Remembering Jake and Gavan: Dual Tongala premiership players Barry Nexhip and 1983 best and fairest Ray Smith with photographs of Shane “Jake’’ Cameron and Gavan Egan. Cameron died in 2015 and Egan four years later. Cameron was a champion fullback who was a brilliant long kick with the Blues, while Egan won the 1981 club best and fairest award.
Blues greats: Ten of Tongala’s 1961 premiership winning Goulburn Valley league team attended the reunion on the weekend. They were Stuart Florence, Barry Campbell the Rawson brothers (Bob and Don), Ron “Spud’’ Florence and Ned Walsh. Front, from left is coach Alf Harrison, Adrian Cahill and Ian ”Niga’’ McGregor. Unable to attend was 92-year-old Max Jeavons.
Five years before running onto Deakin Reserve in Shepparton for the 1961 Goulburn Valley League grand final Don Rawson was lining up for his first game of VFL football with Footscray at Collingwood’s historic Victoria Park oval.
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Rawson was in the navy blue colours of Tongala that day, having earlier played 18 games for the Bulldogs alongside the likes of Ted Whitten, just two years after Footscray had won the first of its two premierships.
In 1961, he was facing off against another VFL legend in the form of renowned Shepparton hardman Tom Hafey, who became the subject of several anecdotes among the nine players from that team that attended a reunion of Tongala’s four GVL premiership teams — 1949, 1961, 1983 and 1983 — on the weekend.
Hafey would go on to become known as one of the greatest coaches of all time, guiding Richmond to four grand final wins among the 522 games he coached in a 23-season career.
Most of the talk around his grand final centred around several incidents that involved either Hafey or a Tongala player being left prostate on the ground.
Rawson arrived at Tongala with his brother Bob, neither exactly certain where Tongala was when they agreed to play with the club.
The pair played in the Alf Harrison-coached team was the catalyst of the tiny dairy farming community team, winning three of its premierships against the three Shepparton-based teams — Shepparton in 1961, Shepparton United and Lemnos in 1983-84.
There were no members of the 1949 reunion at the event, although family representation was strong as the son of recently passed star Bob Dawson — Peter Dawson — was there to represent his father.
Bob Dawson had only died a week earlier, aged 102.
Coach of the 1961 team Alf Harrison was the oldest reunion participant, he will soon be 94 and there was Dave Connally, a member of the champion 1980s team, who was 18 at the time.
Coach of those back-to-back premierships Des Campbell and the man who kicked five goals in the 1961 grand final on his birthday — “Spud’’ Florence — interviewed several of the players at the reunion.
Among the players in the crowd was club and league best and fairest Phil Harrison, who returned to play in two premierships at Leitchville.
Among several Tongala products to play in those teams were Barry Nexhip, Mick Shanahan, John Clark, Mick Souter and Connally — alongside big name recruits Tony and John Jones, Kevin Currie, John Cortese (from Merrigum originally) and Campbell (who had earlier played in Shepparton United premierships).
Premiership year best and fairest Ray Smith was also in attendance.
Another Tongala product, Phil Seaton, was overseas and unable to attend.
Two of the premiership stars, Shane “Jake’’ Cameron and Gavan Egan were honoured in a photographic display, both having died in the past 10 years.
Big time players: Mick Lovison and Tony Jones still feature prominently in “front bar’’ conversations when it comes to discussing who were the best country footballers followers of the sport during the 1980s had seen in the Goulburn Valley. They, and premiership teammate Mick Shanahan, were among a strong representation of players from the two teams that celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 1983 victory.
Young guns: John Clak and David Connally were two of the youngest members of the Tongala squad that broke that 22-year Goulburn Valley league premiership drought in 1983. Clark had a shoulder injury for the grand final, but Connally (who started the seson as a 17-year-old) became the only teenage premiership player in the memorable victory.
Ruck and rover: John Cortese and Phil Harrison formed a celebrated combination that dominanted centre bounces in the Goulburn Valley during the Blues premiership years. Harrison was a club and league best and fairest winner, while man mountain Cortese went up against some of the most celebrated big men in country Victorian football during his career.
Tall and short: Dual premiership ruckman John Cortese, Hall of Fame full forward Mick Souter and back pocket Lindsay Tomlinson. The champion Tongala teams of the 1983-83 grand finals included both recruits and a strong element of “local talent’’.
Defence first: Kevin Currie and Don Wilkinson formed part of the Blues defensive unit that worked in tandem with the likes of Lovison and Cameron to restrict the opportunities of opposition forwards.
Gun recruit: Bob Rawson and his brorther Don were recruited to Tongala not knowing exactly where the dairy farming community was located. They played a significant part in the grand final win against the Tom Hafey led Shepparton team and he shared some of his memories with premiership teammate “Spud’’ Florence.
