Football
28 May, 2024
Special reunions celebrated at Harrow
Saturday, May 25, 2024 was the first time Kevin Dellar’s Douglas Miga Lake Rovers 1964 Central Wimmera Premiership team had officially come together as they gathered for a 60 year reunion at Harrow. Also celebrated on the day was six Harrow Balmoral Football and Netball premierships from 2004 and 2014.
Nine of the 12 surviving players and wives of three of the players no longer with us got to Harrow, and with two of the team members living at Bowral and on the Sunshine Coast, it was a very good muster.
There were a few anxious moments when the coach was late but it was only because he had gone to Balmoral instead of Harrow, and that gave full forward John Featherstone the chance to call in from Queensland and have talk to his former teammates.
Getting Dellar out to the remote West South Wimmera club based at Wombelano in 1963 was an enormous coup for Douglas Miga Lake Rovers, and after going out in the first semi final in 1963, he had the team on top of the ladder just ahead of Goroke going into finals in 1964.
Goroke were the reigning premiers, but Dellar's team won the second semi final by 22 points. After struggling for three quarters and trailing by a point at three quarter time, the Rovers kicked eight goals, three behinds to Goroke’s solitary behind to win by 49 points.
Best players for the Douglas Miga Lake Rovers across the finals were Neville Smith, Trevor Ough, Kevin Dellar, 15 year old Ian Anderson, Geoff Shrive Graeme Ough, the sides veteran 33 year old Peter Anson, and John Featherstone who kicked four goals in each of the finals.
Kevin Dellar played five games for Essendon in 1959, and many think it could have been more if he had been prepared to move to the city and put his work and business ambitions on hold.
After playing for Horsham and being a regular Wimmera League representative, he had a profound impact in the Douglas Miga Lake communities as he and his new wife Greer totally embraced all sport, social and fundraising activities in the district.
One of his players was 15 year old Ian ‘Ginger’ Anderson, the six foot three prodigy who played well in the 1964 finals and eventually went down to Essendon in 1965. It is believed he went on the recommendation of Dellar and former Essendon champion Reg Burgess, but Carlton were at the Grand Final and also approached him.
Anderson played his first game as an 18 year old in 1967, won Essendon’s best first year player in 67 and kicked seven goals in the first round of 1968. At the end of 1968 he had played 19 senior games and played in the Reserves premiership.
As for so many young Australian men in the 1960s and early 70s, his life was changed forever when the fall of a marble meant he was conscripted to National Service and eventually serve in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.
Ginger Anderson returned to Essendon and played another eight senior games in 1971, but in 1972 he moved to Western Australia to play for West Perth, and was chosen to represent Western Australia in the 1972 Australian National Football Carnival rucking alongside Graeme Moss, the legendary indigenous player Bill Dempsey, and 19 year old Mike Fitzpatrick in a team captained by Mal Brown.
The Victorian team included ruckmen Len Thompson, John Nicholls and Gary Dempsey, and the All Australian team contained names like Malcolm Blight, Gary Dempsey, Alex Jesaulenko, Leigh Mathews, Peter McKenna, Len Thompson and Mal Brown was named captain.
The 1964 Rovers team and the 2004 Harrow Balmoral Football premiership had a couple of things in common, they were both coached by very determined men, in Dellar and 2003 Dellar medallist Chris White, and they both contained 15 year olds who went on to play at the highest level.
Tim Houlihan had won many State and Australian 1500 and 3000 metre championships in athletics and had progressed from the Harrow Balmoral under-13 side to the North Ballarat Rebels and Vic Country Under 18 representation and was drafted to the West Coast Eagles as a 17 year old in 2006.
He went on to play 15 games, and returned from WA for the 2004 Harrow Balmoral reunion. It provided an opportunity for a photo of the four VFL/AFL players Dellar, his protege Anderson, Houlihan and local junior and current day Harrow Balmoral Assistant coach Michael Close whe was drafted to the Brisbane Lions in 2012 and played 27 games.