By Richard Jones

 

THE completion of the Bendigo Football League’s round 17 in 1984 left four clubs battling for the double chance, Kyneton still in with a chance of playing finals football and Northern United firmly in top spot.

 

And just like this year with four of Bendigo’s five city-based clubs in the mix for a top three finish, it was identical 23 years back --- albeit with the ladder positions slightly different.

 

With just Round 18 to play United led the pack with 56 premiership points, followed by Eaglehawk (48), South Bendigo and Sandhurst (both on 44) and, courtesy of an early season draw with North Bendigo, Golden Square was fifth (42 points).

 

Kyneton still harboured an outside chance of playing finals footy. The Tigers were sixth with 40 points but an inferior percentage to Square, the Dragons and South.

 

The Bloods would host Eaglehawk in Round 18 that year, the only match featuring Top Five teams in the final home-and-away round.

 

Kyneton was drawn to play North Bendigo (seventh) at the Showgrounds, Sandhurst was off to Neale Street to take on Kennington (eighth), Square headed for Dower Park to play the Flat (ninth) while Northern United was scheduled to host Castlemaine (last) at Kamarooka.

 

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BUT back to what happened in Round 17. Coach Wayne Walsh and his North Bendigo Bulldogs were devastated by the pounding they copped in the Sunday match.

 

South Bendigo led all day and extended a 36-point half-time lead to a massive 90-point victory by the final siren.

 

Kicking against a stiff breeze at the Atkins Street oval, the Bloods booted 5.1 while the scrambly and unsystematic Dogs managed just 1.7.

 

Leigh Paynter was the chief culprit for North. He managed just one goal for the afternoon – in the match’s opening 15 minutes – and then registered a string of behinds.

 

South’s win was its six in its past seven outings. Centre half-forward Shane Ryan booted five goals, spearhead Des Charles snared four with eventual 1984 co-Michelsen medallist Marty Graham also landing four majors.

 

Gary Cowling, Martin Harrington, Steve Hoiles, Francis Burke and interchange player Terry Noden (20-plus possessions) were in the Bloods’ best.

 

With Wayne Walsh sidelined because of a previous injury and issuing orders from the coaching box, North was best served by Abdul Halibi (two goals), Jack and Ross Alford and big men Peter Hamilton and Andrew McClellan.

 

United stitched up top spot with a 30-point victory over Golden Square at the then-named Wade Street oval with Ron Best bagging eight goals and Rod Lea three.

 

The Swallows led at every change on a very wet surface. At one stage, coach Tony Southcombe clashed heavily with Square’s Ken Smith and had his spectacles knocked to the ground.

 

Advertiser correspondent Gerry Keating noted that when an opponent handed back Southcombe’s glasses “old timers roared in amazement.”

 

Final scores: United 15.15 (105) def. G. Square 11.9 (75). Terry Blaufuhs booted three goals for the Wade St. Dogs.

 

Kyneton trounced bottom club Castlemaine by 74 points in very bleak conditions at the Camp Reserve. During the last term play was twice halted briefly as hailstorms swept across the ground.

 

The Camp Reserve playing surface was temporarily left a gleaming white as the hail left a carpet identical to snow.

 

The Tigers didn’t bother with the piercingly cold wind or the hail. Richie Lord, Rick Donnelly and Vinnie Szabo all booted four goals.

 

Rod Printz was the Magpies’ main scorer with three, but with Kyneton’s Rod Seakins and Paul Flynn in charge down back the Magpies had few scoring options.

 

The loss left Castlemaine with just two wins for the season and only Round 18 to play. Final scores: Kyneton 19.27 (141) def. Castlemaine 10.7 (67).

 

In other Round 17 matches played in 1984, Eaglehawk captain-coach Jeff Fehring fired up his charges for a 16-point win over Kennington while Sandhurst belted Kangaroo Flat 19.20 (134) to 7.6 (48). David Collins booted six goals for the Dragons.

 

In the Saturday paper leading up to the Canterbury Park match, a number of Advertiser tipsters had gone for the Kennington Saints to down the Two Blues.

 

With rain drumming on the roof, Fehring thundered in his pre-match address it was vital for the Two Blues to hold onto second spot – and his charges duly saluted: 13.12 (90) to 10.14 (74).

 

By Monday August 20, 1984, some years before Brisbane, the Adelaide-based and Perth-based clubs joined the competition the VFL Top Five was made up of Essendon (68 points), Hawthorn (60), Carlton (48), Collingwood (48) and Geelong (40).

 

Footscray was sixth (40) with Fitzroy on 36 points in seventh spot. With 86 majors, the Roy Boys’ Bernie Quinlan led the goalkicking with two rounds to go from St Kilda’s Tony Lockett (70), Geelong’s Mark “Jacko” Jackson (69) and Essendon’s Paul Salmon (63).

 

The Bendigo Junior Football League grand finals had been decided that weekend 23 years ago.

 

Golden Square won the under-16s, 7.11 (53) to South Bendigo’s 4.12 (36). Marist Brothers were the under-14 premiers with a 6.12 (48) win over Eaglehawk 2.7 (19).

Other BJFL premiership winners were Marist Brothers (under-13A), Golden Square (under-13B), Kennington (under-12 Primary A) and Holy Rosary (under-12 Primary B).