Author Archives: theholyboot

Nice Statistic #7 – Even stevens at Windy Hill #2!

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In one of my first ever blog posts under my ‘nice statistic‘ section of this site, I looked at Essendon’s 2011 points for and against. Amazingly, after 22 games they had exactly the same score kicked against them as they kicked themselves- 2,217 for a percentage of exactly 100%.

Fast forward 12 months and what have the Bombers learned? Well, not much, but they can claim a small advancement. In fact a miniscule advancement. Season 2012 saw Essendon sore 2,091 points, conceding just 2090, a differential of just 1 point, their final percentage for the year coming to 100.05%.

image from – http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/is-it-time-to-change-the-essendon-logo.521826/page-5

So Essendonians, don’t despair. Should this trend continue, the mighty Bombers will only have to wait 70-80 years to be in flag contention once more.

Thanks to Coodabeens talkback caller Stan from Stradbroke Island who alerted me to this fact! Click here for a free download of the Coodabeens weekly footy show, or tune into ABC 774 of a Saturday morning!

Around the Grounds – Victoria Park

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Victoria Park: League venue: 1897-1999. League (VFL/AFL) matches: 880 (2 finals, 1901 1st Semi & 1904 1st Semi Finals). Record Attendance: 47,000 v South Melbourne in 1948.

Collingwood’s Victoria Park. It’s iconic. It was more than just a home ground, it was a fortress, a statement of the club that played there. Not pretty but functional. Working class with no frills, yet plenty of character. It was the most feared ground for opposition players and fans alike, in a bygone day when a home ground advantage meant something more than your cheer squad getting a choice of which end to sit.

I never saw a league match at Vic Park. Dad wasn’t keen on taking me there for reasons which I don’t blame him, and by the time I could go to the footy on my own it was only used sporadically for games against Fremantle and the Crows. I’ve since been lucky enough to play a number of games on the old ground for the Western Storm in the Reclink competition.

Shortly after the Pies had left the old ground for their shiny new Lexus Centre, it was in a state of decay. Used by the VFL umpires to train on, it’s future was uncertain. It seemed unfathomable to this writer that such a landmark was so easliy pushed aside. Sanity has since prevailed, but more on that later. I took a series of photos as I’m sure a few Collingwood supporters also did. The remenants of a leage ground (since refurbished) remained.

This is the view (above) of Vic Park that captured me as a child. Whilst dad didn’t take me to games here, he often took the chance to take us for a look around the old grounds. What I loved and still do was the overhang of the grandstand onto the street. Its imposing. I was also particularly fond of Lorraine Wilson’s childrens footy books. From her 1982 ‘Come on the Pies’ book, here is a fantastic illustration by Jack Newnham of the Sherrin stand, with all it’s overhang glorified.

 The old wall, a long forgotten feature at many VFL and VFA gronds, was still standing when I took these photos, and sections of it still stand today. This was one of the last remaining walls of it’s type, with Punt Road, Williamstown and Fitzroy amongst the many to have bitten the dust. I love the ‘fortress’ that it, along with the barbed wire, provided. It’s a far cry from the modern day ‘concourse….’ I shudder when I hear that word.

Here are some of the entry points to the ground. As it was used up until 1999, the signage was in good condition and fairly up to date. 

I think Vic Park may have been the first league ground to actually introduce a spacious concourse as seen below! This would fit with current stadia regulations surely, although perhaps there’s not enough modern art and fast food outlets? As I said, it wasn’t beautiful, but it did the job.

Once in the ground, there were nooks and cranny’s aplently to exlore. The two photos below were taken under the Rush stand. Collinwood made sure you never forgot where you were, taking any and every opportunity to stick up the black and white stripes. The Rush Stand was hardly a stand, more a terraced outer with a bit of shelter, and plenty of what the photo on the bottom right says…standing room!

This is taken out the back of the Rush Stand as it joins with the hill behind the goals at the Yarra Falls end. I love the terrace houses you can see in the background, the same houses you can see in old photographs of the ground. The shot beside it shows the old scoreboard from behind, amidst the ghostly gums.

          

Entering any ground from the darkness below has me wide-eyed like a 10 year old. With the plethora of concrete, black and white, the sudden appearance of green really breaks the monotony. 

