
QUICK LINKS:- 23rd August 4th July 30th June 24th May 29th April 13th April 8th March 12th January 18th November 24th October Major Results and Awards 30th September 23rd September 9th September 18th August 9th August 19th July 14th July 30th June 31st May 6th May 30th April 10th April News Archive
AVAILABLE NOW
the first two titles in a ten volume series which, collectively, will provide the richest and most detailed Australia-wide survey of the history of the game yet produced.
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23rd August 2008
Full Speed Ahead For SA Football Companion An unexpected and quite dramatic improvement in my health has enabled me to make some significant progress on the next Full Points Publications title, Full Points Footy's SA Football Companion, which now seems well on course for publication in late October/early November. The book is basically a 1,072 entry 'A-Z' (Aamodt to Zucker) of the key people, clubs, competitions, records and stats, important matches, events and developments and so forth from the game's one and a half century long history in the state. It's intended as a general reference rather than as the sort of book people will want to read from cover to cover. Some of the material has appeared previously on the Full Points Footy website, but a sizeable proportion of it is completely new and will remain unique to the book (i.e. it won't subsequently be added to the site). Another beneficial consequence of feeling better has been a renewed desire to bolster my meagre knowledge of the game's history. Among the sizeable swag of titles eagerly devoured over the past month or so, two stand out, and I would unreservedly and avidly recommend both of them to everyone, although getting hold of the Storer title might be difficult. Woodville-West Torrens Football Club historian John Storer has produced a two volume, limited edition history of West Torrens, the first of which covers the period between 1897 and 1944. It's detailed, capably written, well researched and beautifully set out, and should appeal to all true fans of the game. John Gascoyne's The Mail Medal, an updated version of a book first published in 1996, is similarly exhaustive and magnificently presented as well as being - from this reader's perspective at any rate - almost 'unputdownable'. Again, it's heartily recommended, and unlike the Storer title should be relatively easy to track down. |
| 4th
July 2008
Profiles of two former Geelong area clubs, Chilwell and Newtown, have just been added, as have entries for current Ballarat Football League clubs Melton, Melton South and Sebastopol, and Camperdown, Cobden, Koroit, North Warrnambool and Port Fairy of the Hampden Football League. Those who find trivial facts diverting might care to note that Chilwell was the 600th club to be profiled on the site. I'm a bit late with this one (but arguably not as late as Subiaco), and I'm indebted to regular Full Points Footy correspondent Julio for bringing it to my attention, but the Subiaco Football Club has now joined every other club in the WAFL except Claremont, South Fremantle and Peel by naming an official 'Team of the Century'. The team, in full, reads:
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| 30th
June 2008
Footy 150 Years Conference In Melbourne Peter Burke has alerted me to a forthcoming conference aimed at assisting club and league officials to learn more about preserving, recording and presenting their club's history. 150 Years Of Australian Football will take place at Victoria University Conference Centre, 300 Flinders Street, Melbourne on Tuesday 15th July 2008, commencing at 9.00 am. Registration for the conference is FREE, but bookings are nevertheless required. To register, email jmcbeth@unimelb.edu.au with your name, institution/club/affiliation, email address and telephone number. THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS 8 JULY 2008. Speakers and contributors include Bob Stewart, David Parkin, June Senyard, Lionel Frost and Brendon Gale. For further information, including details of the subjects to be addressed, go to www.historical-studies.unimelb.edu.au/events or take a look at the conference fliers 150 Years Of Australian Football.pdf and 150 Years Community Football Heritage.pdf It's the sort of event I'd love to attend personally, but unfortunately that won't be possible. However, I'd love to hear from anybody who does go. A new site devoted to Essendon has just started. The Essendon Footy Zone currently contains match reports and a forum, with other features soon to be added. Check it out at http://www.essendonfootyzone.net78.net/ Latest Tasmanian Football HoF Inductees Named Regular site contributor Len Colquhoun recently supplied details of the latest twenty-four