By Peter Argent
ETCHED in the unique history of Broken Hill football are a myriad of special achievements, where the home team has defied the odds and defeated opponents from the big smoke.
One of these red-letter days was on September 19, 1970, at Jubilee Oval during the Broken Hill Show weekend.
Reigning Victorian Football Association premiers, the Coburg Lions, came up and took on the best the competition had to offer.
Broken Hill wearing their traditional blue and gold colours started strongly, then defended stoutly in the second half to defeated Coburg 16.18 (114) to 13.11 (89).
Last Sunday at the Colley Hotel in Glenelg, Adelaide, eight members of that side were heralded as the headline act at a Broken Hill Football League past players’ reunion, where upwards of a 110 former Silver City combatants swapped stories and relived their glory days.
The eight members of that triumphant ’70 Broken Hill side touted at the lunch included John Lynch (as emcee), Colin Casey, Ray “Bubba” Egan, Jeff Preston, Steve Hywood, Drew Schapel, John Starr and Geoff Burt.
“We had played Woodville earlier in the year and beaten them as well,” Lynch said.
“But we received new jumpers for this match, they were gold with a blue V, instead of the other way around.
“Our season had finished a few weeks earlier and the group made the commitment to keep training for those next couple weeks in preparation.
“Coburg had a number of players from the VFL in those days and I remember Micky Irwin being captain-coach of that side.”
Best on ground was a young West Broken Hill Robin, Casey, who played as a ruck rover, changing in the back pocket.
The following year he made his SANFL league debut for Sturt and would go on to have a 251-game, two premiership tenure across the next 13 years, when the competition was at the height of its powers.
He was the Double Blues’ best and fairest in 1972, a member of SANFL Team of the Year four times in 1971, 1974, 1975 and 1978, played five state matches for South Australia, and a wonderful servant after his playing days.
Others mentioned in the best players’ list that day included fellow onballer Trevor Rimmer, who kicked three goals; centre half-forward Terry Papst, who went on to play SANFL league football with West Adelaide; an 18-year-old Lynch in ruck; Central Magpie Peter Brenton, who went on to play with Woodville; the South pair of half-back flank Schapel and a teenage Starr on a wing; Egan; and rover, the late Terry Kemp.
Hywood, who had already played in a couple of South Broken Hill premierships, was the side’s leading goal kicker with a four-goal haul.
He was a member of the Richmond reserves premiership in 1971; played in the ’72 VFL grand final where the Tigers were beaten by Carlton and 50 goals were kicked; and then was a member of Glenelg’s 1973 premiership side, in a season decider against North that more than 50 years later is still regarded as the best in the competition’s history.