When I took these photos, Collingwood had just left, and with them had gone what seating the Rush stand had, along with the players names that adorned the Rush, Ryder and Sherrin Stands. The surface still looked in pretty decent condition.

 The precurser to the Sherrin Stand (above), the old Ladies Stand, is captured beautifully here by Ainsley Walters (below).

pic from http://www.neridahmcmullin.com/page/ainsley_walters.html

The old scoreboard, since demolished, stood atop one-eye hill. Many Pie fans wish that it had been refurbished, but it was deemed a health and safety hazard. It’s a shame to see these old scoreboards knocked down all over the place, but I guess that’s progress! To the right of that is a bit of broken seating from the Rush stand which I helped myself to. Seats numbers 75-77, they may have been your seats!

Below that is the since refurbished Ryder Stand, now complete with new VFL coaching facilities and wheelchair access, and to the left we see the old social club form behind. As a stark reminder of Collingwood’s seemingly abrupt leaving of Vic Park, this shot captures where the logo had been removed, only to see an older one it had been covering, if you look closely!

For a more comprehensive look at Victoria Park’s scoreboard and the modern artwork which now stands in its place, check out Vin Maskell’s blog Scoreboard Pressure. Click here for the old scoreboard and here for a piece on how the new sculpture was conceived.

Photo by Anderson Hunt
Whilst fossicking around Vic Park I also found a whole lot of rubbish carelessly ‘disposed’ of by the recently vacated Collingwood F.C. Among them were some notes from I guess a team meeting. I’m sure they’re more into interactive whiteboards and the like now, but some things remain the same.

DESIRE INDICATORS ARE A KEY TO OUR VICTORY…pretty much ‘have a crack!’

And what of Vic Park now? The Pies have returned in the form of their own ‘reserves’ or ‘VFL’ team, who now play home games at the ground. The Rush Stand has come down but the others remain, and the place has been done up nicely. For more on that check out Collingwood and footy nut Jeff Dowsing’s piece on the Footy Almanac website. To get you in the mood, below is some of his pictorial work with the refurbished ticket box, before and after.

No set of footy fans were as connected to their home ground as the Pies were to theirs, with websites, artwork and poetry now devoted to Victoria Park. Even though I follow Richmond, I’m disappointed that I never saw a league match played there, hostile as it may have been and no doubt a feather in the away fans cap should they have survived. The refurbishment is certainly respectful of the past, something I wish all Melbourne clubs would consider as their grounds are no longer useful playing venues. A leaf could be taken out of Collingwood’s book on this one.

I’ll give the last word to a fanatical Magpie fan with a spray can…

 

Make sure you check out the comprehensive and fantastic Victoria Park website, full of stories, pictures, history, memories, video clips and more, all devoted to Collingwood’s spiritual home!

A couple of panorama’s I put together of Vic Park circa 2005. Above is from the social club, below from the Sherrin Stand.

Happy Snap #17 Dockers First Hurrah!

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I just quickly want to post this picture from the family photo album as there are a few interesting little aspects to it. Firstly, this is just seconds before the Fremantle Football Club commenced playing in the Australian Football League, round 1, 1995. The time is 2:10…traditionally when matches used to begin! It’s anyone’s guess these days! We were there because Richmond were again used as the guinea pigs to welcome a new Western Australian club into the big time.

But thanks to my dad, we have some idea as to the Dockers mindset in relation to their powerful big brothers, West Coast, who had won two of the past three premierships. This little home-made sign hanging over the fence simply says…

“Eagles don’t look after members…Freo Dockers!”

A disgruntled Eagles fan perhaps? Sick of success? Or perhaps sick of being on a ten year waiting list to get a seat at a home match? Either way, this Freo fan or fans have failed miserably in one aspect…you can’t read yellow texta from a distance!

Richmond nervously held on for a 5 point win, with little indication that it would be the first of 7 successive victories. As a side, this is the old Western or Ponsford stand at the MCG, and the photo is dated by the ‘Telecom’ (not Telstra) and “Brian Nailor-Ray Martin…Who’s who of news” advertisements!

PS.Thanks to mum for her happy-snappery!

