East Ballarat celebrate 30 year anniversary of 1993 grand final

East Ballarat won one of the unlikeliest premierships in country footy history in 1993. Ahead of the 30-year reunion, we revisit the key moves, personal tragedy and heroes of the day.

Almost three decades after stunning the footy world against North Ballarat, East Ballarat’s players and coaches firmly believe the grand final win in 1993 is more significant now than when it happened.

On Friday night and Saturday afternoon, on May 19 and 20, the players and coaches will come together to celebrate the famous day.

East Ballarat ended North’s 49-game winning streak in the decider.

The Bulldogs were the only side in the first seven years of the 1990s to beat the Roosters in a grand final before the team went into the VFL.

“We’re hopeful the majority will be there,” East’s vice-captain at the time Peter O’Connell said.

“We do know there’s a couple who can’t come as they live interstate and overseas.”

East’s captain-coach Gary Odgers he can’t wait to catch up with the players who stunned the overwhelming favourites.

“Part of the reason I wanted us to get together is I want to ask the players what they remembers 30 years down the track,” he said.

“(On the day) you get caught up in the moment. You’ve got family, friends and a lot of people who want your time.

“You don’t get the intimate chance to be able to sit down with your playing group and reminisce.”

Odgers said the win was still special to this day.

“Probably the biggest thing would be the occasion of it,” he said.

“Very seldom would you come across that sort of circumstance where the team you are playing are going for 50 in a row.

“And haven’t been beaten in two years. It was also the league’s centenary year.

“Those two events made it different to what you would usually come across. That’s made it even more special.”

This is East Ballarat’s story.

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A few weeks before the finals in 1993, Odgers was playing in the Bulldogs forward line against North Ballarat in one of the final regular games of the season.

North couldn’t stop winning as the team stormed towards what would have been three premierships in a row.

But as the two teams faced during the regular season contest, and Odgers battled North’s defenders, something struck him, which was the catalyst for a game plan to end one of country footy’s greatest eras.

Former St Kilda player Gary Odgers was one of the key figures in the East Ballarat success.

“We changed our game plan two to three weeks prior to the actual finals, mainly because we thought there was a bit of a weakness in their armour,” Odgers revealed.

“I’d been out for quite a while with injury and was startled with the lack of respect their backs showed.

“I thought if we changed our game plan and went to chip it around and using the guys leading up rather than banging it in long it would work in our favour.”

The game plan was first used in the second semi final against the Roosters a couple of weeks later with East Ballarat leading until late against their fancied rivals.

North Ballarat would still come out on top, kicking away in the final 20 minutes to be the first team into the grand final.

But while it didn’t work the first time, Odgers was confident if the teams met again, it would.

“We had to go in with it and see how it worked,” he revealed.

“In reality, when we played it in the second semi, we were in front at the 10-minute mark (of the last quarter).

“The game plan had worked but in the last 15-20 minutes they ran over the top of us and kicked seven to eight goals.

“Because they still blew us out of the water I don’t think they took much notice of perhaps what we were trying to do.

“It was a blessing we got rolled over in the last 10-15 minutes.

“The confidence we got out of the fact we were in front at the start of the last quarter gave us confidence that our game plan could work.”

The rematch almost didn’t happen as Redan gave the Bulldogs a major fright in the preliminary final.

East Ballarat would hold on to win to set up one of the greatest grand finals in Ballarat.

In the 100th anniversary of the competition, the upset was on.

In the first quarter the Bulldogs jumped the Roosters, kicking seven goals in the first quarter against the breeze before kicking another seven with the breeze to lead by 48 points at the main break.

Former Footscray and St Kilda ruckman Alister Ford, who kicked six on the day, was instrumental as he played in the middle during every centre bounce before moving to the forward line to add another option in attack.

East Ballarat premiership players Scott O'Donohue, Terry Simpson, Matt Steven, Tony Evans, Peter Jacks and Jim O'Connell. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

He kicked two goals in the first quarter and another two in the second term.

