1978 The year it was

[mal]

Some snippets I have found about Murray the weed Weideman

Probably best remembered today as Collingwoods much loved[and much loathed] enforcer of the late 50s and early 60s

1958 VFL Grand Final...his deliberate and continous intimidation of his star Melbourne opponent Ron Barrasi was a major factor in the Magpies eking out a 3 goal victory

Named CHF in Collingwoods team of the 20th century

Coached WA in 1968/1969 as a player coach, took them to 2 finals campaigns


WEIDEMAN V ANDERSON
Would have been something to see these 2 tough men at each other in the late 60s
I had not realised Weideman was such a tough guy
Remember him in the TV press and he struck me as an articulate type, with a good voice and a guy I liked listening to, not the tough guy on a footy field
As for Peter Anderson, yeah I remember how tough he was
Was he also a very long kick from kick offs as well ?

[nickname]

As a kid I listened to Weideman many times give his pre-match address to the players while standing on a rub-down table in the rooms under the grandstand, the room packed with fans. He was very charismatic and it was very powerful to witness.
He continued as non-playing coach in 1970 and 1971 but we failed to make the finals. He said he felt disappointed that, when non-playing coach, the players wouldn't do the physically hard things that he did for them when he played.

[mal]

Theres a saying what happens on the field stays on the field
I wonder if Anderson and Weideman got on ok or well off the field after thier on field scraps

[mal]

FEBUARY 16
NA player Greg Smith goes back home to Victoria for employment reasons
Smith was recruited in 1976

SA rover Phil Cox is hopeful of playing RD1 after a knee operation

FEBUARY 17
Carl Fragomeni has an operation to remove wire in his right elbow
This was the same injury that caused him to miss the 1977 Grand Final

FEBUARY 23
The NFL announced thier 15 game + 16 team knockout comp for 1978

SMITH
Cant remember him

COX
Rover with SA

FRAGOMENI
What a brilliant back pocket
Use to burst out of defence and his rebound was a feature of his play
Originally form Western Australia
A truly great back pocket

NIGHT COMP
Was reasonably popular at the time, as any Victorian /South Australian games or comps were
Used to go and watch them , something different
From memory they were played mid week at night at the parade when NW played
Was it that several teams didnt back up well on the Saturday day games in the SANFL ?
I remember that announcement about this impending comp, I thought it was OK, unlike the garbage they are trying in 2011

Who was Greg Smith ?

[nickname]

There was a very good ex-Swans player called Greg Smith who played for Centrals, I don't know if that's this bloke.

[bayman]

Murray Weideman was also a professional wrestler, he played footy during the day & wrestled at night....(some kind of 'warm down' there)........i'm sure his son mark was at west adelaide for a while in the late 1970's !!! ??

[robranisgod]

He was very charismatic and it was very powerful to witness.

At the time Weideman was married to a former Miss Australia and people often referred to him as Mr Australia. Given the change in the AFL drafting rules, he will remain the youngest VFL/AFL premiership player.

As an aside as coach of Westies in 1971 he reckons that he was one player away from winning the premiership and his team finished seventh. That one player of course was Barrie Robran. He thought that take Robran out of North, put him in West and he could have won the flag.

[Leaping Lindner]

As a kid I listened to Weideman many times give his pre-match address to the players while standing on a rub-down table in the rooms under the grandstand, the room packed with fans. He was very charismatic and it was very powerful to witness.
He continued as non-playing coach in 1970 and 1971 but we failed to make the finals. He said he felt disappointed that, when non-playing coach, the players wouldn't do the physically hard things that he did for them when he played.

I've got a photo of one of these addresses somewhere. I'll scan and download over the next day...when I find it.

[nickname]

Great LL, look forward to it.

[Leaping Lindner]

FEBUARY 16
NA player Greg Smith goes back home to Victoria for employment reasons
Smith was recruited in 1976

SA rover Phil Cox is hopeful of playing RD1 after a knee operation

FEBUARY 17
Carl Fragomeni has an operation to remove wire in his right elbow
This was the same injury that caused him to miss the 1977 Grand Final

FEBUARY 23
The NFL announced thier 15 game + 16 team knockout comp for 1978

SMITH
Cant remember him

COX
Rover with SA

FRAGOMENI
What a brilliant back pocket
Use to burst out of defence and his rebound was a feature of his play
Originally form Western Australia
A truly great back pocket

NIGHT COMP
Was reasonably popular at the time, as any Victorian /South Australian games or comps were
Used to go and watch them , something different
From memory they were played mid week at night at the parade when NW played
Was it that several teams didnt back up well on the Saturday day games in the SANFL ?
I remember that announcement about this impending comp, I thought it was OK, unlike the garbage they are trying in 2011

Who was Greg Smith ?

