Back to Melbourne Part 2
Since World War Two, the speed at which top level football was played had increased dramatically. Melbourne under 'Checker' Hughes had played a part in this development, as had the Essendon 'mosquito fleet' under Dick Reynolds, and Reg Hickey's early 1950s Geelong combination. Nor was the trend limited to Victoria, with teams like North Adelaide, coached by Ken Farmer, Jack Oatey's Norwood, Stan Heal's West Perth, and South Fremantle under first Ross Hutchinson, and later Clive Lewington, all adopting a similar predisposition toward energetic, non-stop, all-action football.
The game was also evolving tactically, with some coaches eschewing tradition in the form of standardised team placings, the unwritten 'law' that handball should only be used as a last resort when a player was in trouble, and so forth. As football took on more and more of the characteristics of 'big business', so winning - at whatever cost - became more and more important. This overriding imperative to succeed inevitably spawned greater professionalism in terms of the game's surrounding mechanics - team preparation, medical care, recruitment, and so on - and it also gave rise to more sophisticated ways of looking at and analysing the game, both statistically and strategically. Among VFL coaches, no one took these developments further than Norm Smith.
One of Smith's most famous utterances was "Football is seventy per cent guts; split the other thirty per cent any way you like" (see footnote 16), but his own approach to coaching belied the simplicity of this assessment. His utlilisation of Ron Barassi as a ruck-rover, which, while probably not quite the innovation it has since come to be regarded as, was a case in point:
The role of ruck-rover was not known in football in the early 1950s (see footnote 17). Some football historians suggest that Richmond's Jack Dyer was the model for this now common position. But the majority opinion seems to be that Norm Smith created the position specifically for Barassi. At the time, Melbourne had a tireless ruckman in Denis Cordner and superlative rovers in Stuart Spencer and, soon after him, Ian Ridley. Barassi, at 176cm and, at his prime playing weight, 85kg, was betwixt and between...... too small for a knock ruckman or a key position player, too big for a rover. But he had pace for a man of his size and enormous strength with which to burst packs open. He could leap for marks and was above all so thoroughly determined to succeed that no physical accident of build was going to deter him. (See footnote 18)
The relationship between Barassi and his mentor Norm Smith was a close and highly convoluted one, detailed analysis of which would require more space than is available here. Suffice to say that, after Barassi's father, Ron Barassi senior, himself a former Melbourne footballer and team mate of Norm Smith's, died during World War Two, Smith took it upon himself to provide a fatherly hand to the youngster. When Barassi's mother re-married for the second time and relocated to Tasmania in 1953, Ron stayed behind and lodged with Norm and Marj Smith, where, although Barassi was later adamant that there were no "special favours" (see footnote 19), it is hard not to imagine the 'fatherly hand' being exercised to significantly greater effect, an intimation that draws credence from the fact that Barassi achieved his first ever selection in the Melbourne senior team that very year.
Not the most naturally gifted of players, Barassi had few peers when it game to determination, courage and mental strength. He also provided a quintessential example to youngsters of how to use aggression systematically and effectively without going overboard. In the view of some, the credit for Melbourne's decade of success under Norm Smith belongs as much to Barassi as it does to the coach himself.
| The Demons arrival as a power was graphically demonstrated when they won the opening 10 games of the 1955 season before clinching the minor premiership with a 15-3 record. Second semi final opponents Collingwood provided stern opposition in a dour, low scoring tussle, but Melbourne always seemed to have access to that extra gear when needed, and won through by 11 points. The grand final, against the same opposition, was similarly tense and low scoring, but the Demons appeared to utilise that additional gear more frequently, particularly after half time, and won comfortably, 8.16 (64) to 5.6 (36). The game has tended to be best remembered for a sickening collision moments before the final bell involving Melbourne's nineteenth man 'Bluey' Adams, who was just entering the fray, and Magpie wingman Des Healey, in which the latter suffered a fractured skull and had his nose broken in five places, and never played again. Adams meanwhile, whose involvement in the match had lasted an estimated fifteen seconds, was unconscious for approximately three quarters of an hour, but suffered no lasting injuries; he went on to represent the Demons with distinction for a further ten seasons. |
Bob 'Tassie' Johnson - click to enlarge. |
Best for the victors were the Denis Cordner-Ron Barassi combination in the ruck, centreman Ken Melville, full back Peter 'Trunk' Marquis, and half back flanker Noel McMahen.
After the grand final Melbourne embarked on an official team trip to Adelaide, where the team engaged in an official challenge match against SANFL premier Port Adelaide, under lights, at the Norwood Oval. A crowd estimated at some 23,000 managed to gain admission and was treated to a rousing spectacle, "played at full pressure, with Melbourne eventually winning by one point after a splendid exhibition by both sides" (see footnote 20).
