Sport
18 July, 2024
Primrose greats come together again
Across the weekend, Primrose figures from the club’s celebrated 1984 season gathered across Maryborough to celebrate their 40th anniversary of their final premiership. We go inside the scenes in our final part of the Primrose story. WATCHING THE...
Across the weekend, Primrose figures from the club’s celebrated 1984 season gathered across Maryborough to celebrate their 40th anniversary of their final premiership. We go inside the scenes in our final part of the Primrose story.
WATCHING THE GRAND FINAL
Princes Park was a staple of red and blue on Saturday as Primrose figures reminisced on their last great day in the spotlight.
The day was meticulously planned by four figures of the club, desperate to ensure the legacy of the club remained for generations.
Responsible for the day was Garry Higgins, captain/coach of that final Primrose premiership team in ‘84, Tony Cole, a life member of the club who had also kept newspaper snippets, statistics and news about the club, Gerard Murphy and James Postle.
Each of the four brought it all together to ensure that the club was celebrated in the way it deserved to be.
Newspaper clippings — including part one and two of the Primrose story, published across our paper in the last two weeks, were available to read for all that were interested on Saturday inside the Princes Park clubrooms.
Artefacts, the honours board, photos from back in the day and the club’s collection of premiership flags were also on display for the first, and proudest, time in 30 years.
But of most importance was — for the first time — the ability for the heroes of the club back in the day to watch the 1984 grand final in full for the first time.
Copies of the grand final were made available to purchase across the weekend for players and supporters, with the celebration of the day ensuring that a special time in Primrose history could be relived once again.
For Cole, it meant a lot to be able to see the game once again.
“Finding a recording of the game [was big] — a lot of people hadn’t seen it. I hadn’t, and we’re selling copies of it now. People will be able to show their grandkids now,” he said.
“It’s great to see old faces.”
Remarkably, many of those who had played in the game had largely forgotten about it — fairly understandable after 40 years.
Higgins had the best memory of the game after helping to unearth the footage of the game, and maintained that it was the backline’s performance that was the most important part of the Roses’ 42-point victory over Royal Park.
“When you get a chance to have a look at the game — and it was a piece of luck that we got footage of it — seeing how well everyone played, there wasn’t a standout player, and our backline were defensive, but attacking at the same time. We won it for a reason,” he said.
For other premiership heroes, Saturday was the first time they were able to recollect the game.
Player of the finals, David Smith, was one of them, and he was able to flash back to the 1984 season as the game progressed.
“I did alright during the year. It was a good team, who were a good bunch of guys. I don’t remember too much of the grand final, but that’s the way it goes, it was a team effort,” he said.
“It was my first year in town. I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as the people who had been waiting 30 years for a grand final win.”
Indeed, Primrose had waited 33 years to claim their premiership, and the recruitment of Smith was key to the Roses launching their premiership quest after they had lost to Maldon by 29 points the year before.
“I was working at the state offices there, and I ran into Garry Higgins in the carpark. He asked me if I played footy, and I responded with ‘yes’. He followed up by asking if I was any good, and I said ‘you’ll have to judge that’,” he said.
“I went down and trained with the boys. When I moved to town, I said I’d like to play on Princes Park, it’s a lovely ground, and when Garry said we were based there, it was fantastic.
“A few things came together, a number of players came into the team, so it was one of those things where we had a bit of luck. You do need a few good players, and they teamed up together well. There were also a few old-stagers who had been there forever.”
Neil Roscholler was another who had played such an integral part of the premiership, polling 16 votes throughout the season to lead all-comers for the Roses in the league best and fairest count.
“We played in three losing ones before that, so it was really special for not just the players, but the club as well. The supporters for years were wanting a premiership and luckily, we gave them one, which was great,” he said.
“I can’t remember anything of the game apart from the end, when the siren went. It was a pretty tough game, they hit us pretty hard, but they went the man a little bit, and we got away early. I think it was the reason we won, and we had a really good side. The backline played brilliantly and it was a good team effort.
“You look at the side, and there was some really good players in the side, right across the board. We didn’t rely on one or two players, and that’s why, I believe, we were so successful that year, as everyone contributed.”
Roscholler, like many, was in awe of the efforts of Smith throughout not just that grand final afternoon, but across the 1984 season.
“He was an unbelievable ruckman, and he won the best and fairest. Dominant throughout the year, just a great player,” he said.
For Brian Walkley, who led the goalkicking throughout the season with 47 goals, Saturday was the first time he had remembered much of the game.
“It’s so good to see so many people. I played in the grand final in 1984, and can’t really remember much of it. Watching the game made me remember who I played with for the first time,” he said.
“It was fantastic, they were a good bunch of boys who mixed in and joined in well. There was no one singled out, we were much the same, we chased the premiership and we got it.”
Walkley maintains the standard of football from his time was one where he could thrive — and the stats back this up.
Seven goalkickers kicked over 30 goals for the Roses across the 1984 season — you’ll be hard pressed to find a similar number across any club around the country nowadays, with the Roses averaging almost 150 points per game.
“Footy is 100 per cent better years ago than what it is now, it’s a bit scrambled now. It was one-on-one in the day, but nowadays, you see both teams up one end. We used to say we would keep our spots, it would be one-on-one and it was better football,” Walkley believes.
RECLAIMING THE HISTORY
In recent years, there’s been a concerted push to ensure that the history of the Primrose Football Club is maintained.
A lot of history was in the Sew What building as far back as 2012 — much of the memorabilia that was unearthed from there were on display on Saturday afternoon.
That included the honours board, which displayed years from 1970 to 1988, artefacts of clothing, the jumper and merchandise from yesteryear, and — most importantly, the flags that were won, with senior flags from 1946, 1951 and, of course, 1984 all on display.
As recently as 2021, more history was discovered, with a premiership photo of Primrose from 1912 discovered in a cupboard by the Mooney family, which linked their family with well-regarded families such as the Crameris, Herds, Powells, Pascoes and Hubbles.
Much of the history, however, looked to be consigned to the tip.
Until the right people stepped in.
“We’re lucky to have the memorabilia. It was dumped — somebody had found it at a tip, so it was great that we were able to save it and put it on display for everyone to see,” Higgins said.
Postle, for his part, was starry-eyed at being able to look back on much of the memorabilia gracing Princes Park on Saturday.
“We’re very lucky to have all this. A lot of it was on its way to landfill, but the right people saw it, got involved and it’s good. The 1946 premiership flag being there, for instance, is unbelievable,” he said.
“It’s fantastic. It doesn’t happen very often. It took us a while to get it all organised because of the club not existing anymore, so we had to do it off our own bats.
“It’s fantastic to see the blokes. The memories aren’t as good as they used to be — I don’t remember a lot of the premiership, but it’s great to see all the people involved.”
Plans are now afoot to ensure that the history and heritage of the Primrose Football Club are maintained for generations after the near-miss of losing much of its history, according to Cole.
“I’m not sure where all the memorabilia came from. I think Gerard Murphy had a fair bit of them, but it’s good to have. We’re hoping now to store everything central so that when we have our next reunion, it’s all there,” he said.
That next reunion will be a little while away yet — the 50th anniversary in 2034 one to look out for, no doubt.
