JOHN Carroll doesn't recall too much of Pyramid Hill's last senior football flag.
After all, it was 69 years ago when the Bulldogs won the 1950 Mitiamo District Football League premiership.
Carroll was a then 16-year-old and now aged 85, he's the only surviving member of that team, making him the only living Pyramid Hill senior premiership player.
On Saturday, though, Carroll is dearly hoping he will instead become one of 23 living Pyramid Hill premiership players, with the Bulldogs having another chance to break one of country Victoria's longest flag droughts when they play Mitiamo in the Loddon Valley league grand final at Calivil.
Mitiamo was also the team the Bulldogs defeated to win their 1950 premiership - an 8.8 (56) to 7.9 (51) victory at Lockington 25,171 days ago.
"I don't remember a lot about the day, but it was obviously great to have a win... it would have been nice to have a few more as well, but it hasn't worked out," Carroll said on Thursday.
"I was 20th man in the grand final team and didn't get a run on the ground; I remember with about five minutes to go Mitiamo's Billy Hynes having a shot for goal from the boundary.
"Thankfully, it went out of bounds and we won the game by five points."
Due to the windy conditions that day in 1950, the Pyramid Hill Advertiser said of the match: "The 1950 grand final will not pass to the archives for its high standard of play, but will long be remembered by present generation Pyramidians as the hardest-earned premiership within living memory."
Almost 70 years on, Carroll is still as passionate about Pyramid Hill as ever and he'll be at Calivil on Saturday not only hoping the club can finally end its senior drought, but also to support his grandson, Matthew, who will be playing in the Bulldogs' under-18 grand final team.
"I still really enjoy supporting the club... they've had a marvelous year getting all three football teams (seniors, reserves and under-18s) into the grand final, as well as a couple of netball teams," Carroll said.
"The senior team is playing some really good footy, but Mitiamo is a really strong team, particularly with their forwards."
Since Pyramid Hill last played in a grand final in 2011, five members of the 1950 premiership team have died - Bill Gregory, Bill Moss, Alan Rumble, John Gregory and Kevin Hunt, who kicked four goals in the Bulldogs' flag and later went on to play four VFL games with Carlton.
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