Hey there G/Reds. We might have found some common ground here re the glory days of the VFA. Not sure I'd include Geelong West in that group but they certainly were a pretty good side in the Joe Radojevic(?) era.
The mid 60s through mid 80s was a sensational period for VFA & I had some of the best times watching Preston play against Port, Sandy, Coburg, Dandenong, Prahan & Oakleigh. Port were thugs + they had Freddy Cook, Sandy were always up there, Dandy had Frosty Miller & a pig at full back named Harper. Prahran had Sam Kekavich for a while & Oakleigh had Bob Johnson who filled the goal square & never went outside it. Coburg with Phil Cleary & Trevor Price were always capable of starting an all-in brawl. Sitting on top of the whole thing was channel O's coverage with Phil Gibbs & Ted Henrys. Great days & a great competition. I hated most of the above clubs (except Preston) as much as any of Hawtorn/Collingwood/Carlton etc.. & that's what made it so enjoyable. Real tribal stuff. I assume many of the Perth & Adelaide guys would have similar thoughts about the peak days of the WAFL & SANFL It just shows that you don't know what you've got until it's gone so we'd best all enjoy our AFL rivalries & hope that we never lose any of them.
