ROUND five of the 1982 Bendigo Golden City League season doubled as Round 1 of the Winfield country championships for the Blue and Gold.
While Bendigo hosted the powerful Ovens and Murray on Sunday, May 10th, the fifth round of home-and-away games had been played the day before.
Coached by Castlemaine identity Malcolm Stevens the Blue and Gold went into the QEO clash full of confidence.
Captain Phil Byrne, young Golden Square star Greg Williams (later to enjoy a stellar VFL/AFL career), along with crack Northern United duo Bill Burns and Ian Marlow gave the home side a formidable midfield group.
In attack Sandhurst's Gavin Exell, Eaglehawk's Gerard Geary and Square's Eric Pascoe were expected to give O and M defenders plenty of trouble, particularly overhead.
But Bendigo's 1982 inter-league campaign was cut short by a well-drilled O and M outfit.
The visitors grabbed the initiative from the opening bounce, booting 3.6 before Bendigo had scored.
That's nine shots to zero. Not a great beginning.
Bendigo steadied and went into the first break trailing by only 17 points. But the second quarter started like the first --- more of the same from the Orange and Black.
The visitors should really have had the game parcelled up by the long break. But inaccurate kicking kept Bendigo in the game.
O and M added 3.6 in the second stanza to Bendigo's 2.3 to lead by 26 points at half-time: 8.14 (62) to 5.6 (36).
STEVENS and his coaching staff continued to make positional changes as the third quarter got underway in an attempt to find the right mix. But it just wasn't Bendigo's day.
The O and M's conversion woes rolled on into the third term as they landed 4.9 to the Blue and Gold's 4.4.
The visitors sealed victory with the first two goals of the final quarter before eventually winning 16.29 (125) to 12.19 (91).
Best for the Blue and Gold was key defender Robert O'Connell.
Also prominent across half-back was solid defender, the late Graeme Wright, while in the midfield Byrne and Williams battled hard. Exell was Bendigo's best forward with three goals of the 12 scored for the afternoon.
Although the '82 players weren't to know it at the time, Bendigo was to carry the ignominy of losing at the QEO into away inter-league semi-finals against the O and M in the late Eighties.
In 1988 and 1989 --- and both times at Lavington --- the Blue and Gold triumphed on Orange and Black territory.
Bendigo capped a memorable win in the mud and slush in '89 en route to winning the overall Division One crown under inspirational coach Neville Strauch.
Many of the victorious 1989 championship-winning team were present last October at the BFNL's fourth Hall of Fame induction night.
TWO matches decided by less than a kick highlighted Saturday's Round 5 action in Division One 33 years ago.
At Canterbury Park Eaglehawk maintained its unbeaten start to the season in thrilling fashion against major challengers Golden Square.
The Bulldogs thanks largely to forwards Mark Bateman and Peter Moroni, and ruckman "Big" John Williams, jumped the Hawks early and grabbed the ascendancy.
Coach Byrne eventually moved Peter Rogerson to centre half-back and Barry Findlay to centre half-forward and these moves paid dividends.
It was a revitalised home side after the main break.
Gradually Eaglehawk closed down the Bulldogs' lead and by the last quarter surged to a handy advantage with their only major for the term.
However the Square fought back with goals to Mick Gallagher and Ross Caldwell. The revival came a tad late and by final siren time two points separated the clubs.
Final scores: Eaglehawk 11.18 (84) to Square's 11.16 (82).
Kyneton held off South Bendigo by three points at the Kyneton Showgrounds in another heart-stopper.
Seven goals from star forward pocket player Rick Donnelly was the catalyst for the Tigers' upset win.
Donnelly, Vinnie Szabo (three goals) and key defender Bob Beare were Kyneton's best in the 16.23 (119) to 17.14 (116) victory. But a mere 16 goals from 39 scoring shots almost undid the Tigers.
Best for the Bloods in a sensational match were Mark Mackinder, David Ivey, Wayne Hoiles, R. McIntosh and A. Bennett.
IN THE final Division 1 game of the round Sandhurst set up its 18.19 (127) to 14.6 (96) over Castlemaine at the QEO with a nine-goal-to-two opening quarter.
