Other Australian Hookey League is born

[Pie 4 Life]

January, 1976

Four relatively unknown men sat opposite each other inside a cafe in Sydney's Central Business District. They were largely from different backgrounds - one a city slicker who was a successful businessman; a second was a farmer who enjoyed heading to the pubs on weekends; third was a retiree who had a lot of spare time on his hands since retiring from his day job at the local newsagency; and the final man was a university student with big ideas. What had brought them all together was a shared vision - a game that anyone could play regardless of age, gender or handicap. One that could be tinkered with over the years and bring excitement and suspense to those involved. While . many believed it was similar to darts, hookey was a game which posed less risk for those inebriated or less skilful with object in-hand.

And such, the Australian Hookey League - an amateur league to begin with, was born. The four men who would go on to become the founding fathers of the sport, all began about establishing the league.

May, 1976

There were nine team licences that were on the table for the inaugural year. Of the three teams that were turned down, both Perth and Hobart were considered a little too far in terms of travel costs for the time being, while Newcastle was considered too close to Sydney - the first automatic entry based on the ruling that it was where the sport was born.

The six team licences that were approved for the inaugural 10-round season - each team playing each other twice - were the Adelaide Wizards, Brisbane Chiefs, Melbourne Knights, Port Macquarie Bears, Sydney Royals and Townsville Crocodiles.

Each team will be detailed in the next post...

 

[Pie 4 Life]

June, 1976

With the league in its infancy, each team selected the four players which would compete in the matches throughout the season, with both male and female athletes mixed together. In each case, players were zoned to the closest side, with the only exception being in the NSW area where more were closer to Sydney, but still zoned to Port Macquarie. The sole West Australian - Zane Grenda - was zoned to South Australia, while two Tasmanians were zoned to Melbourne.

Adelaide Wizards:

Brock Mould - 22 year-old from Wangary
Marcus Bethane - 30 year-old from Seacliff Park
Sophie Gentile - 29 year-old from Wattle Park
Zane Grenda - 33 year-old from Latham in Western Australia

Brisbane Chiefs:

Ben Blosseville - 19 year-old from Woodhill
Christopher Easterbrook - 34 year-old from Patrick Estate
Angelina Governor - 27 year-old from Tungun
Tristan Hoysted - 17 year-old from Doolbi

Melbourne Knights:

Eliza Sharwood - 31 year-old from Wando Vale
Toby Bessell-Browne - 32 year-old from Three Hummock Island in Tasmania
Oscar Lindesay - 25 year-old from Logan
Archur Maiden - 18 year-old from Blackstone Heights in Tasmania

Port Macquarie Bears:

Sean Ranclaud - 22 year-old from Coolgardie
Owen Horn - 24 year-old from Queens Pinch
Dylan Scollen - 30 year-old from Kielvale
Jordan Rowland - 34 year-old from Urisino

Sydney Royals:

Eliza Nepean - 36 year-old from Macquarie Centre
Lucy Witt - 17 year-old from Corney Town
Cody Sanford - 25 year-old from Caerleon
Oscar Fallon - 35 year-old from South Turramurra

Townsville Crocodiles:

Logan Gratton - 22 year-old from Maria Creeks
Cody Lyon - 34 year-old from Glen Isla
Madison Hopkins - 17 year-old from Deeral
Elizabeth Heaton - 37 year-old from Wangaratta

 

[Pie 4 Life]

June, 1976

The rules were simple - each team would compete to get to 100 points first and once that points total was reached, they would be declared victors, earning four points. A further one bonus point was awarded for a team if their opposition scored under 50, or if they managed to score 100 points in one full turn or less (24 attempts - six each). The difference between the opposition score and the 100 points is the deciding factor when teams are equal on points.

The season would be as follows:

10 rounds, split up in the middle by the National Hookey Championships where the best players from each state would compete at Open and Under 21s level, which gives teams a chance to catch a glimpse of talent for future years. The finals series after 10 rounds would be the top four teams with first playing second for a spot in the grand final, while third playing fourth in an elimination final. The loser of the qualifying final would play the winner of the elimination final in a preliminary final, where the winner would then advance on to the decider.

An end-of-season draft and trade period would be held at the conclusion of the season, with more details to come. There will also be international events in the off-season as well.

 

[Pie 4 Life]

1976 - Round 1

Townsville 109 defeated Melbourne 59
Adelaide 65 defeated by Brisbane 100
Port Macquarie 106 defeated Sydney 73

It was a good week to be north with the three northern sides taking home the points in the inaugural Australian Hookey League round of action. Hosting the opening game of the league, Townsville's Logan Gratton (43 points off three attempts) and Madison Hopkins (42 off two) were the stars for the winners, as Melbourne had no answers in what was ultimately a disappointing display. Tailender, Archur Maiden was the best for the Knights, averaging 12.5 points from his two attempts, but the Tasmanian local could not do enough to save Melbourne from the loss.

Brisbane became the first away team to celebrate a win with a team effort victory over Adelaide. Christopher Easterbrook scored 50 points off two attempts, while teammates, Ben Blosseville (22 off two) and Tristan Hoysted (22 off one) also assisted in what was a commanding quick victory. For Adelaide, Sophie Gentile did her best with 28 points from her sole attempt, but her teammates could only manage 37 points otherwise in a performance that lacked depth across the board for the Wizards.

In the final game of the round, Port Macquarie took home the chocolates in the New South Wales derby, winning against a gallant Sydney. Owen Horn (38 off two attempts) and Dylan Scollen (35 off two) were the two keys to the win, while Eliza Nepean was gallent in defeat for the Royals, scoring 37 off two, while Cody Sanford had 22 points from his sole attempt.