Opinion What was the most hostile Victorian suburban ground in the old days?

[Cyclops]

Sadly never saw Brunswick Street, Lake or Junction ovals. Happily never went to Windy Hill or Punt Road- birh were notiriously unfriendly.

Went to Glenferrie, a tiny paddock, for reserves games IIRC, there are numerous better country ovals.

Prices Park was a bit lifeless, but I never saw Carlton there, I daresay they gave it life.

 

[Cyclops]

Sadly never saw Brunswick Street, Lake or Junction ovals. Happily never went to Windy Hill or Punt Road- both were notiriously unfriendly.

Went to Glenferrie, a tiny paddock, for reserves games IIRC, there are numerous better country ovals.

Princes Park was a bit lifeless, but I never saw Carlton there, I daresay they gave it life. I saw Pies Lions there, Fitzroy had even less fans that Hawthorn.

Honestly, reading this thread... I know it's not the whole story, but it really puts a lot of the "good old days" per se into perspective.

Yep. Footy is a cleaner sport these days. We have lost good things, but on balance its been worth it.

The violence was the worst part. Seating has done a great deal to fix that.

 

[iameviljez]

Seating has done a great deal to fix that.

Yes, along with the limiting of full-fat booze. Of course, people do drink faster standing up, so it's a bit chicken and egg

 

[Pistol Night]

Yes, along with the limiting of full-fat booze. Of course, people do drink faster standing up, so it's a bit chicken and egg

Im going to do an experiment on this. I reckon im that much of lazy campaigner im a sit down positive drinker

 

[JimmyBC]

Damn shame Collingwood didn't keep Vic Park as the training & admin base you lose part of your soul forever I reckon going to the shiny bells and whistles of sterile modern complexes.

 

[Pistol Night]

Damn shame Collingwood didn't keep Vic Park as the training & admin base you lose part of your soul forever I reckon going to the shiny bells and whistles of sterile modern complexes.

We still cant get the piss smell out of the joint so we had to move to somewhere with heaps of close toilets

 

[Sttew]

We still cant get the piss smell out of the joint so we had to move to somewhere with heaps of close toilets

You mean the Yarra River?

 

[Pistol Night]

You mean the Yarra River?

Thats the one

 

[iameviljez]

Damn shame Collingwood didn't keep Vic Park as the training & admin base you lose part of your soul forever I reckon going to the shiny bells and whistles of sterile modern complexes.

Soul, perhaps - but honestly, at the end of the day, better facilities are just that.

 

[Pistol Night]

Soul, perhaps - but honestly, at the end of the day, better facilities are just that.

We trained there last year and had a couple injuries i think. Yeah and the facilities are outdated

 

[Robroy22]

Damn shame Collingwood didn't keep Vic Park as the training & admin base you lose part of your soul forever I reckon going to the shiny bells and whistles of sterile modern complexes.

Once upon a time I would have agreed with you but now....the G is home.

 

[Shane Heard]

Moorabbin was the closest & easiest ground to get to for me when I was young. Can recall going with mates to watch games like Saints v Eagles late 80's, you could take your own esky in, get smashed, and mock, deride & abuse Eagles players, and because there were only a few thousand there, the poor bastards could hear every word of it. Best value ever.

Poor old Sumich …he copped it at windy hill too.

 

[Shane Heard]

Didn't say it was played at the Costa Zoo.

Costa Zoo..hehhehe ..that’s a good one

 

[Shane Heard]

Vicky Park certainly had an aura about it and opposition sides rarely left there with a win (Fitzroy had an enviable record in the 80's and '90's) but most suburban grounds had their feral supporters and made life in the outer a lesson in diplomacy ( if not survival).
Windy Hill was unpleasant particularly when Des Tuddenham went there as coach, Sheedy's mob were also pretty easily riled. Princess Park with it's mix of Lygon Street and Liberal Politicians was always fun but Moorabbin always gave me the creeps. It was always WINDY and cold at Moorabbin and the centre was always a mudheap. Kardinia Park always reminded me of the MCG members and the Dee's in the 50's. They all wore their blazers and looked like they'd just come in from a foxhunt, classic Western District stock.

