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THE legendary deeds of long-retired Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove players live on through each instalment of the Battle of the Bridge.
Seagulls great Geoff Miles played in about 10 of them during the 1990s and still regards the battles against the old enemy as some of the best local football matches he ever played in.
There is arguably no more celebrated rivalry in country footy than showdowns between these two neighbouring rivals.
The tradition started in 1965, shortly after Ocean Grove broke away from Barwon Heads/Ocean Grove Football Club to forge its own identity, and continues tomorrow when the two sides meet again to carve another chapter into its storied history.
“They’re still very significant for me — they were some of the best country games I’ve played in,” Miles recalled yesterday.
“It’s a great rivalry because it’s not a nasty rivalry.
“There’s a bridge that separates the two towns so to call it the Battle of the Bridge is just ideal.
“I’m biased because I’m involved in one of the clubs, but everyone looks forward to them, whether it’s Round 1, Round 2, or the end of the season, even when clubs are at opposite ends of the ladder, it still attracts a big crowd.”
Les Menzies has stood on the gate at Ocean Grove for 36 years and, in many ways, is also the gatekeeper of knowledge and classic tales from Battle of the Bridge battles.
He was at the Grubbers from day one and his passion for club service is so deep-seated he is four seasons away from bringing up 50 years’ of unbroken service.
“I remember a game at Barwon Heads where there was a bit of a crowd, it was a fairly rough game, and all of a sudden a fight started when the players were walking off,” he said.
“They were getting into it, the crowd was getting into it. There were a couple of kids near me and I just said ‘get back a bit here, we don’t want to get into too much strife’.”
Gate takings for Battle of the Bridges are two to three-times greater than regular home-and-away matches, Menzies estimates, and each match is like a roll call of past greats.
He’s had his fair share of people trying to con their way in for free and, with tongue in cheek, still demands well-known life members show their ticket.
“You find a lot more people turn up on the day,” the Grubbers life member said.
“They might miss a couple of games here and there, but they’re always there for the Battle of the Bridge — you always see them.
“The only bigger game you have (attendance-wise) is the Easter weekend, when you get the holiday-makers, but the Barwon Heads match is the next biggest for sure.”
The clubs themselves do not shy away from the significance of the match. They play for a quirky trophy made from a bed pan and a shower head, which was designed and donated by George Talbert, a Barwon Heads newsagent during the 1960s.
Barwon Heads star Dylan Holland admits that one of the first thing recruits ask when they join the club is what it is like to play in the Battle of the Bridge.
Ocean Grove midfielder Kelly Williams has experienced GFL and VFL footy and says nothing comes close to the status and hype of a match against Barwon Heads.
“It’s like Christmas for the older guys,” Holland said.
“They get back down to the club. Ocean Grove wants to beat Barwon Heads. Barwon Heads wants to beat Ocean Grove.
“I suppose that does give you that extra motivation to beat them because (the club legends) stick around the club and we want to do it for them.”
It seems that no matter where the clubs sit on the ladder, the matches have an uncanny knack of throwing up strange results that go against the grain of the season.
Last year, for instance, Ocean Grove had virtually written off its season and Barwon Heads was humming along nicely towards the finals.
But when the Grubbers won in Round 14, it turned the course of the season — Ocean Grove rode a hot-streak into the semi finals and took the Seagulls’ place in the top-five.
“Playing against Barwon Heads, and it’s the same for them, whoever wins the game takes a lot of motivation into the next couple of weeks because it’s such a big game and pretty important to win,” Williams said.
Ocean Grove is yet to beat Barwon Heads in a grand final. The clubs have squared off three times but the Seagulls had their measure in 1972, 1974 and 1993.
Names like Gordon Watson at Barwon Heads and Jim Saarinen and Damian Clark at Ocean Grove are synonymous with the rivalry.
“When you played against Ocean Grove, it was always ‘who was going to play on Damian Clark?’,” Miles said.
Miles recalls the build up to the 1993 grand final, which the Seagulls won by 55 points.
“It was a big build up because we were virtually on top for most of the year but we suffered two losses during the year, and one was to Ocean Grove,” Miles said.
Ocean Grove would finally claim a drought-breaking premiership the following year over Portarlington, triggering a powerhouse run that included eight flags in nine seasons.
“Winning that flag was probably the best feeling I’ve ever had in a long time, it was a long time coming,” Menzies said.
“We lost the previous year to Barwon Heads and they’ve beaten us three times in grand finals and we’re yet to beat them.
“We might play them in the next few years, you never know.”
