Resource History Thread - Footscray Football Club and Western Bulldogs newspaper archive

Round 16, 1999. 40 pts down at 3/4 time and won by two points. Darce kicked the winner.

Two weeks earlier, round 14, we were 40 pts down at 1/4 time v Sydney and won by 22.
Round 17 we were 25 pts down 20 minutes into the last and won by 7. Paul Hudson hacked it out of mid air as it was going over the boundary in the pocket and it was marked by Darcy again.
Great memory you have. I remember all of them specifically. I thought I was the only one who could remember that Paul Hudson magic on the boundary. It was 25 points down with seven minutes to go.

Sandwiched between those three comebacks was our massive win against North in round 15, with the great man Chris Grant taking charge from the opening quarter. We broke North's ten game win streak.

I remember the newspaper article the following day of Rohan Smith jumping in the air, arm and clenched fist elevated towards the sky, celebrating a goal.

After the Geelong game, we almost pulled off another comeback against Carlton. We were 15 points down with three minutes to go. We lost by three points.
 
That photo is obviously Rod MacPherson. He had a good day with 18 possessions and 2 goals (apart from being reported). Fossie meanwhile had a modest 8 disposal game.
Quality not quantity :)

But yes they have the wrong name on there
 
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Vinegar Mess

Team Captain
Nov 18, 2014
427
998
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
2001 - Round 2
at MCG
[7 April 2001]

Richmond. 9 - 15 - 69
Western Bulldogs 17 - 9 - 111


This infamous afternoon needs no introduction. Sifting through and then editing the mass of newsprint about this game proved so daunting that it put me off attending to this thread for several months (apologies HBG):

If you get the time, I wouldn't mind seeing all the reports from the Libba/knights match against Richmond.
Cheers. Love the thread.

I’ll confine this post to the immediate match reports then follow up with a separate post covering the fall out. Hope you all enjoy.

Sunday Herald Sun - 8 Apr 2001
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Sunday Herald Sun - 8 Apr 2001
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Sunday Herald Sun - 8 Apr 2001
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Sunday Age - 8 Apr 2001
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Sunday Age - 8 Apr 2001
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Sunday Age - 8 Apr 2001
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Sunday Age - 8 Apr 2001
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The Age - 9 Apr 2001
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Herald Sun - 9 Apr 2001
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Herald Sun - 9 Apr 2001
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Vinegar Mess

Team Captain
Nov 18, 2014
427
998
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
2001 - Round 2
at MCG
[7 April 2001]

... the aftermath

By the Monday’s papers, commentators began to pontificate about the “violent” nature of our clash with Richmond, particularly the incident between Tony Liberatore and Matthew Knights. The Herald Sun included a paragraph in their Tuesday Editorial and The Age even deigned to elevate a Caroline Wilson opinion piece to their front page.

The Age - 9 Apr 2001
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The Age - 9 Apr 2001
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Herald Sun - 9 Apr 2001
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The Age - 10 Apr 2001
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The Age - 10 Apr 2001
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The Age - 10 Apr 2001
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Herald Sun - 10 Apr 2001 (... inadvertently omitted the start of the headline here)
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Herald Sun - 10 Apr 2001
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Herald Sun - 10 Apr 2001
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SonOfScray

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 7, 2002
5,949
4,584
Bay 18 L3
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Bruins, Ice, Aces
Hows the hysterical reaction of Robert Walls? Well done Libba. More of it would be good, when players want to bump and jumper punch and do fake tough guy stuffoff the ball. Just go BANG.
 

Vinegar Mess

Team Captain
Nov 18, 2014
427
998
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Hows the hysterical reaction of Robert Walls?

You’re right; it is hysteria.

There’s an inevitability about the change in focus from the less negative on the Sunday to this rabid pap from Walls (who I usually think of as an astute observer) in the Monday football columns.

Compare it to Scot Palmer’s article in the Sunday Herald Sun: “Why Libba’s still a little beauty”. He waxes lyrical about the “fierce tangle of football bodies where will-power is examined, tempers fray and a team’s poise is sorely tested”. It’s great from-the-hip stuff.

In terms of opinion pieces I enjoyed ‘Drawing the line in Blood’ by Ron Reed, a somewhat crustier view that you sense is bursting to cast aside political correctness about model behaviour. His subtext borders on the “bit of biffo is good for footy” angle and at least concedes that the crowd love it.
 

SonOfScray

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 7, 2002
5,949
4,584
Bay 18 L3
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Bruins, Ice, Aces
You’re right; it is hysteria.

There’s an inevitability about the change in focus from the less negative on the Sunday to this rabid pap from Walls (who I usually think of as an astute observer) in the Monday football columns.

Compare it to Scot Palmer’s article in the Sunday Herald Sun: “Why Libba’s still a little beauty”. He waxes lyrical about the “fierce tangle of football bodies where will-power is examined, tempers fray and a team’s poise is sorely tested”. It’s great from-the-hip stuff.

