Tallangatta District: Beechworth reunion for five premiership teams

Beechworth is creating history with its first match under lights on the same day five flag wins in two leagues are remembered.

Beechworth will celebrate five flags in past and present leagues on the same day it creates history with the first match played under lights at its 128-year-old home ground.

The 2000-01 senior and 1982 and 1993 reserves flags won in the Ovens & King league and the 2010 senior premiership won in the Tallangatta District league will be celebrated on Saturday.

Baarmutha Park has never hosted a match under lights, but a $360,000 upgrade has made it possible.

Beechworth had not won a senior flag since 1979 when it won a low-scoring 2000 grand final by 20 points against Moyhu before going back-to-back with a 29-point win against North Wangaratta 12 months later.

A premiership hat-trick was denied when Moyhu beat Beechworth in the 2002 grand final.

Michael Quirk was coach of the back-to-back flags after coming to Beechworth in 1999, following a 172-match career with Myrtleford in the Ovens & Murray league.

“It had been a 20-year drought when we won in 2000,” he said.

“I started to struggle with lower back and hamstring injuries and had missed a fair bit of the 1998 season.”

Beechworth reunion organising committee member Kel Clark, 2010 coach Shaun Pritchard, 2010 player Dan Balzer and 2000-01 coach Michael Quirk at Baarmutha Park. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

Beechworth’s star players in the two flags included four-time best and fairest winner Anthony Milhaljevic, gun goalkicker Darren Bate, fellow forwards John Allen and Brad McPherson, wingman Mal Boyd and 16-year-old Andrew Carey, who later starred for Myrtleford and Albury in the O&M.

“Beechworth always had good kids and we weren’t afraid to play them to add a bit of pace,” Quirk said.

Beechworth left the O&K at the end of 2003 to join the TDFL, forcing the club to dump its Bombers nickname and colours because of a clash with existing club, Dederang-Mt Beauty.

Beechworth, which became the Bushrangers, took six years to win its first TDFL flag.

Shaun Pritchard coached the 2010 win against Yackandandah and Brayden Carey won the league best and fairest.

Beechworth premiership coaches Shaun Pritchard and Michael Quirk at Baarmutha Park. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

Quirk has returned to the coaching ranks this year at Bright, which is undefeated after two rounds in the O&K league.

He last coached more than a decade ago when a team including Jack Crisp, Matt Taberner and Frazer Dale, who have all played AFL, just fell short in an O&M league under-18s grand final.

Quirk played his junior football at Bright before joining Myrtleford and his son Luke was recruited to Bright last year.

“It was more circumstance than anything else,” he said.

“I watched them play a few games, I watched them lose the grand final.

“I knew they were looking for a coach.

“It’s just how it turned out.”

Beechworth plays Kiewa Sandy-Creek on Saturday with both clubs undefeated after two rounds.