Being a St Kilda FC tragic, I recently received a youtube video of the Team of the 70’s.

It was, for this 60 year old, a trip into a childhood that was simple, uncluttered and full of passion for the game of Aussie Rules.

70’s Sunday nights in WA during winter meant only one thing, The Winners on the ABC.

Although the WAFL was strong in those days with good crowds, the sight and magnitude of the Victorian crowds would blow my younger brother and I away.

The football was physical, players threw themselves in recklessly and there were a few stark differences regarding footy in those days versus today.

  1. The grounds were soft and in the case of grounds like Moorabbin, there was barely a blade of grass. Almost all of them had cricket pitches which transformed the entire area inside the 50m square into chocolate ice cream in winter.
  2. Playing on surfaces such as these required a different level of skill to the players of today who play on pristine grounds. You inadvertently acquired a strong core during training in order to stay balanced then drag your feet out of the mud to deliver the footy.
  3. The ball became heavy very quickly on a wet day without the luxury of rotating ten Sherrins a game these days. The only benefit of the conditions was that the ball would stick to your hands easier due to the sand, as opposed to the cake of soap players put up with today.
  4. The players were part time in the 70’s. They trained a minimum three nights a week plus Sunday mornings recovery for little money compared to today. Can you believe Michael Tuck played 426 games plus 70 odd reserves games whilst working as a plumber?
  5. Today’s game relies heavily on powerful interval running and contested ball. No set positions and masses of players running back and forth, requires players who can win the ball in close and get it out to whatever space they can find. Footy up until the 2000’s was very much one on one.

If you look at the attached video, even if you’re not a Saints supporter, you’ll notice what I feel is the biggest difference in today’s footy culture….the commentary.

The Winners was hosted by Drew Morphett who was a fine commentator in his own right but it was the two Doug’s, Bigalow and Heywood who were pure, authentic, passionate and minimalist in their art. They respected the viewer and understood us as football lovers.

No irrational histrionics, name dropping, boys club antics, sponsorship mentions and heaven forbid they didn’t go roaming around changerooms after a game.

There were no ‘in’ jokes in those days. The first 30 minutes of the Sunday Footy Show on channel 9, is dedicated to ‘piss taking’ and focussing on which coach is the next to be sacked.

It’s all about click bait and audio grabs now. The actual game is an afterthought. The past players that are constantly employed to deliver us the stream of negativity, think that justifying their knowledge through spewing out endless statistics will impress us.

When I hear the commentary of today especially on Channel 7, I can’t help but think of Basil Fawlty and his Mastermind shot fired at his wife Sybil, “special subject, The Bleeding Obvious”. I’d listen to the radio with the TV sound down but it’s on delay. I just mute now.

Please remove the self-interest and the gambling ads and just let us enjoy the game.

Oh how I would love to hear the dulcet tones of Lou Richards, Jack Dyer, Peter Landy or Mike Williamson again. No nonsense, just comforting and fun, the way the game should be.

As one of these great men would say, “You can put down your glasses, there’s no two ways about it.”

Finally, this video contains some brilliant footage. They may not have been the athletes of today but the expectations were vastly different. They played the entire game unless they were injured or dragged and had two on the bench. The footage captured here of Trevor Barker is priceless to a Saints fan.