Chelsea Premiers 1944

THE GRAND FINAL of the Federal District Football League at Cheltenham last Saturday resulted in a win for Chelsea, after playing a grand season of dashing football and finishing unbeaten.
Chelsea started scoring early. Johnstone kicked the first goal after only about two minutes of play. Hart was very spectacular in the air and Cadoret very classy on the forward line, kicking two goals for the quarter. Bourke (Moorabbin) was the most noticeable player on the ground, and his dashing play around the centre thrilled the crowd.

The second quarter was very slow and the erratic kicking of the Magpie forwards was disheartening to the remainder of the team, although Edward’s style on the wing was superb and he tried hard to keep the ball at the scoring end. Richardson (Chelsea) was the only player to score full points in the second quarter which left Chelsea leading by 21 points at half time.
After the players came onto the oval for the second half, the game developed a better pace, with Johnstone and Perkins (Chelsea) starring. Phillips also showed better form and his kicking was very accurate. Hefferan, playing the wing for the Magpies, was instrumental in Laurie scoring a goal and Cann proved too much for his opponent in some grand tussles. A nice save by Rennick (Magpies) in front of the Blues' goal had a rather demoralising effect on The Seasiders, but they were quick to rally again and Johnstone scored his second goal to give them a 26 point lead.

Moorabbin tried hard to score a few goals in the final quarter, but had quite a lot of bad luck with their kicking. Barkis, ace forward for the Magpies, had many opportunities to score full points, but he seemed to be over-anxious and could not quite make the big sticks. The ball sliced off from the side of his boot twice right in front of goals, and twice he hit the post, once when only a few yards out.
Bourke (Moorabbin) was easily the best man afield. His marking in the last quarter was well up to League standard.Chelsea scored only one point in the last quarter but Nagle, always in the picture, kept the attack going strongly.

The final scores were Chelsea 8.9 - 57 pts ; Moorabbin 4.18 - 42 pts.

Note: Fitzroy great Norm Johnstone who was recruited from Chelsea as a 17 year old, famously turned his back on the opportunity to play in Fitzroy’s 1944 premiership team choosing instead to return to Chelsea and help them to win the Junior Pennant in that same year. No doubt he thought that he would have many more opportunities to enjoy success with the Lions but only one chance with his mates at Chelsea. He was half right.

SNAPSHOTS

Best and Fairest player for Chelsea was Pat Phillips. In half-back position, Pat was a stumbling block for the Moorabbin forwards. His marks and long kicks were a feature of the play from the start of the game.
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Captain Black in the centre of the ground also gave an excellent exhibition. Before the game it was doubtful as to whether he would lead the team as he had a leg injury. However, he did, and gave a match winning performance.
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Jack Nagle was always reliable and Norm Johnstone gave his usual dominating performance. From the bounce he was the deciding factor in the Chelsea performance.
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In the forward-pocket, Ron Aylen gave the Moorabbin backs a headache. Ron has the knack of kicking the ball from almost any angle and one of his goals on Saturday came from a kick over his shoulder.
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