The 1976 Flag - The Bittersweet Premiership
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it's just a sad story all round. a young bloke cut down in his prime and his beloved team wanting to win the flag for him.
grizzlym
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Yeah, it is. As I posted, I don't have any recollection of Crimmo playing, although I would have seen him many times as a tacker, but I've always been cognisant of the sadness that pervades the 1976 flag.
I guess the missing part of this story is a thread that details losing the 1975 flag to North and the unfolding of Crimmo's injury during that year. Rusty touched on it but it's a story in its own right. My father still maintains he was worth picking -although ill - on the bench for the GF, as much for the motivational factor as for what he might offer.
Who knows,? But it's a question that still divides those who were around at the time.
I would have to agree with your father Griz.
I saw Crimmo running around with the reserves at the end of the '75 season. I think it was in the final at VFL park, probably his final game, the ressy before the seniors second semi against Nth (where Michael Cooke slotted 4 goals..). Crimmo seemed to look fine, got a bit of the ball toward the end (may have even been 19th man), i just expected he would be in the side for the GF. I dont think it would have made that much difference to the end result though.
The 75 season seamed to be going to plan - by round 17 we were 16 wins and a single loss... then the wheels started to fall off. We lost 4 of the last 5 games of the season, including a game of water polo at Victoria park where we were kicking against the tide for most of the match, and while we were looking collectively in poor form other sides were hitting their straps. The 75 GF was always going to be a tough one for us to win, our front half didn't look capable of scoring goals while North had the chubster Wade at FF with hot and cold Briedis at CHF, both capable of slotting a swag of goals - and a relatively star studded team to feed them with the ball. They also had a (then) decent coach.
This meshes in with some of the player discussions - about Moncrieff in particular. Mick Moncrieff was not selected in a back pocket for nothing, in the latter half of the season he was truly appaling at FF, the selectors finally had enough of his 'absentee' forward presence and went with Michael Cooke, a talented though definitely not match hardened player in his first year. Dench took him to pieces in the grand final, though such was the lack of potency in our forward structure North were able to double team him quite often.
I was hoping for a fairy tale start for Michael Cooke, he did well in the second semi kicking four, and a freakish snap from the boundary line was touched on the way through - otherwise it would have been 5. If i were a selector i would have brought his brother, Robert Cooke, in for the GF. The Knights like aerial skill and goal scoring ability of Robert Cooke may have made the difference, and North would not have had a clue how to play him, he could have been a true pinch hitter. I think they took a good look at Michael in the prelim and worked out a winning strategy for the gf.
I should add that David Dench was one of the best full backs i have ever seen play, right up there with Moore and Langford - so it was always going to be tough.
The finals series i still cannot understand is '77, we had so much goal scoring clout and a dominant backline - and still pillowed out at the last hurdle without a whimper. The Hawthorn performance through most of that season was astounding, an insipid way to end the season after just missing out against Collingwood by a couple of points in the first final, North really gave us a total flogging in the end. Perhaps this was the motivation for '78.
I've already sung the praises of Crimmins in this thread, so I will offer my slant on the 1975 GF situation. I have always been one to accept any selected team that takes the field for Hawthorn. Selection is a difficult task, and the selectors are far closer to the full story than I am.
They made their decision based on the fact Crimmo hadn't played in the A team since round 7, plus they had made one change to the team which defeated North Melbourne in the 2nd Semi Final (Rice for McCarthy). Personally, I would have been very surprised had Crimmo been selected.
Yes, the little fella mave have made a difference, but I doubt we would have beaten North even if he had. It was North's day, it was their time. The club's first premiership ever, and boy did they want it. Nobody was going to defeat North that afternoon.
Teams who are driven, desperate and hungry are very tough foes to conquer. In a sense, I'm glad Crimmo didn't play, as it adds to the legend. Had he been included in a team that was victorious in the 2nd Semi Final, played poorly and we were beaten, I'd hate to think there would be people blaming his selection for losing.
moginie
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Once again, congratulations to all the contributors, especially Rusty & Grizzlym, who have done a great job recalling our past glory.
My memories are that of an 11 year old living in Sydney; rugby league mad but attracted to the strange game from the south. The previous year I’d had the true supporter’s nightmare – both my sides, St George & Hawthorn, getting absolutely murdered in their respective grand finals so when Hawthorn fronted up again I was determined to watch them get their revenge.
It was truly a great time to be a child in the mid 70’s. A very uncomplicated life punctuated by tons of sport. I played rugby league twice a week, for both school & club. A typical Saturday was:
10.00 Play match
12.00 Lunch, listen to the Goons
14.00 Watch first 5 minutes of VFL telecast. If Hawthorn was playing, or the weather was cruddy, that was the end of my afternoon. If not, out & kick a football until dinner.
