Sport
4 July, 2024
Rise of the Roses — Primrose’s ‘84 flag
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Primrose’s last premiership, in 1984. The club will be holding a reunion at Princes Park on July 13 to celebrate the occasion. Today, in the first of a three-part series, we look at Primrose’s last 10...
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Primrose’s last premiership, in 1984. The club will be holding a reunion at Princes Park on July 13 to celebrate the occasion. Today, in the first of a three-part series, we look at Primrose’s last 10 years, starting with the 1984 premiership season.
THE BACKGROUND
The 1983 season didn’t finish to plan for the Roses.
Sporting a 32-year premiership drought, they were up against Maldon, seeking their first flag in 26 years, for the premiership.
However, a fast start for the Dons saw them hold a 25-point lead at quarter-time, and they were able to maintain that kind of a lead for the entire afternoon in what was a high-scoring game, winning 20.19 (139) to 16.14 (110).
The Roses’ premiership drought, which saw them win their last premiership in 1951, went on.
GOING INTO 1984
No doubt, at times, the Roses would have been frustrated, wondering when it was their turn to see success, with all of Maryborough’s teams experiencing success over the last decade.
Maryborough were in the midst of what would be a 24-year premiership drought, but they had won the premiership in the Ballarat Football League in 1974.
Royal Park were a powerhouse over the last 11 seasons, winning a three-peat of premierships in 1972, ‘73 and ‘74, before winning it all again in 1977, 1981 — over the Roses — and 1982.
Maryborough Rovers, a team that had been formed in 1966, were also successful by 1978, taking their first premiership that season.
So what of the Roses?
The Roses were always the bridesmaid, but never the bride, across those 32 years. Five grand finals in 1958, 1967, 1979, 1981 and the year before didn’t yield a premiership. The boys in the red and the blue were wondering, waiting for that breakthrough.
Under the tutelage of captain-coach Garry Higgins, 1984 didn’t get off quite to the best of starts either.
Round one saw them come against that Maldon team, superbly coached as ever by Peter Cole, and they would record a victory again, this time by 25 points in a fairly similar game to the grand final.
A big win in round two followed, but the Roses would fall to 1-2 the next week with a 31-point defeat to Carisbrook.
Tony Cole, brother of Maldon coach Peter, was a long-serving Primrose man, and despite retiring at the end of the previous year, had embarked on a comeback.
“I had retired at the end of 1983, and then I remained at the club, but I made a comeback about two games into the new season. We went out and picked up a few good players and recruited very well. We coasted through the season,” he said.
Higgins, for his part, said that his charges were locked in for the whole season, despite their sluggish start.
“We carried the vibes right through the season. There was never a feeling that we wouldn’t win, and that was a commitment to make sure we got over the line. In 1983, I probably overcoached them, and most of the emotional energy was spent before the game,” he said.
THE WINNING RUN
What followed over the next 13 weeks was nothing short of magical as the Roses completely turned their season around.
Remember, the 1980s was a very high-scoring decade in football.
Primrose, from round four through to round 16, would average 161.2 points per game — extraordinary numbers.
Highlights? There were many.
In round eight, the Roses came away with a crucial 28-point win over Royal Park — who would form their part in the story later on.
Perhaps the high point of the season up until the finals series, however, was the job that the Roses did on their 1983 grand final conquerers at Princes Park in round 10.
Primrose kicked a simply unbelievable 33.12 (210) to demolish Maldon by 115 points. This was a statement in itself that would be repeated in the finals series.
There wasn’t just the impact of one player, according to Tony, and the stats back this up.
The leading goalkicker for the season was Brian Walkley, who kicked 47 goals — one of seven Primrose footballers who kicked over 30 goals in 1984, with Brian Waters kicking 44, Barry Griffiths kicking 42, Ricky Irwin scoring 39, Peter Waters 35, and Craig Bell and Jamie Postle kicking 34 each.
“There was very much an even spread and we didn’t rely on a particular forward,” Tony said.
“It wasn’t a defensive sort of style, it was open and easier to score back in the day.”
New recruits such as brotherly duo David and Alistair Smith would make their mark, while Griffiths would also play a key role.
Established names like Neil Roscholler would enjoy standout years, with Roscholler leading the polling in the league best and fairest for the Roses with 16 votes, while David polled 13 votes, and Peter 10.
“We had a couple of players who walked in, but we didn’t have a lot of fly-ins and there wasn’t a lot of money around in those days. There were some who got incentive payments, but it wasn’t like the money players get nowadays,” Higgins said.
Cole added that having the right mix was helpful for the Roses in their premiership quest.
