Victorian Country overpowered by Kevin ‘Cowboy’ Neale in historic Canberra match in 1980

The Big V jumper for senior country footballers hasn’t been seen since 2019, as members of the first team in 1980 recall an encounter with a larger than life St Kilda star.

On any measure, the late Graham Arthur had a brilliant career that began at Bendigo league club Sandhurst.

He captained Hawthorn to its first VFL flag in 1961 and was a three-time Hawks’ best and fairest winner.

When his 232-match career ended in 1965, Arthur also made a profound impact on country footy, firstly as coach of Echuca, and then with the Victorian Country Football League as a field officer.

The late Graham Arthur, who was a VCFL field officer in the 1970s and 1980s.

One of his greatest legacies with the VCFL was introducing games for country footy’s best players, with the first match against ACT played at Manuka Oval in 1980.

The VCFL fell victim to the Kevin “Cowboy” Neale show with the St Kilda 1966 premiership player still an on field force into his 30s.

In an era when Canberra clubs were cashed up, Neale was the national capital’s biggest star.

He captain-coached Ainslie, kicked 148 goals for the 1980 season, plus the 10 he booted to sink the VCFL in the game that was televised throughout country Victoria.

Arthur and his co-selectors drew in players from all over Victoria and southern NSW, who trained only once together and flew up and back to Canberra on match day.

Victorian Country 1980 players Ross Weightman, left, and Michael “Boozer” Robertson. Picture: Glenn Milne

Tempy farmer Michael “Boozer” Robertson was the baby of the team, aged 20.

His two clubs, Tempy-Gorya-Patchewollock and Woomelang-Lascelles, no longer exist as don’t the three Mallee leagues the two clubs played in.

The Canberra trip was the first time he had been on a plane.

But he forever cherishes the opportunity of playing with country footy royalty such as Ron Best, Tony Southcombe and Jeff Gieschen.

“They picked a couple out of each league and away we went,” Robertson said.

“Getting picked in the squad, I thought that was a great honour in itself.

“But for someone who had only played at Tempy-Gorya-Patchewollock and Woomelang-Lascelles, and then to play with all these legends of country footy, was such a massive thing.

“I remember Paul Feltham, who briefly coached the Brisbane Bears, belting me in the head.

“‘Cowboy’ was a big bastard and our fullback had bruises all over him by the end of it.”

Maffra and Latrobe Valley champion Jeff Gieschen.

Benalla’s Brian Symes kept Neale on a tight rein in the first half, but the decision to move the Ovens & Murray star up the ground backfired.

Symes said Neale instigated a dust up early in the last term that fired up the home team and the rest was history.

“He was a powerful man,” Symes said.

“He used to just steamroll opposition players.”

Neale suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and died, aged 78, last September.

The Riverina’s contingent was Turvey Park’s Greg Nicholls, who later coached Gary Ablett in his one season with O&M club Myrtleford in 1983, and Narrandera’s Victor Hugo, who had played first two matches of 1980 for South Melbourne before returning to the bush.

The late Kevin “Cowboy” Neale who kicked 10 goals against Victorian Country in Canberra in 1980.

Golden Square had the most representatives from the one team with Best, Southcombe and wool buyer Garry Mountjoy all picked.

The Latrobe Valley league won the 1979 country championships with Gieschen joined by Leongatha dairy farmer Ian “Curly” Salmon and Warragul’s Robert Ballingall for the trip to Canberra.

Gieschen, who had won the first of seven Maffra best and fairests at the age of 15, had recently returned from a brief stint with Footscray and also won the LVFL’s best and fairest in 1979.

“I was only 24 and still wanting to play as good and as hard a footy as I could,” he said.

“A lot of things come and go, but I still remember the day I played for Victoria in Canberra with Best, Southcombe and all those champion country players against ‘Cowboy’ Neale.”

The only downside of the 1980 VCFL match for Gieschen was having his gear stolen during the post-match function.

“I’m still dirty about that,” he said.

The 1980 Victorian Country team. Back: Dr Bill Granger, Garry Mountjoy, Jeff Gieschen, selector Bill Anderson, Brian Symes, Kevin Adams, manager Vince McNicol. Standing: Property steward Chas Callender, Victor Hugo, Tony Southcombe, Alan Woodman, chairman of selectors Graham Arthur, Ron Haring, Peter Brown, Greg Nicholls, trainer Ron Ward. Seated: Rob Rendell, Michael Delahunty, Ian Salmon, VCFL president Allan Dunstan, captain Ron Best, Graeme Moyle, coach Bob Allison. Front: Peter Sheen, Rob Ballingall, Ross Weightman, Michael Robertson, John Wright, Chris Walker. Inset: Murray Gilmour.

Gieschen later coached Richmond, but as Wodonga coach from the mid-1980s to 1991 he had three players – David Greenhill, Bevan Cox and Michael Garvey – drafted by AFL clubs after also playing for Victorian Country and the O&M.

The Victorian Country inaugural coach was the late Bob Allison, a schoolteacher who had started his career with South Bendigo before heading to the Goulburn Valley.

He played with Stanhope and Tongala and then coached Echuca to GV premierships in 1977 and 1979.

Allison also coached the GV to country championships glory in 1978 when it beat Hampden in the final played at Colac.

Over the next four decades players of the calibre of Brian Royal, Tom Alvin, Peter Dean and more recently Brett Kirk, Guy Rigoni and Tom Stewart used a match in the Big V jumper as a stepping stone to VFL-AFL careers with the last VCFL match played in 2019.

VCFL v ACTFL

At Manuka Oval, Canberra, June 1, 1980

Final score: ACTFL 21.14 (150) def VCFL 14.10 (94)

B: Peter Sheen (Warrnambool, Hampden), Brian Symes (Benalla, Ovens & Murray), Peter Brown (North Ballarat, Ballarat)

HB: Kevin Adams (Swan Hill, Mid Murray), Ian Salmon (Leongatha, Latrobe Valley), Victor Hugo (Narrandera, Riverina)

C: Chris Walker (Shepparton, Goulburn Valley), Jeff Gieschen (Maffra, Latrobe Valley), Michael Robertson (Woomelang-Lascelles, Mallee)

HF: Garry Mountjoy (Golden Square, Bendigo), Michael Delahunty (Murtoa, Wimmera), Robert Ballingall (Warragul, Latrobe Valley)

F: John Wright (East Gambier, Western Border), Ron Best (Golden Square, Bendigo), Ron Haring (Rochester, Goulburn Valley)

FOLL: Tony Southcombe (Golden Square, Bendigo), Graeme Moyle (Hamilton, Western Border), Ross Weightman (South Mildura, Sunraysia)

INTER: Greg Nichols (Turvey Park, Riverina), Rob Rendell (Kerang, Northern Districts), Murray Gilmour (Donald, North Central)

COACH: Bob Allison (Goulburn Valley)

NEXT WEEK: The Weekly Times’ greatest Big V country footy team named.