Backyard Gladiators

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Yes, like a lot of you, my backyard was my footy ground as a kid. Poorly placed lemon trees, clothes lines and vegie gardens became obstacles to overcome, much like an opponent, although luckily we grew up on a rather big property in leafy Blackburn.

                  

Here I am in front of the newly erected pavillion (1986)…surely one of the last wooden structures before the modern obsession with concrete and steel. The Tiger jumper you see there now fits my own daughter, although she’d like to morph my Dale Weightman’s ‘3’ into an ‘8, like Jackie.’

I loved playing footy in the backyard as a kid. I would act out each upcoming match, concocting the most bizarre of circumstances! Richmond, 23 goals in the first quarter against Essendon! Or trailing Carlton by a hundred points, the Tiges would come back and snatch it with a miracle goal after the siren! I did commentate a little to myself, but I was more into mimicking the crowd noise as the Tiges came storming back! The glory was never reflected come the weekend, but I’d be back the next week, dreaming up glorious scenarios for my Richmond.

It was often said to me as a kid that the muddier you got, the better you had played. I must have been a bit of a star then! Yep, that’s my sister Mezz and I. Mum did the unthinkable and tried to convert her to Essendon, but she had the sense to follow the family team, and the sash was soon a yellow one. I enjoyed playing footy with my lil’ sister, and I had her kicking really well, but her heart just wasn’t into playing. I had a dream to play for Richmond. That was sadly not a reality for her so why bother? What I needed was a mind for moulding. Thankfully, my footy mad baby brother came along.

Inexplicably, though he’s wearing yellow and black here, he grew up a Footscray supporter. He does have a soft spot for the Tiges however, as I do for the ‘Scray, but going to Footscray v Richmond matches is a big no-no!

Far too old to get away with it, but that didn’t stop us!

There was a six year gap between us, but I wasn’t your typical ‘beat-up on you little brother’ type. I preferred an even competition, so would introduce handicaps for myself. I’d have to start on my knees, only kick on my left and the like, all the time searching for some semblance of realism. The backyard was my own league ground, and I tried to play it to scale. This meant kicking shorter, running slower…all in the search for reality. A visitor would come over, boot it over the fence, and essentially ruin our game.

But my brother grew up. Pete now stands half a head above me. In my latter years at home, we were able to compete without handicaps…it was man verses man….ok…. boy verses nearly man. We had two main games. For one of them we’d stand 20 meters apart, one of us would kick the ball high into the middle and we essentially played a version of chicken. After a sore head or two however, we resorted to the game you can see in the surrounding pictures.

Shoulder to shoulder, one of us would kick the ball high into the air, avoiding the pine tree. If you had scored, the other person kicked it ‘up.’ If you marked the ball, you had a set shot. If it came to ground however, it was on for young and old. He was young, I was old. Numerous winter hours were spent here, playing until dark. We’d bump, swear, tackle and rub it in the face of the other. All still within the framework of playing ‘to scale’ in our backyard though. We knew we’d never ‘make it.’ This was it for us!

Three things about this photo. Firstly, I cannot work out if I am wearing long shorts or short longs, but they do lend a certain early 1900’s knickerbocker feel to the photo. Secondly, it’s clearly a staged photo as can be seen by the limp ‘effort’ i am putting in. Our game was not so much about high flying either, rather marking ‘tussles.’ And thridly, it reminds me of finals time. Spring leaping through the trees and the smell of cut grass. I can smell this photograph.

There’s something about us older brothers. Though Pete is well taller than me, I can still outmark him through sheer competitiveness. I imagine league players, with older brothers who never made the highest level, still unable to defeat their older siblings in backyard footy. It’s a different beast. Visualise Jason and Cameron Cloke dominating and making Travis, clearly the pick of the trio, cry in the backyard. David would be umpiring of course. He never misses a match.

So whilst footy can sometimes be the only thing that ties siblings or parents together, that wasn’t the case with us. We had plenty in common and still do. But the footy is never far from being brought up. On both of our wedding days we even pulled out the footy, ironically in the backyard, to help settle the nerves. It’s something our respective partners are still coming to terms with!

