1978 The year it was

[Adelaide Hawk]

SEEKAMP
Rod could play, he had no speed

I disagree with this. He was just one of those players who never looked to be going at top speed, but you rarely saw him tackled. Darren Jarman is the classic example of this. He came to Norwood as a CHF, made centre his own, and then settled on the half back flank where he won a state jumper.

Seekamp had a good turn of pace, an athletic spring from one step, and an excellent overhead mark. Good player Seekamp, and Bob Oatey once likened his movements as similar to that of Alex Jesaulenko.

[JK]

SEEKAMP
Rod could play, he had no speed

I disagree with this. He was just one of those players who never looked to be going at top speed, but you rarely saw him tackled. Darren Jarman is the classic example of this. He came to Norwood as a CHF, made centre his own, and then settled on the half back flank where he won a state jumper.

Seekamp had a good turn of pace, an athletic spring from one step, and an excellent overhead mark. Good player Seekamp, and Bob Oatey once likened his movements as similar to that of Alex Jesaulenko.

Is this the same Seekamp that played in the 75' flag or a different one? (Maybe wore 26 IIRC?)

[bayman]

SEEKAMP
Rod could play, he had no speed

I disagree with this. He was just one of those players who never looked to be going at top speed, but you rarely saw him tackled. Darren Jarman is the classic example of this. He came to Norwood as a CHF, made centre his own, and then settled on the half back flank where he won a state jumper.

Seekamp had a good turn of pace, an athletic spring from one step, and an excellent overhead mark. Good player Seekamp, and Bob Oatey once likened his movements as similar to that of Alex Jesaulenko.

Is this the same Seekamp that played in the 75' flag or a different one? (Maybe wore 26 IIRC?)

that's the same guy, wore 26 & was training pacers a while ago, nice bloke rod


while i'm at it (out of respect & privacy i never asked him at the track) but isn't 'seekas' the player that had a 'contract/death threat' on him if he played in one of norwoods grand finals in the 1970's ?

[CK]

And, I've wondered how players could take someone seriously (or look up to them) being a coach at such a young age. Remebering Bunton actually coached Norwood at 19 years of age. Maybe it was the different era where coaching may not have been the big job it is now; maybe even at that age he showed such good leadership qualities.

Seems just as remarkable that a top club like Norwood would choose and chase Bunton to take over from a legend in Jack Oatey. I guess there's not too many posters who can recall how good Bunton was before he went to WA and Tassie. After all, you have to really special to be All-Australian at 18.

Whatever the reason, Norwood were proven to be right. There is one line of thought that Jack Oatey himself may have suggested Bunton's name to Norwood as a likely coach. Apparently they worked together at Adelaide Typographers (a subsidiary of News Ltd) at the time.

Although Bunton didn't win a flag at Norwood, he did coach them to a Grand Final in his 1st season, a remarkable feat considering the unrest at the club over Oatey's non-reappointment, as well as the resignation of the club's best player and captain John Marriott. His coaching record in WA is a great one, so to all the Norwood administrators who showed faith in a 19 year old to coach the club, it was a master stroke.

A lot of people claim Norwood lured Bunton away from North Adelaide, but that's not the case. Bunton had already decided to play for South Melbourne in the VFL, so when Norwood's offer presented itself, his choice was to play VFL, or coach an SANFL club. Whereas North were prepared to clear Bunton to the Swans, they weren't so happy with his decision to join Norwood, so he had to stand out of football for a season.

AH, was it definitely South Melbourne? I thought I read that he was going to be cleared to St Kilda, where he was going to be coached by his father, who was going to be appointed to the coaching role before his untimely death in a car accident (I may well be wrong on this).

[JK]

SEEKAMP
Rod could play, he had no speed

I disagree with this. He was just one of those players who never looked to be going at top speed, but you rarely saw him tackled. Darren Jarman is the classic example of this. He came to Norwood as a CHF, made centre his own, and then settled on the half back flank where he won a state jumper.

