Blues leave home

by LITTLE BOY BLUE

BACK in 2003, I wrote a piece about the end of an era when my old WA team, Subiaco, played their last home and away game at their home ground for just on a century, Subiaco Oval. A similar task now beckons with the mighty Blues, playing their last game at Princes Park on 21 May.

I have been a regular at Princes Park (no Optus Oval for me) since 1977 when I moved to Melbourne. Prior to that, I'd seen a Carlton/Hawthorn game on a visit in 1976 - it was a ripper (the Blues won) and a taste of what lay ahead in many classic Blues/Hawks battles in the 1980s.

Having seen five premierships, those years delivered lots of home victories and even the odd season without a home loss. The ground was a fortress with some visiting clubs going decades without a win there. These memories have been important during the recent down times and I have to keep reminding myself that only the very old and some Essendon and Hawthorn supporters have enjoyed comparable satisfaction to what I have. Most clubs don't come close. And thanks to the marvel of the VCR, I can relive many of these games whenever I like.

Early days were spent standing in front of the old press box, where for big games, movement was impossible - you were trapped for the duration. It was a smart move to join the social club (a very non-elite mob) and enjoy more "comfort" - first in front of the Harris Stand and then later in the back row of the Gardiner Stand. Seeing the same folks most weeks added to the sense of tribalism and community which is now gone. Football's role as the great social leveller is lost in the canyons of the MCG and Docklands, but I doubt if the elite give a toss about that.

Highlights of the years at Princes Park include the following:

Rod Galt's brief time as a forward pocket/ruckman. He'd have a great first half and then fade away. But, that was enough to get him a mention in the early edition of the (now defunct) Herald newspaper, which went to press before half time.

A game against Geelong which must have come close to being called off, so bad was the rain. Three goals won the match for the Blues.

The futility of sarcasm. I made a sarcastic comment about the "pace" of the glacial back-pocket Kevin Heath only to have the guy next to me take it seriously and "agree" - which was probably a good thing - it was Heath's father!

The wit of the common man/person. A favourite remains one of my friend Greg's, observing that some player "had had more kicks than Janis Joplin".

A clash with the iconic Peanut Man led to a heated exchange when the nut vendor blocked Greg's view of the game. "Get stuffed" was the reply when Greg suggested that his right to see the play over-ruled the commercial imperative of selling nuts. And he'd seemed such a nice man..

Magnificent kick-outs by champion fullback Geoff Southby - torpedoes which reached the centre where you backed your blokes to win a contest. What a contrast with today's pathetic piddly kicks from full-back. If I had to pick one feature of the modern game which I despise, it's this. (My wife liked Southby for other reasons.)

That mark by Peter Bosustow.

Mike Fitzpatrick being penalised for time-wasting and having the ball taken from him and given to Essendon, by umpire Robinson - the only such instance I've ever seen in nearly 50 years of watching footy from little league to bush week to VFL/AFL. It cost Carlton the game, but they still won the flag. The modern rule, of calling play on, is an obvious improvement.

The Jezza/Magro collision; years later Silvagni/Milburn.

A game against Collingwood when the pie stall in the outer caught fire, forcing fans to jump the fence. With the visitors trailing badly, Greg's cry of "the Pies are done" was priceless.

Any of those comebacks when the team was behind at half time, but most seemed to involve Hawthorn. Hunter to full forward and Johnston to the centre, and it was all over!

The day the flag pole on the Gardiner Stand snapped, happily without killing or maiming anyone. Not so lucky the seagull struck by the footy in a game against the Dogs.

A dozen or so goals in a first quarter against the Swans, who were in transition to Sydney. Rod Carter leaning ("tilting"?) against the goal post in despair.

Some regular thriller wins against the emerging West Coast Eagles.

Flogging Collingwood in the last big game played at the ground.

Greg Williams racking up 44 possessions in a game against Melbourne in 1993. No votes from the umpires, so no Brownlow for Williams.

Post-match drinks under the Gardiner Stand.

Any appearance by the entertaining Wow Jones. We'd run a book to see how many (or few) touches he'd get.

Any piece of play by the incomparable Bruce Doull.

Other star players - too many to mention without missing someone, but let's try (in no particular order): Southby, Maclure, Ashman, Johnston, Hunter, Bosustow, Harmes, Keogh, McKays (David and Andrew), Fitzpatrick, Kernahan, Bradley, Silvagni, Dean, Ratten, Williams, Kouta. Special mention to "Harry" Madden who always realised it was a game, and has probably taken the same perspective into politics. Honourable mentions to Michael Sexton and Paul Meldrum. Best player never to play in a premiership side: Wayne Blackwell.

(Note: Jezza was just past it when I arrived on the scene, and I missed THAT goal by Craig Bradley against the Eagles, being overseas at the time.)

Since the last game of 1968, I doubt if a Carlton team has run on to the home ground without at least one premiership player on the turf and as long as Kouta or Campo make it for the Melbourne game, that record should be maintained for the 37 years since the 1947-1968 drought was broken.

Long before the post-modernist Captain Carlton, there was a mascot at Princes Park who resembled the Coyote of Road Runner fame (connection with football - unclear). He invariably appeared when Ken Hunter was out injured, leading to some odd speculation about his real identity.

There is a very personal memory. A game against North Melbourne with my (now) stepson, then a Roos supporter. We won, but rather than celebrate to his discomfort, his mother, he and I trudged across the ground towards where our car was parked. Half way across, he said "Let's go back". Conversion to Bluedom was thus achieved, but I have to admit that it might be a bit tougher these days.

So, there it is. These sands of time have run out and there goes nearly 30 years of my football-watching life and for a lot of Carlton people, a hell of a lot more. There was something special about six games at two o'clock every Saturday and a reserves game beforehand. Sometimes, the old clichÚs say it best: thanks for the memories.

Editor's note: That taking the ball off a player for time wasting did happen another time. To Mick Lee of - you guessed it - Subiaco in a WAFL final in the late 1980s.

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