The 1900 WAFA season in review
September 15 completed the 1900 season of the Australian game of football in the metropolitan area, over which the W.A.F.A. has supreme control. The season had been an enjoyable and satisfactory one. There has been but little ill-feeling, or rather exhibitions of hasty temper shown on the fields, and the contests have been marked with sturdy determination to excel by the four teams competing for the premiership. In only one case was a protest lodged over a match, and even that was withdrawn, so that as far as players are concerned, everything has been done to keep the food old game satisfactorily to the front.
It is a matter for wonder that in a city of Perth's dimensions more interest is not taken in matches on the W.A.C.A Ground. The Australian game has certainly the largest following, but when a match like West Perth v. Perth is booked for the last fixture of the season, and beautiful weather favours the tussle, it might reasonably have been expected that the gate receipts would be more than £4 6s. However, that was the amount of the takings at the last match and when it is explained that the contesting clubs received 15s. 3d. apiece for their part of the programme, it will be seen that the Cricket Association makes a fair dividend out of the game, and at the same time makes no very great effort to encourage sport. Why the Cricket Association should be so greedy in the matter is difficult to imagine, for it cannot tend to encourage sport when, after a hard day's work in the field, the clubs net 15s. 3d. apiece, which in the case mentioned was further reduced to 3s. 3d. when the lemons and other incidentals to the game were paid for.
The cricket ground is too far out for one thing, and if it is to be used at all next season, it is anticipated that some better terms than the present will be conceded by the cricket ground trustees. The £4 6s. was thus divided: Trustees, 30s. 6d., wages, men at the gates, 25s., competing clubs, 15s. 3d. each. Despite this difficulty the clubs have generally come through the season satisfactorily. Of course, at Fremantle, .where the council treats the clubs more liberally, a decent credit balance is announced.
There has been a delightful absence of professionalism, and in that sense only can the action of the cricket trustees in instituting their system of grab-all be excused if they desired to remove the temptation. But their tender care was hardly needed. Throughout the season the players have turned up well to the matches, and when a call was made on their pecuniary resources they were not slow to make up any deficiency for the sake of football.
The W.A.F [Association] has conducted its business in a sportsman-like manner. The matter of affiliating with all senior and country associations will be made a first order of the day for next season, owing to a permit having been given to a player who was unable to play in his own district, the result of a twelve months' disqualification. Then the umpires can well be changed. Early in the season it was said; "Don't rub it in too hard on the umpires. We cannot get any better." Since then, having seen a few junior matches, I would like to recommend the association to select a couple from the junior ranks.
It is reported that Barney Grecian, the crack skipper, has definitely decided to retire from the game. His retirement would be a great blow to the West Perth Club, and football generally, and it is to be hoped that Grecian will be induced to take the captainship again next season, if only to stand in the centre and direct operations. As skipper, he is worth any two of the others that have been out this season. There has been a considerable number of juniors introduced into senior football this year, and many of them have already indicated that they will be ready to fill the breaches caused by old age retirements when the 1901 season opens.
Everybody knows that East Fremantle has won the premiership, with South Fremantle second, West Perth third, and Perth fourth. It is said that next season the last shall be first. But that is a long way ahead—too long to ponder over at this stage. Still, there are a few items in the season's play which may be worth chronicling.
Thus East Fremantle defeated South Fremantle and Perth on every occasion they met. With West Perth the wins and losses were equal. South Fremantle, though defeated every time by East Fremantle, vanquished West Perth on three occasions, and scored every time over Perth. West Perth defeated Easts twice, South once, and Perth twice, whilst the only two wins gained by Perth were over the Westerners, who, it will be remembered, were the only players who lowered the East colours during the whole season.
It will be seen that the term hat been one of surprisers, the "very good thing" on many occasions going down. It was expected that the Perths would have been further up the list, as on three occasions they were within half a dozen points of their opponents when defeated. On the four occasions that the Wests met the Easts, the victories or each side were decisive. The Souths worst defeat by Easts was on August 18 when the points scored were 101 to 35. In the final match the Souths played the much better game and were only defeated by six points. During the year Easts kicked 79 goals, Wakely, Christy, Doig and Heindrichs being their principal shootists: Souths 63, thanks mainly to McIntyre, Annois, Kane, and Hopkins: Wests 63, Loel, Barnett and Harris ditto: Perth 63, Hussey, Cherry and Murphy.
The efficiency of the various teams has been maintained by the consistent play of the principal players: Christy, Heindrichs, Wilson, Cooper, Thomas, Roberts, and Sweetman for the Easts; McIntyre, Ferguson, Beswick, Mathieson, Hodge, Williams and Kane for the Souths; Barnett, Grecian, Messer, Jones, Wildy, Loel and Bailey for Wests; Hussey, Clarke, Ryan, Kennedy, Morgan, Jeffries, and Graham for Perth.
There were several interesting contest during the term, apart from the premiership matches. On account of the limit placed on the association for the use of the W.A.C.A. Ground, the matches Seniors v. Juniors and Perth v Fremantle were played at the Port. The Senior v. Junior fixture was played on July 7 and resulted in the old boys' favour by 7 goals 16 behinds to 6 goals, 6 behinds. On July 30 the Perth combination were defeated by East-South Fremantle Clubs by 12 goals, 12 behinds to 8 goals, 11 behinds.
On August 8 the W.A.F.A. team met the Boulder Mines, the crack team in the Hannan's Association since the Boulder City retired and, after a close game, secured a victory by a solitary point, the figures being 7 goals, 10 behinds to 7 goals, 9 behinds. On the following Sunday the test match with the H.F.A. was played at Kalgoorlie, when the visitors were defeated, owing principally to their being unaccustomed to the hard country, and scores in this match were: H.F.A., 8 goals, 15 behinds to the W.A.F.A, 7 goals, 8 behinds. The W.A.F.A. team was royally entertained by the goldfields people, but this had nothing whatever to do with their defeat, I am assured.
Footnotes
Title: A RESUME OF THE SEASON
Author: Half-back
Publisher: Western Mail (Perth, WA: 1885 - 1954)
Date: 29 September 1900, p.48
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