From the Archives 1961 Hawks crush Footscray for first-ever flag
First published in The Age on September 25, 1961
HAWKS’ POWER CRUSHES WEARY FOOTSCRAY
Runaway Victory for First Flag
Hawthorn’s greatest triumph â€" a League premiership pennant â€" came with unexpected ease when it turned on a relentless display in the second half to crush Footscray in Saturday’s grand final at the M.C.G.
Hawthorn captain, Graham Arthur, is presented with the 1961 Premiership Cup.Credit:The Age Archives
This Hawthorn side is the new “king†of football, and all other clubs will have their work cut out to take the title away from it next year.
Saturday’s win could easily be the beginning of a Hawthorn era similar to the one which has just finished for Melbourne.
It is a young team, and the players have years of League football ahead of them.
The crowd of 107,935 which packed the M.C.G. saw a one-sided game after half time, when the Hawks streaked away with the premiership with a sustained 10-goal effort.
They left Footscray, which added only two goals after half time, bewildered and almost hopelessly outclassed.
Their magnificent 43-point win left no doubt they were rightful grand final winners every inch of the way.
Footscray ruckman rises over Graham Cooper and Graham Ion.Credit:The Age Archives
Hawthorn nominated itself as this year’s premiership side before the season started, and it has been the team to beat all the way along.
It won more games than any other club to finish on top of the ladder, and the grand final victory was a fitting reward to its finest season.
The premiership win was Hawthorn’s 12th successive victory, and it will now start next season trying to keep this sequence doing.
Credit for the win is not only due to the players, but also to former ruckman and present coach, John Kennedy.
In his two years as coach Kennedy has moulded his players into a tight bunch of mates, as well as determined and class.
A fitness fanatic, Kennedy has instilled this feeling into the whole team.
And, as seen on Saturday, this fitness, which comes only from hard and disciplined training, was a major factor in the side’s victory.
Hawthorn’s Brendan Edwards is down in a pack.Credit:The Age Archives
Great Effort
Even though it was beaten, Footscray should not be too disappointed.
Like Hawthorn, the Bulldogs have had a wonderful season. They have achieved more than they could have hoped for early in the year.
Their three final series games cannot be anything but beneficial to the young Bulldogs.
Hawthorn centreman Brendan Edwards was by far the best player afield in his 100th game with the Hawks.
Edwards has given Hawthorn wonderful service for many years, but Saturday’s game was probably his greatest.
Throughout the first two quarters he kept the Hawks in the game with repeated drives from the centre, and his continued fine play was a telling factor in the side’s strong last-half comeback.
Twice during the game he suffered heavy knocks from John Dillard and Ted Whitten, but he took them in his stride. He finished the game with 33 kicksâ€"many more than any other player.
Footscray’s defeat showed once again the odds are stacked against a first semi-final team gaining success in the grand final.
Although the Bulldogs looked fresh and fit enough early in the game, the strain of the hard matches which took them into the grand final started to tell just before halftime.
Hawthorn skipper Graham Arthur holds aloft the 1961 premiership cup.Credit:The Age Archives
They did not play nearly so well as in their runaway win in the preliminary final against Melbourne.
By the end of the game their great pace had dwindled almost to nothing, and it was a weary Footscray side which heard the final siren.
Were Fresher Side
On the other hand Hawthorn, with only one game in the previous three weeks, had no worry in seeing out the 100 minutes, even though it had been run off its legs in the early stages.
At the end the Hawks had as much energy and were going almost as strongly as when they started the second half revival.
Hawthorn coach John Kennedy admitted after the game he was an extremely worried man at half-time, when Footscray led 5.5 to 3.9.
Kennedy had reason to be concerned. His team had failed to produce anything near the solid form of which it was capable.
Edwards, Law
Its only consistent players in the first quarter had been Edwards and rover Ian Law. Two snap shots by Lawâ€"the first, two minutes after the start and the other near the end of the quarterâ€"gave his side badly needed goals.
Excited players after Hawthorn’s first VFL premiership.Credit:The Age Archives
In most other positions Footscray was well on top, and gaining more confidence every minute as they jumped the Hawks to race to a 4.1 to 1.3 lead after 23 minutes of play.
They traded bump for bump with the Hawks, and still stayed on their feet to whisk the ball away.
Twice speedy half-forward John Quarrell broke clear of Cam McPherson to score goals, and then Whitten forced home two more attacks.
Footscray’s players must have felt on top of the world at that stage â€" they were doing exactly what they had done in their previous match against Melbourne.
Their rucks were well on top, and the defence, headed by reliable Charlie Evans formed a solid wall in front of the Hawks’ goal.
Hawthorn showed signs of coming good in the second quarter, but it still fumbled and made foolish mistakes as teammates fought each other for the ball or crashed into each other.
Inaccurate
Inaccuracy in front of goals also was costly, as five consecutive behinds came before its only goal during the second quarter.
Vice-captain John Peck did not help matters when, after marking five yards from the goal line, he kicked shockingly to register only a point.
But by this time Footscray must have felt the game slipping through its fingers for the battle to force the ball into its attacking zone was becoming tougher every minute.
Like Hawthorn, it scored only one goalâ€"at the 25-minute mark, when Barney McKellar was awarded a free kick.
The Hawks responded to Kennedy’s half-time pep talk, in which he stressed the need to move the ball much faster between the half-back line and the goal.
This brought a twofold result. Not only did it upset Footscray’s defence which, to this point, had battled well, but with the ball moving faster the Hawks automatically bumped harder.
Less than three minutes after the start of the third quarter Hawthorn was in front, and from that point it never looked back.
Game Safe
The premiership for which it had strived all the season was well in hand.
It was a new Hawthorn side, and players rarely sighted in the early play came right into the game. Best examples were wingman Colin Youren, follower Malcolm Hill and half-forwards Ian Mort and Morton Browne.
Peck, switched from full-forward, also helped lift the ruck, in which John Winneke was gradually but surely getting the better of Schultz.
Goal followed goal, until the Hawks had taken their score to 9.15 to Footscray’s 5.6.
This lead would have been even greater but for two unlucky shots for goal. A kick by Graham Cooper was just touched on the line, and another from Edwards hit the goal post.
All resistance had been knocked out of the Bulldogs, and it was left to Whitten to register his team’s only scores for the quarter.
Went Ahead
Shortly before three-quarter time he snapped a behind, and a few minutes later kicked a goal.
After leading by 27 points at three-quarter time Hawthorn went further ahead with strong and purposeful play in the final term.
Most interest went out of the game when Peck and Mort scored goals after nine minutes of the final quarter.
HAWTHORN 2.4 3.9 9.15 13.16 (94)
FOOTSCRAY 4.2 5.5 6.6 7.9 (51)
Goals: HAWTHORN: Browne 3, Mort 2, Law 2, Edwards, Hill, Cunningham, Arthur, Peck, Nalder.
FOOTSCRAY: Whitten 3, Quarrell 2, Hobbs, McKellar.
Best: HAWTHORN: Edwards (best on ground), Law, Y Winneke, Arthur, Browne, Youren, McArthur.
FOOTSCRAY: Evans, Whitten, Schultz, Ware, Holies, Bryant, Spargo.
Attendance: 107,935
Umpire: Schwab.
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