The 1976 Flag - The Bittersweet Premiership

[RustyHawk]

Originally Posted by Lord Mud of Glenferrie

Some highlights that I remember was Geoff Ablett's kicking and an incident involving Don Scott and Crackers Keenan, and the superb performance of Peter Knights.

Firstly, the under rated Geoff Ablett (was his real nickname "Horse").He was a marvelous kick who could kick 55 metre plus goals off two steps.He also had pace to burn and always featured in the grand final half time sprint of which he won most.

He, together with Barry Rowlings and Rodney Eade formed the second best centre line that I have seen at Hawthorn,only surpassed when Terry Wallace joined the club and took the place of Rowlings.

For some reason, posters on this board are very unkind to Wallace.He gave his all for Hawthorn and I am sure that he will figure prominently in later Premiership stories.

The Scott/ Keenan incident.The way it was called on the radio is that Keenan punched Scott (it may be the incident often shown on highlights reels where Scotty is reeling away from a Keenan punch) and Scotty went down.

Only a few minutes later,the commentators called that Scott knocked Keenan down and "used him for a door mat".I have a video of this game and for some reason that incident has been deleted.

Rusty,can you recall this incident and is there anyone in cyber land who have some footage.

Originally Posted by mrcurly

A few more general thoughts on our sides of the 70s, this may be drifting a little off topic...

Kevin Heath So in my opinion it was testament to our coaching, hardness and fitness that our sides of the 70s were so successful. Our forward lines were at times pathetic apart from lethal, our strength was a rock solid defence and a dominant centreline and on ball department, our forwards were at best ordinary post Hudson. Big Al Martello at CHF could rarely take a mark, and if he did his kicking was ordinary, occassionally he would let fly with a 90 metre torpedo though more often it would be 45 metres and sprayed sideways!

John Hendrie

Glen Harrison (seen in the photo dwarfing David OHalloran..) was one of the most unlucky footballers on the list. An imposing presence at centre half back (or sometimes CHF) in the reserves, he found it almost impossible to break into the seniors, namely because even though Al Martello was playing poorly it seemed that the selection comittee found it unthinkable that he should make way for Harrison.

Charlie Grummisch would have been a superstar in todays version of football, a freak mark and accurate kick he was far too lightly built to compete with some of the tactics used by 70s defensive grunts. Much of the man on man football played then would result in 6 weeks suspension now. The same applied (a few years later) to Peter Murnane, one of the most sublimely talented wingman i have ever seen, eventually became gunshy from the constant physical battering.

LMoG

Scott v Keenan clashes were like Ali v Frazier - there were so many.

Looking back at the tap of 76 GF there is one incident in which Scott seams to accidentally flatten "crackers" but then Keenan gets straight up after being awarded the free kick. Umpires not impressed at being made to look stupid and I think reverse the free to a ball up.

Sure your not thinking of the 78 Semi in which Keenan was rubbed out of the 78 GF against us for hitting Scott?


mrcurly

You know your Hawk players. Glen Harrison. Didnt think I would ever hear his name mentioned again along the number 7 CG. I can concur with your assessments, so right about Big Al.

Re Wallace. I seem to remember there was disquiet in the stands at Hawthorn over this young pup coming straight into the senior team and not doing his apprenticeship in the reserves like so many before had done.

Also his kicking early on seemed to lack both precision and distance which again caused comment.


Looking back at LMoG's picture of the 1976 team. Some great unknowns such as Gerry Lynn the little battler who just didnt quite have the pace of a Rowlings and was not going to move Leigh Matthews out of the team.

Kevin or Kelvin Steele. I seem to remember a slight, quick half forward.

The pocket battleship in Richard Walter.

The tap work/ ruck work I think left handed by Len Petch. Only got a few games in the seniors, seemed to spend most of his time in the twos.

Ian Paton in there as well.

Good team, deserved to win the GF.

[mrcurly]

I think from memory we had a Kevin Steel and a Kelvin Steele. All i remember about Kelvin Steele was he was a wingman and in one of his first games he had to blanket Keith Greig, he (Steele) hardly got a kick just a few handballs but he did keep Greig out of the game - maybe one of the first specialist taggers?

Scott and Crackers, absolute classic - just a sea of flailing elbows. Much like Scott V Deitrich, both ready to explode.. i think Scotties main goal was to get the blood dripping down his scone as soon as possible in the game, seemed to be good motivation, worn like a badge of honour.

Wally went to my high school, couple of years above me, he was the worst kick of a football ever to play VFL.. think he ended up with a run in the 78 GF toward the end, then drifted into obscurity. The trainers at HFC thought he may become another Martello, they were wrong.

Len Petch would have made it into our current side, probably the equivalent to Simon Taylor. Good average ruckman, solid mark and big heart. I thought he was a little hard done by not to get more senior games.

Gerry Lynn - thats a blast from the past, good player but too similar to so many others - Gene Chiron, Geof Angus etc...nuggety centremen that get caught out for speed or size elsewhere (at least back then...)

Thats something that has changed, it almost one size fits all now. Rovers that look like ruckrovers, chbs that look like flankers... seems to be a template for players now. In the 70s you could get a reasonable idea where a player played from his size. Funny enough there were very few really tall ruckmen, probably because tall and wiry would end up in hospital pretty quickly!