Playing footy in mum and dads backyard is not as easy as it used to be.There’s a new vegie garden on the half forward flank, and though the clothesline has been removed (about time!) the goal posts have since disappeared. There’s more breakable stuff around too…while the golden elm encroaches onto the playing field like never before. But we can still navigate our way past the cubby house, blind turn the bird bath and nail the goal from the clothesline pocket, all with our eyes shut!

A Town painted Red, White & Blue

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Living in Footscray, it’s hard to ignore the fact that as a Richmond supporter, I am in ‘enemy territory.’ (I’m actually quite partial to Footscray!) Unlike a lot of clubs, there is still a strong link between the suburb and the footy club. When I came across the below fire hydrants, I decided to do a little tour of the village in search of red, white and blue.

What impresses me is that the fire hydrants of Footscray encompass both home and clash strips!

Many houses are adorned with Footscray Footy Club paraphernalia, and when the Dogs are in the finals as they were recently the volume increases dramatically. Above are some of my favourites. From the subtle to the clever. The lower picture was found on Lara Cameron’s lovely blog http://kirinote.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/knitted.html

This is Doug Hawkins first of two appearances in this post, fitting given the connection he appeared to share with fans. He was one of them in a way. This is one small part on a wall outside Footscray City College, a large mosaic depiction of Footscray. Above Doug is some fantastic old advertising on the Rising Sun Hotel (now apartments…nearly), over the road from the Western Oval, while other street art around Footscray shows a great love for the dog. There’s even a Dancing Dog cafe!

We’ll skip momentarily out of Footscray, yet stay firmly in the west. The Braybrook Hotel proudly houses these fantastic statues of two Braybrook boys in EJ Whitten and Hawkins, arguably Footscray Football Clubs biggest personalities and two of the very best. Surely there’s no need for security with these two out the front night after night?Below is another wall mural, this one running along the Barkley Street side of St.Monica’s Primary School. The scoreboard reads Footscray 18.24.132 to Collingwood 11.10.76. If only that were the case more often than not! We also see that Footscray Primary’s uniform is red, white and blue, and back to the mosaic wall for another take on the Western Oval, along with a Bulldogs inspired playground.
‘Cafe Bulldog’ in the Footscray Mall unashamedly sports the clubs logo and colours, as does the trendier Gusto cafe in West Footscray, albeit with a somewhat artfully put together Bulldog to watch over patrons. (bottom right pic from the wonderful Footscray Food Blog-read here about the Whitten Oval’s Pound cafe!)

And lastly this bit of graffiti, pointed out to me by Vin Maskell of the fantastic scoreboard pressure blog, sums it all up for me. For no matter where you are, there’ll always be a Collingwood supporter showing a bit of cheek.

Happy Snap #16 VFL Car Park

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This car used to be parked across the road from us and I passed it a million times. Then one day I thought….why not take a photo.

Not only is it a Nissan Pulsar from the late 80’s, this little sticker allowed entry into VFL Parks car park, either of two exits! What was missing was the ‘enter at risk of not getting out again before tomorrow’ slogan which we came to know so well.

The clutter of Football – AFL (Advertising Football League)

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I am both a realist and a  romantic. How these two coexist I am not sure. I want to briefly take a look at advertising in football. I’m no expert on such matters, so I’ll try and make my point in a more visual way.

Advertising. It is here to stay, not just in football but in life, and it’s very hard to escape it. And not all advertising is evil, that’s not the path I am taking. But at times it can clutter your life.

Not so in Sao Paulo however. This city of 11 million has been without public advertising for five years now, and in a 2011 government survey it was found that 70% of its residents had found the change beneficial. Whilst the situation is not perfect, an issue I am not delving into here, the lack of “visual pollution” is said to have had a positive impact on the people. Click here to see a great before and after video.

Sao Paulo image from http://slorker.com/sao-paulo-a-city-without-advertising/

Much like we Melbournians understand what it is to “meet under the clocks,” one Sao Paulo resident said that “My old reference was a big Panasonic billboard, but now my reference is an art deco building that was covered by the massive sign.”

So football. As I said, I’m a realist. Should a club nobly knock back all advertising, they would cease to be competitive and go broke quick. But when is enough, enough? There was a time when the Sherrin itself was thought to be sacred, until the Golden Arches found their way onto the leathern sphere. “Challenge on a ball? What do you think?” went the Crackers Keenan ad. Club guernseys too were once pure from advertising. Who’d have thought that Carlton, the famous old dark blues, would have colours such as red and yellow splashed over their famous old jumper? But it’s reality.