“There was a bit of a foreign legion who had been around a bit, but the club certainly picked the right people. Still, we had the old stagers who had been there for a few years as well. It was a mix of good recruiting and good club people who had been there for a while,” he said.
There was, however, a small hiccup leading into the finals.
In round 17, Primrose, in wet conditions, would drop their first game since round three, losing to Royal Park by 43 points.
That would see the Roses finish second at the end of the home-and-away campaign.
THE FINALS
Primrose were exceptional in the qualifying final, defeating Royal Park by 37 points, 21.14 (140) to 15.13 (103).
The following week saw them come up against Maldon again.
This time, the lessons from round 10 would be repeated from the Roses, as they beat up Maldon all around the ground, eventually winning by 99 points, 27.19 (181) to 11.16 (82), and booking a spot in the grand final.
There, they would meet again with Royal Park.
THE GRAND FINAL
It was safe to say many at Primrose learned plenty from the 1983 grand final defeat to Maldon.
“The year before, one of the issues was that the morning before the grand final, I had older people who had been around the club since the last premiership year, not just ex-players but supporters, and some of them were crying hoping for us to win. It put us over the top emotionally, so everyone was invested in making sure we did it in 1984,” Higgins said.
As a result, Higgins, remarkably, made one of the most basic speeches ever given to a team before the grand final.
“In 1984, my pre-match address was basically a ‘let’s go and do it’ sort of thing,” he said.
Tony backs up these versions of events.
“His speech before we went out for the grand final went as ‘you know what to do, just go out and do it’. There was no big build-up, it was fairly low-key,” he said.
It was a change in mindset for Higgins, who had also spent the year negotiating a move to Ocean Grove.
“There wasn’t a problem, as I drove home every Tuesday and Thursday. Of course, we were still living here, but I was working in the Shire of Corio. I still had a home to come home to, but it didn’t have any impact on my coaching. It was good to get home and be part of it,” he said.
The grand final worked wonders for Primrose, who had struggled with Royal Park for years, as had many other teams, given their status in the competition.
“Royal Park was pretty much a powerhouse and they always seemed to have it over us. It was a pretty rare occurrence when we did beat them,” Tony said.
The Roses got the jump in wet conditions, kicking six goals to two to lead by 26 points at the first change, 6.6 (42) to 2.4 (16).
“We jumped out of the blocks and held that lead all day. Our half back line was very good early, and kept pushing the ball back up forward,” Tony said.
Indeed, it was the half back line that was proving damaging for Primrose, a result of what Higgins had planned all along.
“Our back line was brilliant, we attacked very well from there, and that was part of my strategy of having those attacking half backers, which really worked well for us,” he said.
“Royal Park had a very talented side as well. They had some superstars playing for them, and we managed to hold them and kick a reasonable score against them.”
From early in the second quarter until early in the third, Royal Park were unable to kick a goal, while Primrose, crucially, had kicked three to lead by 36 points at the main break, 9.10 (64) to 3.10 (28).
The Roses continued on their merry way in the third term as they answered every Royal Park challenge, leading 13.17 (95) to 7.14 (56) at the final change.
Royal Park had plenty of opportunities in the last term, but it was Primrose’s day. They kicked five goals to four in the last term, with the final score sitting at 18.20 (128) to 11.20 (86).
The 33-year premiership drought, which saw plenty of near-misses, was finally over.
Higgins had been there and done that in football, particularly having played in four grand finals in a row at this time, but this one was quite special.
“I have had a chance to flick through the vision of the 1984 grand final. One of the things that stood out was how everybody made a contribution. Everybody from our rank-and-file players to our stars, everybody made that equal effort which really stood out,” he said.
“There might have been guys who weren’t as talented as some of the others, but they did what they were asked to do and what we trained to do.”
Tony said it was a reward for the long-serving supporters.
“Most of our celebrations occurred at the Bull and Mouth afterwards. The celebrations, I think, went around Monday and Tuesday. We had a lot of old-time supporters, and Primrose had played in plenty of losing grand finals over the years. It was pleasing that the supporters stuck by us and actually saw us win one,” he said.
David was awarded the player of the finals as a result of his superb campaign in the ruck, while Griffiths was also recognised for his individual game in the grand final. It would be the last time Primrose would play in a final in their history.
“At the time, you don’t get to appreciate it that you might never play together again after a grand final with the same team,” Tony said.
“Garry moved away, and went down to Geelong, the two Smith’s went, I reckon we lost seven or eight as a team who never played again, certainly not together again.”
Next Saturday, many of the players will have the chance to remember that success when they gather at Princes Park to celebrate their 40th anniversary of the event.
“We’ll only be missing three from the original team who can’t make it. We have about 50 or 60 booked in for the dinner next Saturday night. It will be great to catch up with everyone,” Higgins said.
