Glasses raised for special game

VETERAN football players from across the region got together last week for the first time since 1972 to reminisce over their sole game as a combined team.

Formed by the Ballarat Football League, under 18 players from six clubs played a match against St Kilda’s under 19s squad at Eastern Oval as a curtain raiser to the 1972 BFL Grand Final.

Barry Wright was recruited while captain of North Ballarat Football Club’s under 18s, and said it was great to reunite with the one-off team.

“Collectively we haven’t seen each other for 50 years so it’s just great to catch up and have a beer and a meal together,” he said.

“It was put together because one of the reserves semi-finals drew, and those teams were going to continue so the league needed to throw a curtain raiser.

“We were only put together over about three weeks. It was pretty quick but we were pretty successful, and to do it in that amount of time was extraordinary.”

Two officials and 10 of the 20 players were present for the reunion at the Bunch of Grapes Hotel.

The team won by 15 points against St Kilda’s team, and their victory was displayed at with a group photo and article clippings.

Neil Dilges, who joined the team as captain of the Redan Football Netball Club, instigated the reunion.

He said the match was a great one to be a part of.

“I remember there was an all-in brawl about two minutes before the end of the game so that was a highlight for me, and there was a big crowd there that day,” he said.

“They were big blokes and we were only under 18s so to beat an under 19 VFL as it was back then, it was incredible.”