Glenferrie Oval was the original dungheap, Kennedy loved it that way as it brought other sides back to his Hawks skill set and then there was the old Lake Ground at South Melbourne which was a lovely ground to play on or to watch footy at but like all the old cricket grounds it had picket fencing and blokes quite often ended up getting knocked into the pickets! They played night footy at the Lake Ground in the 60's but the lights really only illuminated the middle 3rd of the ground so half the time the ball went missing in the dark!

Aeden Street was just another suburban ground, sides didn't mind it too much because they used to win pretty easily out there but the Western Oval was a mongrel of a ground to play if there was a wind (usually either North or South) because it blew straight down the middle of the ground.

Personally I hated Moorabbin the most because I was there when Johnny Greening was king hit and that still gauls me to this day. The crowd became incensed after the initial shock and StKilda people were unable to process what they'd seen as well. I don't know how the Police (on horseback) kept the crowd under control but they did and play recommenced.....but that ground always haunted me after that day.

It’s interesting to read vivid stories from a bloke your age. It’s the era of the last days before Essendon, Blues and Pies started having home games at the G.
I’m probably about 10 years younger and started out by going to the footy with the old man at age 7 in 77’.

The old bloke would only attend games at windyhill, The G vs Rich or Dees, and VFL park. We lived out in the outer east so Waverley was a dream fixture. No trains and a quick 40 min drive home.

But there were exceptions when it came to late season games that were vital…he did take me to Vic park about 4 times. Early 80s. And it was stressed upon to me that we would both dress completely neutral and show no red and black colours and blend in with the Collingwood masses in the outer and don’t cheer when we scored.

I remember even the kids and woman swore and cursed like sailors.

I never saw or heard that vitriol at windy hill as a kid. Most people on the outer were mild mannered folk.


And I never saw a victory at Vic park. It was always a disturbing, painful experience listening to the vile language directed to the Dons players. It was a pack mentality of pretend aggression. Loser scumbags venting their spleen at any opposition touch of the ball.

This is why I still hate Collingwood now I suppose. Not the club. Their fans.

Princes Park was Comedy Central in comparison. Highly emotion and borderline psychotic behaviour ..fuelled by alcohol …was always fun to attend. Lots of funny comments yelled out all day by Carlton fans.
A different vibe to Victoria Park.

Arden st, Morrabin, Lake oval…Whitten oval…never been to any of them.

The old man wouldn’t even consider attending those grounds. You’d have to listen to the radio for those battles.


Someone here mentioned windy hill as a hostile ground …well I remember seeing only one fight in the crowd from 77’ to 87’ …lots of drunk adults ..but no biff.

VFL park on the other hand was a different story. I saw plenty of all in brawls out in the carpark after games in muddy conditions involving Essendon fans vs Blues, Pies or Hawthorn supporters.

Good times.

 

[Shane Heard]

If you were PM it wasn’t Princes Park

View attachment 2238374

Sir Robert Menzies…he was a fanatical Carlton supporter who took a great interest in every game the blues played.
To the point where the head honchos at CFC built a specialised scaffold with a ramp so the Prime Minster could drive his Rolls Royce up and park to watch the match.

Edit: His driver would bring it up onto the ramp and park.

Im pretty sure it was only one match. But I could be wrong.


Anyways…That’s Carlton for ya.

They think they’re better than all of us.

But they’re not. Just because Menzies and Elliot brought bit of media attention to the club for many years…doesn’t mean for one second that they are any different to say…Footscray and the like ..

 

[Pistol Night]

Sir Robert Menzies…he was a fanatical Carlton supporter who took a great interest in every game the blues played.
To the point where the head honchos at CFC built a specialised scaffold with a ramp so the Prime Minster could drive his Rolls Royce up and park to watch the match.

That’s Carlton for ya.

Do that at Victoria Park and when you go to leave it’s up on blocks with the motor missing

 

[JimmyBC]

What a flog

 

[RedWhite4Ever]

Arden St was pretty rough back in the day.

