If you can remember the last time the Bulldogs took on North Melbourne on July 3, congratulations on reaching retirement age! The Dogs and Kangaroos last met on the date in 1965, 60 years ago. And according to football journalist Jack Darmody, it might be better if you repress those memories.
Darmody penned the match report of the encounter for The Age newspaper, and in his opinion the match was one befitting two teams placed at the wrong end of the ladder.
Darmody’s assessment of the two sides was scathing, as evidenced by this quote:
Apart from a short but excellent performance from the Footscray City Band, the only other display of coordination was when Footscray players formed a guard of honour as Graham Ion ran out for his 100th game.
Ouch! Notwithstanding Darmody’s harsh judgement, the Bulldogs fans among the 14,150 watching the game at Western Oval at least got to see their team win. The Dogs overcame a wasteful first quarter – in which they kicked 1.6 to North’s 1.0 – to record a 12-point win.
The victory was achieved without the services of ‘Mr Football’ - captain-coach Ted Whitten - who was unable to play because of an ankle ligament injury, and propelled the Bulldogs four spots off the foot of the ladder. But by the final round of 1965 Footscray had once again slipped to the bottom.
In danger of securing the wooden spoon for only the second time in its proud 41-year time in the VFL, the Dogs needed to beat Melbourne in its final-round match, and hope that at least one of Fitzroy, Hawthorn or North Melbourne would lose. While a loss for one of those teams was likely, a Footscray win over Melbourne seemed less so. The Demons were seventh on the ladder, four games ahead of the Bulldogs.
On the other hand, Melbourne had not won in a month, so the Dogs went into the match with some confidence. However, after a strong start to match, Footscray found itself two goals behind at the final change of ends. But, led by a fine display of forward line marking from Ken Stevens, the Bulldogs scraped home by three points in a thriller, with Stevens booting two goals, the only majors from either team in the final term.
With Fitzroy and Hawthorn both losing, the Bulldogs had escaped a last-placed finish and finished the season on a high.
When the Bulldogs take on the Kangaroos on July 3 for the first time in 60 years this Thursday, they’ll be hopeful of putting on a better display than the one which attracted the ire of Jack Darmody back in 1965.
Click HERE to buy Bulldogs Through & Through by Darren Arthur and Andrew Gigacz, a new illustrated history of the Bulldogs published to celebrate the club’s 100th year in the VFL/AFL
