A triple treat down memory lane
Narrandera, 1974. One point. Three premierships. 40 years. And at least two games against Coolamon to talk about!
“Adrian told you about the other game against Coolamon? With the punch-up? I didn’t do much punching — I think I was the punching bag in that one,” says Gary Powell, with a laugh. Adrian Collier was the first year coach who led Narrandera to a heart-stopping one-point win over Coolamon, sparking a triple celebration for the club which had also won the second and third grade deciders.
“1974 is something I’ll never forget,” Collier says. “I’ve got to say, I played with a lot of clubs – I think about 9 clubs in 12 years, in a lot of different locations – and I never experienced the zest for life as I did in Narrandera. I’ve never been somewhere where they had such a love for celebrations. It was great to be involved in the town and the club at that period.”
Collier had spent three years flying to Tasmania every weekend to play. “I was the first player to do that from Victoria. It was an exciting way to play your football. But I didn’t enjoy the wet weather in Tasmania, because my strength was my marking.”
An assistant at Burnie, he was ready for a coaching opportunity in the right climate. “I knew it was nice, dry conditions and that was what I was looking for. But I didn’t know a lot about Narrandera.”
He soon learnt about Coolamon. Having beaten theHoppers early in the season, Narrandera travelled to Kindra Park. “It’s the only time I remember playing a game of football and a policeman came into the rooms at halftime. He came over to me and cautioned me to tell the players that the first one who threw another punch — the police would come onto the field, arrest the player and they’d be spending the night in the lock-up!
“When I went back on the ground after halftime, the Coolamon coach, Jim Hayes, met me out in the middle. He looked at me with a wry look on his face and said, ‘Did the coppers come into your room too?’” No-one was arrested. Narrandera won by more than 100 points. And a depleted Coolamon finished with less than 18 on the field. That win was on Narrandera minds on grand final day. But Coolamon had turned their form around, and were within reach of the flag when they shot 17points clear with the game into time-on in the last quarter. “There were a couple of minutes to go,” Collier says, “and I remember a Coolamon player came over to Jim Hayes on the ground and said, ‘Well done Jim, you’ve done it again.’ They just lapsed a bit and it was just enough to give us an opening…”
“We left it to the last few seconds to snag it,” recalls Powell. “People had even started to leave the ground, they tell me.” With the last kick of the game, 17-year old Tony Turner booted Narrandera to victory, 19.17 (131) to 19.16 (130).
“It was brilliant what Tony did at the end,” says Collier. “But it was also the guys in the middle – like Laurie Gibson and Steve Margosis – getting the ball out of the centre. It was a combination and a spirit that just came in a rush … we were 17 points down with three minutes to go and it was just a big lift of mateship that won it.”
Turner plays down his role, saying he was lucky to play in a great side at such a young age, but the result had an impact. “It as pretty special – you spend your footy career chasing grand final wins. Once you’ve won one, it really gave me the bug for footy. Not only as a player but coaching and development.”
Turner later won flags with Ainslie, East Wagga-Kooringal and as coach at Mangoplah. But this weekend is all about that first one, half a lifetime ago. Insiders say the weekend wouldn’t be going ahead without the effort of Cathy Eldridge. And the Eagles will wear special-edition jumpers listing the players and committee members of one of their greatest seasons. “I just knew that I needed to go back this time,” says Collier. “There are a lot of things in life you can replace or get back but time’s not one of hem, and if you don’t do these things you run out of time in the end.”
