COUNTRY FOOTBALLERS KEEN - GOOD SEASON ASSURED - Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954) - 12 Apr 1924 (original) (raw)

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Sat 12 Apr 1924 - Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954)
Page 73 - COUNTRY FOOTBALLERS KEEN

Interest In the popular winter game

promises to be greater than ever in

the country districts this season. From

various reports to hand marked en

thusiasm is being shown in club mat

ters and the organisation of the com

petitions. some of which have been

strengthened by the admission of new

That there is an increasing desire

to raise the standard of football in

the country, and incidentally to ob

tain premiership honors, is shown by

the keen demand for coaches. Never

before have men with a good know

ledge of all departments of the game,

and capable of leading a team, been

so eagerly sought after. This, natur

ally, has led to the offering of good"

salaries, several districts having en

caged men at from £8 to £10 a week.

Matters have reached such a stage

that applicants for the positions are

using one club against another to se

cure a higher remuneration, and the

Wimmera District League has asked

the Victorian Football League to take

a hand in preventing a continuance of

the practice. To find an effective

remedy, however, is a somewhat dif-

ncuu prouwsm. wnne tne engage-

, ment of coaches tends to encourage

professionalism In the game there are

many instances on. .record, where the

appointment of such a leader, who

ves. the whole or . the best part of

his time to football, has brought a

team to victory which in previous

years, was at the bottom of the list.

Many local captains "exert a strong

influence over their men, and get the

best results, but in other cases there

. is often a tendency to disregard or

under-e8timate the advice of a skip

per who has been in the team for

years. It does not follow, however,

that a coach should be unduly

Firmness is- one of his essential

qualities, but equally necessary is it

that he should be popular with the

While many men with Melbourne

League experience will figure promi

nently in country games this season,

there also will be a heavy exodus of

Among Gippsland teams I notice that

Roscdale have lost the services of a

clever player in "Bunny" Wittman,

who is throwing in his lot with Mel

bourne, and Charlie Anderson, for

whom Carlton is finding a place.

Egan, of Koo-wee-rup, who is de

scribed as a good wing man, is likely

to play with either Melbourne or

Fitzroy, and Shelton. from the same

district, will probably gain a place in

Fitzroy are also seeking Beeson, a

Benalla forward whose play last

season (when he kicked more than 60

goals) was frequently commented on

in these columns, and Parkes, one of

the best men in the Romsey district.

In addition to the players men

tioned, Melbourne are likely to have

Ewan (from Rutherglen), Maher

(Swan Hill), and Leo Makeham

(Woodleigh). Thompson and M'Leod

(Shepparton), Webb (South Bendigo)

and Williamson (Kerang) may don

Among country players likely to be

included in the Richmond 18 are

"Boxer" Rowe, who is described as

one of the leading players in Ben

digo; Bourke. a forward from Tunga-

mah; Blackway (Maryborough), and

Gale and "Chum" Read, of Ulver-

In building up its team Geelong is

giving every encouragement to Wes-

. tern district players, and among those

spoken of are Henderson (Warrnam-

bool) and M'lntyre (Pirron Yallock)

as ruck men; Renkin (Colac) forward

and Spurrell (Pomborneit) ruck.

The umpiring in country competi

tions, particularly during the last few

QDOOAna EQA VkAnn 1_ J A- .

wecu tut? auujeci or mucn

adverse criticism. In many instances,

of course, the partisan spirit asserted

itself too strongly, and all the trouble

was due to over-enthusiasm of the

barrackers. Almost equally numer

ous. however (at least in some dis

tricts), have been the cases in which

complaints were well justified.

Country associations which engage

League umpires were first actuated

by the desire to increase the status of

the game. They are called upon to

pay substantial fees, and are certainly

entitled to the services of competent

men who know the rules of football,

and by enforcing them can prevent

Last year the Victorian Football

League, with a view to improving um

piring, appointed a coach in Elder,

who enjoys the reputation of having

been one of the best umpires in Aus

tralia. The move was a very com

mendable one. and should have better

Some of the League umpires will

not accept engagements in the coun

try which necessitate them remain

ing away over the week-end. The con

trolling body should see that there is

a liberal supply of men who are pre

pared to give their services in any

part of the State, and also that they

have qualifications which fit them to

take charge of any game, big or small.

Paramount in importance with the

question of umpires is that of special

trains. The extent to which railway

football traffic has grown in the coun-

_ try is shown by the fact that "spe

cials" engaged for the sport last year

; reached up to 62 in one day. The

charge for chartering a football train

is 11/10 a mile, with a minimum

guarantee of £8/17/. The department

makes A rebate, .of. JL.0_ Per . ent- orV<

revenue "ovlr" The gtiarahfee; Which

certainly seems a one-sided proposi

tion. A movement for more liberal

concessions is meeting with strong

support in country football circles.