Seekamp had a good turn of pace, an athletic spring from one step, and an excellent overhead mark. Good player Seekamp, and Bob Oatey once likened his movements as similar to that of Alex Jesaulenko.

Is this the same Seekamp that played in the 75' flag or a different one? (Maybe wore 26 IIRC?)

that's the same guy, wore 26 & was training pacers a while ago, nice bloke rod


while i'm at it (out of respect & privacy i never asked him at the track) but isn't 'seekas' the player that had a 'contract/death threat' on him if he played in one of norwoods grand finals in the 1970's ?

Thanks mate .. I'd always thought he would have been a worthy winner of the Seiko watch on GF day in 75'

[baggy8]

AH, was it definitely South Melbourne? I thought I read that he was going to be cleared to St Kilda, where he was going to be coached by his father, who was going to be appointed to the coaching role before his untimely death in a car accident (I may well be wrong on this).

Not saying St Kilda weren't involved CK, but HB Senior died in September 1955 and this move (or potential move) of Haydn jun. took place in '57.

[mal]

MARCH 12
1977 Premiers annihilated NW in the legs Centenary Celebration game at the Parade

MARCH 14
Wayne Phillis denied rumours that he would play for another club
Phillis says he would be working in the media as a TV sports and show panelist


Anyone have details on that NW V PA preseason game at the Parade ?

[Adelaide Hawk]

A lot of people claim Norwood lured Bunton away from North Adelaide, but that's not the case. Bunton had already decided to play for South Melbourne in the VFL, so when Norwood's offer presented itself, his choice was to play VFL, or coach an SANFL club.

AH, was it definitely South Melbourne? I thought I read that he was going to be cleared to St Kilda, where he was going to be coached by his father, who was going to be appointed to the coaching role before his untimely death in a car accident (I may well be wrong on this).

I don't know for certain, I'm going on an account of his career written by Mike Coward, and he said South Melbourne.

Yes, Haydn Bunton Sr was going to coach St.Kilda in 1956, and he wanted his son to play under him. However, before the deal was done, he was killed in that infamous car accident in September 1955. Haydn Jr played for North Adelaide the following season and then decided to play AFL in 1957. Maybe the thought of playing for St.Kilda had bad vibes or memories for him, so he decided on another club.

[CK]

A lot of people claim Norwood lured Bunton away from North Adelaide, but that's not the case. Bunton had already decided to play for South Melbourne in the VFL, so when Norwood's offer presented itself, his choice was to play VFL, or coach an SANFL club.

AH, was it definitely South Melbourne? I thought I read that he was going to be cleared to St Kilda, where he was going to be coached by his father, who was going to be appointed to the coaching role before his untimely death in a car accident (I may well be wrong on this).

I don't know for certain, I'm going on an account of his career written by Mike Coward, and he said South Melbourne.

Yes, Haydn Bunton Sr was going to coach St.Kilda in 1956, and he wanted his son to play under him. However, before the deal was done, he was killed in that infamous car accident in September 1955. Haydn Jr played for North Adelaide the following season and then decided to play AFL in 1957. Maybe the thought of playing for St.Kilda had bad vibes or memories for him, so he decided on another club.

That is what I'm thinking of here, I think. I was nearly sure I'd read about him and his father being reunited at a VFL club, before his father's passing, with North agreeing to release Haydn Jnr to allow this.

[mal]

MARCH 16
WDV ruckman Jim Brenton considers an offer to continue playing

MARCH 20
WDV announce thier new captain Frank Stemper
Previous skipper John Giradi is trying to recover from a knee injury

Rodney Robran had a knee operation in November 1977
Robran is in doubt of playing this season

South Melbourne met with PA to discuss a clearance for Max James
James has played 143 games for PA, and 5 state games for SA



STEMPER
Stemper,Very good defender for WDV, and later for NW
Did Stemper play any state footy ?

