REMEMBER WHEN? FINALS ROUND 2!
This week we go back 30 yrs to 1994 to see what happened in netball and football First and Second semi-finals action ahead of this weekend’s Wangaratta double up.
In football the venue for the first semi-final was Birallee Park and what a game it was with Albury storming home to beat Corowa Rutherglen by one point 12-14 to 12-13, after the Roos had led all day and took a 25-point lead into the final quarter.
Led by Glen Page, Marc Duryea and Tim Scott the Tigers kicked six final term goals to shatter the Roos who were coached by former Collingwood star Ron McKeown, Albury were led by legendary coach Paul Spargo.
The second semi-final was played at the Lavington Sportsground where unbeaten Wangaratta Rovers made it 35 wins in a row to thump Wodonga 18-12-120 to 6-8-44. Both teams kicked an early goal each before Rovers rammed home the next ten gls to march into the grand final.
Robbie Walker, Andrew Wilson and Rick Marklew starred for the Hawks under coach Laurie Burt – Wodonga were coached by Ernie Whitehead.
The following week Wodonga defeated Albury in the preliminary final to take on the red-hot Rovers at the Norm Minns Oval – the Hawks made it 36 wins in a row when they again proved too strong for Wodonga winning 14-14-98 to 5-9-39 with Rovers star Robbie Walker best on ground. Wodonga won the 2nds and Raiders the 3rds.
Netball was into just its second season of O&M and in a upset win North Albury defeated the defending premiers Wangaratta Rovers 45-39 to advance to the grand final, while in the first semi-final Wodonga eliminated Myrtleford in a thrilling contest 30-28.
The following week Rovers defeated Wodonga and then a week later made it back-to-back premierships when they beat North Albury for the second year in a row in a brilliant spectacle 47-45. North Albury turned the tables in B Grade beating Rovers 44-42.
Jodie Norman from Wangaratta took out the Toni Wilson Medal with 33 votes – with Myrtleford’s Anndrea Crisp runner up on 21 votes and Wodonga’s Lindy Gunson next on 18. Karen Wilcox from North Albury took out the B Grade award with Lavington’s Jacqui Kilmartin runner up.
The Morris Medal was a tie with Corowa Rutherglen’s larrikin onballer John “Juice” Kingston level on 22 votes with 1993 winner Tim Scott (Albury), with Raiders coach Simon Bone a further vote back. North Albury’s 1984 senior premiership player Bill Mulraney took out the seconds Leo Burke award, while another Hopper Dean Taylor was the winner of the Thirds Leo Dean Award.
