Remembering the Hafey days

That was news and a first for me, because in all of the years that have passed since, I never got wind of it happening.

But the Hafey snub was enormous when reflecting on what transpired in those times.

Hafey also went for the job at Ganmain in the Riverina in the same year but in hindsight surprisingly got neither.

Hafey claimed Tongala didn’t even reply to his application and history shows he may have missed out on a flag with the club as Alan Murphy who got the job took the Blues to flag glory in 1961. It was one of the Blues’ four flags in their GVL days.

Hafey said in those days the Sporting Globe advertised the coaching positions available at country clubs and applicants were asked for job preference and the remuneration they wanted.

At that time, VFL (now AFL) coaches and players were only getting £10 a game, or £200 a season, so it wasn’t a hard decision to make and was the reason why so many well-credentialled ex-VFL players found their way to the country to coach and play back then.

Legendary Shepparton Football Club president Jack Edwards got a sniff about Hafey’s interest in the Tongala job and, with his club looking for a coach, acted swiftly with his renowned persuasive ways.

Edwards made the trip to Melbourne to suss out Hafey at his Richmond milk bar at the time and came home with his signature.

He had offered the former Richmond defender £800 to take the coaching job at Shepparton and the rest is history.

Hafey also secured work with McPherson Newspapers at its printing works in Shepparton, so everything fell into place with the appointment of the now household football name.

Three successive premiership wins from 1963 to 1965 were legacies Hafey left at Shepparton, with all three flags coming at Kyabram’s expense.

That didn’t go down too well in Bomberland, I can assure you.

An effigy of Hafey swinging by the neck even hung in Allan St outside the former Albion Hotel in the lead-up to the 1965 GVL grand final because there was so much feeling between the two clubs at the time.

But even that couldn’t inspire a Bombers win in the 1965 GVL season showdown, with Shepparton winning an epic duel in the famous Ross Dillon heartbreaking poster incident in the dying moments of the game.

That was the last time Hafey was to haunt Kyabram as he was appointed coach of Richmond in 1966 and went on to steer the Tigers to four flags in a 10-year golden era for the club.

And in those four flag wins was Kyabram’s champion Dick Clay, who comfortably took the massive rise from country champion to hall of fame and immortal status in his 213 games with the Tigers.

Shepparton made it four GVL flags in a row in 1966 under its new coach, former West Australian Kevin McGill, who had roved to the great Polly Farmer.

Hafey also had coaching stints at Collingwood, Geelong and Sydney after his Richmond days.

The Dick Clay saga of how and why he ended up playing with Richmond gets a lot of space in the Hafey book, which is an interesting read, particularly when it was so close to home.

Muscling to victory

Veteran trotting mare Montana Muscles was rewarded for her consistency with a win at last week’s Echuca meeting.

Driven by James Herbertson, the nine-year-old was driven quietly and got the better of Suzys Dream in a two-horse battle to the finishing line.

It was her seventh career win and her first for 26 starts. But in those 26 starts she has also been placed 13 times.

Kyabram Trotting Club president Ken Covington puts the polish on Montana Muscle, who is out of the Wagon Apollo mare Madiskita, who has also left Bicardi Wood, a winner of 12 races from 109 starts.

Trots stalwart Brian Crilly, his wife Leanne and the trainer race Montana Muscle.