BRENTON
Ended up not playing in 1978
With Max Parker and Barry Goodingham and possibly Colin Macvicar at the club, and if Jim Brenton was around, that would have given WDV very strong rucks for the year

ROBRAN
That knee injured kept him out in 1978
Did he end up playing or was the knee problem the end of his career ?
Rodney was a very good footballer, his brother Barrie was probably a better cricketer

JAMES
Max was a brilliant player
Ian Aitken prob would have called James's as having a leap like a startled gazelle
James was a sensational mark
James ended up going to the VFL, with the season less than 2 weeks away from starting, this no doubt would have stuffed up PA

[Adelaide Hawk]

STEMPER
Stemper,Very good defender for WDV, and later for NW
Did Stemper play any state footy ?

ROBRAN
That knee injured kept him out in 1978
Did he end up playing or was the knee problem the end of his career ?
Rodney was a very good footballer, his brother Barrie was probably a better cricketer

Frank Stemper played 1 state game.

Rodney Robran played up to 1982, and captained the club in 1980 & 1981.

As for Barrie being a better cricketer .. there's absolutely no doubt about that. Rodney was a handy swing bowler who played in the lower grades for Modbury, Barrie played for South Australia.

[Leaping Lindner]

STEMPER
Stemper,Very good defender for WDV, and later for NW
Did Stemper play any state footy ?

ROBRAN
That knee injured kept him out in 1978
Did he end up playing or was the knee problem the end of his career ?
Rodney was a very good footballer, his brother Barrie was probably a better cricketer

Frank Stemper played 1 state game.

Rodney Robran played up to 1982, and captained the club in 1980 & 1981.

As for Barrie being a better cricketer .. there's absolutely no doubt about that. Rodney was a handy swing bowler who played in the lower grades for Modbury, Barrie played for South Australia.

Rodney Robran did end up missing all of 1978, after Barrie had missed all of 1977. Fun times for us Roosters fans

[Interceptor]

Rodney Robran did end up missing all of 1978, after Barrie had missed all of 1977. Fun times for us Roosters fans

So what was the precise nature of Barrie's knee injury?
A torn ligament that is regularly repaired these days or something else?

[mal]

MARCH 21
Peter Marker on his 29th birthday annonunced his retirement
Graham Cornes took over the captaincy

MARCH 22
Glenelg sign up 22 year old West Perth ruckman Stuart Hillier
Hillier was approached by WT/NW/WDV as well

Michael Koch [CD] applied for a clearance to SA

Ralph Sewer, 146 games, attempted to get a clearance to WA, then agrees to stay with WDV

Wayne Carty, 9 games, also tried to get cleared to WA, but remained at WDV


HILLIER
According to my budget, Hillier didnt play a game in 1978

KOCH
Stayed at CD, but only played 3 games
Was he a defender ?

CARTY
Big Wayne played most of his footy at CHF for the Woodpeckers
A real character and one of the great socialisers
Carty and Sewer both wanting to go to WA, would not surprise me if that was to get more $$$ from WDV !!!

[GWW]

From memory, Carty also played at South? I thought he was a defender.

[mal]

BARRIE ROBRAN CRICKET
Sheffield Shield games,
Played 2 games

SA 426 +212
VI 283 +156

ROBRAN C EASTWOOD B HIGGS 0 ....Jim Higgs the legspinner
In this inninngs SANFL football umpire KG Cunningham hit 203 batting at 4, Robran batted 5
PA footballer Eric Fritz Freeman played this game as well, made 28 batting 7

ROBRAN LBW WALKER 18 ....That bowler was Maxie Walker
KG made 0
Freeman 60..he was a big hitter and a very good fast bowler

That game was Barries debut SS game, with SA beating the VIcs at the Adelaide Oval
He played one more SS game v WA at Adelaide Oval

SA 136 + 158
WA 129 +140

ROBRAN C PRINDIVILLE B NICHOLS 0
ROBRAN B NICHOLS 10
Barrie batted at 3 this game
Adelaide oval was not the batting paradise in this game
Mallett took 6/64 + 7/58
Another footballer played for WA this game, Bruce Duperouzal

