BENDIGO boasts a proud record in inter-league football and going into next weekend's clash with old rivals Gippsland can lay claim to three important state-wide crowns.

Perhaps the most famous in recent times was when the Blue and Golds took off the title at the QEO in 1989 with a 41-point win over the powerful Geelong league.

But going right back to the 1960s and 1970s when the Caltex Championships were played over a two-year span Bendigo was the powerhouse of regional Victoria.

Before the 1950s a co-ordinated system of inter-league footy wasn't on the schedule for regional and country leagues.
Bendigo played occasional challenge matches, organized by the BFL powerbrokers or instigated by a league from another district that wanted to have a crack.

And then along came Alan "The Fox' McDonald, the South Bendigo maestro. He convinced the BFL to set up a co-ordinated series of matches among the state's major leagues.
In 1953 Bendigo took on Ovens and Murray and Ballarat in two eagerly awaited contests.

Sixty years ago footballers in their prime could earn more playing for regional clubs than they could for, say, Carlton or Geelong or Collingwood. Seems unbelievable, but it's true!
So with plenty of money in the bush the big regional leagues were chock-full of talent.

McDonald's men battled hard against the O and M but went down by a solitary point.

'The Fox' had to re-group quickly. Next assignment was an away clash against Ballarat. Nothing separated the teams all day and by the final siren it was a draw: Ballarat 12.11 (83), Bendigo 12.11 (83).

Bendigo won the return game later that winter: 17.10 to Ballarat's 11.14.

And McDonald went out in style. In his final game in charge before taking up the coaching reins at Richmond, Bendigo belted Sunraysia 22.25 (157) to 9.5 (59) at the QEO on June 4th, 1956.

JOHN Ledwidge took over the coaching role in 1962. He'd had outstanding predecessors in Kyneton's Clive Philp and Rochester's Noel McMahen with McMahen turning out a swag of Rochy players in the inter-league jumper.

Caltex was the naming rights sponsor of inter-league footy in the early 1960s. The 16-league series would run over a two-season period, with knockout matches in the first season, followed up by the semi-finals and grand final the following year.

It was pretty cut-throat. Get beaten in an early inter-league fixture, and a league would have to wait for 24 months to play another.

Under McMahen Bendigo had won its round matches in 1961. The first game saw the BFL 15.20 defeat the Northern District 13.10.

It was a close result over North Central, with Bendigo successful 8.11 (59) to 6.14 (40).

Ken Peucker kicked the sealer, his fifth goal of the day. Centreman Peter Lyon, father of Garry 'Lone Wolf' Lyon, had played 16 senior games with Hawthorn.

Ledwidge was faced with a QEO semi-final against O and M and in a pulsating contest Bendigo won though to the 1962 play-off with a 14-point victory: 12.8 (80) to O and M 9.12 (66).

For the grand final, the team had to travel to Horsham to take on a pumped Wimmera League combination. And even though Ledwidge himself was injured early Bendigo triumphed in front of 13,190 patrons to win the very first country championship.
It was July 7th, 1962. Bendigo 16.19 (115) def. Wimmera 13.9 (87). Best on ground Ray Willett took home the DeLuxe Catering trophy.

And BFL president Noel Murphy received a cheque for £750.
The rest of the Sixties weren't great for Bendigo. The two-year format meant dominant players one season were gone by the next.

On July 19th, 1969 Bendigo even hosted the Waranga-North-East footy league on the QEO. Now I've been to some exotic locations for inter-league footy and seen some not-so-powerful leagues in full flight. But the Waranga-North East. I don't think so.

BY THE early Seventies former Sandhurst and Hawthorn champion Graham Arthur was in charge.

In 1971 old rivals Ballarat and Sunraysia were dispatched quite comfortably in the round clashes.

That set up a 1972 semi-final against Ovens and Murray. A huge crowd attended the QEO to watch Arthur's boys thump the O and M by 52 points and book a berth in the '72 grand final.

That year's Caltex Championship was played at Cobram with the Murray League the other grand final representative.
Bendigo won its second state title in 10 years with a 13.19 (97) to 9.11 (65) victory over the Murray F.L.

