Powers of the ‘90s prepare for latest battle

The two sides - separated by about a 15-minute trip in the car - will clash in this Sunday's first semi-final in what will be the first time they have met in September since the 1995 grand final.

Remarkably, the 1995 grand final between Mount Pleasant and Heathcote was the fourth consecutive year the two sides had met in the season decider as they built up one of the great rivalries in country football.

While there were no backward steps taken on the field, it was a rivalry built on respect between the two most dominant clubs of the HDFL in the early-to-mid '90s.

Three of the four consecutive grand finals the two clubs contested - 1993, 1994 and 1995 - were won by the Blues, and they were all cracking contests, with 20 points the biggest margin.

The hat-trick of Mount Pleasant flags came after the raging hot favourites, Heathcote, coached by Wayne Bell, had toppled the Blues by 38 points in the 1992 grand final.

Heathcote's Steve Travaglia played in all three losing grand finals to the Blues, and remains on the Saints' list this year.

However, a broken collarbone has cost him the chance of renewing acquaintances this weekend in September with the Blues, who he remembers as a side that had ‘‘good players all over the ground'' during those years in the mid ‘90s.

‘‘Off the ground we were all really good mates, but it was fierce on the ground,'' Travaglia said this week.

‘‘Mounts seemed to have it over us . . . in 1995 we probably had the better side, but they just knew how to win.

‘‘They were stronger than us all over the ground.

‘‘We had a few good blues and stoushes - I remember blokes like Mick O'Shea and those guys used to get stuck into it a bit,'' said Travaglia, who was among the Saints' best players in the eight-point defeat of 1994, played in front of a crowd at Colbinabbin that paid a then-record gate of $10,233.

‘‘After the grand finals we would go to each other's pubs and have a few drinks, so off the field it was all good.'' But it was tough on field - just ask the Blues' Graham Rohde, who was stretchered off the ground in the third quarter of the fiery 1993 grand final following a collision with the Saints' Terry French.

Among Travaglia's opponents in the 1994 and ‘95 grand finals were Steve Campbell, who he now works with at Bendigo City Framers.

The two lined up on each other in the second half of the 1995 grand final, which was the closest of the four - a five-point win to the Blues.

The Blues led by 26 points at three quarter-time, but the Saints stormed back into the contest in the last term, and with 30 seconds left in the game Heathcote's Darren Rowsell had a shot at goal with his side down by five points.

Rowsell's kick went out on the full.

The Saints' losing 1995 grand final side was coached by John McCarthy.

McCarthy was forced to take the reins mid-season following the 10-week suspension of coach Mark Opie, who had also coached the Saints in 1994.

Opie, who confesses to have been a ‘‘controversial character'' during his time at Heathcote, is now the team manager at AFL club Richmond.

‘‘It was a massive rivalry between the two clubs - I would relate it to Japan and Russia,'' said Opie, who was a member of the Saints' 97-point belting of Stanhope in the 1989 grand final.

‘‘We were the two sides that were clearly better than others, and we knew that after round three we would be playing in the grand final against Mounts.

‘‘Mounts had terrific players, but none better than the late Peter White.

‘‘In 1994 when we got pipped by eight points, I would say we didn't get beaten by Mounts, we were beaten by Peter White, because he was that good.'' Despite being hampered by injury, the inspirational White kicked four goals in the 1994 grand final and was named the Blues' best player.

‘‘We were first into the grand final in 1994 (after beating Colbinabbin by 43 points in the second semi-final) and we were hoping like hell Mounts wouldn't beat Colbo in the preliminary final,'' Opie said.

‘‘We thought we would have been good things had we played Colbo in the grand final because with Mounts, they had Mick O'Shea, John Craig, who was one of the better country footballers I saw, Matt Beddoe and those blokes.

‘‘We had a fair amount of talent ourselves, but Mounts had a bloke named Peter White.'' The Mount Pleasant side of 1994 was coached by White, who had also been at the helm when the Blues downed the Saints by 20 points in 1993 to thwart Heathcote's bid for back-to-back premierships.

Tragically, White died in a boating accident off Port Campbell in 1996, a month after he had played in Kyabram's Goulburn Valley Football League premiership side.

More than 10 years on since his death, White remains a revered figure at not only Mount Pleasant, but in the HDFL.

‘‘Peter was an exceptional player and of the best players I've seen out there,'' said Mount Pleasant veteran Justin Gee.

‘‘He was one of those guys who always had time when he had the footy - it was a gift that some people have.

‘‘He could do it all, he had power, was fast, was strong in the air for a bloke who wasn't six-foot and he was a beautiful kick on both sides of the body.'' And rarely would he miss a goal.'' Gee, still playing with the Blues, was a member of the four Mount Pleasant grand final sides between 1992 and 1995.

‘‘There was a strong rivalry between the two clubs, but it wasn't like we hated each other,'' said Gee, who played his 250th game for the Blues last year.

‘‘We had mutual respect for each other and back in those days, we used to socialise a fair bit with them after the game.

‘‘We had some good sides through those years and self-belief.

‘‘We've always had that self-belief that we can win big games and always play well in finals.'' Present Heathcote president Andrew Conforti played in eight grand finals with Heathcote, including the four straight against the Blues.

‘‘The strength through that period for us, and we're seeing it again today, is our local players,'' Conforti said.

‘‘We just seemed to be able to produce good local footballers.

‘‘And at that time, we had a lot of families, like the Tobin, Bell, Conforti, French, Ellis and McCarthy families.

‘‘All those families had two or three boys who could all play footy and we stuck together.'' Between 1989 and 1995, Heathcote played in every HDFL senior grand final.

As well as the four straight against the Blues from 1992 to ‘95, the Saints belted Stanhope in 1989, was defeated by Mounts in 1990, and beaten by Colbinabbin in 1991.

However, after seven straight grand final appearances, the Saints hit the skids following the heart-breaking five-point loss to the Blues in 1995.

Following an exodus of players after 1995, it took the Saints until 2005 to rebuild a side that would again play in the finals.

The Saints were beaten in the elimination final in both 2005 and last year.

Heathcote defeated Broadford by 66 points in last week's elimination final at Toolleen to set up this Sunday's clash with the Blues.

Last Sunday's win over Broadford was the first time Heathcote had won a final since it defeated Elmore by 52 points in the 1995 preliminary final.

Although the Saints haven't been a serious force since 1995, the same can't be said of the Blues.

Since their last grand final encounter with Heathcote in 1995, the Blues have gone on to win a further five flags.