Photos (Top to Bottom): Steve Darby (closest to camera) when he coached White Eagles. The other players are (L-R) Craig McKenzie, Franco Previdi and Eugene Banasik; Alistair Hales (left), a star of Brighton-ICL in 1980, is seen here with Hammy McMeechan, a star of Victorian football during his side's friendly game at Wentworth Park during a visit to Tasmania [PlessPix]
Talk of a Tasmanian team in the National Soccer League was a constant theme of the 1980 season.
The NSL was set to expand from 14 teams and Tasmania applied to join. The etam was to be called the Tasmanian Devils.
The plan was scuppered, according to press reports of the time, when the major sponsor withdrew following the departure of Ken Morton from the State.
Morton had taken Rapid to the State League title and was the coach-elect of our proposed NSL team, but he was appointed as coach of NSL side Wollongong for the 1981 season.
Gabriel Haros MHA was the chairman of the steering committee and he explained the application was withdrawn when only $50,000 of the required $100,000 could be raised.
The major sponsor, supposedly a hotel chain, withdrew their support once they knew Morton was leaving the State and taking up the Wollongong coaching position.
Morton coached Rapid to the State League title in 1980 and to the Ampol Cup. Rapid missed out on the treble when they lost to Brighton-ICL on penalties in a replayed Cadbury Jubilee Trophy final. The first game had been a 2-2 draw, with Alistair Hales, winner of the 1976 Rothmans Gold Medal, scoring both Brighton goals.
Brighton-ICL’s keeper at the time was 18-year-old Robert Harrison, who came from a soccer family. His father was Ken Harrison, while his four siblings, Scot (19), Neil (17), Paul (16) and Jud (11) also played. Ken’s wife, Pauline, was goalkeeper for Brighton-ICL’s women’s team. Scot's wife, Sandra, of course, now runs the popular “Soccer Cellar” store. Robert’s nephew, Nick Harrison, has played in recent years with Olympia and Glenorchy Knights. The Harrisons had moved to Tasmania from London in 1968.
Two of Rapid’s stars that season were David Smith, who is now coaching director in Northern New South Wales, and Peter Willis, the former Leeds United player. Willis joined Morton at Wollongong the next season.
Dale Blake, 19, was also a Rapid player who was being courted by three national league clubs. He suffered a serious knee injury early in the season against Burnie United which threatened his career. He did eventually recover and continued his Tasmanian career.
Rapid clinched the State League title when they beat Croatia-Glenorchy 4-1, with Smith netting twice and Mark Oakes and player-coach Morton once each. Brian Davidson, a New Zealander, who won the Rothmans Gold Medal twice, replied for Croatia.
Rapid completed an unbeaten league campaign with a 1-0 win over Juventus, the goal coming from Morton, who converted a precise cross from Smith.
Morton was not only coach of Rapid that year. He was also appointed as assistant coach to White Eagles, which caused a lot of talk around the traps. Eagles had appointed Eugene Mycak, a Pole who had been coaching in the USA, as coach, but Morton was appointed as his adviser when the team was in danger of relegation.
Eagles were still relegated at the end of the season, while South Hobart won the Division One title under coach Glyn Jenkins and were promoted.
South Hobart established a new junior section in 1980 called South Hobart Colts and they signed players as young as 8 years. The aim of the Colts was to have continuity in management and to create a community identity in a suburb that had been called the ‘cradle’ of soccer for the past 70 years.
1980 was also the year that Eastern Suburbs Soccer Club became the Clarence Soccer Club. Ken Simpson, who was an air traffic controller at Hobart Airport, was the coach and Paul Edwards the chairman. Steven Omant was the secretary, Andrew Eastman the treasurer, Roy Beardsley the registration secretary, while the general committee members were Ian Southorn, Carol Eastman, Paul Beardsley and Doug Saunders.
Brighton-ICL had an agreement with the Kingborough Council to build a new $500,000 soccer complex at Kingston consisting of a full-size ground, a senior training ground and two junior grounds. There were to be facilities for night games, television coverage and a grandstand. It was hoped the ground would be used for national league games and international matches.
Steve Darby was coach of Devonport City in 1980 after arriving from Bahrain, where he was assistant national coach. Darby, who hailed from Liverpool, was appointed as Tasmanian Director of Coaching at the end of the season on a three-year contract worth $15,000 per annum.
The Tasmanian Soccer Association president at the time was Vic Tuting, who was also vice-president of the Australian Soccer Federation. The Chairman of the TSA was well-known local solicitor David Wallace.
