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benflA DECADE ago Eaglehawk Football and Netball Club celebrated 125 years since its formation, way back in 1880.

A famous and hugely respected club not only in BFNL ranks, but also throughout the Australian Rules footy world.

Yes. It’s now 10 years ago since that big August night in 2005, hosted by ABC radio’s Peter Lenaghan, at the All Seasons in McIvor Road.

And no. I don’t know where all those intervening years have gone to, either!

But there was plenty of preparatory work for me to do in the summer months of 2004-05, not least sitting down with five other committed selectors, to come up with Eaglehawk’s Team of the Century.

It’s not an easy thing to do, to sift through records and statistics from another completely different era. For instance, how do you compare a brilliant half-forward or winger from 1899 or 1909, say, with a player filling a comparable position in 1949 or 1979 or even 1999?

But we did and in the team of 18 --- plus six interchange players and the coach --- there were three from the early 1900s.

Fred Jinks was on a half-back flank alongside Team of the Century skipper Robert O’Connell at centre half-back.
Jinks was a triple premiership player with the Two Blues in the early 1900s and also ran out for a Carlton flag-winning side in the same era.

This was the period when BFL matches were played on Wednesday afternoons, the mining industry’s half-day off, with the league’s top players then able to catch the train to Melbourne on Saturday mornings to represent their VFL clubs.
Another old-timer in the Hawks’ side was half-forward flanker Alf Baud. He was named alongside peerless Eaglehawk key forward, George Ilsley.

Baud was the Hawks’ champion in 1911-1912 (what we’d call the best and fairest winner today) and then just as World War One was really winding up, he played in Carlton’s consecutive premierships in 1914-15.

THE third old-time player in the Two Blues big team was centreman or half-forward George McWilliams, named as one of the six interchange players.
He had an interesting employment record. Not a miner toiling away underground or a man who laboured long hours at a manual job, George was a pharmacist.
He was an Eaglehawk premiership player in 1903-1906-1908 and according to Advertiser write-ups could also take a turn in the ruck when needed.
Moving through the decades, we come to the Two Blues stars of the Twenties and Thirties. Prime among these selections is Team of the Century centreman Eddie ‘Moots’ Esposito.
He played with the Two Blues from 1924 to 1928, again from 1932-39 (during the period when Bob McCaskill’s Sandhurst ruled the BFL) and was best afield for the Hawks in their 1935 premiership win over the Maroons: 11.15 to 7.17.
Esposito also played for Melbourne in the VFL from 1929-1931.
First ruckman Fred Trewarne played 340 games for the Hawks from 1923 to 1941 and was feared by opposition followers.
A big, tough and seemingly indestructible follower Fred took strong marks all over the park and his longevity is testament to how he’s loved at Canterbury Park.
Goal-kicking star Mancel Davies was the Eaglehawk go-to man in the late 1930s.
He won the BFL goalkicking three times --- in 1935, 1936 and 1938 – and was the full-forward in the 1935 premiership side.

FRANK Crapper was arguably the greatest full-forward in the BFL during the 1930s, and indeed for the first half of the 20th century.
He kicked 108 majors in 1930, the first time since the formation of the BFL that a century had been kicked in a season.
Crapper followed that up with 145 majors in 1932 and 163 more in 1933: 154 home and away, nine more in the finals.
Into the Fifties and vice-captain Basil Ashman and full-back Ollie Grieve both coached Two Blues’ premiership combinations: Grieve in 1953 (when Ashman was part of the winning team) and Basil in 1957 when he was chaired off the QEO in front of an enormous crowd after Eaglehawk had downed Kyneton by five goals.
Alongside Ashman and Grieve Bob Clough was picked in the other back pocket. He was also a 1953 and 1957 premiership player.
At centre half-forward was the incomparable high-marking, rugged George Ilsley, still a regular at Canterbury Park home games.
Ilsley was a premiership player in 1953 and 1957 and of course forward pocket player Harry Morgan holds the equal record for most goals ever kicked in a BFL match: 24 goals, virtually in three quarters!
Morgan, also a key member of the ’53 flag-winning side, booted more than 500 goals for the Borough.
Interchange pair George Ennor and Kevin Smith were key participants in the ’53 premiership side --- Smith as an elusive half-forward flanker and Ennor (who also played for Eaglehawk’s 1946 flag-winners) taking control of the ruck battles and marking contests in just about every game he played.
Winger Jack Slattery was one of Eaglehawk’s best in the 1968 premiership team and went on to play 32 VFL games with Footscray.

