Pivotal years for Mirboo North Tigers

WHEN Mirboo North easily won Mid Gippsland’s 1956 and 1957 senior football premierships, the club decided to join the stronger South Gippsland Football League.

In those days, Mirboo North wore a royal blue woolen jumper with a red number on the back and was known as the Blues.

Mirboo North had comfortably defeated Dumbalk and Hill End by 39 and 41 points respectively, and with a star-studded side — that included the five Snell brothers — was looking for bigger fish to fry on the football field.

The SGFL included the larger towns of Leongatha, Korumburra and Wonthaggi and it was also commencing an under 16 thirds competition for the 1958 season.

A feature of the SGFL was the home team wore white shorts.

Mirboo North was off to a disastrous start when reigning SGFL premier, Korumburra, cleaned up the Blues by 69 points, after unfurling its 1957 pennant in front of the packed Korumburra grandstand.

After Mirboo North reversed its opening round loss to the Cats midway through the season, the two clubs faced each other again on grand final day at Leongatha.

Korumburra controlled the opening term, booting 4. 6 and restricting the Blues to two behinds.

Then, under Gordon Abbott’s astute coaching, Mirboo North recorded 15 of the next 16 goals and secured its third consecutive flag across two leagues by 58 points.

Abbott knew football inside and out, having played in Geelong’s 1937 and Essendon’s 1942 and 1946 premiership sides.

Stars that day for the Blues were 17-year-old ruckman, 

Michael Patterson, who debuted with Richmond the following year, wingman Brian Burville and Alan ‘Pud Snell, with four goals.

There were slim pickings for Mirboo North for the next five years, before it lost a tight grand final to Leongatha in 1964 by a goal.

The Blues continued their upward swing and took out the 1966 SGFL flag with a decisive 12.13.85 to 4.9. 33 victory over Wonthaggi at Leongatha in glorious spring sunshine — a week after St Kilda defeated Collingwood by a point in the VFL grand final at the MCG.

Included in Mirboo North’s line-up were talented teenage high school students, Anthony Prowse, John Kiss, Robert Fowkes and the silky-smooth, Neil ‘Greezer’ Breeden, plus Ron Mullins and ‘Pud’ Snell from its 1958 flag team.

Snell, who lifted his Mirboo North senior premierships tally to four, capped off a brilliant year with a best on ground performance, after also winning the SGFL’s 1966 best and fairest award. 

Barry McCartin was the Blues’ spearhead and leading SGFL goal kicker, having taken up the sport the previous year as a 25-year-old recruit.

Bernie Mercer added a third Mirboo North flag to his football resume, after representing Korumburra in the 1958 grand final and also winning the Cats’ best and fairest award the same year. 

Mirboo North’s last appearance in the SGFL came in the 1968 first semi-final, when it was soundly beaten by Leongatha.

At the season’s end, the SGFL was abandoned by the Victorian Country Football League.

As a result, Mirboo North returned to Mid Gippsland, Leongatha joined the Latrobe Valley Football League, whilst Korumburra and Poowong moved to the West Gippsland and Ellinbank Leagues respectively.

Stony Creek and MDU went to Alberton and Wonthaggi shifted to the Bass Valley Football League.

In its 11 years in the SGFL, Mirboo North won two senior premierships, as well as the 1958 and 1963 thirds flags against Korumburra and Leongatha.