That was Barries SS career, has the distinction of never playing in a losing SA Sheffield Shield Team

ONE DAY GAMES
Played one game

WA 211
SA 7/213

ROBRAN RUN OUT 42...batted 5
Barrie came in at 3/64, was in a match winning partnership of 85 for the 4th wicket
ROBRAN also had these bowling figures 0/18[4]

Barrie also never played in a losing O/D game for SA as well
He ends up having a good average in o/d cricket of 42

QUESTIONS
That was Barries cricket career
What kind of a batsman and bowler was he ?

[Leaping Lindner]

Rodney Robran did end up missing all of 1978, after Barrie had missed all of 1977. Fun times for us Roosters fans

So what was the precise nature of Barrie's knee injury?
A torn ligament that is regularly repaired these days or something else?

As I understand it the cartlidge was damaged beyond repair (or should I say repair at the time). Presumably these days he'd have a knee re-co and be "as good as new" after a yeat off.
John Coleman (Essendon) did something similiar and never played again.

[robranisgod]

Another footballer played for WA this game, Bruce Duperouzal

There were quite a few other footballers who played in that game. From WA, opening batsman Derek Chadwick would have been the best footballer in their team. He seemingly played state football and cricket for WA every year whilst I was growing up in the 60s. I know that he won Simpson medals as WA's best player against both Victoria and SA in 1964. He was named on a wing in East Perth's team of the century and won two best and fairests for East Perth. He was a good enough cricketer to tour New Zealand with the Australian second XI which went there in 1970. That team included Greg Chappell, Terry Jenner, Kerry O'Keefe and Dennis Lillee

Ian Brayshaw played in Claremont's 1964 premiership side and the bowler who dismissed Barrie in both innings Paul Nicholls played for East Fremantle.

Interestingly the two twelfth men were footballers. WA's Ken McAullay won the Tassie Medal at the 1972 carnival and SA's John Nash played for Norwood. His son of course is Jay Nash.

Getting back to Barrie's cricket career, he was a correct type of batsman who always opened for Prospect. He was a better player of pace than spin, and the dust bowl that was Adelaide Oval in 1971 found him out at Shield level, being dismissed by spinners in 3 of his 4 innings. Not surprisingly he was a brilliant fieldsman and a handy medium pace bowler.

[baggy8]

Can't let this topic race too far ahead without putting in a word for Mick Nunan. As often seems to be the case with players who achieve great success as coaches, their playing deeds tend to be overlooked. Nunan was one of the most underrated players of his era and IMO integral to Sturt's success. He had no peers in his courage and ability to dive in to packs and get the ball out with incisive handball.

Unfortunately (for his Sturt career), he realized that there was more to life than football and in 1978 he missed several games at the start of the season while he was undertaking an overseas study tour. When he returned, Jack Oatey told Mick that he was no longer wanted at Sturt as he (Jack) only wanted players who were dedicated to the cause (or words to that effect). Nunan didn't want to leave and I'm sure he would've given Sturt his all for the rest of the season. One can understand both points of view, but in such a situation the coach must always win and Mick was off to Norwood. Incredibly Sturt club chairman David Wark found it necessary to publicly say that "During recent years it has become obvious the philosophies of Mike Nunan have no longer been compatible with the Sturt Football Club."

So many North players who played under Nunan have said that he was the best coach they ever had and that he had a profound positive effect on their lives off the field as well. I think it says a lot for Nunan that he was willing to undertake the thankless task of coaching the AFL's sacrificial lamb, Fitzroy, in their last year of existence in 1996; something he did with class and dignity.

[bayman]

I think it says a lot for Nunan that he was willing to undertake the thankless task of coaching the AFL's sacrificial lamb, Fitzroy, in their last year of existence in 1996; something he did with class and dignity.



baggy8, he did, until he knew there was no next year & a bloke named mcconnell (alan or albert i think) took over