Waverly Park - What are peoples memories?

[Sloth]

Only went there a couple of times, but my overriding memory is being extremely carsick on the long drive out there, and being too sick to even get in the ground so drove all the way back listening on the radio instead. Never made the trip out there again.

 

[The Chiefton]

loved the place, mostly because it was a 15 minute drive!

Best memory was round 22, 1990. My 7th birthday. John longmire needed 4 goals to register 100 for the season, and proceeded to kick 2.8 as collingwood pumped them by 89 points.

Other memories include:

*1990 drawn qualifying final. Daics's goal, sumich's miss, seeing dad picking his nose on the replay when got home
*scott russell pooing his pants in white shorts circa 1992
*kicking a goal for st kilda in the little league
*fingering my gf under a blanket at a pre-season cup game in 2000.

And many other highlights.
*

lol!!

 

[speedpeck23]

Stacks of great memories from the old VFL Park. One standout was late 1973 when Hudson returned to footy after missing 41 matches. As we drove to the ground a helicoptor flew over. It was him. From Hobart via Melb. Airport. Ground was packed. The last match he'd played he'd booted 8 before half time before injurying the knee. Match was Haw v Coll. Didn't have to wait long for the magic...Inside the first two minutes he'd kicked 2 goals one. Finished with eight for the day. Picked up 2 Brownlow votes for his only appearance in 1973... ironically he'd did the same thing in 1972 when he only played half a game for the season.

 

[Fossie 32]

That Hudson comeback game was amazing, it was indeed magic the way the ball just seemed attracted to him like a magnet.

Despicable act ditching Waverley

 

[AlecDuncan]

* The drawn 2nd Semi between Carlton & Richmond 1972
* Craig Bradley's 350th
* Shivering in the wet and cold
* World Series Cricket
* 50min waits to get out of the car park

 

[AlecDuncan]

*fingering my GF under a blanket at a pre-season Cup game in 2000.

And they say romance is dead.

 

[rdhopkins2]

Waverley was only a 10min drive from home. Wonderful surface.
That said the facility itself was pretty average. Then again, as long as I was watching Hawthorn, I really couldn't give. Some great memories there and was devastated at Wayne Jackson and his AFL commissioner cronies.

A poorly planned stadium but had they redeveloped it into a modern day stadium and with a train link, it would have been awesome. Though it's a bit like me trying to get to Princes Park....takes too long unless driving. Waverley also now would also have Eastlink aswell as the SE Freeway which is handy.

In the end, Hawthorn have done wonderfully out of what was an originally unfavourable decision and the board and administration should be commended for that.

On top of that, Hawthorn asked the members to heed their call and embrace the MCG as our new homeground. Haven't we done that. We've made something out of nothing.

Also ironic that the new Melbourne soccer team is set to be based out in the SE suburbs. Arguably the area with the highest population growth.

I still get down there quite often and the place looks awesome in terms of oval and training facilities.

 

[aneale]

Cold, wet, windy and the worst car park in the history of mankind...

that pretty much sums it up. The hotdog vendors were blokes who never found their way out of the carpark.

 

[smasha]

Freezing.

Cold hot dogs.

Warm drinks.

Muddy car park.

When full on a sunny day was a great venue and had a great surface.

 

[1jasonoz]

Wow someone from Murch. I used to camp there often on the river (by the disused rail bridge)

My inlaws live in Murch now, in Meteor street, they are late 60's early 80's and are like the towns spring chickens. Nice central place but gez way to much a small country town culture.

 

[Runk]

Coldest place on earth.

I remember watching Dermie hip and shoulder Paul Van Der Haar into the new millenium in the 89 Prelim.
I remember Micky Conlan running abosolute riot on the Bombers to get the Roy boys up in a cracker of a final back in the mid 80's.
I remember seeing something I'd never seen before, Kevin Walsh playing a great game.

But that car park was the worst.

 

[DaVe86]

- Getting bogged

- Freezing

- Black and White screen

- Wooden seats

- Long drive



Obviously each to their own, but for me personally, thank god it is gone. I used to hate having to go out there. The Dome is much more convenient for me and there is heaps of transport to the ground.

But obviously everyone is in a different circumstance.

