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AFLW 2024 - Round 9 - Indigenous Round - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
Tom Wills Oval, Home of GWS
- Thread starter Giantman
- Start date
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Guess not.
Brenton Davy
Premium Gold
At the moment it's just a footy oval with construction ongoing for the buildings. I think the contstruction is set to be completed later this season.
Located at the old driving range in Olympic Park, behind P3 parking station.
Located at the old driving range in Olympic Park, behind P3 parking station.
I'll show my bias. I would be very disappointed if GWS named a stadium after our inventor of the game .
It happened in western Victoria and developed from there. Read his history.
The AFL should have a stadium named in his honour in Victoria , no where else.
What a story too, someone should make a movie out of it.
You possibly have a point, although to be fair Wills was born around that way originally.
You know . You might be right . Perhaps from up QLD way as a child to Victoria. But he actually developed the game there. But his story is a beauty I believe, cricket and farming and travelling with an indigenous team to England for cricket.
He had some involvement in a rather nasty episode in QLD, I think. His old house is up there somewhere.
I think he may have killed himself in the end. A troubled fellow.
finders
Norm Smith Medallist
Ive always said the AFL Premiership Cup should be the Tom W Wills Cup
The trouble is that the old VFL was convinced by his cousin Henry Harrison into believing he invented Australian Football and as Tom committed suicide age 44 and died in disgrace decades before Harrison died at the ripe old age of 92 Harrison had plenty of time to blow his own trumpet - which he to did and add to that suicide was a real no no at the time so Tom Wills part in helping to found our great game was pushed into the background.
Heres a great read about Tom Wills
http://australianfootball.com/articles/view/Why+Tom+Wills+is+an+Australian+legend+like+Ned+Kelly/133
Mountain Giant
All Australian
- Oct 11, 2011
- 911
- 231
- AFL Club
- GWS
- Other Teams
- Sydney FC, Philadelphia Eagles
Yeah, GWS should not be allowed to do this, they should ignore it like all the other Victorian clubs and the AFL/VFL have for a century.
I didn't know about Harrison. I think a history of Tom put out to the public is the thing to do and some recognition.
After the little I've read and heard about his life , I'd say he was a serious but dedicated person, with terrible depression.
Now is time with Beyond Blue to maybe telling the AFL to TELL THIS MAN'S STORY!!!!! Mr Kennett?
According to the article he was born at Molonglo plains near present day Canberra, which was then NSW and technically west of Sydney. Any way the game is called Australian Football, so I don't think he would mind having an oval named after him up there.
A movie of his life would be really interesting (to me anyway), but I think a great subject for a movie would be Barrassi, from his father dying in the war, being brought up by the Melbourne Football Club, then crossing to Carlton as captain coach and winning the 1970 flag. Someone should do it.
Theres got to be some brilliant stories around about our game that could be made into movies.
But Wills had a very strange and interesting and disturbing life. He saw and was involved in some pretty heavy duty stuff.
Which I think sent him to England with the first Aboriginal cricket team and also sent him into oblivion as well, and finally to his grave. Its got to be a big story.
Maybe his descendants don't want it made.
ps I,ve changed my mind Western Sydney is OK too.
Tom Wills now has a number of memorials ...the statue outside the members entrance at the MCG, Plaque at Moyston, western Victoria, Tom Wills flyover/bypass intersection near Waverley Park. He was born in NSW so why not have something in western Sydney.
Think you are being a little rugged on Colden Harrison. Harrison was Wills step cousin and life long friend. In his own book written in the 1920's "Running with the Ball" he credits Wills as the one who promoted the idea of "having our own game". Wills and Harrison both dominated the early days of Victorian Rules (ironically they were both from NSW, Harrison from Picton, western Sydney). Harrison was also an athlete. He introduced the bounce as a player runs to restrict the dominance of fast runners. As an administrator Harrison oversaw the the start of the VFA in 1877. His contribution to the game is really a continuation and realisation of what Wills started but sadly Wills was unable to play this role, fortunately Harrison could.
For the definitive version of Wills you will need to read this :
http://books.google.com.au/books/about/Tom_Wills.html?id=WZte5MxhlEwC
I've just been given it and I'm looking forward to reading it.
http://books.google.com.au/books/about/Tom_Wills.html?id=WZte5MxhlEwC
I've just been given it and I'm looking forward to reading it.
Colonial
Premium Gold
- Apr 12, 2012
- 48,073
- 45,282
- AFL Club
- GWS
Been looking for a link but there are expansion plans for the oval that will allow us to play AFLW, VFL and Academy games there.
Read up in it last season but haven’t been able to find links.
Read up in it last season but haven’t been able to find links.
Colonial
Premium Gold
- Apr 12, 2012
- 48,073
- 45,282
- AFL Club
- GWS
Don’t know if it will happen now with the Libs not winning the NSW State election. Same thing with Showring oval
Colonial
Premium Gold
- Apr 12, 2012
- 48,073
- 45,282
- AFL Club
- GWS
Pretty sure the Labor government were backing it to.
Something about women’s sport investments.
Would be the only “AFLW” ground in NSW.
Might flick the Giants an email and ask about an update
Thomas Wentworth Wills was born in NSW!
Everything was technically in NSW when Wills was born. Even Melbourne was in NSW in 1835.
But if you're going by modern territory, Wills was born on the Molonglo Plain, so most likely in the modern-day ACT.
Grew up in Western Victoria, Born? went to QLD went to UK to study, was very much a successful cricketer. Finished his life a not very happy man.
Presumably because of a horrid occurrence he was involved in when his family moved to western QLD
.He was very close to Aboriginal cricketers and in football too. Coached cricket, but had personal issues as well.
He helped create the greatest foot on field sport on earth. Well it was, when umpired and ruled properly.
Still is I think.
Find his biography and read it. Whether he was born in Timbuctoo means nothing, the Australian game came out of Melbourne. And he learned it and devised it somewhat I think from his playing an indigenous game with a ball made out of skins, with the local Aboriginal kids. That is conjecture of course but it is written in the book.
GWS are not a traditional club. But they are a club.
But if he was and they decided to use his name, well it should be up somewhere prominent and about time.
Tom Wills a fascinating story.
Of course he was born in NSW lol. It was the only colony that existed on the east coast in 1835