It is claimed on behalf of the Rail

ways Department that the rate for

these trains has not been altered since

1921, despite the big increase in wages

during that period. The department

also states that the guarantees do

not cover working expenses. One of

the leading officials, when the matter

was brought under his notice, pointed

out that the guarantee for other excur

sion trains was 17/8 a mile. He also

referred to the system now in opera

tion by which associations "pooled"

their trains, whereas previously indi

vidual clubs chartered the trains, and

often had to meet deficiencies.

Under the present method one train

was a set-off against another, and

the association received the surplus

for distribution at the end of the sea

Details of revenue from football

traffic in the country are not avail

able, but it must represent a very

substantial source of income, and the

associations, are justified in asking

Contrary to general expectation,

another club has been admitted to

the Central Gippsla'nd Association,

viz., Pakenham. Eleven teams will-

compete for the 1924 premiership, and

it is claimed that this is the biggest

country association in the State.

Matches are to commence on Satur

day, April 26. A proposal that the

association call tenders for umpires

was rejected, and the C.G.A. has again

affiliated with the V.F.A. Messrs W.

Young (Longwarry) and C. Appleton

(Warragul) have been elected presi

dent and secretary respectively. There

is not likely to be a "passenger" team

and a great battle is expected for

inclusion in the "semis."

In "The Weekly Times" last week it

was reported in connection with a

recent move from Ararat, that coun

try teams are seldom in a position to

divide profits among players. This

has been successfully worked in the

C.G.A. The Yarragon club last >tar

gave about £100 to players.

Bendigo League is up against a big

problem over the playing of a match

at Eaglehawk last year on the occa

sion of the railway picnic. The

league told the railway picnic people

that it would not occur again, and in

their fixtures they have left vacant

the date on which the railway picnic

is to be held, the understanding be

ing that the date is a movable one if

The Mayor of Bendigo is not satis

fied with the assurance given. The

Council has left the matter of allot

ment of grounds to him, and he is

persisting that the president of the

league (Cr J. A. Mielielsen), and the

Secretary (Mir W. BidWell) should

sign an agreement drawn up by tlie

city solicitor, and in which there, is

a penalty clause of £56. Th® league

president says he will not sign, and

the members of the league are

him in the matter. The league has

also Instructed its secretary to again

assure the railway picnic committee

that it has no intention of playing

any football in Bendigo on the occa

sion of the picnic, it being thought

that this action might influence the

council in its decision. In the mean

time preparations are being made for

the football season. The fixtures

provide for the opening matches on

April 26. There are now six teams

in the competition, including Echuca

and Rochester, and two games will

be played in Bendigo each week, ana

one either in Rochester or Echuca.

On the opening day there will be two

matches, one being deferred M,

April 26, Eight Hours Day holiday.

The minor premiership matches will

be concluded on September 13, and

the semi-finals and final by October

11. October 18 is reserved for the

grand final if necessary. A date in

July has been reserved for a match

against Ballarat at Ballarat, and

August 16 is set apart for a match

against Victorian League at Bendigo.

There will be few alterations In the

teams. Roy Bockholt has been re

elected as skipper and - coach of the

Sandhurst club, Vic. Profltt will act

in the dual capacity for South Ben

digo, and "Banger" Harris will once

more lead Eaglehawk. Echuca pro

mises to send out a strong team, and

there will be keen rivalry for the

honors between the country and city

At the second meeting of delegates

the Pyrenees District Association de

cided to play semi-finals and final in

Ai oca. Mr Cyd Smith promised a

donation of £5 towards a medal fund

The Mountain Creek Association has

been formed with four clubs — Red-

bank. Stuart Mill, Barkly and Moon-

ambel. Mr A. Bannister, snr., was ap

pointed president, and Mr J. T. !Ko-

foed secretary. Two other clubs

Navaree and District Rovers (near

Joel Joel) — applied for admission,

but their application was refused ow

ing to the travelling difficulties.

According to a report from Cam-

perdown, the Warrnambool and Cor-

angamite Association have agreed to

amalgamate. In the past the Warr

nambool Association has embraced

five clubs — Port Fairy, Koroit. Warr

nambool, South Warrnambool and

Allansford (the last-named dropped

out during the progress of last year's

competition). The Corangamite Asso

ciation was made up of Terang, Cam-

perdown, Cobden and Morllake. A

competition between teams from all

these centres should give added in

terest to the game (if such were

needed) in the Western district and

bring about a standard of play equal

to that in any other country district

i? Vi(itoria- H is reported, 'however

that Warrnambool and South are

joining forces to try and gain pre

miership honors, of which the seaside

city has fallen short duripg the past

g ln fftvor of Koroit and Port