inductees to the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame, as selected by AFL Tasmania. They are: BEN ATKIN - a triple b&f winner with Glenorchy followed by a starring role with the Tassie Devils. KEVIN BAILEY - Mercury cartoonist during the 1970s, '80s and '90s. JOHN BONNEY - a hard as nails rover with both Cooee, where he won a hat trick of b&f awards, and St Kilda, for whom his 89 senior games included the losing VFL grand final of 1971 against Hawthorn. Represented Tasmania 8 times. As a coach, he led Cooee to the 1978 NWFU and state titles. COLIN CAMPBELL - star Essendon rover of the 1890s who helped the Dons to 5 premierships. LANCE CROSSWELL - a top centreman with Launceston and Longford 1945-54. HAROLD 'TIGER' DOWLING - Cooee's games played record holder who helped the club to the 1961, 1964 and 1965 premierships. Also played for East Devonport, and coached Wynyard to a flag in 1975. ROBBIE DYKES - a prominent performer for both Glenorchy and New Norfolk 1970-96. Represented the state 20 times. TIM EVANS - star full forward for Port Adelaide, kicking 1041 goals in 248 games, and representing SA. Also played 59 VFL games for Geelong. STEVEN GOULDING - a fine on-baller for North Launceston in the 1980s and '90s. Also played briefly with North Melbourne, and coached Claremont in WA. RON HALL - a star on-baller with North Launceston (245 games 1963-78) who played 5 times for the state. LES HEPPER - New Norfolk administrator who oversaw his club's most successful era to date in the 1960s and '70s. NATHAN HOWARD - inaugural captain of the Tassie Devils who also played successfully with Ulverstone, North Launceston and Launceston. RAY JAMES - a leading journalist and media commentator with 'Southern Cross' and TNT-9 from the 1970s to the early 1990s. ANDY LOVELL - a dual premiership player with Glenorchy (1985-6) before playing successfully in the V/AFL with Melbourne (121 games) and West Coast (43 games). GRAEME MACKEY - top centreline player and on-baller in 269 games for Sandy Bay 1968-85. A regular state player. RAY MAYNARD - a top defender, and North Launceston's senior games played record holder with 323 games 1970-86. Represented Tasmania. DON MCLEOD - gave North Hobart great service, mainly as a key position forward, in 265 games 1972-86. Won five club b&f awards, and played 18 times for Tasmania. KEITH ROBERTS - enjoyed a thirteen season (1923-35) career with Wynyard, Yeoman, New Town and City which included winning the TFL's official best and fairest award in 1927. GRAEME SHEPHARD - rover with Cooee and Collingwood, helping the former to two flags, and playing 46 senior VFL games for the latter. A regular state rep. including two carnivals. COLIN STOKES - a top full forward for Longford between the wars. CHARLIE THOMPSON - a top ranking wingman and rover with North Launceston 1955-74. DARREN TRAVENA - played successfully with South Launceston, South Adelaide, North Launceston and North Hobart, and the current coach of the Tassie Devils. KEVIN WILLIAMS - a top field umpire from 1965 to 1990, his 300-plus games included ten regional grand finals, a state grand final, and five representative matches. MARK WILLIAMS - field umpire in more than 400 games 1986-2007 including seven grand finals and five state games. The official induction ceremony takes place on 4th July at Wrest Point, Hobart. Profiles of Bacchus Marsh, Coorparoo Kings, East Point, Lake Wendouree, Newtown and Chilwell, and Warrnambool have recently been added. Thanks to Joshua Ryan for supplying me with details about the Coorparoo Kings, and for clarifying the situation vis-à-vis that club's relationship with the original Coorparoo Football Club in the process. I'm also indebted to Newtown and Chilwell's historian Christine Kelly for providing information about her club's history as well as the photograph which appears in the profile. Finally, Len Colquhoun is to blame (again!) for kindly supplying me with much of the information that appears in the entry on Warrnambool. |
| 29th
April 2008
The second Full Points Publications title, Full Points Footy's WA Football Companion, is now out. Visit the new Publications page for more information, or go here to view some sample pages. Bellarine Football League and Benalla and District Football League Club Profiles The latest entries in the Leagues and Clubs section are for Anglesea, Barwon Heads, Drysdale, Geelong Amateur, Modewarre, Newcomb Power, Ocean Grove, Portarlington, Queenscliff and Torquay of the Bellarine Football League, and the Benalla and District Football League's Bonnie Doon, Devenish and Swanpool. |
| 13th
April 2008