The Melbourne Cricket Ground, filled to the rim for the 1956 VFL grand final between Melbourne and Collingwood.
The team made an even more brilliant start to the 1956 season, winning its first 13 games in superb fashion en route to another minor premiership, this time with only 2 defeats, before again qualifying for the grand final at Collingwood's expense. With the MCG having undergone expansion in preparation for the Olympic Games later in the year, and with the Demons' scintillating football popularly considered to have taken the game to a new level, the grand final attracted a record crowd of 115,802. For just over a quarter, the vast assemblage was entertained by a typically tense, tight Demons-Magpies encounter, but from early in the 2nd term Melbourne, which was on top in the ruck, and had a winning centreline, began to take control. After trailing by 5 points at the 1st change, the Demons, despite having kicked atrociously for goal at times, were 20 points to the good at half time. By the final change, that margin had been doubled, and during the last term it was exhibition time as the Melbourne players effectively did as they liked, adding 7.3 to 1.6 to win 'running away' by 73 points. The 1st ruck of Cordner, Barassi and Spencer (5 goals) was indefatigable, as were Brian Dixon, 'Bluey' Adams and Ken Melville across centre. A post-season tour of Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia only served to emphasise the Demons' supremacy at this time, as the side thrashed a North West Football Union combined team 21.21 (147) to 8.13 (61), before procuring harder fought wins over SANFL premier Port Adelaide (by 10 points) and WANFL premier East Perth (by 11 points). (See footnote 21) The question most observers were asking now was, who could possibly stop this irrepressible combination in 1957?
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'Hassa' Mann - click to enlarge. |
The answer, it ultimately emerged, was no one, although unlike in 1955 and 1956 the Demons did not have things all their own way. After an extraordinarily evenly contested home and away series, Melbourne duly secured a 3rd successive minor premiership, but it did so with just 12 wins and a draw from 18 matches, the poorest record by a minor premier since 1943. Then, in the 2nd semi final against Essendon, the unthinkable happened, as the Bombers, after kicking 10 1st half goals to 2, won by 16 points to progress straight into the grand final. The preliminary final saw Melbourne opposed by first time finalist, and sentimental favourite, Hawthorn, which had caused something of a shock by overcoming Carlton in the 1st semi final. The Demons, however, were in no mood to play vanquished villain, and bounced back to form with a resounding 22.12 (144) to 11.10 (76) win. If ever a team was determined to make amends it was Melbourne against the Dons in the 1957 grand final. Within thirteen seconds of the opening bounce, Ron Barassi had a goal on the board, and thereafter it was virtually all one way traffic as Melbourne won by 61 points, 17.14 (116) to 7.13 (55). Barassi, Bob Johnson, Richard Fenton-Smith, Don Williams and John Lord junior were best for the victors in what was a consummate all round team display. However, over and above the quality of its football, a single incident during the final term, described by E.C.H. Taylor in his centenary history of the club, perhaps epitomised what the Melbourne Football Club, in contrast with many of its opponents, was about during this, and indeed many other, eras: |
....... Burgess, the Essendon wingman, was forced to leave the field in the last quarter. His opposite number, Brian Dixon, who had had a great tussle with him all day, walked over and warmly shook him by the hand. (See footnote 22)
| Such a gesture perfectly
reflected the attitude of the coach who, according to 'Bluey' Adams,
"wanted us to be modest winners, gracious losers" (see
footnote 23).
Melbourne's desire to retain its title in 1958 could scarcely have been more intense. Not only would such an achievement match Collingwood's all time record of four consecutive VFL pennants between 1927 and 1930, it would, if anything, be amplified almost beyond measure by virtue of coinciding with the centenaries of both the Melbourne Football Club and - by popular consent, at any rate - the code of Australian football itself. Alas, although the Demons did everything that could possibly be expected of them right up until the day of the grand final itself, winning the minor premiership yet again, and thrashing Collingwood by 45 points in a low scoring 2nd semi final, ultimately it was not to be. In the grand final, Collingwood comprehensively outplayed Melbourne in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to win a torrid, feisty encounter by 18 points. Sometimes, when the stakes are perceived as being particularly high, it is possible to try just that bit too hard, and perhaps that was the Demons' problem in 1958. |
Brian Kenneally - click to enlarge. |
Thankfully, the 1959 season brought a restoration of normality, as Melbourne comprehensively resumed its mantle as the arguably the greatest combination seen in football up to that point. Another minor premiership - the club's fifth in succession - was followed by an emphatic 11.15 (81) to 4.13 (37) 2nd semi final demolition of Carlton. The grand final, against Essendon, was considerably harder fought, at least for the first three quarters, but after leading by only a goal at the final change the Demons assumed complete control in the ruck to add 6.3 to 1.2 in the last term and win with deceptive ease. Ron Barassi partially erased the memory of a poor, by his standards, performance against Collingwood in the previous year's grand final with a best on ground performance, while Bob Johnson, Brian Dixon, Ian McLean and Dennis Jones were others to shine.
