THE LAST time the League staged a best-of-the-best charity game to raise money for bushfire relief, two competing players were haunted by harrowing personal stories of how fires had scarred their lives.
One of these horrifying accounts has been well documented for more than 50 years, while the other is only now being publicly aired for the first time here.
On February 16, 1983, the Ash Wednesday bushfires ravaged Victoria and South Australia, killing 75 people in what was then the deadliest fire disaster in Australian history (until Black Saturday claimed 173 lives in Victoria in 2009).
Just 11 days later – and almost 37 years to the day before the 2020 State of Origin Bushfire Relief fundraiser on February 28 – the League swiftly organised a benefit match between reigning back-to-back premier Carlton and a best-of-the-rest team named The Sun All Stars (sponsored by Melbourne newspaper The Sun) at Waverley.
In many ways the public face of the event was All Stars ruckman Gary Dempsey, the North Melbourne and ex-Footscray champion, who as a 20-year-old in 1969 was almost killed in a bushfire on his family farm at Truganina (in Melbourne's west) when he suffered burns to the back half his body as he tried to outrun four-metre-high flames.
The gangly youngster spent seven weeks in hospital and was told he'd never play football again, so it's extraordinary that Dempsey would end up playing until 1984, amassing 329 games, winning the 1975 Brownlow Medal and achieving a League record of 15 top-three placings in club best and fairests.
In the Carlton camp, seemingly unbeknown to anyone outside the inner sanctum, Blues star Wayne Johnston was mourning the loss of a loved one who perished in a terrifying inferno on Ash Wednesday.
A wall of fire
Johnston's 35-year-old cousin Dorothy Balcombe was a volunteer firefighter and, as was highlighted in Danielle Clode's 2010 book Future In Flames, she was "one of the few women in the brigade to take an active role in firefighting", serving as a radio operator for the Narre Warren Fire Brigade.
On Ash Wednesday, Dorothy was in a new fire truck with five colleagues and they were joined by another six-member tanker crew from Panton Hill in an effort to protect houses in Upper Beaconsfield, when they became trapped near a hilltop.
Dorothy, Clode wrote, "stayed glued to the radio – their lifeline to the outside world", telling headquarters they were in a "desperate situation".
"Mayday, mayday," Dorothy exclaimed. "We can't go forward and we can't go back."
The wind had changed, suddenly and devastatingly, producing a wall of fire that covered 500 metres in 11 seconds straight up the hill towards them.
There was no escape. Dorothy and her 11 comrades only had time to huddle under their trucks.
'A bloody tragedy'
Johnston fondly recalls the fun-loving Dorothy, 10 years his senior, babysitting him as a young boy when their parents went out together.
At the time of her death, Johnston hadn't seen her for a while but that didn't ease the pain.
"My parents told me about what happened to Dorothy. The circumstances were horrific. It was heartbreaking. A real shock," Johnston told AFL.com.au.
"I went to her funeral service but it's all a bit of a blur because she was the first person in our family circle who'd died well before her time.
"She had leadership qualities and was quite boisterous but good fun. It was a bloody tragedy."
Narre Warren Fire Brigade would later name its major award after Dorothy Balcombe, and she and the other fallen 'fireys' would also be honoured with various memorials in parks.
Johnston would have been forgiven for withdrawing from the benefit game but he never considered it.
"We were grieving. If the game was played in aid of anything else, I wouldn't have played. The only reason I played in that game was because it was to raise money for bushfire victims," he said.
A 'one-off' Sunday game
Johnston and the Blues would face more hardship.
In a revelation that would make modern players – not to mention the players' association – cringe and possibly revolt, the entire Carlton playing list was subjected to a full day of gruelling training the day before the charity game.
Blues coach David Parkin deemed the pre-booked training camp at the HMAS Cerberus naval base on the Mornington Peninsula to be an important part of their season's preparations. Despite the misgivings of the club's fitness staff, Parkin insisted it would go ahead as planned, albeit in an abbreviated form.
This prior commitment, along with the fact most other sports (cricket, bowls, racing, etc.) competed on Saturdays, prompted the League to make a formal application to the Victorian government to play the game on a Sunday to maximise attendance.
At the time a Sunday game was a big deal. Although the Swans had played their home games at the SCG on Sundays the previous season, League footy hadn't been played on a Sunday in Melbourne for 18 months, and even then the state government had allowed only a two-game trial. In Victoria, Sundays were still the domain of the the second-tier VFA (now VFL).
