Four former football stars from the western Goulburn Valley have left us in the past two weeks.
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One was GVL Morrison medallist and dual Tongala premiership player and hard nut Phil “Trouter” Harrison who was killed while working on a truck in his home town of Mitiamo two weeks ago.
Harrison shared the 1982 Morrison Medal with Shepparton ruckman Gary Reese in Tongala’s GVL days.
Maurie Gibbs.
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He played more than 100 senior games across several season with Tongala and also had stints with his home club Mitiamo and also Pyramid Hill in Loddon Valley League and Kerang in Central Murray League.
He was in the Des Campbell-coached Tongala team which won successive GVL flags in 1983-84.
Campbell described Trouter as ‘‘an inspirational player who was as tough as old boots in the Leigh Matthews mould“.
‘‘He was extremely strong, not a great kick, but he was so hard at it. And a great guy,’’ Campbell said.
The Tongala football fraternity and community were stunned to hear of Trouter’s death, but then had to contend with another of its popular premiership players, Ron “Spud” Florence’s, death early last week.
Spud was a charismatic community-minded, long-serving citizen of Tongala who played in its Alan Murphy-coached GVL premiership side which beat Shepparton for the flag in 1961 — the second of four flags it won in its days in the GVL before switching to the Murray league.
Ron “Spud” Florence.
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Spud was one of the stars of that win, kicking five of the 11 goals the Blues scored to secure the flag.
The win was all the more special at it was his 19th birthday.
His death leaves only four players — Alf Harrison, Barry Campbell, Ian McGregor and Don Rawson — alive from that flag-winning side.
Spud was active in the Tongala community, always willing to give a hand and was a tireless worker for the Kyabram Legacy group for 20 years and also a stalwart of the Tongala RSL and Tongala Lions Club.
His funeral was held at Tongala yesterday.
Stanhope Football Club also lost a stalwart last week in Maurie Gibbs, one of the town’s best sportsmen of the modern era.
He had a distinguished career with Stanhope Football Club and was in the team that made its one and only finals appearance in GVL finals.
That was in the Charlie Stewart-coached side of 1967 which was eliminated in the finals by City (now Shepparton United). United went onto to beat Shepparton for the flag that year.
Phillip “Trouter” Harrison.
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Maurie was also one of the region’s best tennis players in his prime and a member of some of great pennant tennis teams Stanhope produced in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.
He was known as a hard-at-it, but scrupulously fair, competitor in the sports he played who worked hard to improve on whatever he did.
His private funeral was held last week at Rushworth and a memorial service was held in his home town last Friday.
The deaths of Trouter, Spud and Maurie came soon after the death of former Rochester, Shepparton and Tatura star Tony Zappia.
A classy wingman Tony played in a premiership side in his one season with Rochester in its golden years in the Bendigo league in 1963 and was a member of Shepparton’s GVL flag winning side of 1964.
He finished his GVL career with Tatura where he lived for most of his life.
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