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Gary Hardeman - click to enlarge. |
Melbourne's dominance seemed
more consummate than ever in 1960. The side yet again topped the ladder
after the home and away rounds, and for much of the 2nd semi final encounter
with Fitzroy it was a quintessential case of 'men
against boys' as the Demons won virtually every position en route to a 14.18
(102) to 4.16 (40) triumph. The grand final brought a long awaited
opportunity for revenge of sorts over Collingwood, and this was achieved in the
most resounding way imaginable. Melbourne won 8.14 (62) to 2.2 (14), with
the Magpies' tally the lowest in a grand final since the inception of the
Page-McIntyre finals system in 1930. Indeed, the result could have been
even more embarrassing for Collingwood, as both of its goals had a touch of
luck about them: the first came after Melbourne full back 'Tassie'
Johnson dropped
a mark in the goal square, and Ray Gabelich was able to snatch up the ball and
score easily from point blank range; the second was the result of a long shot
from John Henderson which only just eluded the goal line pack. Best for
Melbourne - and, needless to say, best afield - was centre half back John Lord,
who was ably assisted by highly skilled but combative centreman Laurie Mithen,
ruckmen Len Mann and 'big Bob' Johnson, and dynamic, flame-haired wingman Brian
Dixon.
Given the extent of its supremacy in 1960, Melbourne's comparative decline over the course of the next three seasons is superficially surprising. However, the truth of the matter is that teams like Hawthorn under John Kennedy, Essendon under John Coleman and Bob Davis' Geelong were taking the game to a new level, particularly in terms of fitness and team preparation. Furthermore, the VFL competition itself was entering a much more competitive phase: whereas the 1950s had seen just six different teams contest grand finals, with five of them emerging victorious, during the 1960s every VFL team except North Melbourne, South Melbourne and Fitzroy would reach at least one grand final, with a total of seven different sides securing the honours. |
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| The 1964 season would bring
the Demons their 12th and, to date, last VFL flag, and whereas the previous five
had each been the culmination of an entire season's pre-eminence, on this
occasion the victory arguably owed more to luck than talent. In the final
home and away game of the season against Hawthorn, an improbable goal from the
boundary line by Hassa Mann during the dying moments gave Melbourne a 4 point
win and secured a berth in the four; had the Demons lost, they would have missed
the finals. That said, the 19.20 (134) to 6.9 (45) 2nd semi final
annihilation of Collingwood
was vintage Melbourne, and it could certainly not be
denied that the team was still capable of exceptional football on occasion.
It was simply that such occasions occurred less frequently than before.
Collingwood produced an immeasurably improved performance on grand final day, but Melbourne, aided once more by the intervention of Lady Luck, ultimately triumphed. With the lead changing hands on numerous occasions throughout the match, Collingwood's hordes of supporters began celebrating victory when, with four minutes to go, bullocking ruckman Ray Gabelich embarked on one of the most famous runs in football history, galloping 60 metres from half forward left to the goal square, bouncing - and very nearly losing - the ball four times, before goaling to put the Magpies 3 points in front. When, a couple of minutes later, the normally ultra reliable 'Hassa' Mann registered only a minor score for the Demons from an easy set shot, the game appeared over, but with seconds to go Melbourne back pocket Neil Crompton snapped his first goal of the season to steel back the lead, and that proved to be the final score of the match. Melbourne won 8.16 (64) to 8.12 (60), with wingmen 'Bluey' Adams and Brian Dixon, back pocket 'Tassie' Johnson, rover 'Hassa' Mann - despite his glaring miss - and ruckman Graeme Wise all performing capably. (For a more detailed account of the 1964 VFL grand final, go here.) |
Brian Wilson in action. (Click to enlarge.) |
When, in 1965, the Demons failed to qualify for the finals for the first time since 1953 there were few football barrackers who expected it to be anything more than a temporary fall from grace, perhaps precipitated in part by Ron Barassi's stunning 'desertion' to Carlton. Instead, it was to be more than two decades before Melbourne again tasted action at the business end of the season. During that time, two entire generations of footballers - some of whom were bona fide champions - had donned the famous red and blue without enjoying the merest whiff of finals football. Not even Ron Barassi's messianic return as club coach in 1981 succeeded in arresting the decline, although in retrospect it is possible to discern how the many of the foundations of the club's subsequent improvement were laid during the great man's five season stint at the tiller.