So things won’t change, but it’s also good to be aware of just how cluttered the modern game has become with advertising. New substitute rule? Subway Subs. How many Carlton Draughts has Gary Ablett had? You get the picture.

Here are two famous Carlton marks. Andrew Walker’s screamer has had up to 12 advertisements removed and to my eye now has a purity to it. And below, well I’ve just had some fun in adding some advertising to Jezza’s famous speckie!

And finally, a short visual presentation on the saturation of advertising in football today. It’s good to be aware of the “visual pollution.” Digital alterations done by mine own fair hand.

Original images from…
Andrew Walker mark – http://www.sen.com.au/site/_content/article/sp00040292-image.jpg
Dustin Martin – http://images.theage.com.au/2012/04/14/3219657/AFL-20Richmond-20v-20Melbourne-20Round-203-203_20120414184811693939-600×400.jpg
Josh Kennedy http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/04/24/1226043/996579-josh-kennedy.jpg
Jezza’s mark http://footyalmanac.com.au/wp-content/uploads/1970-GF-Jezza-shrunk.jpg
Lenny Hayes – http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2009/09/06/1225769/964657-afl-finals-action-week-1.jpg

Wayne Campbell & Me

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It all caught up with me. There I was with my sister and our better halves on the terraces at Kardinia Park, in tears. It was Wayne Campbell’s 297th and final match for the Richmond Football Club, and the only occasion that the emotions have gotten the better of me at the footy in the form of tears. There were a number of factors involved at the culmination of that match.

Firstly, there was very narrow defeat at the hands of the more fancied Geelong. We hadn’t won down at Kardinia Park since 1990, the year before Campbell debuted for the Tiges. But I’ve seen many a similar loss with no tears.

Secondly, it all came home that the much maligned Campbell had really given his all for the club, and did the honourable thing of bowing out just three games shy of the illustrious 300 figure.

And thirdly, it made me feel old and nostalgic. Not a lot of people know this, but Wayne Campbell and I debuted for the mighty Richmond Football Club on the same day in 1991 against the old Fitzroy at Princes Park. Wayne donned the number 46 for the seniors, and I the number 6….for the little league. What a thrill.

 

My ticket to Wayne Campbell’s first and last matches. They don’t make tickets to last these days!

I was actually below the cut-off age to be playing, but the guy running the Laburnam Footy Clinic (pre-branding), Kevin O’Mally, told a fib about my age and got me a game. As the lone Richmond fan amongst a sea of Hawks, Bombers and Pies, he must have pitied me.

You’re going to have to take my word for it but that’s me circled, a fair bit smaller than everyone else, running from the ground having just played for the Tiges. I kicked a point with what was the only possession that I can recall having.

We were bundled up into the Heatley Stand for the first quarter and a half, me being the only one in my team who was invested in the match. We circled the boundary before half time and headed into the musty old rooms to change, where a few reserves players were still gathered. I remember hearing the roar of the crowd, and desperately hoping it was for a Richmond goal.

The match itself was a blur and I remember little other than struggling greatly with the water bottle, the likes of which I’d never used before. Coughing and spluttering ensued. As I took my place with mum and dad after ‘my’ match, I learned that they had situated themselves behind two of the most obnoxious and loud mouth Roy supporters that ever lived. Luckily we got up.

Mum took this snap from their position in the forward pocket

But back to Wayne Campbell. You can see him above in game one, positioned perfectly for the hit out from the ruckman. Number 46 remember. Reading the game and being a step ahead were clearly natural to him from day dot.

Campbell in game one attempting to spoil Brett Stephens from Fitzroy, the old Gardiner stand in the background. I didn’t get a run in the paper! (Herald-Sun, 1991)

‘Cambo’ wasn’t my favourite player, but the more I reflect on his career, the more I appreciate him. Amongst 4 club best and fairests and club captaincy, he polarised Tiger fans, for reasons I could never understand. He was instrumental in driving Richmond up the ladder in the latter part of 1994 and in 1995 he finished the home and away season as Brownlow favourite.The back end of the 1999 season saw the Tiges really struggle, but Campbell really shone at this time showing great leadership.