“Odgers (coach) made some amazing moves,” Easts vice-captain Peter O’Connell recalled.

“Alister kicked six goals in the game as a ruckman and it really sticks in my mind.

“(As did) everyone’s will to win on the day and the belief Odgers put into us.”

The team was a combination of experienced heads, sprinkled with players between the ages of 16 and 20.

O’Connell, Ford, former St Kilda player Tony Evans and others were involved in East’s premiership success in 1989 and 1990.

They were joined by young players including rising star Mark Orchard, in his first season of senior football, who would go on to play for Sydney and Collingwood.

The role he played in the grand final attracted the Pies to pick him the following year in the 1994 AFL draft.

Odgers knew his team could win the game if it got on the front foot.

“I was a great believer of momentum,” Odgers said.

“We were hardened, we didn’t have a break in finals and they only played two games theoretically in four weeks, so I thought that would give us an advantage.

“Either we were going to be tired and they were going be fresh, or alternatively we would be match hardened. And given the youth in our team I thought we’d use that to our advantage with our run and spread.

“We knew we had to get off to a good start, that was going to be was paramount.

“We were fortunate we did.”

The Bulldogs knew North Ballarat would come back and to its credit they did in the second half.

Three quick goals in four minutes reduced the margin to 28 points before controversy struck the contest with Roosters coach Jim Buckley sent off for 15 minutes for a forearm hit on Odgers.

East, having a person advantage, were able to settle, focus and control the contest.

The team would win by 30 points, 21.10. (136) to 16.10. (106).

“We weren’t confident until maybe that 20 minute mark of the last quarter,” O’Connell said.

“I think (the success) was just everyone to put pressure on their opponent and back yourself in.

“And to a tee every player did do that, we stuck to our plans.”

Tony Evans and Jim O'Connell played key roles during the premiership winning season. Peter Jacks is in the middle. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

The win was extra special for Evans who dealt with personal grief before the grand final triumph.

In a big year for the centre half-back he was the best-and-fairest and was able to provide, in his words, valuable run in the decider.

He admits while he was distracted heading into the contest, with what was happening, it also made the grand final an important match for him.

“The week before I had my brother die in a car accident,” he said.

“I think (the game) became more important.

“It gave me a leader on the ground attitude.”

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Evans would remain part of the club until the late 1990s before East Ballarat merged with Golden Point to become East Point in 2001, which it remains to this day.

The 1993 triumph was the last premiership for the club before it amalgamated.

Only recently, in 2018 and 2019, has the club added to it with further premiership wins as East Point.

At the time of their win against the Roosters, many in the club would never have thought a merger would happen.

In fact for Evans the realisation didn’t come until it happened.

“East Ballarat was still very strong until 1997 and 1998,” Evans said.

“It was a surprise to me when they did merge, I didn’t know the financials at the backend.”

But for Odgers and others they are glad it happened.

Both clubs retain their history and have been able to create a new era as well as one club.

“That was the most important thing for me over the past 10 years, for them to create their own history,” Odgers said about East Point.

“I’ve been involved in both clubs (Easts and Golden) and it would have been sadder for me to see one of the clubs completely gone.

“To see them amalgamate and be a joint venture was much better.

“Would we have wished both continued, of course, but it’s a reflection of where country football has been over the past 20 years.”

Thirty years on from their triumph the coach is clear their era was great and worthy of being right up there with North’s feats in the same decade.

“A lot of the people I felt in Ballarat were jealous of North Ballarat, they had a lot of finance,” Odgers said.

“But rather than get jealous I said to our guys ‘they are the benchmark and I want to beat them at their best’.

“Because to me that signals the fact you deserve to be the best. During that five-year period I coached at East we won three flags.

“That made us the best in the five year period.”

And the players will never forget the history they created.

“30 years go quickly but we all remember it like yesterday,” O’Connell said.

“It’s part of history we are all proud of.”

The team will celebrate their 30 year reunion from 12pm at the Eastern Oval.

East Point take on Redan at 2.15pm during the day.