Football's appeal continues to win it new friends across the globe, not least in Europe. Even in countries with no history of playing the game, interest is being generated by TV, the internet, and the efforts of dedicated aficionados such as David Valente from Portugal, whose footy website at http://futebolaustraliano.googlepages.com/home has just opened for business. Whether or not you speak Portuguese I reckon you'll get a buzz from visiting the site simply because it presents so much that is familiar in what, to many, will seem an unfamiliar and unique way. David is hopeful that Australian football, which has never previously been played in Portugal, might get off the ground in a limited way soon, perhaps in 9-a-side form utilising soccer or rugby pitches. Nearby Spain has already witnessed considerable growth in the game and looks likely to send two teams - Spain and Catalonia - to Melbourne for the International Cup later this year. It would be great if Portugal could follow suit, and I'm sure all genuine footy fans will join me in wishing David and his fellow lovers of the game the very best of fortune in their endeavours. Northern Areas FA and Alberton FL Club Profiles Profiles of all current Northern Areas Football Association clubs Booleroo Centre–Melrose–Wilmington (BMW) (BMW for short), Broughton-Mundoora, Crystal Brook, Jamestown-Peterborough, Orroroo and Southern Flinders, and the Alberton Football League's Devon Welshpool-Won Wron Woodside, Fish Creek, Inverloch-Kongwak, Kilcunda Bass, Korumburra-Bena, Meeniyan-Dumbalk United, Phillip Island, Tarwin, Toora and District, Wonthaggi Power and Yarram are the latest to be added to the Leagues and Clubs section. |
| 8th
March 2008
Full Points Footy 'Out Of Hibernation' A combination of illness, internet connectivity problems and other demands on my time meant that I managed to add very little to the website over the past couple of months. However, there are plenty of new things in the pipeline. Just by way of reminding myself where all the knobs and buttons are, and what they do, I've added profiles of 'Pat' Rodriguez and 'Nugget' Hilsz to the Biographies section. Back in January, Max Sayer kindly provided information about the Northern Areas Football Association, which I was in the process of adding to the site when I lost my internet connection. This was a prelude to well over a month of, at best, only very spasmodic internet access, which ultimately necessitated the installation of a new telephone line. Thank fully, since then, everything has been working normally. |
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| Launch
Of Full Points Publications
It's long been my ambition to supplement the material on Full Points Footy with more enduring content, and with the imminent launch of the Full Points Publications imprint this ambition will finally be realised. The first title to be published will be The Full Points Footy Encyclopedia Of Australian Football Clubs Volume One, which contains historical and statistical information about every club ever to have competed in any of the major designated state competitions (including by extension the AFL). If everything proceeds according to plan the book will be published in the UK at the end of next week, and in Australia a few weeks after that. It's a 6"x9" hardback with dust-wrap containing 700 pages. Some of the content has previously appeared on the website, but there is also much that is new, including some superb (to my eyes, anyway) old photographs that have never, to the best of my knowledge, previously been published. As the title implies, this is the first of a projected series of books . Volume Two, which will cover amateur, Melbourne metropolitan, and leading country league clubs, will be published in a year's time. Further information will be posted when it's to hand, so be sure to check back if you're interested. |
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| 12th January
2008
There can be few better ways of tuning up for a new footy season than by tapping into the thoughts of fellow obsessives. In this respect, The Footy Almanac 2007, edited by John Harris and Paul Daffey, is tantamount to a godsend. Just prior to Christmas I was fortunate enough to be sent a copy by Rod Gillett, long time Full Points Footy subscriber and contributor, who happens to be one of the book's authors. As the title implies, the book is a chronological account of the 2007 AFL season. It contains reviews of every match, each written by one of a team - or 'Almanackery', to use the technical term - of writers of varying backgrounds, all of whom share a passion for the game. I found my reaction to the whole was pretty similar to watching an engrossing football match in that I was in turns admiring, amused, exhilarated, contemptuous and, on one occasion, downright seething. Can't recommend it enough. Should be easy enough to track down, but if you're having trouble, you can email the publisher, Malarkey Publications. For the first nine years of its existence the North Adelaide Football Club was known as Medindie. North Adelaide history committee member Nick Haines takes a fascinating in depth look at this little known phase in his club's history here. |
