Australian Football

Royals win in wet - 1978 WANFL Grand Final

Between 1966 and 1968 Perth won an unprecedented three premierships in succession. Prior to that, the club had won just two flags in considerably more than half a century, but during this period, with president Cliff Houghton pulling the strings off the field, and great players like Mal Atwell (ex East Perth), Pat Dalton, Bob Shields, Greg Brehaut and Barry Cable performing superbly on it, the perennial easy beats metamorphosed into world beaters. Cable, in particular, elicited new superlatives, winning the Simpson Medal as Perth's best in each of its victorious grand finals, besides taking a mortgage on the club's best and fairest award, winning the Tassie Medal at the 1966 Hobart Carnival, and claiming the 1968 Sandover Medal to go with his earlier, 1964 win.

East Perth also had a very good side at this time with players like Keith Doncon, Ken McAullay, Derek Chadwick, Gary Bygraves and Hans Vestegen. Indeed, the Royals reached the grand final during the 1960s on more occasions (six) than any other club, only to lose every time. Included in that procession of losses were defeats by a Barry Cable inspired Perth in 1966, 1967 and 1968.

A decade later, it seemed that history was set to repeat itself, as Perth, now under the aegis of Ken Armstrong (above right), won successive flags in 1976 and 1977, before topping the ladder in 1978 and moving straight into another grand final with a 13.8 (86) to 8.9 (57) second semi final defeat of East Perth. The supreme irony of the situation was that the Royals, who duly qualified to meet the Demons again a fortnight later in the 'big one', were now being captain-coached by their arch tormentor of a decade earlier, Barry Cable.

In 1977 Cable, having finished his second VFL stint by taking part in North Melbourne's replayed grand final win against Collingwood, had returned home wanting to embark on a coaching career. The position at his old club, Perth, was rendered unattainable by virtue of Ken Armstrong's success in the post, and so Cable applied for, and got, the East Perth position. His appointment was not devoid of controversy, as he was brought in to replace arguably the most famous single individual in the history of the East Perth Football Club, Graham 'Polly' Farmer. During Farmer's two seasons in charge the Royals had lost the 1976 grand final to Perth, and finished 4th the following year - hardly a disaster, by most people's standards, but East Perth's committee obviously felt that the untried Cable was capable of more.

Thus, on Saturday 23 September 1978, Barry Cable and his charges presented the final obstacle to the Demons in their quest to duplicate their 1966 to '68 premiership trifecta. In the preliminary final a week earlier East Perth had trounced South Fremantle by 112 points, giving some grounds for optimism among the club's supporters, but Perth, whose skipper Ken Inman won the toss and elected to kick against a fairly stiff westerly breeze, was narrowly favoured to win by most pundits. A crowd of 45,126 spectators braved what rapidly developed into uncharacteristically inclement weather, and were treated to arguably the best WANFL grand final of the decade.

1st Quarter

1 min Cable's attempted clearance from the right back pocket is marked at half forward left by Johnson, who lofts the ball to the goal square where it is marked by Bosustow on the chest. He makes no mistake. Perth 1.0; East Perth 0.0

5 mins Allen is nudged in the back by Bowyer 50 metres from goal midway between half forward left and centre half forward, and the umpire promptly awards him a free. His high drop punt just eludes the goal line pack for full points. East Perth 1.1; Perth 1.0 

6 mins Curtis at half back right charges through a pack to collect the ball, which he delivers towards centre half forward, where it bounces and spills of hands to Hayes. Spotting Kelly in space, Hayes feeds off quickly by hand, and the 1978 Sandover Medallist has ample time to set his sights and pierce the centre of the goals with a trademark raking left foot kick. East Perth 2.1; Perth 1.0

14 mins The umpire bounces the ball on the front edge of the goal square. Royals ruckman Smith wins the tap but it falls straight to Doyle who immediately throws the ball onto his boot and somehow manages to steer it past all the players in the crowded goal square for a goal. East Perth 2.2; Perth 2.0

18 mins Perth rebound brilliantly out of defence through Johnson who finds Gibellini unmarked near right centre wing. Gibellini initially seems disposed to play on, but the swift arrival on the scene of Robertson prompts a change of mind. As soon as Robertson relaxes, however, Gibellini is off, dashing forward 10 metres before launching a powerful drop punt in the direction of full forward where Bosustow, running in from the right, punches the ball to ground directly in his own path, picks it up, and trickles a low, bouncing left foot kick through the vacant goal square and over the line for a goal. Perth 3.0; East Perth 2.3