AS THE selectors looked at more recent times, a group of stars were picked in the feted team. Skipper and centre half-back Robert O’Connell played in premierships in 1980 and 1982, racking up five grand final appearances in all.
Tough and uncompromising half-back flanker Peter Rogerson and interchange Steve McDougall played for the ’82 flag winners with McDougall winning the grand final Nalder Medal.
Named on the interchange also, Darren Thompson played 261 senior games and collected six club champion awards along the way.
And no one should forget this trio --- Alan “Bruiser” Williams, Greg Kennedy and Des English. Williams played 305 games, was a premiership player four times over and won the 1974 Michelsen medal.
Kennedy achieved a feat never equalled before or since --- the Michelsen Medal in 1971, leading league goal-kicker with 139 (and another 13 in the finals) and premiership player: all in the same season. He kicked the ton three times.
English won the Michelsen in 1978 during his 66-game stint with the Two Blues and went on to win two flags with Carlton.
Coach John Ledwidge led the Hawks to flags in 1968 and 1971 and came back to coach again in 1978-79 and 1991-92, with the club reaching the prelim. finals in each of those four seasons.

ONE OF my enduring memories of the big night, attended by 550 people, was the heartfelt emotion displayed by some of the Eaglehawk greats.
The late Peter Pianto, a dual premiership player with Geelong in 1951-1952, was in tears when he told guests that being named in his hometown of Eaglehawk’s Team of the Century meant more to him than selection in Geelong’s star-studded, best-ever side.
Pianto who took out the Hawks’ club champion award in 1949 had been named first rover in the 125th anniversary side.
And similarly with Carlton premiership star Rod Ashman (leading goalkicker, best and fairest in 1972), selected in a forward pocket. He was also very emotional when he stepped up to acknowledge his selection.
Two Blues president of the time, Gary Thorn, admitted there had been many a tear shed as the team was announced, gradually, line by line.
Quoted in early September 2005 in the Eaglehawk Times (now there’s another print publication gone to God) Mr. Thorn said emotions had run high.
“About $30,000 was raised by auctioning the actual framed guernseys with the funds earmarked for capital improvements at the Canterbury Park rooms,” Mr. Thorn added.
And the president commented the 125th anniversary would never have happened without co-ordinator Zach Harvey.
“It was Zach’s idea from the outset after he’d made the club’s 2004 presentation night a resounding success through the use of his extensive media expertise,” the president said.
Zach Harvey invited myself and four others to form the selection committee and acted as the panel executive & research officer.

Team of the Century
B: Basil Ashman (v-c), Ollie Grieve, Bob Clough.
Hb: Peter Rogerson, Robert O’Connell (c), Fred Jinks.
C: Jack Slattery, Eddie Esposito, Alan Williams.
Hf: Mancel Davies, George Ilsley, Alf Baud.
F: Harry Morgan, Greg Kennedy, Rod Ashman.
Foll: Fred Trewarne, Des English. Rover: Peter Pianto.
Inter: Frank Crapper, Darren Thompson, Steve McDougall, George Ennor, Kevin Smith, George McWilliams.
Coach: John Ledwidge.
HAWKS’ players to have won the BFNL’s major awards (recent seasons):-
Michelsen medal: Greg Kennedy 1971; Alan Williams 1974; Des English 1978; Reece Langan 2000; Lucas Mathews 2001; Kain Robins 2006; Shannon Milward 2008, Josh Bowe 2010.
League goal-kicking champion (now rewarded with the Ron Best medal): Frank Crapper 1930, 1932, 1933; Mancel Davies 1935, 1936, 1939; Harry Morgan 1948, 1951, 1952, 1953; Merv Hicks 1961; Greg Kennedy 1970, 1971; Daryl Gilmore 1982, 1984, 1991; Damien Brown 2007; Matt Gretgrix 2013.
Note: although Brown nailed 59 goals during the home-and-away season to take the 2007 Ron Best Medal a teammate topped his overall tally by the end of September that year.
Matt Gretgrix booted 53 majors during the regular season and then added another 14 during the finals series to finish on 67 in the Two Blues premiership year.
Brown added just five more during the successful finals run for an overall tally of 64. So actually the ‘G-Train’ finished three ahead of Browny with his 67, when we count to the very last game of the season!

Richard’s tips for split round 16, week 1: South Bendigo by 35 (at Princes Park), Strath. Storm by 76 (vs. Kang. Flat) and Sandhurst by 34 (vs. Gisborne, QEO).
Week 2: Kyneton by 19 (vs. C’maine at Showgrounds) and Golden Square by 31 (vs. Eaglehawk).
Overall total for 2015: 59.

By Richard Jones