Broken Hill’s strong SANFL connection

By PETER ARGENT

Chiselled into the history of SANFL football is more than a century of connection with the silver city of Broken Hill.

Magarey Medallists, All-Australians, a myriad of premiership players and stars of both competitions have enriched football in this state exponentially.

On Sunday, November 16 AFL Broken Hill held an Adelaide reunion with no less than 15 former SANFL League players amongst the gathering of more than 230 football people with a connection to this NSW rural city at the Highway Inn on Marion Road.

Two former North Broken Hill Bulldogs juniors and current Adelaide Crows stars, Taylor Walker and Isaac Cumming, were guest speakers entertaining a vocal crowd.

The event was MC’d by John Lynch, the grandfather of current SANFL Under 18s Academy product Ruby Lynch and ABC Broken Hill broadcaster, and president of the league, Andrew “Hoff” Schmidt.

The reunion had a strong cohort from each of the four Broken Hill clubs – the West Robins, South Kangaroos, the North Bulldogs and the Central Broken Hill Magpies.

With auction items, the Broken Hill Football League will receive upwards of $20,000 in donations for the promotion of junior football in the Silver City and surrounding districts.

Among the SANFL contingent was current Woodville-West Torrens midfielder and this year’s Magarey Medal runner-up Kobe Mutch, current Broken Hill operations manager and dual Sturt 250-game premiership player Colin Casey (1974 & 1976), Glenelg premiership defender Chris Duthy (1985 & 86) newly appointed Port Adelaide’s AFL development coach Mitchell Clisby who was a member of the 2018 North Adelaide flag winning side and a former captain at Prospect.

Norwood’s Stuart Bown who played 200 SANFL league games; Taylor Walker who was the Redlegs’ leading goal kicker with 56 majors in 2008, along with Max Eddy, Ray “Bubba” Egan, Rod Kirsten, Kevin Tully, Robert Hocking, Michael Hywood, Drew Schapel, John Starr and Barry Spencer.

Eddy played for South Adelaide, Egan, who won five Middleton Medals (now Lionel Johnston Medals) and was king the fend off with his brute strength, played at West Torrens.

Rod Kirsten played for Woodville in the Peckers era, while Robert Hocking played for the West Adelaide Bloods, debuting in 1974 and Kevin Tully was down at Alberton in 1969.

Michael Hywood played Escort Cup league footy for South Adelaide.

Superb athlete Drew Schapel played league football for the Bloods as well.

John Starr donned the Double Blue of the Sturt Football Club.

Key defender Barry Spencer played for the Woodville Football Club.

The first football played in the Silver City dates back to 1885.

A League was formed in 1890 and was initially called the Barrier Ranges Football Association and it became the Broken Hill Football League in the 1920s.

Many teams and a number of SA state XVIII’s would travel up to Broken Hill as well for competition. Currently, male and female players from Broken Hill compete annually in the SA Country Football Championships.

Names like North Broken Hill’s 1912 Magarey Medallist Dave Low at West Torrens, Jack Woollard, captain of Port Adelaide Football Club’s 1910 Championship of Australia-winning team, and Algy Millhouse, who captain-coached Norwood Football Club in 1914 were among the early stars.

The 1922 Magarey Medallist, Robert Barnes, and Bruce McGregor, who won Medals in 1926–27, were iconic footballers at the West Adelaide Football Club.

Full forward Jack Owens, who won the SANFL’s goal kicking award on three occasions with Glenelg Football Club in the 1920s and 1930s, was also a key member of the club’s first flag in 1934.