I thought Campbell was tough and put his body on the line, prepared to take physical punishment so as to release team mates into space. But his ‘footy brain’ was his strength, his adequate skills aided by his decision making. At times you could literally see his brain ticking over, thinking one or two moves ahead.

Yet it’s Wayne’s loyalty which I value most. He could well have left for greener pastures, and from a professional point of view, perhaps should have. But he stayed. When handed the captaincy in 2001, to the disgust of many Tiger fans given he replaced Matthew Knights, one of his first acts as skipper was to fly the flag for the man he replaced. Tony Liberatore king hit Knights behind play, and Campbell stood up against Libba both physically and with words throughout the week, breaking the ‘players code’ of silence.

Campbell and Knights remonstrate with Libba – Image from http://oneeyed-richmond.com/history/every_dog_has_its_day/camboknighterlibba.jpg

So I cried a bit when Wayne finished up, getting to that age where I was seeing blokes retire whom I remembered playing their first games. Slowly l am getting used to that. As Campbell started his career, I still had stars in my eyes of one day representing Richmond, unable to acknowledge the slim chances that faced me.

Watching Wayne trudge off for the last time, head in hands, was like a sledgehammer reminding me that I would never make it, and it struck me how hard he had worked in his career for no success. Sometimes this game isn’t fair. Wayne Campbell, it was a pleasure having you represent my footy club.

The final training session 

Happy Snap #15 Great Southern Stand

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So here we have the Great Southern Stand, obviously under construction. The year is 1991, and things have changed dramatically at the ‘G from a year earlier. I can’t remember if this was the game against Sydney or St.Kilda as we sat in the same spot for both, but the focus here is clearly on the enormity of the impending structure, now looked down upon by the Ponsford, Olympic and MCC stands. And when looking at the ‘G in this 1991 state, I automatically think of the enigmatic Allan Jakovich.

And of course, who could forget Brett ‘Fruity’ Allison’s 1991 mark of the year as he stood atop Gavin Crosisca…and then kept going up! All in front of the new stand being built. Thanks for bringing this to my attention Jeff Dowsing!

Home & Away #5 Lakeside Oval

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Lakeside Oval: League venue: 1897-1981. League (VFL/AFL) matches: 704 (7 finals, including 1899 & 1901 Grand Finals). Record Attendance: 40,401, South Melb v St.Kilda, 1923

 

 This is part 5 in my series ‘Home & Away’, a look back at Melbourne’s old VFL grounds from a range of photos I took in the mid-2000’s. South Melbourne’s picturesque Lakeside Oval was last used as a league venue in the same year that I was brought into this world, 1981, as South Melbourne was bundled up north to become the Sydney Swans.  As such, I clearly never saw a Sherrin kicked in anger on the famous old ground. In fact I only once saw it as a footy ground before it became rectangularised, when dad took us to look around in the early 1990’s. I remember standing in the shadows of the old stand and dad being pleased that the tunnel in the outer terracing still existed. Not for long.

An very rare aerial shot of the Lake Oval dated between 1920-1940. Just over the back of the ground you can make out the newly planted palm trees which still standtoday. Image courtesy of http://www.austadiums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1663

 I ventured down to the Lake Oval during grand final week of 2005, desperate to soak up something of the Swans past to  make relevant the impending ‘interstate’ grand final. I know that’s a very Victorian-centric mindset, but it’s what I needed to do to get myself up! Now there may have been just the old stand left, but I intended to explore it as far as was reasonable. But to set the scene, here is some old ‘Bloods’ passion which was bursting out!

The view down to Albert Park from Clarendon Street South Melbourne is still dominated by the 1926 old red brick stand. 

 Note the car in the bottom corner? Well that was an Albert Park worker who had come to paint over this battle cry. Have they no sense of theatre?

The oval, which is now home to Athletics Victoria, has been been spruced up somewhat. The soccer pictch remains, although a runnning track around it has made for an oval  shape returning to the venue, along with the name reverting to Lakeside Stadium, having been Bob Jane Stadium for a number of years. But as I took this photo, uncertainty surrounded the future of the grandstand, which was in a state of decay. The council and park were keen to help it on its way down, the Sydney Football Club not so. A compromise was finally reached, saving the stand.