In terms of opinion pieces I enjoyed ‘Drawing the line in Blood’ by Ron Reed, a somewhat crustier view that you sense is bursting to cast aside political correctness about model behaviour. His subtext borders on the “bit of biffo is good for footy” angle and at least concedes that the crowd love it.

Walls' understanding of the game from a real pure, what it means to people and means to play for a Club is pretty much spot on. I generally enjoy his radio spots now as a wise old man of footy. His huff and puff pontificating, picking a fight stuff always fells off the mark though. Jumps too early. This is him at his worst.

Scott Palmer did some good work. His scuttlebutt, gossip stuff was never any good though andpaved the way for the s**t we get now.

Ron Reed gets a thumbs up from me. Not just a footy boffin. Doesn't seem to be part of the bogs Club.
 

Mr. Walker

Premiership Player
Apr 15, 2002
4,223
4,676
PO Box. 7 Powelltown
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Robert Walls is not a person whose opinions I hold in high regard. A few years back he was calling for West Coast Eagles to be stripped of the premiership they won in the "drugs" era of the club. Said the flag was obtained by unfair means and should not be recognised. He was immediately asked if Carlton should therefore be stripped of the 1995 premiership where they rorted the salary cap. His answer was "no". Gives you an idea of his belief system and can be used in assessing the value of his opinion.
 
You’re right; it is hysteria.

There’s an inevitability about the change in focus from the less negative on the Sunday to this rabid pap from Walls (who I usually think of as an astute observer) in the Monday football columns.

Compare it to Scot Palmer’s article in the Sunday Herald Sun: “Why Libba’s still a little beauty”. He waxes lyrical about the “fierce tangle of football bodies where will-power is examined, tempers fray and a team’s poise is sorely tested”. It’s great from-the-hip stuff.

In terms of opinion pieces I enjoyed ‘Drawing the line in Blood’ by Ron Reed, a somewhat crustier view that you sense is bursting to cast aside political correctness about model behaviour. His subtext borders on the “bit of biffo is good for footy” angle and at least concedes that the crowd love it.
Reaction to this was *in insane. It went on and on as if WW3 had broken out!
 

Vinegar Mess

Team Captain
Nov 18, 2014
427
998
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Just wondering whether you have any clippings for this game?
Not sure if this one evaded me or whether I just haven't got around to it yet. I'll be able to give this thread more attention now that I've made a shaky transition from a labouring PC to a Mac. Will try and post the reports for this match during the next few days.
 

Capital_Dog

Rookie
Apr 9, 2006
33
72
Canberra, Australia
AFL Club
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Other Teams
Vic Bushrangers
What a wonderful thread. Brings back so many memories. As a youngster living in Canberra I followed the dogs by radio coverage (through static from Melbourne) in the 70s and recall that amazing match where we kicked the first 10 against Richmond in the first quarter and hung on to win by a few points.

Again great work VM.
 

scooter600x

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 14, 2003
8,896
2,110
Behind the goals, Geelong Rd end
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Yep, located the 1974 game. It was always great to win out at Windy Hill. We’d crashed our car on the way to the Collingwood game two weeks earlier and were out of action for the remainder of the season (except for the dismal final); I therefore missed the entire career of the great Mark Cross.

Can’t find anything resembling that Sydney match though, dw. I’ve checked every season from 1983 to 1995. Could it have been against different opposition? Maybe you’re thinking of that game against Richmond at the MCG when Jim Edmond kicked five goals in the first 15 minutes?

Can anyone else recall the game dogwatch is describing?
I think Dogwatch is thinking about a game at the WACA v West Coast in 98.

We kicked 8 goals to nil in the first quarter and they kicked 8 goals to nil in the second - by half time we were a point down and ended up losing.

Two other things I remember. The goal umpire who was in his first game had the first 16 goals of the game all to his end (they swap ends at half time).

My wife was asked by our next door neighbour the next day if she was alright. The neighbour thought there was some domestic violence at our house from the screaming. In reality my wife was at work and I was screaming at the umpires, home alone.
 

Vinegar Mess

Team Captain
Nov 18, 2014
427
998
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Revisiting this thread as I'm up and running with a new computer and a Photoshop subscription! The following requests are on my immediate radar:

1971 - Round 14 vs Sth Melb (the 'Max Parker' game) - requested by Mr Walker
1983 - Round 11 vs Sydney - requested by dogwatch

I've already sourced reports for both these games will post them shortly.

1994 - Round 8 vs Melb - requested by worbod
1977 - Round 6 vs Ess - (the 'jumper switch' game) - requested by Chicago1
1954 - GF vs Melb - requested by Tom Daniels

I'll work on these ones - in that order - when I next visit the State Library. If anyone has a request I've missed, or if you'd like to add to the list, please let me know.

