be grinners' goes the cliché, and this implicitly entails an attitude of charitable esteem towards the vanquished foe.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Pts | |
| Perth | 2.7 | 2.7 | 7.10 | 11.11 | 77 |
| East Fremantle | 1.0 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 11.9 | 75 |
BEST - Perth: McIntosh, Wansborough, Zeuner, Ashbolt, Walker, Henderson East Fremantle: Sheedy, Preen, Guthrie, Cowan, Ebbs, Waters
SCORERS - Perth: Wansborough 4.0; R.Harper 2.1; Walker 2.0; Zeuner 1.3; Curtis, Davis 1.0; Foynes, Meredith 0.2; Henderson, Skehan 0.1; rushed 0.1 East Fremantle: Sheedy 4.0; Conway 3.2; Howard 2.3; Regan 1.1; Johnson 1.0; Coulson, French, Laurie 0.1
SIMPSON MEDAL (best on ground): Merv McIntosh (Perth)
ATTENDANCE: 41,659 at Subiaco Oval
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1. The South Fremantle Story 1900-1975 volume 2 by Frank Harrison and Jack Lee, page 127. Return to Main Text
2. This esteem transcended club and state loyalty. For example, one of McIntosh's regular interstate opponents, the legendary South Australian Bob Hank, regarded McIntosh, along with Norwood's John Marriott, as the most valuable footballer of his era. (See The Master: the Bob Hank Story by Brian Kay, page 158.) Return to Main Text
3. Including one war time under-age premiership in 1943. Return to Main Text
4. This is the crowd figure according to the official WAFL website. Other sources, such as Geoff Christian's The Footballers (41,962 - page 53) and Who's Who In West Australian Football 1986 (38,962 - page 56), give differing totals, but all are agreed that the attendance was a record. Return to Main Text
5. This was the third occasion that McIntosh had achieved this particular honour, but the first for a performance in a grand final. His previous wins had come in 1952, after an interstate match against South Australia in Perth, and for his overall displays at the 1953 Adelaide Carnival where he also, of course, received a Tassie Medal. Return to Main Text
6. Old Easts 1948-1975 by Jack Lee, page 32. Return to Main Text