The matter was discussed at a state government cabinet meeting, after which Labor Premier John Cain (who died in December 2019) gave permission for the Sunday game, but reinforced that it was only a one-off given the special circumstances.
'It was murder'
Thankfully for the Carlton players, their punishing two-day challenge would also be a one-off.
Under Parkin the Blues ran an annual pre-season competition among the playing group, which was divided into six teams of eight players each who competed for a prize. It was a close contest that year and the late-summer training camp took place near the end of the pre-season, so there was to be no easing off.
After arriving on the Friday night at the end of their working week in full-time jobs, the players were abruptly woken at 5am on the Saturday morning by Navy trainers, who took the Blues for two huge sessions of about two hours in duration each and put them through various activities including climbing floor-to-ceiling ropes, scrambling under mesh and over obstacles, push-ups, sit-ups, wrestling, running and some brutal football-specific drills. Everything was a competition.
Later in the afternoon, as his flagging players prayed for some respite, Parkin took charge of a long session of match practice.
Teammate Mark Maclure agreed, mocking his former coach: "I didn't see Parko doing too much of it, I can tell you. 'Any chance of some participation, Parko?' 'No!' All he did was stand there and bark orders."
Parkin, now 77, takes it on the chin.
"I must admit, it was pretty stupid. Our (fitness coach) Peter Schokman was absolutely ropeable that we'd do that to the players. I don't think the players were very happy either," he said.
Many of the exhausted players lifted their spirits, but didn't exactly aid their recovery, by travelling 30kms to a Frankston pub for a drinking session that extended into the wee hours.
"It was sort of like, 'I don't know how we're going to play tomorrow.' But it didn't matter – the fans were still going to turn up to see us, and that's what it was all about," Maclure said.
A fiery curtain-raiser
With entry $5 for adults and $1 for pensioners and children, a crowd of 35,234 flocked to warm Waverley. (League chiefs had predicted 30,000-40,000.)
A special edition of The Football Record was sold for 20 cents, the proceeds of which were fully donated to the disaster fund. (Perhaps someone working on the official League publication knew of Johnston's family bereavement because his name was left off Carlton's team list.)
An early indication that the players were taking the day seriously came in the curtain-raiser – a practice match between a new-look Collingwood, in its first outing under SANFL great John Cahill, and 1982 wooden spooner Footscray – when three brawls erupted and five players were reported.
Bulldogs youngster Steve MacPherson (the father of Gold Coast player Darcy MacPherson) copped a five-game suspension for striking Andrew Smith (who suffered head and facial injuries and later received damages in an out-of-court settlement); Magpie Ian Cooper received a four-week holiday for striking MacPherson, and Pies teammate Denis Banks got two, while Bulldog Lindsay Sneddon and opponent Mark Hannebery (an uncle of St Kilda's Dan Hannebery) were found not guilty after being booked for pulling each other's hair after the final siren.
Collingwood, which was also in the embryonic stages under the management of the doomed 'New Magpies' group, was beaten by 28 points – 20.9 (129) to 12.19 (91) – with the bulk of the crowd gleefully cheering on the underdog Bulldogs.
It was a feisty entrée to the main event at 3pm, which would be contested by near full-strength teams.
A star-studded main event
The tired, sore and slightly hungover Blues, who'd driven 60km to Waverley, were without only dual premiership skipper Mike Fitzpatrick (ankle surgery) and full-forward Ross Ditchburn (home in Western Australia) and would still be powered by their famed 'Mosquito Fleet' comprising the likes of Johnston, Wayne Harmes, Jim Buckley, Ken Sheldon and Alex Marcou, while peerless defender Bruce Doull, utility Ken Hunter and key forward Maclure also featured.
The All Stars, who donned a red and yellow, "egg and tomato sauce" or "chicken" guernsey, were missing Hawthorn superstar Leigh Matthews (stomach injury) and Collingwood genius Peter Daicos (groin operation) but still fielded an extraordinarily talented team boasting the likes of Fitzroy goalkickers Bernie Quinlan and Mick Conlan, Essendon matchwinners Tim Watson and Terry Daniher, Melbourne's stars Robbie Flower (captain) and Gerard Healy, St Kilda high-flyer Trevor Barker, prolific Hawks Michael Tuck and Terry Wallace, Kangaroos trio Dempsey, Ross Glendinning and David Dench and Richmond duo Michael Roach and Robert Wiley.