IIRC Greg Smith , Bill Nalder and Peter Cloke were all Richmond reserves players who Richmond sold (Smith and Cloke to North, Nalder to Norwood) to make the money ($25k) they needed to buy Neville Roberts from West Torrens.
North pay $5k for Smith which to be blunt was a huge waste of money. He was an average fringe player in some very average North sides of the time. To be honest the only thing I remember him doing is kicking a goal from half back at the Bay Oval in 77. We still got thumped by 100+ points mind you.
Nalder was $5k as well and didn't do much at Norwood but transferred to Central (i think in 77) and had a new lease of life. May have even won a B&F there???
Peter Cloke was $15 k and worth every single last penny of it.

[Leaping Lindner]

Carl Fragomeni was also a premiership player at East Perth in 1972 and played for them in 1972 COA series held at Adelaide Oval.

[dedja]

Peter Cloke was one of the most gustiest players I have seen ... completely oblivious to his own welfare.

A brilliant pickup by North.

[Leaping Lindner]

Peter Cloke was one of the most gustiest players I have seen ... completely oblivious to his own welfare.

A brilliant pickup by North.

And a very nice bloke. His feats are all the more amazing when you consider all his playing career he suffered from a form of arthritis.

[dedja]

Yes, very true ...

[mal]

ADVERT
SEPTEMBER 1978

QUINS'S Sports store
210-220 St Vincent Street
Port adelaide ph 47 1825

Call in and see Carl Fragomeni at Quins sports store for expert advice on all sporting equipment


CARL FRAGOMENI
I can remember this sports store, as bought from there
But cant remember Carl being in the shop at the time, perhaps I was in the shop b4 or after he worked there
Carl played in 1 state game for SA V WA during 1978, a game which SA was beaten easily
I believe that Carl later in his career was almost a NA player
Good back pocket in the 70s, but not the best PA back pocket, a guy called Trevor ''bubbles'' Obst was better in the 60s

[Magpiespower]

Pretty sure Fragomeni played on the wing for East Perth...

There was a very good ex-Swans player called Greg Smith who played for Centrals, I don't know if that's this bloke.

Nah, not him.

Smithy left the Swans to realize his dream of playing for Collingwood.

Might have played a few games for Victoria, too?

Could play.

Coached Salisbury after finishing up at Central...

[mal]

FEBUARY 28
West Perth CHF Brian Adamson changes his mind and says he wont play for NW in 1978
Adamson dropped a bombshell after NW paid for his transport to come over
NW also got his furniture over as well, and got a home for him
It is understood West Perth put the hard stance on Brian


WA Rover Trevor Grimwood signs a 2 year contract
Grimwood considered giving the game away, one or main reason being a contract dispute


WA sign Richmond player Graeme Robertson
Robertson had played about 40 games for Carlton and Richmond

GRIMWOOD
Started at PA, b4 playing at WA
Was rewarded by winning the 1977 Magarey Medal
Stories at the time suggested he played with injuries and was on needles to continue playing
This if I recall correctly was emphasised when he won the medal
Grimwood was no star, but he was a very courageous player and took the hard bumps and knocks
He was a gutsy footballer


ROBERTSON
Was he the tall thin wingman, also had a crew cut ?

ADAMSON
There was a lot of fuss to get this player over from Perth
Ended up going to the courts to eventually get a clearance to play for NW
I remember the tug of war between the clubs
After seeing him play I understood why he was a much sought after footballer
When I saw Adamson play I had thought who is this skinny guy with the afro hairdo ?
He looked more like Jimi Hendrix than a footballer

QUESTION
Adamson changed his mind about coming over on this date
28/02/78
What was synominous about this date ?

[robranisgod]

Peter Cloke was one of the most gustiest players I have seen ... completely oblivious to his own welfare.

A brilliant pickup by North.

Tommy Hafey, when questioned by Tim Lane about 10 years ago, said that Peter Cloke rated with Royce Hart as the best mark he coached. Unfortunately of course for Peter his arthritic condition precluded him from reaching the heights in AFL that his less talented but bigger and more robust brother did.

Cloke was very, very unlucky not to win the 1979 Magarey Medal. He dragged North from bottom to missing out on the five by percentage, virtually on his own.

[dedja]

I'll always remember one mark where he ran into a pack head-on and took a chest mark on players heads. By rights, he should have been polaxed, but he didn't flinch an inch.

[smithy]

28/02/78
What was synominous about this date ?

That'd be 100 years to the day you guys were formed in the city.