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20 mins Cable, who seems to be operating at half pace, is awarded a free for a push in the back near the centre of the ground. Off a long run up he unleashes an exquisite drop kick towards centre half forward where a pack of players fly but the ball somehow eludes them all. At the rear of the pack Kelly (left), who apparently was the only player to anticipate this possibility, swoops on the ball and just manages to poke it between the left goal post and a rapidly arriving Perth defender. East Perth 3.3; Perth 3.0

24 mins Gibellini, having marked the ball on the left half forward flank well within range of goal, spots a lead from Bosustow at full forward and hits him on the chest with a perfect low, spearing drop punt. From 20 metres out on the slightest of angles "the man of the match so far", according to Channel 7's special comments man, Graham Moss, has no difficulty in registering his 3rd goal of the term. Perth 4.0; East Perth 3.3

27 mins Ray takes a strong overhead mark in a pack on the front edge of the centre square and plays on immediately with a 20 metre handball to Duggan who invites a challenge from Bowyer. As Bowyer approaches him, Duggan handballs over his head to the man Bowyer had been standing, Arnold, who now finds himself in metres of space almost on the goal line. Arnold has the easiest of tasks simply to turn around and slam the ball through to restore East Perth's lead. East Perth 4.4; Perth 4.0 

When the siren sounds to end the quarter a couple of minutes later the consensus appears to be that East Perth, despite leading by five points, have failed to make the most of a significant wind advantage.

QUARTER TIME: East Perth 4.5 (29); Perth 4.0 (24)

2nd Quarter

Steady rain is falling as the 2nd term gets underway. As the quarter progresses, it will gradually develop into a torrential downpour.

3 mins As players scramble for the ball on hands and knees at centre half forward it is Cable who finally manages to 'get a handle on it' before handballing to the running Kickett. The skilful East Perth centreman sidesteps Gibellini's desperate, lunging attempt to tackle and stabs a low trajectory punt kick right through the centre of the goals. East Perth 5.5; Perth 4.0

As the rain gradually intensifies, so the 4 goal wind abates, twin factors to which Demons fans will later point in endeavouring to explain their side's eventual defeat. The fact that 23 out of 24 weeks during the 1978 football season had been dry is either supremely ironic, or an example of divine vindictiveness, depending on which team you support.

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14 mins At half forward right Johnson, on all fours, scrambles after the greasy ball for about 5 seconds without being able to get a grip on it. Finally, perhaps in frustration, he punches it forward along the ground to where Bosustow (right) is waiting. The hefty Perth spearhead adroitly dances around an opponent before sinking his boot into a prodigious escalating punt kick which never looks like missing. East Perth 5.5; Perth 5.0

The rain slowly dies away, but the 2nd quarter wind advantage in which Inman had invested after winning the toss does not resume. East Perth control the remainder of the term, adding a 6th goal before the half time siren courtesy of Arnold.

HALF TIME: East Perth 6.6 (42); Perth 5.2 (32)

3rd Quarter

5 mins Duggan fumbles a handpass from Ray, and as he goes to ground in an effort to recover the ball Cook dives on top of him and is penalised for a push in the back. From a distance of 20 metres out, slightly to the right of goal, Duggan has no difficulty in converting. East Perth 7.8; Perth 5.3

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12 mins McGuire (left) receives a free kick on the right half forward flank after being tackled around the neck and his left foot drop punt just makes the distance and squeezes through for a major score. East Perth 8.9; Perth 5.3

15 mins Bosustow, having been illegally interfered with in a marking duel at centre half forward, nonchalantly goals from the ensuing free kick. East Perth 8.9; Perth 6.3 

17 mins Miller takes a 2 grab mark under intense duress on the front edge of the centre square. The versatile former Perth and Fitzroy champion, and 1972 Sandover Medallist (while with Perth), sends a 55 metre drop punt to within 15 metres of goal where Arnold takes a veritable 'screamer' atop a large pack of players. Off a 2 step run up goals easily. East Perth 9.9; Perth 6.3

21 mins East Perth's Bryant roves a tap from a boundary throw in near the Perth's right half forward flank and, from a kneeling position, releases Curtis with a spearing handball. Curtis dashes off into space but leaves the ball behind when attempting to bounce, allowing Doyle to dive in and tap it across to Wiley (pictured below, right) whose penetrating left foot kick reaches Mitsopoulos 20 metres from goal. Mitsopoulos just manages to get his hands to the ball, but is immediately brought clattering to earth by Robertson, sending the ball spinning away. The umpire, however, awards a free kick to Mitsopoulos, and the Demons rover makes no mistake. East Perth 9.9; Perth 7.4

24 mins East Perth players take exception to Gibellini's indiscriminate use of force in Perth's right forward pocket region, and a fierce if fleeting brawl, involving perhaps half a dozen players, develops. The ostensible result of this flare up is a free kick to the Royals as a penalty for Gibellini's transgression, but the more implicit consequence is a noticeable lift in intensity, cohesion and desperation on the part of the Demons, who dominate the remainder of the quarter.