A common theme among the players was their eagerness to support the bushfire recovery effort. They didn't hesitate when asked to play.
All Stars coach Allan Jeans, the Hawthorn mentor, also revealed his desire to win: "Carlton are back-to-back premiers and that's enough incentive to beat them. If Carlton can knock the rest of the League off at this early stage, then there's not much hope for the other clubs."
Carlton's 11 rivals might well have shuddered when the Blues burst clear with three of the first four goals. However, Parkin's weary men knew they couldn't sustain it, and thereafter they conceded 20.24 to just 10.6 to go down by 69 points.
It could easily have been a triple-figure margin given the All Stars sprayed 21.31 (157) to Carlton's economical 13.10 (88).
Roach bagged a game-high six goals and Quinlan snared three, while powerful mid-sized pair Watson (two goals) and Conlan (three) changed the game with lively displays in the second term when the All Stars scooted clear with nine goals to four.
Perhaps to offset the Blues' heavy weekend workload, the usual two-man interchange was expanded to allow them to use 32 players while the All Stars had 25. Even so, Footscray captain Jim Edmond played both games that day and was victorious on both occasions, being named the Bulldogs' best player in the curtain-raiser before slotting two goals for the All Stars.
Joffa's ripper
The Age gave best-afield honours to St Kilda wingman Geoff 'Joffa' Cunningham. The popular Saint, then 24, would finish up playing the second-most games without a final – 224, just six behind his late St Kilda and All Stars teammate Trevor Barker – so he cherished representative football.
"I was only a young bloke so I was in awe of my teammates. They were brilliant footballers, so you learnt a lot from them," he said.
"It was a cracking day and a really good atmosphere. I was excited but I was nervous too because I didn't play in front of too many crowds like that.
"I had a pretty good game on the wing, but I'm not sure I was best-on-ground – we had a few good players and I was just happy to be out there with them.
"I've actually still got my egg-and-sauce jumper in a box somewhere."
A Blue's tribute
Among Carlton's few good players was Johnston, who dedicated the game to his late cousin.
"It was very sad but also quite special in a way to honour Dorothy's memory, and all those other people, in that game – and the current players have a special opportunity to do the same thing in this State of Origin game," he said.
"It makes you not want to waste a minute, because you never know what's around the corner."
Parkin recalled: "Going into that game our players weren't in great shape mentally or physically so it's no surprise we got rolled badly. But that occasion was bigger than a game of football and we were proud to play a small role in helping people."
Maclure added: "It didn't really matter how we played. The result meant nought. It was all about attracting the fans and raising money for people who desperately needed it, and we did that."
The most important statistic
The League had aimed to raise more than $100,000 and exceeded all expectations by handing over a cheque for $163,594 (roughly worth $540,000 in 2020).
And that figure didn't include the donation of a day's pay by 164 police officers who worked in and around the venue on the day, a gesture matched by ground and carpark staff.
HELPING HAND How your club is aiding the bushfire relief efforts
Fittingly, Victoria's police and emergency services minister Race Matthews thanked all involved for helping "in the massive task of physically and emotionally rehabilitating the fire victims".
Indeed, it had been a day when the football community put aside tribal allegiances and united as one to contribute to a far greater cause.
THE SUN ALL STARS 2.7 11.12 14.21 21.31 (157)
CARLTON 3.4 7.6 9.10 13.10 (88)
GOALS
All Stars: Michael Roach 6, Mick Conlan 3, Bernie Quinlan 3, Jim Edmond 2, Tim Watson 2, Geoff Cunningham, Greg Smith, Peter Russo, Terry Wallace, Barry Rowlings.
Carlton: Mark Buckley 3, Wayne Harmes 2, Stephen Easton 2, Phil Maylin 2, Peter Bosustow, Rod Ashman, Jim Buckley, Alex Marcou.
BEST
All Stars: Cunningham, Michael Tuck, Robert Wiley, Ross Glendinning, Smith, Wallace.
Carlton: J. Buckley, Maylin, Ken Sheldon, Harmes, Spiro Kourkoumelis, Wayne Johnston.
Official crowd: 35,234 at Waverley