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The Messiah returns..... (Click to enlarge.) |
Melbourne's eventual return
to the September action in 1987 could hardly have come about in more dramatic
circumstances. In what was all time great Robbie
Flower's last ever season, the Demons seemed completely out of contention as
late as mid-year, before the 'Let's Do It For Robbie' campaign suddenly entered
full swing. Needing to win 6 of its last 7 games to reach the finals that
is precisely what Melbourne did, attracting wave upon wave of public sympathy
and support in the process. In the elimination final meeting with North
Melbourne things went better than even the most optimistic of the club's
supporters dared hope as Melbourne surged home by the almost unbelievable margin
of 118 points. This scintillating form was carried over into the following
week's encounter with Sydney, which the Demons
won 21.23 (149) to 10.13 (73), and suddenly the team was on the threshold of a
grand final appearance.
If Lady Luck had been on Melbourne's side in 1964, she more than made up for it twenty-three years on when, on preliminary final day, she undertook the most callous and unseemly act of desertion. With Melbourne, having outplayed Hawthorn for most of the day, still in front by 4 points as the final siren loomed, Hawk half forward Gary Buckenara was awarded a free kick at just about the limit of his kicking range. Then, in a nightmare sequence that was to rewind and replay in slow motion in the minds of every Dees supporter for years to come, Melbourne's gangly and inexperienced but highly talented Irish recruit, Jim Stynes, transgressed Buckenara's mark in endeavouring to keep tabs on an opponent. Umpire Howlett blew his whistle to award a fifteen metre penalty. The siren sounded. Buckenara goaled. A dream ended. |
It is hard to imagine any player doing more to erase the memory of such a cataclysmic blunder than Jim Stynes did over the ensuing decade. Despite never having played Australian football until he was nearly eighteen years of age, Stynes not only won the 1991 Brownlow Medal and four club champion awards and represented Victoria several times, he was also a significant source of inspiration and encouragement o those around him, as well contributing enormously in indefinable, incalculable ways to the culture and ethos of the club he grew to love and, to a certain extent, personify. Nevertheless, in common with other noteworthy Demons players like Stan Alves, Robbie Flower, Laurie Fowler, Greg Wells, Brian Wilson, Steven Stretch, Greg Healy, Garry Lyon and Todd Viney he never once experienced the ultimate - participation in a premiership victory - as a footballer.
| Some
Latter-day Melbourne Heroes
[Images are clickable] |
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Robbie Flower |
**
* The Stynes boys |
*
Steve Tingay |
*
Todd Viney |
Melbourne's comparative lack of recent on field success has been mirrored to some extent by difficulties on it. In 1996 the club came close to a merger with Hawthorn, and although this dire - for both parties - fate was ultimately averted at the eleventh hour (although the Demons members did, in fact, vote 'yes' to the proposed move), the threat of amalgamation or extinction remains very real for almost every Victorian AFL club. Not even consistent success on the field affords immunity, as the Kangaroos have recently discovered.
If the club's future is something about which it is impossible to be assertively optimistic, however, this only serves to make the past all the more worthy of celebration and pride, and few clubs in football have a history more conducive to such a reaction than Melbourne. The amateur ideal may, in the strictest sense, be a thing of the past, but there is a sense in which it continues to be embodied and perpetuated by every footballer who takes the field in a Demons jumper. Long may it be so.
Where now?
or
16. Quoted in, among other sources, Up Where Cazaly? The Great Australian Game by Leonie Sandercock and Ian Turner, pages 222-3. Return to Main Text
17. This is at best an over-simplification, but more likely than not it is simply untrue. At Port Adelaide, for example, Alan 'Bull' Reval played essentially the same role as Barassi some twenty years earlier. See, for example, 100 Years With The Magpies: The History Of The Port Adelaide Football Club 1870-1970 by Bob McLean, pages 25-6. The automatic assumption made by many football historians that major innovations in playing style could only feasibly be expected to occur in the VFL is tantamount to revisionism, and is to their, and the game's, enormous discredit. Return to Main Text
18. Barassi: The Life Behind The Legend by Ron Barassi and Peter McFarline, page 32. Return to Main Text
19. Ibid., page 27. Return to Main Text
20. 100 Years Of Football: The Story Of The Melbourne Football Club 1858-1958 by E.C.H.Taylor, page 87. Return to Main Text
21. See Champions Of Australia by Max Sayer, page 24. Return to Main Text
22. Ibid., page 91. Return to Main Text
23. Barassi and McFarline, op cit., page 50. Return to Main Text
