Entering the 1990s, South Warrnambool was in search of redemption. The Roosters had not won a premiership since 1974. They had lost grand finals in 1985, ‘88 and ‘89 and were desperate to get a cup in their hands. The 1990s proved to be the most successful in the club’s history, a ground-breaking era that claimed four flags.
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1990
South Warrnambool 23. 21. (159) defeated Colac 5. 8. (38)
GOALS: South Warrnambool: D. Bolden, T. Russell 5, D. Henderson 4, M. Kol 3, T. Pritchard 2, M. Taylor, D. Quinlan, S. Duffield, D. Gunther 1. Colac: M. Mulgrew 2, M. O’Brien, D. Hutchinson, T. Parker 1.
BEST: South Warrnambool: M. Kol, P. Bradmore, L. Marris, D. Gunther, M. Pollock, D. Henderson. Colac: K. Mulgrew, M. Mulgrew, R. Grimmer, J. McVilly.
South Warrnambool had finished the 1990 season in second place on the ladder and defeated Koroit in the qualifying final. It backed up with a 21-point second semi-final win over Colac. The Tigers beat Koroit by three points in a thrilling preliminary final but no one predicted what was to come on grand final day.
After losing the previous two grand finals, the Roosters made up for lost time, kicking a record grand final score and a record grand final margin.
Leading the way for the Roosters was key forward Darren Bolden. After playing in three losing grand finals, Bolden was a man on a mission, kicking five goals in the opening 22 minutes before pulling a hamstring. He watched the rest of the game from the bench but had already done irreparable damage to the Tigers.
Bolden said it was a special game to be involved in.
“I knew the hammy was a bit tight but I hadn’t done one before so I thought it’d be right. At quarter-time, we were nine goals to two points but I was never sure we were going to win until the last siren went. We had a lot of great players running around that year but you just don’t know what can happen on grand final day. You could kick against the wind and be six goals down and in trouble so I was a bit toey leading into the game. It was great to win one after losing a few.”
1991
South Warrnambool 2. 6. (18) defeated Terang 1. 6. (12)
GOALS: South Warrnambool: L. Johnstone 2. Terang: M. Lenehan 1.
BEST: South Warrnambool: R. Umbers, L. Marris, M. Taylor, L. Johnstone, N. Kol, M. Pollock. Terang: N. Ludeman, S. Quick, C. Irving, N. O’ Sullivan, B. Pike, S. O’Keeffe, M. Lenehan, T. Sloane, R. Cornelissen.
Records were broken again in 1991, this time at the other end of the scale. In one of the wettest Hampden grand finals in history, South Warrnambool kicked the lowest winning grand final score to defeat Terang at DC Farren Oval in Mortlake. It was the first time the Roosters had won back-to-back premierships, with former Fitzroy and Richmond player Noel Mugavin holding the coaching reins.
With the ball on the ground for much of the game, it was not conditions for big men to thrive.
But no one told Richard Umbers that, with the South Warrnambool ruckman an outstanding performer. Umbers, who hauled in an incredible 10 marks, said he went into the game keen to make an impact.
“I had played in 1985 and ‘88 at South when we lost grand finals, then in 1989 in a losing reserves grand final at Geelong. I missed South’s 1990 premiership because I was at Brisbane so I was pretty focused on winning one. I remember it just didn’t stop raining all week and going up to Mortlake on the bus, there was just rivers of water. There wasn’t a blade of grass on the ground by the time we ran out. I just tried to flatten my hands and almost stop the ball and then get it on the second grab.”
1994
South Warrnambool 19. 15. (129) defeated Camperdown 12. 15. (87)
GOALS: South Warrnambool: J. Atchinson 4, A. Wright, D. Bolden 3, R. Umbers, M. Pollock, L. Marris 2, P. Fleming, C. Gilmour, S. McCluggage 1. Camperdown: B. Hinkley 6, P. King 2, C. Fowler, D. Christensen, P. Meade, P. Searle 1.
BEST: South Warrnambool: S. Anderson, M. Pollock, P. Fairbank, L. Marris, J. Atchinson, A. Wright. Camperdown: B. Hinkley, F. Twynstra, P. King.
It was a finals series of wild ebbs and flows for South Warrnambool. The Roosters defeated Terang by 112 points in the qualifying final, lost the second semi-final by 21 points to Camperdown and then got over Terang by a point in a thrilling preliminary final. In what was at times a fiery grand final, the Roosters put their best foot forward, winning by 42 points and making Michael Pollock a premiership coach in his first year in the job.
Included in South Warrnambool’s winning grand final team was Anthony Wright, a youngster still eligible to play under 18s.
Wright kicked three goals, but the size of the occasion has blurred his memory of the game itself.
“My recollection of it all is a bit hazy. I hadn’t played too many games and as a kid I suppose everything doesn’t sink in as much as it does when you’re older. I remember I had a fairly good finals series and that was helped because of the forward line we had. It made it a bit easier playing alongside blokes like Tony Russell and ‘Dags’ (Darren) Bolden. That team had stars on every line. Leigh Marris and Stephen Anderson were as good as any players in the history of the league. Then in the back line we had Mick Taylor and Brett Buckwell, it was just an unbelievable team.”
1996
South Warrnambool 18. 7. (115) defeated Terang 14. 9. (93)
GOALS: South Warrnambool: K. Fulton 3, L. Attrill, D. Bolden, B. Evans 2, B. Buckwell, B. Thomas, C. Morgan, J. Porter, X. Thornton, S. Anderson, L. Marris, L. Gilmour, T. Dixon 1. Terang: B. Harris 3, S. Heffernan, N. O’Sullivan, M. O’Keeffe 2, N. Grundy, W. Walsh, S. Quick, T. Sloane, C. Heffernan 1.
BEST: South Warrnambool: J. Porter, B. Buckwell, L. Marris, B. Thomas, S. Anderson, M. Struth, X. Thornton, B. Evans, P. Burnett. Terang: M. O’Keeffe, P. Royal, D. Pevitt, M. Lenehan, W. Walsh, T. Moloney.
The Roosters finished the home-and-away season on top of the ladder and made it straight through to the grand final with a 35-point second semi-final win over Terang. In the grand final at Mortlake, the Leigh McCluskey-led Roosters were down by four points at three-quarter-time, but kicked six of the eight last-quarter goals to surge to victory.
Brett Evans was just 18 and played a key role for the Roosters in the win, kicking two last-quarter goals.
Evans said the grand final was a huge stage.
“I think it was my 10th senior game so I was pretty lucky to play alongside some of the legends of the club. I was pretty raw back then, I started on the wing on Chris Heffernan and I was moved to the forward pocket in the last quarter and was lucky enough to kick a couple. I remember it was a warm day up at Mortlake, it was a hard game. Terang had big Mark O’Keeffe running around and he had an enormous influence but thankfully we got the job done.”