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26 mins Johnson tackles Allen near the centre of the ground, collects the spilled ball, dodges and pirouettes his way into space, and then somehow manages to find Wiley with a flaccid looking pass. The Perth on baller kicks truly from a distance of 40 metres. East Perth 9.9; Perth 8.5

29 mins Perth skipper Inman collects an ill directed kick from Duggan near the left defensive edge of the centre square and, in acres of space, canters out towards left centre wing, bouncing once, before unveiling a colossal 60 metre torpedo punt which finds Dowell, midway between half forward left and the left forward pocket. As the siren sounds Dowell coolly steers his kick right through the centre to bring the Demons to within four points.

THREE QUARTER TIME: East Perth 9.9 (63); Perth 9.5 (59)

4th Quarter

After a dry 3rd term, the rain returns in force during the final stanza, turning Subiaco Oval into a veritable mud flat.

2 mins Miller marks at left centre wing and kicks towards half forward left where Arnold gets the barest of touches to the ball but is nevertheless awarded the mark. He then effortlessly splits the centre with an enormous drop punt to register his 4th major of the match. East Perth 10.9; Perth 9.5

4 mins Walsh collects an ill directed Perth clearance on the right defensive edge of the centre square and pokes a tentative kick towards centre half forward where Kelly, still displaying as much verve and energy as in the opening term, outpaces several pursuers whilst tapping the ball ahead of himself twice, advancing 20 metres in the process, before scooping it up and snapping truly with his left foot. The Royals players celebrate ecstatically, apparently regarding the goal as the 'sealer', and the East Perth contingent in the crowd respond with a thunderous roar of acclaim. East Perth 11.9; Perth 9.5

Torrential rain soon resumes, making the Demons' task all the harder, particularly after large pools of water begin to appear on the oval.

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9 mins Curry's goal bound kick from centre half forward is marked by eventual Simpson Medallist Miller a few metres from the goal line. Miller's quick handball to Curtis puts that player under intense pressure, however, and the ball goes to ground. Michalczyk (left), backing Curtis up, collects the ball but, in the act of kicking, is knocked off balance and the ball travels less than 20 metres before being picked up on the second bounce by Doyle. Skirting Michalczyk's attempted tackle Doyle has time to straighten up, take his bearings and, from almost point blank range, goal with minimum difficulty. East Perth 11.9; Perth 10.6

Over the next 10 minutes, as incessant rain continues turning the ground into a quagmire, East Perth pepper the goals for six successive behinds as well as a number of complete misses. The Demons seem out for the count but, over the final few minutes of the game, as the rain at last abates, they mount a determined fight back.

24 mins Wiley's attempted shot for goal from the right half forward flank boundary falls 15 metres short right into the waiting hands of Royals defender Robertson. However, the heavy, slippery ball proves uncontrollable, and drops straight to a grateful Peter Bosustow who has the easiest of chances to register his 6th goal. East Perth 11.15; Perth 11.7

25 mins Hamilton takes a saving mark on the goal line for East Perth and clears deep into the right back pocket, obviously hoping the ball will be knocked or carried over the boundary. Bosustow, however, has other ideas, as he taps the ball to ground, chases after it, and collects it just inside the boundary line. With defenders all around him he somehow manages to progress up field, dodging and weaving around three attempted tackles in the process, before precisely bisecting the uprights from a 75 degree angle to, as the cliché has it, 'bring the house down'. East Perth 11.15; Perth 12.7

Perth attack desperately for most of the final three minutes of the match, but the Royals defence, which has been solid all day, stands firm, and they hold on to win by two points.

FULL TIME: East Perth 11.15 (81); Perth 12.7 (79)

Match Summary

BEST
East Perth: Miller, Kelly, Duke, Otway, McGuire, Kickett
Perth: Bosustow, Wiley, Gibellini, Johnson, Rosbender, Currie

GOALS
East Perth: Arnold 4; Kelly 3; Allen, Duggan, Kickett, McGuire
Perth: Bosustow 7; Doyle 2; Dowell, Mitsopoulos, Wiley

SIMPSON MEDAL (best on ground): Ian Miller (East Perth)

ATTENDANCE: 45,126 at Subiaco Oval

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East Perth players and supporters celebrate the win. Source hardballget.net

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