Australian Football

The foreign legion at play

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For many years, Carlton was notorious for the zeal with which it recruited players from far distant districts. Few "country champions" worthy of the name were permitted to remain in their native haunts after the Carlton executive had been on the job—and the result was that the side that took the field in the dark blue uniform took on the appearance of a combined country team, with just a handful of local men introduced to fill up odd corners.

But the reputation enjoyed by the Blues for seeking long-distance stars is as nothing compared to that enjoyed by South Melbourne today. To the Southerners mere country players appear as local boys—West Australia, South Australia and Tasmania have been called upon to provide them with an eighteen worthy of the name of "South Melbourne."

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When I visited the South training room last week with Artist Dick Ovenden, the room presented somewhat the appearance of a footballers' interstate convention. No less than ten interstate men were there (and all of them regular members of the team)—Harris and Bertram (South Australia), Davies and Laurie Nash (Tasmania), Wade (South Australia), and the Western Australian quintette, Diggins, Faul., O'Meara, Beard, and Bowe.

"It's just as well all Australian States speak the same language," I remarked to Dick, "otherwise they'd have to add an official interpreter to their list of office-bearers."

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The first one I had a chat with was that dashing half-back who hails from Subiaco, Billy Faul. In addition to being a footballer, Billy informed me that he is also a basketball enthusiast.

"I played a lot of basketball in the West," he said. "I was a member of the Wembley team playing in the W.A Basketball Association, and not only did we win the premiership two years running, but won 35 games in succession."

"Basketball's a great game," he enthused, "and there's nothing like it for keeping one in trim for football. Unfortunately, our basketball activities were brought to an unexpected conclusion in the West when military training changed over from compulsory to voluntary."

I asked him how this affected the playing of basketball. "All the halls we played in were controlled by the military," Billy explained, "and when compulsory training went out they restricted the basketball teams to volunteers"—which brought Billy's basketball career to a close!

Four men at present playing League football were members of the Subiaco team of 1929—Diggins, Metherell (Geelong), Penberthy (Footscray) and Billy Faul himself. Johnny Leonard, who captained and coached South Melbourne last year, was also a member of that side. Bowe and Beard, now with South, are other ex-Subiaco stars.

The next interstate man I spoke to was the smiling, breezy Brian Diggins, who is proving a great asset to the Southerners as a ruck man. Yes, his Christian name really is Brian—and not "Brighton," as is generally supposed. I asked him where the Brighton came from.

"My parents started to call me 'Brighton' when I was a nipper," he answered. "I don't exactly know why, but I think it was after an uncle of mine of that name."

But despite large numbers of new men recently introduced into the side, there is no team to which the old players and supporters stick so closely as to South Melbourne. Staunch followers of the team, like Val Morgan, Bob Powell (secretary of the social club, whose daughter, Miss Marjorie Powell, is the South Melbourne Queen in the competition being conducted by the League), "Gunga" Franks (the old-time player), Harry Brown (a great supporter, who was responsible for the recent improvement in the club's social room), Joe Scanlan (the ex-captain), and last, but by no means least, Archie Croft, of Croft's Stores, who has proved a wonderful friend to the South Melbourne club.

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Val Morgan, of film ads fame, has been a follower of the club for 40 years past, and may be seen at the matches every Saturday with his three sons and two grandsons. Mr Morgan's mind can hearken back to the days when barracking was decidedly more vigorous than it is today, and it was ever the custom for home supporters to farewell the visiting partisans with a good-natured shower of road-metal.

"Pushes" were then the order of the day, and Mr Morgan recalls one game in which South were opposed to their old rivals, Carlton.

Playing for South was that ex-Geelong and South Melbourne champion, Peter Burns—and prior to the game (no doubt to create the right atmosphere) a "push" from Bouverie Street, Carlton, known as the "Booveroos," marched round ground bearing aloft a wooden case in the unmistakable shape of a coffin, to which was attached a placard stating that it had been brought expressly "for Peter Burns."

But on their triumphal march the "Booveroos" came face to face with a South Melbourne "push" that rejoiced in the name of the "Flying Angels"—but this was one occasion on which the "Angels" didn't "fly"! Gently but firmly they removed pickets from the fence, helped themselves to a generous supply of the ever-ready road-metal . . . and then, said Mr Morgan, there was waged for an hour or more a battle such as is rarely "turned on" for the edification of the public in these enlightened times.

Having lost sight of Dick Ovenden for a time, I went in search of him to discover him busily engaged upon sketching Natty Powell, the popular little masseur and trainer, who has been engaged upon tending tired muscles and rubbing ruptured ligaments for the last 40 years. Apart from the undoubted skill of his supple fingers, Natty is a veritable tonic in himself, for, with his inevitable pipe gripped between his teeth, he spreads an air of good spirits that is infectious.

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Natty was masseur at Collingwood for many years before coming to South Melbourne and has trained many runners, including such Stawell Gift winners as Tim Banner, Bill Twomey and Jack Curran. Nowadays (in addition to his private practice) Natty has a little room behind Austin Robertson's tea shop, where he daily treats the aches and pains of the South Melbourne players.

Interesting personalities of an earlier day were to be found in the room in "Twister" Marshall, Billy Windley and Ted Lockwood, now attached to the club in the respective capacities of head trainer, guardian of the practice balls, and curator.

"Twister" (Jack) Marshall has been head-trainer of South Melbourne for 48 years, and in his time trained such champion boxers as Joe Goddard, Jack McGowan, Billy Farnan and Billy Edward. Billy Windley was the one-time South Melbourne star centre man and forward, famous for his place-kicking abilities, while Ted Lockwood is spoken of as having been "in more premierships than any other man." Ted was a half-forward left-footer who started forth on his football career with Barwon in 1886, then with Geelong from 1890 to 1896 (during which time they won a premiership); then in two premierships with West Perth in 1896 and 1898, and another two premierships with Collingwood in 1902 and 1903. In one premiership game with Collingwood Ted kicked five goals — including the winning one.

Ted also played with Collingwood in two cricket premierships and two baseball premierships.

The "property man" of the team is Frank Mitchell—better known as "Mitch." Mitch has been with South in that capacity for 25 years, and was an active playing member of the South Melbourne Juniors way back during the time of the Boer War. Unfortunately, Mitch was injured in the premiership game against Collingwood Juniors at Preston in 1900, and has not played since.

After chatting with so many interstate recruits it was something of a novelty to have a few words with one who was actually recruited from a local team—Ron Hillis, the sterling full back. Ron was discovered playing with Middle Park, and came across to the Southerners five years ago.

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Born at Warrnambool, he received his education in Melbourne at the Yarra Park State School and at the South Melbourne Technical School. He played his first football after leaving school with the Old Brighton Grammarians, and was then with Middle Park from 1921 to 1928.

In addition to his footballing activities, Ron is captain of the St. Kilda Life-saving Club, while he has also achieved success as a ballroom dancer. In 1925 he won the Victorian Dancing Championship at the old Palais de Danse, St. Kilda; he was runner-up in 1926, and in 1927 won both the Victorian and Australasian Championships. Last year at the Victorian Football League Ball he won the footballers' dancing championship.

"I always go down to have a dance at the Palais after a game of football," Ron told me. "Dancing's the best thing I know for relieving stiffness.