Ballarat Swans and Redan to play 200th game against each other

Two Ballarat league clubs will go head-to-head for the 200th time in their histories this weekend. Take a look back at the history between the pair and some of the greatest players.

Ballarat and Redan will take on each other for the 200th times this weekend.

The Ballarat Swans and Redan used to share a home venue at City Oval and now the two famous clubs will celebrate another milestone together.

Saturday’s clash will be the 200th between the Swans and Lions with Redan also hosting the Swans for the 100th time at home.

It is only the third time in Ballarat league history this has happened with the other two also involving the Swans.

The Swans, the oldest club in the league, have played Ballarat Imps 204 times and Golden Point 289 times.

The next best after Redan and Ballarat is the Swans playing against South Ballarat 199 times.

This weekend’s fixture is currently the oldest rivalry in the league, going back more than 80 years.

“They first played off against one another in 1942 during the war time competition,” historian Paul Carter said.

“The 100th game came in 1975, John Northey kicked five goals for Redan in the game.

“It’s coincidental that Redan’s 100th home game comes on the same day, quite often that doesn’t happen as teams play finals with one another.”

Redan has the ultimate bragging rights winning the only grand final between the two in 1952, 17.9 (111) to 13.9 (87), with former North Melbourne player Len Templar being one of the best on the ground.

Templar is one of few players to play for both clubs with the two teams to not only celebrate the milestone but honour the sporting great on Saturday.

Len Templar (left) celebrating with Rodney Matthews after he won the Stawell Gift in 1999. Picture: Michael Klein.

“We will be doing something,” Redan president Claire Edwards said.

“We’ve got the Len Templar trophy we compete for each year, so that will be part of it.

“We’ll have both teams go into the Den after the game, along with the netballers, and we’ll just take it from there (the celebrations).”

Edwards said while there was a rivalry between the club, it’s one built on respect after sharing City Oval.

“It’s more a shared history and respect and appreciation for the two teams,” she said.

“We’ve had some great players play for both teams over the years. It’s a friendly rivalry but we still want to beat them on the day.”

Ballarat Swans vice-president Karl Drever said it was set to be a special day for both clubs.

“The relationship has been built around the respect, they are a good club Redan,” he said.

“When we were co-tenants there was a rivalry there.

“We enjoy going back to City Oval and playing them there.”

Here are a couple of famous players who have been involved for both clubs with the game starting at 2.15pm.

Len Templar

The former North Melbourne winger played for Redan in 1950s before he went to the Kangaroos in the VFL. Templar then became the longest serving coach of the Ballarat Swans in their history, coaching for 15 years and playing more than 100 games. The Ballarat sporting legend would then become an athletics coach, leading multiple athletes to success in the Stawell Gift. A worthy person to have the Cup named after.

John Northey

An AFL legend who played important roles for both the Swans and Lions. He won two premierships with Richmond in the VFL before becoming a player/coach for Redan in the 1970s, guiding the team to five premierships. Northey then coached four AFL clubs before coming back to Ballarat, firstly to guide Redan in its rebuild in the late 90s and early 2000s. He then coached the Ballarat Swans, guiding the team to the 2008 premiership.

Don Discher

The former St Kilda player won six best and fairests at the Swans while also winning two league best and fairests, in 1977 and 1985. While his career centred mainly around the Swans, Discher played and was an assistant coach at Redan in 1981 and 1982. He is part of the Lions team of the century.