Saints to celebrate Bombers hat-trick
Edenhope’s halcyon football era of the 1980s will be the subject of a 30-year premiership reunion at Edenhope on May 27.
Edenhope-apsley Football Netball Club is supporting the day, which celebrates senior Kowreenaracoorte league premierships in 1986, ’87 and ’88, a reserves 1987 title and under-14 flag in 1988.
It is also celebrating the club’s 1988 A and E grade netball premierships.
The club is inviting all past players, officials and supporters to join celebrations, which will include a Horsham District league match against Laharum at Edenhope.
Celebrations will start about 11.30am at Edenhope clubrooms with an official welcome before interviews and visions of games and social events of the era.
Edenhope-apsley players will wear the traditional Edenhope Bomber guernsey with the names of senior premiership players in the sash. Jumpers will then be auctioned later that night.
Organisers have also urged anyone with memorabilia from that time to get in contact with Chris Ryan, Jo Campbell, Fiona Mulraney or Carolyn Middleton.
The mid-1980s was a highly successful era for the Edenhope club. It started with a 1986 premiership when coach Carl Robertson led the team, ironically, to victory over later merger partner Apsley. David Mcdonald also won the league’s under-17 best and fairest award.
With Robertson again at the helm, Edenhope won back-to-back flags in 1987, beating Kybybolite with Greg Thomas winning the goal-kicking award with 65. The club’s reserves also won the flag, with Brian ‘Cobber’ Cassidy coaching the side to victory, also against Kybybolite.
In 1988, Brian Burke was the coach in charge of the team that defeated Padthaway in the grand final, completing the hat-trick of senior premierships. Cassidy was also the league’s best and fairest and the club’s under-14s won a flag under coach Alan O’bryan.
Some of the players of the era included Thomas, Cassidy, John Burchell, David, Steven, Jim and Jeff Ryan, Bernie Mulraney, Warren and Steven Tucker and Micky Dubois.
The 1988 A Grade netball premiers included players such as Julie Cassidy, Jo Loft, Lisa King, nee Campbell, and Janice Vanzini. The netballers also went on to win in 1989 and finish runnersup in 1990.