The old stand hanging onto life, and an artists impression of what has since been turned into reality. While it is no longer a grandstand as such, it is far more a part of the oval than when it looked forlornly on at South Melbourne Hallas from the old forward pocket. (The wooden blue bench seats were snapped up from the Waverley Park fire sale!)

Clearly all that was left of South’s old home was the old grandstand. Luckily however there were still traces of days long gone, with various artifacts still remaining, some obvious, some well hidden. Below is a collection of bits and pieces which provides an interesting time capsual. Most if not all of these gems have since been removed with the redevelopment. Here are some fading images from yesteryear.

The old entrance gates and ticket boxes were obviously all locked up, though still proudly wore the fading licks of red South Melbourne paint. These doorways have been maintained in the new structure, far narrower than the modern day door!

From the outside all you could see was a rusty grate and darkness. The flash of my camera revealed some lovely red and white tiling of what could only be the loos. And similarly, the photo below these was another ‘stick the camera under the dark door and see what comes out’ moment. The photo has been significantly brightened and demonstrates how unloved the stand had become.


 

Then I plucked up some courage. There was an old door which appeared to be heavily locked. However as I fiddled around, I realised I could get it open. I simply could not tell what was in front of me it was that dark, so I quickly headed in and took a few shots with the flash. I had no idea of what or even who was in there, so I quickly departed to inspect my photos. What I found was the old nightclub ‘Redheads’, which operated well before my time but was apparantly quite the place to be!


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1975 film ‘The Great McCarthy,’ which follows the fortunes of South Melbourne’s gun full-forward recruit from the bush, has some of the most vivid and complete shots of the old Lakeside Oval in what would turn out to be it’s final days. Here are some stills I took off the telly a while back. Also, check out the youtube clip below, where someone has bothered to take all of the best ‘lake oval’ shots and put them into one clip from said movie.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the Night Premiership or Consolation Cup played at South’s Lake Oval between 1956 and 1971. Being the only ground with floodlights, the VFL decided that the teams who missed out on the final four would play off for the ‘best of the rest’ tag under lights! My dad remembers the jubilation he felt in 1962 as Richmond ‘actually won something!’ This was the precurser to what is now the preseason competition, which has become nothing more than an annoyance to fans. But night footy in the 1950’s, though there was the odd dark pocket or four, must have been exciting for Melbournians post-war. Heck… 36,000 turned up for Carlton and North in 1965!

As I drove past recently, the lights (not original) were on at the conclusion of an athletics meet. I quickly snapped this pic to try and somewhat commemorate the old night series at the ground.
Finally, there are some other stands and grouns which share a connection with Lakeside Oval. While SANFL club Norwood’s grandstand is not identical, it is the closest stand that I have come across to South’s old 1926 red brick number. It is essentially the same design, there are just a few ‘frilly’ bits which differ.

 

image from http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7086/7144620767_b32f2438d1_z.jpg

And just last weekend the family and I took a trip to Maryborough, and decided to drop in on the picturesque Princes Park Oval, complete with resplendent old stand. What interested me however was a plaque which mentioned that this stand was based on South Melbournre’s 1886 stand, precurser to Souths ‘current’ stand, before it burnt down in the 1920’s. What we also noticed were the surrounding street names….Clarendon, Napier, Raglan, Albert, Palmerston, Park…all names of well known South Melburne streets. Whether a coincidence or not, it certainly felt like a little bit of old Emerald Hill as we cruised down Clarendon Street Maryborough.

It’s often said that the coaches box can represent a game of chess, but at the old Lake Oval, you left your chess game at the entrance gate!

Make sure you check out Billy Millers wonderful videos on all the old VFL grounds.

http://www.bellestorie.com/aroundthegrounds/lakeside/video/lakesideoval_0.html

And a lovely little timelapse of the old footy come soccer ground becoming Victoria’s premier athletics track

http://youtu.be/ueC2tEygRnE

With a little help from my friends…

Football Grounds of Melbourne, Caruso, Fiddian and Main.
http://www.austadiums.com/
http://stats.rleague.com/afl/venues/lake_oval.html
http://www.majorprojects.vic.gov.au/