What about some of the squads of the day? Here are a few:
Juventus-Pioneer: Jones, John and Jack Dilba, Brine, Lapolla, Cowen, Young, Ambrosino, Parodi, New, Maccallini, Kent, De Felice, Di Venuto, Fabrizio, O’Donnell
George Town: Jones, Coogan, Hughes, Davidson, Galloway, Bull, Morley, Gimpl, O’Sullivan, T Farrell, Schiebl, Djakic, Stalker, Mason
Metro: Doig, Schiltz, Scanlon, Ian and Peter Gill, Hallam, Brown, M McIntyre, Fone, Pitchford, Tye, Kallenback, Bucher
Brighton-ICL: Harrison, McKay, Burton, S Collins, Charlton, Hey, Kirkpatrick, Dickinson, Hales, Anderton, Forster, Parker, Banagan, Heap, Donohoe
Devonport: Darby, S Rimmer, Best, Rigby, A Rimmer, Zschoke, Gleeson, Frame, McKenna, Pizzerani, Robinson, Abley, Hawkes
Ulverstone: Ron Smith, Stuetzel, Shegog, Green, Carpenter, Hamilton, Kaye, Ted Dolliver, Gayle, Foote, Clare, Rush, Koch, Trambas, S Fisher, J Compagne
Burnie United: P Considine, Shields, Fishwick, I Newall, Glover, Wheeler, Troughton, Weymouth, Denton, Kendrick, Eastley, Rodger, Hardstaff, Chamberlain, Parke, Winchester
White Eagles: Michniewski, Steenhuis, C Collins, Rybak, Linnell, Witek, Mark and Andrew Leszczynski, Worden, Cook, Sherman, Schwaiger, Large, Cuthbertson
Launceston Juventus: Udovicic, Colla, Hemsley, Butler, Ross Wesson, Tontari, Matt Wesson, Guest, Savill, Streit, A Smith
Rapid-Wrest Point: P Kannegiesser, Nicholls, Willis, Nunn, Wilson, Mohring, Schmull, Nikolai, S Kannegiesser, Oakes, D Smith, Willcock, Francis, Southworth, Thompson, Morton
Croatia-Glenorchy: S Smith, Payne, M Guinness, Weitnauer, Trueman, W Peters, Sarfalvy, O’Brien, B Davidson, Spaleta, Thomas, Huigsloot, T Dzelalija
What a list of players and teams!
Burnie’s Mike Denton was a prolific scorer and a Socceroo striker, while Rapid’s Peter Willis and Launceston Juventus’s Peter Savill were both former Leeds United players.
Juventus-Pioneer’s Peter Brine was a Middlesbrough player, while Eric Young was formerly with Manchester United, as was Rapid’s player-coach Ken Morton. Juventus youngsters Ambrosino and Fabrizio went on to play in the national league.
Brighton-ICL’s John Charlton was the son of the famous England centre-half Jack Charlton and nephew of Manchester United’s Bobby Charlton, while Tony Dickinson was also an accomplished English import, as was Ian Parker.
Steve Darby was Devonport’s goalkeeper and later went on to coach in Singapore and Malaysia. He is now the assistant national coach of Thailand.
White Eagles’ Ken Worden later coached in the national league and won a title with Melbourne Knights, while he also coached the Singapore national side and club sides in Malaysia.
12 comments:
Walter, did Peter Willis have a stint with Newcastle KB United (NSL). I recall a Peter Willis playing as a defender in that team. Just wondering if it's the same Willis?
Rage against the machine, I imagine it is the same guy, if it was during the 1980s. Peter still coaches in the area.
G'day Walter
While I was in grade 10 in 1980 (so memory may be tested) I think Ron Smith's illustrious goalkeeping brother (Rob/Bob) was probably the keeper for the Reds back in the day! Ron was probably trundling the right defensive flank in his understated, yet effective manner.
I enjoy the nostalgia. Keep up the good work.
Cheers
David
Having a dart on the bench, good old days
The best era Tassie has ever had in soccer in my opinion. Shermans, Huigis, Lapolla, excellent...
I dont think Franco was around in 1980 Walter - that looks like an Eagles photo from later in the 80's. Confirmed by the looks of Red's physique and Eugene's mullet
Anonymous 8.48pm, I may have inadvertently misled you, or I didn't express myself well enough. The photo was merely meant to show Steve Darby, who is mentioned in the article. The photo blurb said it was when he coached Eagles. I didn't mean to imply that the photo was from 1980. I haven't got many photos of Steve so I plucked that one out of my collection. I trust that explains things.
Hi David (11.08am), the team list in the clippings lists 'Ron Smith', so I was going on that. I knew Bob Smith, who was the keeper, but I was only going on the clipping from the paper. The first-named player is usually the keeper, but I don't know if our papers of the time were necessarily aware of that convention.
I would bet anyone on a game from the past to now, you can pick the best players in the state as it is now, and would not come close too anyone of the teams from 1980. great stuff Walter, have you got anymore from that time.
Rob Smith played in goal for Ulverstone in 1979.... missed and scored a pen against him for L'yon United that season!
He went on to keep goal for devonport too...
I think Ron has always been at Burnie but I can be stand corrected..
I was lucky enough to play for George Town United thoughout the 80's. had a great time playing with and against many fantastic players of that wonderful era
Hello all, I played for George Town throuhout the eighties and had a wonderful time playing with and against some of the best ....what a wonderful era!!
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