IN the world of social media these days, it didn't take long for word of Stanhope's goalkicking spree in the Kyabram District league to make its way across the country footy grapevine last Saturday.
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The Lions ran riot against the battling Ardmona in a whopping 401-point win - 62.30 (402) to 0.1 (1).
Stanhope kicked 12 goals in the first quarter, 18 in the second, 15 in the third and 17 in the last and led at each of the breaks by 81 points, 191 and 292 before the final margin of 401.
As one-sided, though, as Stanhope's demolition of the Bushcats was, the Lions were still more than 200 points shy of the day Campbells Creek kicked what is recognised in the Guinness Book of Records as Australian Rules Football's highest score.
On the back of Stanhope's goalkicking blitz of 62, combined with an opportunity to reminisce on a more prosperous time for Campbells Creek, here's a flashback to a 2010 Addy feature on the day the Magpies wrote their name into the history books in 1990 in the Maryborough-Castlemaine District league.
SETTING THE SCENE:
It was round 11 of the 1990 season when Campbells Creek was fixtured to host Primrose on June 23.
The Magpies, captain-coached by Tony Strong, sat fifth on the ladder at 6-3 and were coming off a 208-point victory over Talbot the previous week.
Primrose was 10th at 1-8 and had endured an arduous day against Royal Park the week before, conceding 61 goals in a 357-point loss.
But that drubbing paled in comparison to what Primrose would cop a week later at the hands of the Magpies, who famously broke the 100-goal barrier.
While it's unlikely he was predicting a belting of the magnitude the game proved to be, MCDFNL scribe Max Martin clearly knew it was going to be a long day for Primrose, writing in the Bendigo Advertiser in his match preview: "At the end of the season it appears that there could be several teams on the same number of premiership points and percentage is going to decide several of the finals placings. For this reason Campbells Creek will be taking the game seriously and kicking as many goals as it can for the day."
WHAT UNFOLDED:
There's never been a game like it before in Australian Rules as the Magpies kicked a century of goals and won by 616 points.
Campbells Creek kicked 20.4 in the first quarter; 25.8 in the second; 29.10 in the third; and 26.12 in the last for a total of 100.34 (634) to the Demons' 3.0 (18).
The match now etched in folklore lasted more than three hours - the third and fourth quarters more than 50 minutes each, while the first two terms went for 40 and 45 minutes.
Of the 20 players who took to the field for the Magpies that day, 16 kicked goals, making it quicker to list those who didn't hit the scoreboard: Dean Costello, Warren Murley, Barry Waters and Shane Green.
Five Campbells Creek players finished with double figure bags, with Butch Sartori (18), Craig Ginnivan (17), Kelly Stevens (14), Craig Pietsch (13) and Alistair McGibbon (13) combining for 75 goals.
Sartori's 18th goal was also the Magpies' 100th of the match, kicked with just 20 seconds left on the clock.
Sartori, Ginnivan, Stevens, McGibbon and Pietsch were the five players named in the Magpies' best that day.
PLAYER RECOLLECTIONS:
WAYNE STUBBINGS
(Kicked two goals)
"Primrose wasn't travelling that well and had a few big scores kicked against them leading up to the match. Weather-wise it was a good day for footy and the ground was in good condition.
"I think the biggest thing I remember from that game is that at half-time most of us were wondering whether Primrose was going to come back out because we had kicked a fair few goals (45) to that stage. And to their credit they came back out and finished the game off, which should be acknowledged."
On when the Magpies first thought of breaking the 100-goal barrier:
"No-one ever thought about it for the first three quarters.
"But when it got to the last quarter we just rolled the dice and as the last quarter went further on we were saying; 'lets keep going and try to kick 100'.
"From a football point of view you had to really feel for Primrose. They are not around any more, so as much as we kicked 100 goals in that game, it probably wasn't fantastic for football."
...........................................
BUTCH SARTORI
(Kicked 18 goals)
"We were getting it out of the middle and it jut kept going down to our forward line.
"It was just one of those days where everything seemed to go right, but admittedly, Primrose probably had a lot of blokes who had played two games.
"When we went into quarter-time with 20 goals, I looked at the scoreboard and though, 'geez, that can't be right."
On kicking the Magpies' 100th goal:
"I reckon I might have got a handball from Craig Pietsch and kicked it from the flank."
...........................................
WARREN MURLEY
(Played full-back that day)
On how he spent the day:
"Talking to the goal umpire and the Primrose full-forward and watching the game unfold down the other end.
"It was one of those days that you never thought could take place, but in the end you get into the Guinness Book of Records, which is the highlight of my football career because it was short and sweet."
It was one of those days that you never thought could take place, but in the end you get into the Guinness Book of Records
- - Warren Murley, Campbells Creek full-back on the Magpies' 100-goal day in 1990
THE UMPIRE
DARYL DEVEREAUX
"Looking back you wonder how they did it because it works out to a goal a minute.
"I remember I had plenty of bouncing practice in the centre and around the ground that day.
"It was very dark in that last quarter and I remember when a Primrose player finally kicked their first goal in the last quarter I went up and shook his hand."
On who he gave the Berry Powell Medal votes to:
"I think the ruckman (Michael Ewing) definitely got in the votes, but it was very hard to give them because it was a whole team effort.
"I have no idea how I picked the other two players who got in the votes, but it's definitely the most talked about game I've been involved in."
Devereaux was paid $55 for his day's work that included 107 centre bounces.
THE PRIMROSE SIDE
SHAYNE BEASY
(Former committee member)
"For probably the previous four years before that game the club had been struggling.
"A few years earlier the club had brought in quite a few players from Bendigo, but by the end of the year basically the whole committee had walked out and the club was going to fold.
"Then we got Pat Kirk into coach and if he hadn't the club probably would have folded back then... I reckon that would have been 1986 or 1987."
On his recollections of the day:
"Because of the time the game went for there were cars parked around the ground and they all had their lights on because you could hardly see; that's a true story.
"We just kept playing until the game was up and it was nearly pitch black by the time it finished.
"I reckon we were down a couple of players that day and maybe playing with only 16.
"We had a lot of young players and fill-ins who if they didn't play we would have only had about 10.
"There were some players who shouldn't have been playing senior football, but they stepped in to make up the numbers."
On the positive that came out of conceding 100 goals in a game:
"That game actually kept us going for another couple of years because after that we got a phone call from a group of players from Bendigo who said we want to help you out
"So from the next week, while we weren't winning games, we weren't getting slaughtered every week."
Primrose was based at Maryborough's Princes Park. The Demons were a founding member of the MCDFL and won premierships in 1946, 1951 and 1984.The club folded after the 1993 season.
THE AFTERMATH
MALCOLM McKELLAR
(Former Campbells Creek secretary speaking to the Bendigo Advertiser after the win):
"I suppose it's hard to believe and to be honest, the fact that the team kicked 100 goals hasn't really sunk in yet.
"It's certainly attracted a lot of publicity. We had the Sunday Sun down here yesterday and the Sun today. We didn't think it would create so much interest.
"We didn't spread the score to anyone. The league rang up to see what the score was and I told them... they rang back and said, 'is that true?'
"Primrose never gave up to its credit. They just kept fighting and chasing all day and in the last quarter even kicked three goals."
MAX MARTIN
(MCDFL secretary speaking to the Bendigo Advertiser after the game):
"Yes, Primrose is going through a very difficult period. But in Primrose's favour it stayed on the ground on Saturday. The players could have quite easily said that's enough at half-time, but they kept going."
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