LaTrobe became our nemesis as the 1970s came to a close. We lost the 1979 grand final to the Tricolours at the QEO.

I vividly remember a posse of LaTrobe Valley supporters marching up the View Street hill from the train station, waving their red, white and blue flags.

A little chiacking of mine from a wound-down side window at the fountain traffic lights evoked some choice words. What was worse --- they won fairly comfortably later on that day.

NEVILLE Strauch re-kindled Bendigo's sagging fortunes in the late 1980s.

He convinced star players to make themselves available to pull on the blue and gold jumper. Behind the scenes, Sandhurst full-back Chris Greene was instrumental in moulding a strong team spirit.
On radio one 1989 Saturday morning --- it was our regular panel show with the late Geoff Morris --- he described the Blue and Gold team as "another club in the BFL structure."

Bendigo had lost the 1988 grand final to the Geelong League at a windy St Albans Oval in East Geelong, but made amends with a comfortable grand final win 12 months later on the QEO.

After disposing of the O and M at Lavington in both the 1988 and '89 semi-finals (and Goulburn Valley on the Deakin Reserve in 1988's first round), Strauch's team trounced Geelong in the 1989 decider: 15.10 (100) to 9.5 (59).

Brendan Hartney was the inter-league skipper and he had great players around him such as Peter Bradbury and Peter Tyack (South Bendigo), Shane Muir (Kyneton), Peter Crone, Steve McDougall, Bert McIvor and Andrew McDougall (Eaglehawk).
Then there were Paul Starbuck and Lachie Butler (Castlemaine), Alan Patterson and Russell Parkes (Golden Square), Greene (Sandhurst) and two of the BFL's 'forgotten men' in key position player, Matt Allan, and forward Rick Marklew, both of Northern United.

Unfortunately the feat could not be repeated 12 months later. The Blue and Golds lost the 1990 grand final to LaTrobe Valley in Sale. Photographer Peter Hyett and I, along with league medico Dr. Wally McGregor, flew down and back to Sale in a light aircraft.

We thanked the pilot as we alighted in the dark at the Bendigo airstrip after the flight home. "You only thank me because --- you live!" replied the sarcastic airman.

PETER Hinck took the Blue and Golds to the 1993 inter-league grand final. Again it was played at the QEO but this time Geelong made amends for its loss four seasons earlier with a win.

By 2004 short format inter-league was in vogue with teams playing matches comprising two halves. Three games a weekend were scheduled.

Under current Sandhurst coach Brett Fitzpatrick the Blue and Golds arrested their slide --- they'd failed to win a match out of three at Ballarat in 2004, including a Sunday belting from the Hampden League --- and won all three fixtures at Barooga in 2006.

And Jeff 'Joffa' Brennan has been brilliant since he took over the coaching duties in 2009. The Blue and Golds were completely unfancied in their clash against Ballarat at Bacchus Marsh five years ago.

Using pacy, young players Brennan's tactics paid off as Bendigo romped home to a famous victory.

Twelve months on and Brennan's boys repeated the dose in May, 2010, against Gippsland at the QEO. 2013 Bendigo Gold VFL skipper Steve Stroobants kicked an important late goal as Bendigo squeaked home.

Although he's not holding the coaching reins again in 2014, Joffa has overseen an upsurge in interest and excitement about inter-league footy. Next weekend's clash against old rivals Gippsland should be another ripper.

Overall: Bendigo has played in 99 inter-league games for 54 wins, 44 losses, and one draw. One notable victory came in 1956 when the BFL defeated South Adelaide: 13.15 to 10.18 at Canterbury Park.

Most games: Derrick Filo with 23. Best player for the Blue and Gold in each season's inter-league clash is now awarded the Derrick Filo medal at Michelsen Medal vote count day.
Filo enjoyed a celebrated 400+ senior-game career with Castlemaine, Kyneton, Kangaroo Flat and Eaglehawk.
Richard's Rd. 7 tips: Strath Storm by 32 points, Kyneton by 43, South Bendigo by 14 and Hurst by 22. Sunday: Square by 9.
2014 tally: 26.

With thanks to Steven Oliver and Darren Lewis for their 100 Years of BFL History: 1880 to 2010.

By Richard Jones