Classy forward Mark McErvale was the inspiration for the Dragons drilling five of his six goals in the opening stanza.
Dynamic Hurst rover Denis O'Connor was best afield.
O'Connor, who in the weeks following this May clash was spoken to by scouts from both Collingwood and Carlton as a potential recruit, collected 27 possessions and landed one goal.
Centre half-forward Gary Kirwan and captain-coach Gary Crouch also turned in solid games for the Hurst.
With four goals John Jefferies was Castlemaine's best garnering great support from David Chappill and Mick Kinross.
The BFL --- known as the Bendigo Golden City F.L. for a couple of seasons --- was in a transitional period in those early years of the Eighties with two divisions in place.
So let's look at what happened in the other branch of the league 33 seasons ago.
YCW DOWNED Kennington by 33 points in the Div. 2 match-of-the-round. It was during the period in the early Eighties when the VCFL had demanded that the Bendigo and Golden City leagues combine.
1981 and '82 was a time of great stress and angst among many footy followers, but the games rolled on.
Led by centreman Dick Munari and rugged follower Glenn Mildren (father of the Storm's brilliant key forward, Sam) YCW grabbed top spot on the ladder after the Saturday victory.
Mildren's well-handled aggression around the ground paved the way for Munari, Damien Geary and John "Jerka" Lynch to pump the ball forward to Colin Grenfell and Paul Kane.
Grenfell and Kane snagged four goals apiece.
Final scores: YCW 19.8 (122) def. Kennington 13.11 (89). In the other games, North Bendigo 17.18 (120) def. White Hills 13.9 (87) and Northern United 23.12 (150) def. Marong 12.13 (85).
The Swallows' Jamie Sexton speared home six majors but all his 6 goals were registered before half-time.
Provincial had the bye in the seven-club BGCFL Div. 2 structure.
LATER on in the 1982 season the Two Blues under captain-coach Phil Byrne scored a mammoth win over South Bendigo at Canterbury Park.
It was the end of July that season with Byrne booting eight goals and crack spearhead Daryl Gilmore notching a lazy 10.
Apart from the 80-point difference at the final siren, the incredible statistic which emerged from the game was the number of scoring shots landed by each club.
With Peter Dean still in Red and White, the Bloods had 31 shots to Eaglehawk's 36 which should indicate a close finish.
But the final scores underline the discrepancy in accuracy: Eaglehawk 27.9 (171) def South 12.19 (91).
Another stat. indicates why the scores should have been closer.
At three-quarter time the Hawks had notched just two scoring shots more. But the lead was substantial: 19.5 to 9.13.
Midfielder Danny Slater had enjoyed a second term purple patch, ramming home three goals in three minutes without a miss.
The Bloods, despite third term majors from Dean, Graeme Wright and Darren Knight, couldn't get any closer than 52 points at the last change.
Gilmore, who had led South full-back Denis Byrne a merry dance, landed his ninth and 10th goals in the final term. Best afield Phil Byrne (inducted into the BFNL Hall of Fame last October) hammered home three late Eaglehawk goals to take him to eight for the afternoon.
Phil coached Kangaroo Flat in 1983-84 then moved to South Bendigo at the start of 1985 to play with his twin brother, Ray.
Thirty years ago the Byrnes pulled on the same guernsey, in the same change rooms, for the first time in 15 years. They'd played together during their junior years at Golden Square but had gone their separate ways before turning out for South Bendigo in Rd. 1 (April 11th) of 1985.
The Bloods won just five games in 1985, but Phil was a jack-of-all-trades as he was shifted around in various on-field positions to fill gaps.
At the end of '85 Phil was named one of the BFL's Five Footballers Of The Year along with Northern United duo Tony Southcombe and Tony McCarthy, Sandhurst's Martin Sloan and Kyneton's Shane Muir.
Richard's tips for Round 5: Eaglehawk by 11 points (v Maine); Gisborne by 50 (at QEO, v South); Strath Storm by 91 (v Maryborough); Square by 48 (v Kyneton) and Sandhurst by 15 (v Flat, at Bendigo Mazda Oval, night fixture).
Season 2015 tally: 18.
By Richard Jones
