Players invovled in one of the most successful inter-league eras in Bendigo Football Netball League history will be reunited on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
From 1988 to 1990 the Neville Strauch-coached BFL inter-league team played in three division one grand finals and won the 1989 country championship.
For the first time since that golden era, many of the players will converge on Marvel Stadium on Sunday to catch up and share stories from a golden era of Bendigo footy.
"Through that period we were united like a team and were almost like the BFL's 11th club,'' Sandhurst great Chris Greene said on Friday.
"It's been disappointing that we haven't been able to do something with this group before this, but the response has been amazing.
"We have people coming from all over the state and even interstate to attend. Paul Starbuck is coming back from WA which is a great effort."
Those three teams included a depth of talent rarely seen before or since.
Brendan Hartney, Dean Strauch, Peter Tyack, Peter Bradbury, Steven Oliver, Wayne Campbell, Derrick Filo, Ron Wicks, the McDougall brothers, Alan Patterson, Kerin Lourey, Bert McIvor, Shane Muir, Steven Allender and Ben Sexton were just some of the big names that represented the league in that period.
"It's not just about the team that won it in 1989. We were a close group for three years and to make three grand finals was a big effort,'' Greene said.
"It's going to be great to catch up with everyone on Sunday. BLS Finance here in Bendigo were able to help us out with getting 30 tickets for the footy."
The BFL played nine games from 1988 to 1990 for a 7-2 record.
The 1988 campaign started with a 27-point win over Western Border before a stunning 57-point win against Goulburn Valley in the semi-finals.
In the grand final the BFL ran into the powerful Geelong team and suffered a 69-point loss.
That defeat proved to be an inspiration for the following season.
In front of a huge crowd in Shepparton, the BFL scored a 20-point win over Goulburn Valley in round one.
In the semi-final the BFL upstaged Ovens and Murray by 10 points in the wet at Laverton.
The grand final at the QEO was a rematch with Geelong and a crowd of more than 5000 people packed into the QEO.
The BFL produced a brilliant 41-point victory to be crowd inter-league champions.
In 1990, wins over Western Border and Ovens and Murray set up a grand final clash away to the Latrobe Valley.
Injuries caught up with the BFL and the home side won by 20 points.
"It was a really good tight knit bunch of blokes,'' star South Bendigo rover Peter Tyack said.
"I know a lot of the guys still really cherish that division one premiership.
"There's a special bond between the group that played over those three years.
"In that era at South Bendigo some of the battles we had against the likes of Square and Sandhurst it was like war on the ground.
"Once we got to inter-league training we got on with the job, we were mates and we had a goal to get Bendigo footy a division one premiership.
"We got on so well together and that played a big part in the success."
1989 inter-league grand final details:
BENDIGO:
B: B. Hartney C. Greene M. Allan
Hb: F. Burke K. Lourey A. McDougall
C: B. McIvor P. Bradbury R. Wicks
Hf: S. McDougall R. Parkes R. Marklew
F: P. Starbuck L. Williams D. Harris
Foll: A. Patterson L. Butler P. Tyack
Interchange: P. Crone, P. McConville, M. Higgins
GEELONG:
B: P. Hewitt M. Hall J. Hoiles
Hb: R. Watt K. Fedke P. Appleford
C: B. Nicholls J. Williams P. Brosnan
Hf: J. Maguire J. Evans B. Mithen
F: A. Reynolds W. Tyquin M. Eddy
Foll: B. Firman M. Lenaghan J. Fitzgerald
Interchange: D. McDonald, R. Gilbert, S. Berry
MATCH DETAILS:
Bendigo 4.2 10.4 11.7 15.10 (100)
Geelong 1.1 5.4 8.4 9.5 (59)
GOALS - Bendigo: Russell Parkes 4, Leigh Williams, Steve McDougall 3, Peter Tyack 2, Alan Patterson, Paul Starbuck, Lachlan Butler 1. Geelong: Wayne Tyquin 3, Robert Gilbert 2, Michael Lenaghan, Ron Watt, Bill Mithen, John Evans 1.
BEST - Bendigo: Rick Marklew, Peter Tyack, Steve McDougall, Bert McIvor, Brendan Hartney, Peter Bradbury, Lachlan Butler, Kerin Lourey, Darren Harris, Francis Burke. Geelong: Ron Watt, Pat Brosnan, John Hoiles, John Williams, Peter Appleford.
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.
