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THE second of Calivil's trifecta of Loddon Valley league senior premierships between 1968 and 1970 will be celebrated at a 50-year reunion on Saturday.
The 1969 season was a memorable one for the Demons, who not only captured the senior premiership, but also the junior football and A Grade netball flags.
Coached by Cyril Freemantle, the Demons senior team made it back-to-back premierships, outlasting Mitiamo in tough conditions to win by 12 points, 9.9 (63) to 7.9 (51).
"I remember it being a very wet day at Inglewood and a low-scoring game," Freemantle recalled this week.
"We had the misfortune of losing to Mitiamo at the same ground by a kick in the grand final a couple of years earlier after a shocking run with injuries... our coach Peter Barnett and best rover Neville Lister were both out injured that day.
"So it was good we were able to make up for it a couple of years later."
Freemantle coached all three of the Demons' flags in a row against Bridgewater in 1968, Mitiamo in 1969 and Yarrawalla in 1970.
He was one of 11 Calivil players to be part of all three premierships in what was a golden era for the club.
Only two of the surviving 13 members of the 1969 premiership team are unable to attend Saturday's reunion.
One of those not able to make it is star forward Kevin Shearn, now living in Hervey Bay, with Freemantle adamant there wouldn't be a reunion this weekend had Shearn not joined the club in 1969 from Golden Square.
"He was an absolute champion of a player, but got pushed aside at Golden Square once Ron Best arrived, so I was able to talk him into coming up," Freemantle said.
"He kicked seven goals in the first semi-final, seven in the preliminary final and four in the grand final in the wet, so I've said to him we wouldn't be having this reunion if it wasn't for him."
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