I was learning more about the game too though I couldn’t work out how the players got away with some of the stuff they did. If they tried that in league they would have been rubbed out. One of my most vivid memories of the 76 GF is the Matthews hit on Grieg. What really fired me up though was the pace of the game. League was stop-start-stop-occasional run-stop. Aussie Rules had flowing movement. I was being seduced by that sport from the south & to top it off my team won! What a great time to see your team win a premiership – when you are just learning about the game & the players are larger than life. Martello, Knights, Matthews, Scott – giants & supermen in my young eyes. The only thing I can’t remember is any mention of Peter Crimmins. Of course we didn’t get any VFL news unless it was Saturday afternoon, so it was 3 years after he died that I found out why we didn’t have a number 5 guernsey any more. Ignorance may have played a part, but absence of reporting his death in the Sydney media certainly helped.
Well, the above may be lamer than a 3 legged dog, but it’s one of the reasons I became an Aussie Rules convert & a lover of the Hawthorn Football Club.
My memories are that of an 11 year old living in Sydney; rugby league mad but attracted to the strange game from the south. The previous year I’d had the true supporter’s nightmare – both my sides, St George & Hawthorn, getting absolutely murdered in their respective grand finals so when Hawthorn fronted up again I was determined to watch them get their revenge.
It was truly a great time to be a child in the mid 70’s. A very uncomplicated life punctuated by tons of sport. I played rugby league twice a week, for both school & club. A typical Saturday was:
10.00 Play match
12.00 Lunch, listen to the Goons
14.00 Watch first 5 minutes of VFL telecast. If Hawthorn was playing, or the weather was cruddy, that was the end of my afternoon. If not, out & kick a football until dinner.
I was learning more about the game too though I couldn’t work out how the players got away with some of the stuff they did. If they tried that in league they would have been rubbed out. One of my most vivid memories of the 76 GF is the Matthews hit on Grieg. What really fired me up though was the pace of the game. League was stop-start-stop-occasional run-stop. Aussie Rules had flowing movement. I was being seduced by that sport from the south & to top it off my team won! What a great time to see your team win a premiership – when you are just learning about the game & the players are larger than life. Martello, Knights, Matthews, Scott – giants & supermen in my young eyes. The only thing I can’t remember is any mention of Peter Crimmins. Of course we didn’t get any VFL news unless it was Saturday afternoon, so it was 3 years after he died that I found out why we didn’t have a number 5 guernsey any more. Ignorance may have played a part, but absence of reporting his death in the Sydney media certainly helped.
Well, the above may be lamer than a 3 legged dog, but it’s one of the reasons I became an Aussie Rules convert & a lover of the Hawthorn Football Club.
sherb
Hall of Famer
It is interesting to read the stories relating to Peter Crimmins, I remember him pretty well having first started following the VFL in 1969/70.
Tough little blond headed bugger he was. And inspirational too. A tremendous player who led by example.
A point about his passing that I remember well was that it was only about a month or six weeks after another elite sportsman also died of cancer at a very young age (before the age of 30 as well I think) - New Zealand wicket-keeper Ken Wadsworth.
As a lover of both cricket and Aussie Rules I found it a particularly sad time.
Tough little blond headed bugger he was. And inspirational too. A tremendous player who led by example.
A point about his passing that I remember well was that it was only about a month or six weeks after another elite sportsman also died of cancer at a very young age (before the age of 30 as well I think) - New Zealand wicket-keeper Ken Wadsworth.
As a lover of both cricket and Aussie Rules I found it a particularly sad time.
Willie_Rioli
Cancelled
unbelievable effort guys! absolutely sensational. Once all the premierships are completed, it'd make an awesome book.
i hate to nitpick, but John Kennedy's famous speech is from the 1975 GF, not 1976.
ps love the Hunter S Thompson clipping!
Willie_Rioli
Cancelled
that speech always sounds shivers down my spine. amazing we couldn't get up and win after that.
grizzlym
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- #87
Funny you say that about other games. I reckon there's a thread in that - other great games.
Don't worry about the edit either - I'm keen to get it all down and see what we end up with in a couple of months. I've never been a fan of ongoing content editing. Out of seemingly off-hand comments comes gems.
Yep, in the 1976 GF he read out a letter from Crimmo prior to the players taking the field.
after watching the Crimmo tapes doco and seeing that picture of Knightsy and co with the cup and Crimo made me cry it was so moving it still brings tears to the eye !