| 18th
November 2007
NTFL club Ulverstone now has its own website (has had for some months now, in fact), which you'll find at http://www.ufcrobins.com.au/. It's still growing, but already contains a wealth of historical information and pictures, a news section, current club details, interactive features, and much more. It's well worth a visit. |
| 24th
October 2007
Most additions to the site during October have been to do with events from the 2007 season, but there have also been several new player profiles added, i.e. Alec Albiston (Hawthorn & North Melbourne), Ken Albiston (Richmond & Melbourne), Les Borrack (Geelong), Neil Doolan (North Melbourne), Bill Hickey (South Melbourne & Carlton), James Hird (Ainslie & Essendon), Jack Julian (St Kilda & Prahran), Les Kaine (Hawthorn), August Kearney (Essendon), Brian Kelly (South Melbourne & New Town), Jack Kelly (St Kilda), John Kennedy junior (Hawthorn), Rick Kennedy (Footscray), Frank Mockridge (Geelong), Ian Salmon (Footscray), Maurice Sankey (Latrobe & Carlton), William Scanlan (Melbourne & Footscray), Tom Waye (Port Adelaide & Footscray) The Bigger Than BIG AFL Ladder 1997-2007 The following ladder, which was compiled using the *Ruckman* statistics application, appeared recently on Footystats, the internet's best and most exhaustive statistical football resource:
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| Major
Results and Awards
AFL GRAND FINAL: Geelong 24.19 d. Port Adelaide 6.8 (The Cats claim their fourteenth flag, and the first since 1963, by a record margin of victory for a V/AFL grand final) BROWNLOW MEDAL: Jimmy Bartel (Geelong) (First Geelong winner since Paul Couch in 1989) TOP GOALKICKER: Jonathan Brown (Brisbane) 77 MCCLELLAND TROPHY (MINOR PREMIERS): Geelong ALL AUSTRALIAN TEAM:
SANFL GRAND FINAL: Central District 16.11 (107) d. North Adelaide 5.12 (The Bulldogs' 6th premiership in 8 seasons) MAGAREY MEDAL: James Allen (North Adelaide) TOP GOALKICKER: Brant Chambers (Sturt) 112 STANLEY H. LEWIS MEMORIAL TROPHY: Central District WAFL GRAND FINAL: Subiaco 15.13 d. Claremont 9.8 (A tenth flag for the Lions) SANDOVER MEDAL: Anthony Jones (Claremont) TOP GOALKICKER: Brad Smith (Subiaco) 126 RODRIGUEZ SHIELD: Claremont VFL GRAND FINAL: Geelong 17.24 d. Coburg 7.10 LISTON TROPHY: James Byrne (Geelong) TOP GOALKICKER: Nick Sautner (Sandringham) 69 AFL SOUTHERN TASMANIA PREMIER LEAGUE GRAND FINAL: Glenorchy 14.22 d. Clarence 4.14 (Glenorchy's first since 1999) LEITCH MEDAL: Brad Carver (New Norfolk) TOP GOALKICKER: Mitchell Williamson (Clarence) 63 NTFL GRAND FINAL: Launceston 19.9 d. Ulverstone 16.12 (Back to back flags for the Blues) BALDOCK MEDAL: Kurt Heazlewood (Devonport) TOP GOALKICKER: Phillip Crowden (Devonport) 111 SYDNEY AFL PREMIER DIVISION GRAND FINAL: North Shore 12.15 d. St George 9.12 PHELAN MEDAL: Charlie Richardson (Pennant Hills) TOP GOALKICKERS: Brad Abbott (UNSW-Eastern Suburbs) and Peter Dugmore (St George) both 71 AFL QUEENSLAND STATE LEAGUE GRAND FINAL: Mt Gravatt 16.12 d. Southport 10.10 GROGAN MEDAL: Todd Featherstone (Labrador) (First Labrador player to win the award) TOP GOALKICKER: Ben McEntee (Southport) 100 AFL CANBERRA PREMIER DIVISION GRAND FINAL: Sydney 18.14 d. Queanbeyan 14.10 (Three flags in a row for the Swans' B side) MULROONEY MEDAL: Jarred Moore (Sydney) TOP GOALKICKER: Mark Armstrong (Queanbeyan) 107 |
| 23rd
September 2007
After a week away in not-so-sunny (but still very pleasant) Cornwall it appears I'm going to have my work cut out catching up with and recording recent developments in all the leagues covered on Full Points Footy. Thanks to everyone who's been taking the time and trouble to keep me informed - it really is appreciated, and does help. One thing being in Cornwall, sans laptop, sans internet access, taught me is that feeling remote from the action at this time of the year is purely a matter of scale. This point was driven home to me as I desperately scoured a sleepy Cornish fishing port for a means of finding out the results of the AFL preliminary finals. Thankfully, I eventually succeeded - but you'll have to wait for my autobiography to be published to discover exactly how. In the meantime, keep the information coming, and if you're one of the sixty or so people whose emails require a reply, please be patient! Longwood and Tatong of the Benalla and District Football League were, respectively, the 499th and 500th clubs to be profiled in the Leagues and Clubs section. Profiles of Foster (Alberton Football League) and the Oatlands District Football Association quintet of Campania, Mt Pleasant, Ross, Swansea and Woodsdale have also just been added. A book showcasing the football writing of SA football legend Fos Williams during the period 1959 to 1965 has just been published. You can obtain more details at the website of the book's editor, Michael Sexton, at http://www.sportswords.com.au/. Links to the following highly recommended websites have just been added to the Links section:
