1973 - SEASON REVIEW

THE OFFER—MINUS THE HORSE’S HEAD’
 
The ultimatum was as clear as it was unexpected. It came direct from the Council and demanded the attendance of three office bearers from each club (Football and Cricket) at a special meeting on a particular date. 

The six ‘pigeons’ were seated on basic four legged waiting room type chairs lined up in a straight row. The full Council was in attendance (about sixteen all up).They were seated in their leather armchairs which were arranged adjacent to each other and in a slight curve around the source of their interest. For the sportsmen the atmosphere was quite daunting and it wasn’t about to change.

The Mayor opened proceedings with a series of photos showing the parlous state of the rooms. It was irrefutable evidence that the rooms were not being treated with respect and by extension, since the rooms were owned by the Council, they were also being disrespected. They were not happy. The Office Bearers were at a loss to be able to present a defence. It had been the changeover period between seasons and, as had so often been the case, the outgoing club had been slack in getting around to cleaning the rooms in preparation for the takeover by the new tenant. The remnants of their final function for the season were everywhere to be seen. It was a reason for the mess but a pretty weak one as far as the Councillors were concerned. They had the lads at their mercy and then came the offer that couldn’t be refused.
“We, the Council are going to fix up this mess and make those rooms not only habitable but functional.” So far so good - then “We are going to take out a thirty thousand pound loan over twenty years to do the job and you two clubs are going to sign an undertaking to pay off that loan via an agreed rental.” What could the accused do but simply nod. They had been rendered defenceless. Any form of resistance had been crushed much earlier in the meeting. The offer was accepted without question.
And so, unbeknown to Ted Webster and Bob Wescott, three years of their lives had just vanished without them having the slightest idea why.

On field the Club had  only one Team make the finals with the 3rd XV111 taking out the 1973 flag in a controversial Grand Final which saw them win by a point, then loose it on appeal to the MPNFL, only then to have the VFL overturn that appeal and award the
1973 Premiership to Chelsea, meaning that Chelsea 3rd's had completed an undefeated season.


KEY PERSONNEL

PRESIDENT
Ken Leslie

VICE PRESIDENT
Ted Webster, Eric Coles, Peter Newman

SECRETARY
Leigh Evans

ASSISTANT SECRETARY
Alan Smith

TREASURER
Ted Webster

ASSISTANT TREASURER
Doug Nielson

COMMITTEE
Ivan Ward, 'Wagga' McDonald, Harry Jackson, T Coster, Roy Murphy, Glenn Murphy, Tom Grey, Bert Thompson, Ron Ward, Bill Coghlan, Alec Gaskin, Max Anderson, 'Tich' Brown, L Clarkson, A McMahon, 'Tiger' Collins, Max Gee, J Mathew, Alan Smith, D Smith, M French

COACH
Tony Wearne

CAPTAIN
Tony Wearne

BEST & FAIREST 
David Coster

GOAL KICKING
Rod Collins - 80 goals

TRAINERS
'Wagga'McDonald, Alf Gray

SEASON OVERVIEW

SENIORS

Team W L D Points %
Carrum 17 3 76 162 Edi/Asp 17 3 76 144 Mornington 13 7 60 124
Hastings 13 7 60 124
Rye 11 9 52 91 Chelsea 10 10 48 108 Seaford 10 10 48 99 Sorrento 8 12 40 96 Rovers 5 15 28 63 Frankston 3 17 20 68 Mt Eliza 3 17 20 63
GRAND FINAL
Carrum 12 - 14 -83 def  Hastings 4 - 17 - 41

M. P. N. F. L.
BEST & FAIREST

Geoff Jones	Seaford	30
Peter Trevorrow	Rye	18
Ross Porter	Chelsea	18
Gary Guy	Carrum	17
Ron Stubbs	Carrum	17

 

  

SEASON OVERVIEW

SECONDS

Team W L D Points %
Mornington 20 0 88 179 Edi/Asp 17 3 76 199 Carrum 17 3 76 168
Rye 12 8 56 157
Hastings 10 10 48 103 Rovers 9 11 44 89 Sorrento 8 12 40 86 Chelsea 7 13 36 92 Mt Eliza 6 14 32 80 Frankston 3 17 20 50 Seaford 1 19 12 29
GRAND FINAL
Mornington 17 - 12 - 14 def  Edi/Asp 13 - 16 - 94

M. P. N. F. L.
BEST & FAIREST

Tom Howatt	Rovers	16
G Dennis	Rye	16
J Slocombe	Hastings	16
D County	Frankston	13

 

SEASON OVERVIEW

THIRDS

Team W L D Points %
Chelsea 22 0 88 317 Edi/Asp 18 4 72 175 Mt Eliza 15 7 60 138
Seaford 15 7 60 131
Mornington 14 8 56 112 Carrum 11 11 44 114 Army 9 13 36 70 Frankston 4 18 16 60 Rovers 2 20 8 25
GRAND FINAL
Chelsea 8 - 13 - 61 def  Mt Eliza 49 - 6 - 60

M. P. N. F. L.
BEST & FAIREST

Glen Harrison	Mt Eliza	32
T Pope	Carrum	24
P Senior	Edi/Asp	20
B Stone	Rovers	19

  

2ND SEMI FINAL

CHELSEA				17.5	107 pts
EDI/ASP				12.2	74 pts

BEST PLAYERS

CHELSEA:Newman, Grace, Tonks, Gale, Bascombe.
EDI/ASP:Colliver, Senior, Lee, Rea, Parnell.

GOAL KICKERS

CHELSEA:Gale 5, Newman 4, McDonald 3, Parks 2, Roberts, Stevens, Newman.
EDI/ASP:Alves 3, Dunn 3, Senior 2, Beale 2, O'Shea, Rea.

GRAND FINAL 

CHELSEA				8.13	61 pts
MT ELIZA				9.6	60 pts

BEST PLAYERS

CHELSEA:Tonks, Boyd, Newman, Gale, McDonald.
MT ELIZA:Harrison, Reid, Demaine, Bent, Diggle.

GOAL KICKERS

CHELSEA:Clifford 2, Chewman, Newman, McDonald, Gregory, Gale, Jackson.
MT ELIZA:Goodman 2, Harrison 2, Diggle 2, Bowring, Watson.

SEASON OVERVIEW

FOURTHS

Team W L D Points %
Mornington 21 1 84 293 Edi/Asp 19 3 76 255 Rovers 16 6 64 206
Hastings 16 6 64 163
Mt Eliza 14 8 56 132 Chelsea 13 8 1 54 101 Frankston 9 13 36 67 Carrum 7 15 28 70 Seaford 7 15 28 77 Rye 6 16 24 57 Army 3 18 1 14 48 Sorrento 0 22 0 26
GRAND FINAL
Mornington 13 - 17 - 95 def  Edi/Asp 12 - 13 - 85

M. P. N. F. L.
BEST & FAIREST

Graham Hunter	Edi/Asp	42
R Alexander	Hastings	36
T Murray	Mornington	35
M Clarkson	Rovers	34

 

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