Loddon Valley: Pyramid Hill out to win first premiership since 1950
There is only one surviving member of Pyramid Hill’s last flag team of 1950, and his grandson has the chance to be part of the next premiership team this Saturday.
Pyramid Hill’s only surviving member of the success-starved club’s last premiership team 74 years ago is ready to pass the baton to another generation of flag heroes including his grandson.
John Carroll, who turned 90 in July, was only 16 when he was 20th man and didn’t take the field in Pyramid Hill’s five-point win against Mitiamo in the 1950 Mitiamo District league grand final at Lockington.
Grandson Brodie will attempt to join him as a Pyramid Hill premiership player when it plays Marong in the Loddon Valley grand final at Mitiamo on Saturday.
Harry Henderson coached the 1950 flag team, but only started in the job four rounds into the season when Ron James had to move for employment reasons.
Full-forward Kevin Hunt, who was also a teenager when he kicked four goals in the premiership win, played for Carlton in 1954.
Hunt died in Queensland in 2016, a year after Pyramid Hill celebrated its 125th anniversary.
“They didn’t have interchange in those days and you just had to wait for someone to get injured,” Carroll said.
“But I still enjoyed it.
“Naturally I was a non-drinker, but when we got back after the game, different people had donated nine gallons of beer.”
Brodie’s dad Shane and his brothers Paul, Anthony, Michael and Jayson all played for Pyramid Hill.
“It will be fantastic if we can win,” John said.
“It’s something you try and do all the time, but you fall down so many times and get up and have another go.
“But we’ve played all the years since.
“We’ve got another chance and have a good go at it.”
Brodie has travelled from Darwin to play for Pyramid Hill the past two seasons after playing for Peel Thunder in the WAFL in 2022.
He also plays for Waratahs in the Northern Territory summer competition where his uncle Paul was a 12-time Waratahs reserves premiership coach before stepping down in 2021.
John only attended home matches during the season, but was at Serpentine for the second semi-final win over Marong to book a grand final berth.
“We’ve beaten Marong twice now and you never know your luck on the big day,” he said.
“But Marong had a very good against Bridgewater last week in the preliminary final.”
Pyramid Hill was responsible for bringing Marong’s 42-match winning streak, including the 2022-23 flags, to an end in mid-July.
Nathan Fitzpatrick is in his third season as Pyramid Hill’s senior coach after coaching three thirds flags in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
His playing career ended in 2019 when he suffered a serious knee injury.
“We’ve been building pretty nicely this season and hitting some good form the last month,” he said.
“The reality is there is obviously that little carrot in the background of not only a premiership, but breaking a massive drought.
“It’s obviously in the back of my mind and the back of our minds, but we’re just here to win it.”
FLAG DROUGHTS
1929 – Wodonga Saints, Tallangatta District
1936 – Lang Lang, Ellinbank District
1940 – Huntly, Heathcote District
1950 – Pyramid Hill, Loddon Valley
1952 – Taylors Lakes, Horsham District
1953 – Learmonth, Central Highlands
1958 – Port Fairy, Hampden
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