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| 9th
September 2007
Profiles of current Sydney AFL clubs Macquarie University, Manly-Warringah and Penrith are the latest to be added to the Leagues and Clubs section. I have also commenced the long process of updating relevant club and record and records pages to reflect this season's developments. I'm indebted to Kevin Taylor for a salutary reminder to take nothing for granted when it comes to researching and writing about the history of the game. The reminder concerns an incorrect scoreline from a VFL match played almost sixty years ago in which Carlton 12.11 (83) defeated St Kilda 7.18 (60) - except they didn't. The correct score was actually 12.12 (84) to 7.18 (60), and I'm pleased to say that now, thanks to Kevin (and Rhett Bartlett, who initially spotted the error), the Full Points Footy database for the season in question (1948) has been appropriately updated. If you're curious as to why the error got made in the first place, as well as how it's been perpetuated down the years, pay a visit to Kevin Taylor's superb Footystats site at http://footystats.freeservers.com/Daily/Diary.html, where you'll find the complete story. When I first read it, it put me in mind of a match in which I took part longer ago than I dare to think, in the inaugural season of the British Australian Rules Football League. My team, East Midland, was at home to Lea Valley in the penultimate round, having not managed a win all year. Lo and behold, we not only won, but did so by the unimaginably gargantuan margin of 75 points (according to goal umpire no. 1) - no, make that 76 points (goal umpire no. 2) - on second thoughts, 77 points (scoreboard attendant). The League in its wisdom (quite rightly) went with the smallest margin, which thankfully was still good enough to help us leapfrog not only Lea Valley but Thames Valley as well, and finish 6th in the 8 team comp. Well, to be honest, in my own personal case it's more like a slightly runny nose than a full-blown fever, given that there's no month of the year when I feel more estranged from the game than September, especially over the past five or six years, since British terrestrial TV ceased broadcasting weekly AFL highlights packages. That said, I'll be doing my best to ensure that the website is updated regularly to reflect end of season developments. As you'll appreciate, that's quite a hefty assignment, particularly now that almost 500 clubs from in excess of 100 different competitions are covered on the site. As always, if you can help in any way by providing information that isn't readily accessible online I'd be very pleased to hear from you. |
| 18th
August 2007
VFL and AFL Lightning Premiership Competition Results Full results for all seven V/AFL Lightning Premiership competitions conducted to date have been added to the Records and Statistics section, courtesy of Dave Eastman. At some point, I would like to add the results of any such competitions conducted in other states, but must confess that it is not an area I have studied all that closely. I do know that the SANFL conducted several lightning carnivals during the 1940s and 1950s, and the results of at least some of the grand finals were as follows: 1941 South Adelaide 5.7 (37) defeated Sturt 4.2 (26) 1947 Sturt 5.4 (34) defeated Glenelg 2.1 (13) 1948 Port Adelaide 5.1 (31) defeated Norwood 2.4 (16) 1950 Sturt 3.3 (21) defeated West Adelaide 1.4 (10) I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who can supply any additional results, or details of any lightning carnivals conducted elsewhere. Another Statewide League In The Offing For Tasmania? No less a person than current AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou was heard expressing an opinion on this extremely thorny issue recently. If you want to know exactly why the question is so thorny, read Len Colquhoun's typically insightful and thought-provoking ruminations on the matter in A Tasmanian Revenant, just added to the Essays and Articles section. Brief profiles of Beechworth, Bright, Charlton, Chiltern, East Warrnambool, Glenrowan, Gormandale, (Mildura) Imperials, Mildura, Nirranda, Swan Reach, Tyrendarra and Westerns take the number of clubs now covered on the site to 494. |