Willie_Rioli
Cancelled
I watched this game again last night, so very happy to rediscover this. They don't make threads like this anymore. Absolute ripper! thanks again to Rusty and Grizz.
surprised how much I enjoyed the game. Peter Knights in that last quarter was something else! Reminded me of a certain B Lake's game this year. Def would've won the Norm Smith and great to see him jumping around celebrating his first flag.
Really loved watching Don Scott too. Such an inspirational footballer. Gave everything, even if wasn't always pretty to watch. Also impressed by the likes of Geoff Ablett, Rowlings, O'Hallaran, Goad, Polkinghorne and Douge. Kelvin Matthews was pretty handy down there in the fwd pocket too.
surprised how much I enjoyed the game. Peter Knights in that last quarter was something else! Reminded me of a certain B Lake's game this year. Def would've won the Norm Smith and great to see him jumping around celebrating his first flag.
Really loved watching Don Scott too. Such an inspirational footballer. Gave everything, even if wasn't always pretty to watch. Also impressed by the likes of Geoff Ablett, Rowlings, O'Hallaran, Goad, Polkinghorne and Douge. Kelvin Matthews was pretty handy down there in the fwd pocket too.
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Peter Knights marked everything in the final term. also, Leigh Matthews helped out in defence.
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Ah, the great Peter Knights.
The 1976 Grand Final was one of Peter Knights' great games, although there were lots of them.
1976 was his year of retribution, having missed the 1971 with a knee injury, and having starred in a losing Grand Final in 1975.
Peter Knights playing footy was a thing of beauty!
He was a personal favourite, a beautiful high mark, and he did everything with dash, flair and style. He was one of our greatest players, and a lovely bloke as well.
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My favourite player growing up a deadset legend of the game.Ah, the great Peter Knights.
The 1976 Grand Final was one of Peter Knights' great games, although there were lots of them.
1976 was his year of retribution, having missed the 1971 with a knee injury, and having starred in a losing Grand Final in 1975.
Peter Knights playing footy was a thing of beauty!
He was a personal favourite, a beautiful high mark, and he did everything with dash, flair and style. He was one of our greatest players, and a lovely bloke as well.
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Great bloke too.
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Ah, the great Peter Knights.
The 1976 Grand Final was one of Peter Knights' great games, although there were lots of them.
1976 was his year of retribution, having missed the 1971 with a knee injury, and having starred in a losing Grand Final in 1975.
Peter Knights playing footy was a thing of beauty!
He was a personal favourite, a beautiful high mark, and he did everything with dash, flair and style. He was one of our greatest players, and a lovely bloke as well.
More Posts like this Davo 23
Ah, the great Peter Knights.
The 1976 Grand Final was one of Peter Knights' great games, although there were lots of them.
1976 was his year of retribution, having missed the 1971 with a knee injury, and having starred in a losing Grand Final in 1975.
Peter Knights playing footy was a thing of beauty!
He was a personal favourite, a beautiful high mark, and he did everything with dash, flair and style. He was one of our greatest players, and a lovely bloke as well.
I wore his number on my back as a kid. He owned that air.
Cracking good read, even as a neutral. Always interested in a club's history.
Have also read 1971 and that team was compared closely to your 2008 flag side. If that's the case ... a few coincidences have come up since then.
The year after - wrecked by injury
Three years after - narrowly defeated in the prelim by the team that lost the GF
Four years after - lost the GF
Five years after - premiers
So 2015 is looking good for you guys...
What's the going rate for a life these days on eBay?
Have also read 1971 and that team was compared closely to your 2008 flag side. If that's the case ... a few coincidences have come up since then.
The year after - wrecked by injury
Three years after - narrowly defeated in the prelim by the team that lost the GF
Four years after - lost the GF
Five years after - premiers
So 2015 is looking good for you guys...
What's the going rate for a life these days on eBay?
Yoy don't have to read my words to know what I thought of 'Crimmo' just look at my avatar. i endorse the above comments, a great inspirational leader of men. We have been fortunate with those types at Hawthorn. Yes, I was there in '76.
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If only Knightsy could have mastered That Coming Down Bit....Must have missed close to 100 Games by injuring himself on the way Down from some of Those 'Speckies'
loved watching him do his speccies , met him first time in the 70's somewhere [may have been around 75 76 ??] at my brothers squash awards great guy , so approachableAh, the great Peter Knights.
The 1976 Grand Final was one of Peter Knights' great games, although there were lots of them.
1976 was his year of retribution, having missed the 1971 with a knee injury, and having starred in a losing Grand Final in 1975.
Peter Knights playing footy was a thing of beauty!
He was a personal favourite, a beautiful high mark, and he did everything with dash, flair and style. He was one of our greatest players, and a lovely bloke as well.