 

[Shane Heard]

Do that at Victoria Park and when you go to leave it’s up on blocks with the motor missing

Exactly.

This is the image modern day idiot Carlton fans cling to. They actually think they are Australian Rules football royalty.

But it’s all an allusion. They are poor deluded souls.

Essendon and Collingwood and Richmond fans are much more realistic about their origins and history.

We’re more humble. But celebrate significant victories with subdued enthusiasm.

 

[Shane Heard]

Arden St was pretty rough back in the day.

You witnessed alcohol vomiting and general disgusting violence didn’t you?

It’s not good.

 

[Robroy22]

It’s interesting to read vivid stories from a bloke your age. It’s the era of the last days before Essendon, Blues and Pies started having home games at the G.
I’m probably about 10 years younger and started out by going to the footy with the old man at age 7 in 77’.

The old bloke would only attend games at windyhill, The G vs Rich or Dees, and VFL park. We lived out in the outer east so Waverley was a dream fixture. No trains and a quick 40 min drive home.

But there were exceptions when it came to late season games that were vital…he did take me to Vic park about 4 times. Early 80s. And it was stressed upon to me that we would both dress completely neutral and show no red and black colours and blend in with the Collingwood masses in the outer and don’t cheer when we scored.

I remember even the kids and woman swore and cursed like sailors.

I never saw or heard that vitriol at windy hill as a kid. Most people on the outer were mild mannered folk.


And I never saw a victory at Vic park. It was always a disturbing, painful experience listening to the vile language directed to the Dons players. It was a pack mentality of pretend aggression. Loser scumbags venting their spleen at any opposition touch of the ball.

This is why I still hate Collingwood now I suppose. Not the club. Their fans.

Princes Park was Comedy Central in comparison. Highly emotion and borderline psychotic behaviour ..fuelled by alcohol …was always fun to attend. Lots of funny comments yelled out all day by Carlton fans.
A different vibe to Victoria Park.

Arden st, Morrabin, Lake oval…Whitten oval…never been to any of them.

The old man wouldn’t even consider attending those grounds. You’d have to listen to the radio for those battles.


Someone here mentioned windy hill as a hostile ground …well I remember seeing only one fight in the crowd from 77’ to 87’ …lots of drunk adults ..but no biff.

VFL park on the other hand was a different story. I saw plenty of all in brawls out in the carpark after games in muddy conditions involving Essendon fans vs Blues, Pies or Hawthorn supporters.

Good times.

Shane said:
"It’s interesting to read vivid stories from a bloke your age. It’s the era of the last days before Essendon, Blues and Pies started having home games at the G.
I’m probably about 10 years younger and started out by going to the footy with the old man at age 7 in 77’."

The first game I ever attended was the '58 GF and the Pies got the chocolates! I was 9 and my grandfather smuggled me into the ground with him. That's why I take so long to type!

 

[Cyclops]

Just on Vic Park, it wasn't ours to keep. It was a gift to the people of Collingwood, and the council allowed a footy to oval to be created. Quite against the terms of the bequest the Pies behaved as a tenant eg put up a fence, excluded others etc.

Obviously most people in Collingwood loved the club and approved but we have no legal basis to use it exclusively.

Eventualy it wouldve come unstuck, and i have no idea how we got away with insurance, etc.as long as we did.

Arden St was pretty rough back in the day.

The crowd in the 1930s used to bash the opposition and even the umps. That was a whole other level of feral.

 

[Pomsta]

Vic Park was the worst I went to in Victoria. However Football Park was worse. At least the Collingwood supporters had some knowledge about football.

 

[IKnowtheDog]

As sad as it is the suburban grounds are gone, the facilities were very antiquated.

Vic Park was very intimidating place for visiting supporters (and even Pies fans) but was awesome when Pies got on a roll.

Unfortunately the seating became an issue as the seating arrangement for the wooden bleachers was from a time when humans were skinnier.

 

[IKnowtheDog]

Would be interesting to know the hostility of grounds in the VFA, SANFL and WAFL days