In the meantime I'll whet your appetite with this VFA match report describing an incident between our neighbours Yarraville and Sunshine.
Yarraville Football Club - Report - 13 Aug 1979.jpg

Sun News-Pictorial - 13 Aug 1979
 
Great to see that you're back, VM. I love reading all of the articles and remembering back to those times. I used to go to Yarraville games when I lived in Maribyrnong in the late 70s and walked to the games after getting off the #82 bus on Sundays at Ballarat Rd and Gordon St.(no trams back then from about 1pm Sat. until Mon.) I taught with Mark Fotheringham's brother, Peter, in those days. Mark was a great kick for goal and the Eagles did pretty well back in those years. Haven't thought about Mark or Peter for years. Thanks.
 

Vinegar Mess

Team Captain
Nov 18, 2014
427
998
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
1971 - Round 14
at Lakeside Oval
[3 July 1971]

South Melbourne 18 - 15 - 123
Footscray 19 - 11 - 125


If you have the time could you find a game from the 1960s I think. It was played at South Melbourne's Lakeside Oval. My memory is that we came from behind in the last quarter to win. The Dogs kicked 8 goals in 12 minutes (if my memory is right!) and a big forward named Max Parker kicked a bag for us and we thought we had finally found a kpf (funny how some things never change). Not sure he played too many more games but he gave us hope for a little while at least.

I'm pleased this game has been mentioned. I was too young to remember it but my older brothers often referred to Max Parker with irony right through the 1970s and 1980s during times when we lacked an effective tall forward. His brief stint with my hometown - Leongatha - in the LVFL might have piqued their obsession as much as his (literally) fifteen minutes of fame at the Lakeside Oval.

Max's VFL career was over less than a month later. All five of his games were played in consecutive weeks in the second half of 1971 as a seventeen year old. He carved out a notable SANFL career, mostly with Woodville (301 games in total). I seem to recall there was talk of him returning to Footscray later in the 1970s but that obviously never eventuated.

Pity the reports of this game focussed on South Melbourne's 'one that got away' narrative. [As an aside, check out Collingwood's score in the VFL Match Details report].

The Age - 5 Jul 1971
Footscray Football Club - Report - The Age - 5 Jul 1971.jpg


Sun News-Pictorial - 5 Jul 1971
Footscray Football Club - Report - Sun News-Pictorial - 5 Jul 1971.jpg


Sun News-Pictorial - 5 Jul 1971
VFL Scoreboard - Sun News-Pictorial - 5 Jul 1971.jpg
 
1971 - Round 14
at Lakeside Oval
[3 July 1971]

South Melbourne 18 - 15 - 123
Footscray 19 - 11 - 125




I'm pleased this game has been mentioned. I was too young to remember it but my older brothers often referred to Max Parker with irony right through the 1970s and 1980s during times when we lacked an effective tall forward. His brief stint with my hometown - Leongatha - in the LVFL might have piqued their obsession as much as his (literally) fifteen minutes of fame at the Lakeside Oval.

Max's VFL career was over less than a month later. All five of his games were played in consecutive weeks in the second half of 1971 as a seventeen year old. He carved out a notable SANFL career, mostly with Woodville (301 games in total). I seem to recall there was talk of him returning to Footscray later in the 1970s but that obviously never eventuated.

Pity the reports of this game focussed on South Melbourne's 'one that got away' narrative. [As an aside, check out Collingwood's score in the VFL Match Details report].

The Age - 5 Jul 1971
View attachment 498004

Sun News-Pictorial - 5 Jul 1971
View attachment 498009

Sun News-Pictorial - 5 Jul 1971
View attachment 498010
Can you get the report of the Pies - Bombres match and post it on the Essendon board? :D
 
1971 - Round 14
at Lakeside Oval
[3 July 1971]

South Melbourne 18 - 15 - 123
Footscray 19 - 11 - 125




I'm pleased this game has been mentioned. I was too young to remember it but my older brothers often referred to Max Parker with irony right through the 1970s and 1980s during times when we lacked an effective tall forward. His brief stint with my hometown - Leongatha - in the LVFL might have piqued their obsession as much as his (literally) fifteen minutes of fame at the Lakeside Oval.

Max's VFL career was over less than a month later. All five of his games were played in consecutive weeks in the second half of 1971 as a seventeen year old. He carved out a notable SANFL career, mostly with Woodville (301 games in total). I seem to recall there was talk of him returning to Footscray later in the 1970s but that obviously never eventuated.

Pity the reports of this game focussed on South Melbourne's 'one that got away' narrative. [As an aside, check out Collingwood's score in the VFL Match Details report].

The Age - 5 Jul 1971
View attachment 498004

Sun News-Pictorial - 5 Jul 1971
View attachment 498009

Sun News-Pictorial - 5 Jul 1971
View attachment 498010

From the Match Details report, the leading 3 goalkickers on the leaderboard were all century makers. Pretty sure Doug Wade finished his career at Norf. Great era for full forwards.
 
From the Match Details report, the leading 3 goalkickers on the leaderboard were all century makers. Pretty sure Doug Wade finished his career at Norf. Great era for full forwards.
Yes, that was an exciting aspect to the game in those days. People dispute it when it is said footy was better in those days but that is a F-A-C-T
 
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