 

[Bring-Back-Powell]

Only realised how much I loved the place once it closed down.

Didn't realise that prior to the 90's, Geelong played the odd home game there.

 

[Smaaart]

Ah.... Waverley. Great thread and an excellent read.

My first game there was back in 1990 against Richmond I think. Plugger was out injured and we happened to be sitting near him. I got his autograph and had absolutely no idea who he has (nan suggested I get him to sign a piece of paper).

Anyway I actually liked the ground, contrary to what people say, it had great atmosphere when there was a decent crowd there. Being a SE suburbs man, it was pretty easy to get to although as others have mentioned, getting out was a bugger and boggings were a regular event.

I have a few standout memories. The 1996 night final where we beat Carlton and won some silverware for the first time since 66 was a great night to be at, and the 'riots' afterwards were justified. Can't imagine anyone running onto Etihad to party after a win!

A couple of classic games - back in 1997 or 1998 we played Richmond and it was an absolute sellout, the joint was packed to the rafters and the Tigs got out to a 5 goal lead in the first quarter, but we pegged them back gradually and ended up getting up, the joint was really rocking that day. Around the same era, we played the dogs and it was 1st vs 2nd. Same deal, joint was packed, great game. And of course the game when the lights went out (although it seems like everyone in Melbourne was 'at that game').

Worst memory would be the game that we were up by 10 goals in the second quarter against the hawks and they ended up winning. Spida gave away 3 consecutive 50s at one stage.

Whenever I smell cigarette smoke, I always think of Waverley, the whole joint reeked of it. I also remember the ground attendants in their powder blue coats. None of them used to enforce seating and the one in the area that we always sat in was far more interested in checking out the game than checking tickets.

The sepia scoreboard was a classic and they used to show the results of the races in the 3rd quarter, haha. There was also a crappy animation of an umpire when they used to put the umpires names up. You also had to check the around the grounds scores in the footy record because the teams were listed as 'X vs Y' and 'R vs S'.

Overall I loved it, yeah it was cold but that's what jackets are for, and the delays in the car park meant you could listen to the post-game show for longer. I wish they had kept it.

 

[doodlefeatures]

Only realised how much I loved the place once it closed down.

Didn't realise that prior to the 90's, Geelong played the odd home game there.

Every side played 'home' games there, before the Hawks and Saints started playing there full time it had no home team.

 

[winty]

Only realised how much I loved the place once it closed down.

Didn't realise that prior to the 90's, Geelong played the odd home game there.

First game I went to at Waverley was a Geelong home game against West Coast. Rather bizarre fixturing to say the least.

I have a few memories of Waverley:

- Sitting in the back row of one of the stands and pounding on the back wall whenever Geelong scored a goal.
- A Geelong-North Melbourne game when two guys in front of us (one a Geelong supporter, the other North) who would lay into each other whenever their team scored a goal. Ken Hinkley also smothered a ball with his face in that game and was stretchered off with concussion.
- A Geelong-Richmond game where a Richmond guy tried to trip up Ken Hinkley on the wing, but ended up missing him by 5m.
- The aforementioned game against Carlton when Ablett played his 200th game. A Carlton supporting mate of mine was sitting a few rows in front of me, and was telling me before the game Carlton were going to thrash the hell out of Geelong. Geelong ended up kicking 7.6 to 2.1 in the first quarter, and held that lead for the entire game.
- After one game, the V-Line train we were on left early and half the people who were meant to be on it were left stranded at Clayton station. The train had to wait at the next station for those people to catch up, so we were entertained by two drunks on the platform trying to have a fight. Both were so plastered that no punches connected in the ten or so minutes we were stuck there watching them.

 

[adey115]

Coldest place on earth.

I remember watching Dermie hip and shoulder Paul Van Der Haar into the new millenium in the 89 Prelim.
I remember Micky Conlan running abosolute riot on the Bombers to get the Roy boys up in a cracker of a final back in the mid 80's.
I remember seeing something I'd never seen before, Kevin Walsh playing a great game.

But that car park was the worst.

Close.

1986 Elim Final - Roys Vs Bombers.
Awfully wet day. Mick had hardly a touch all day. Leon Harris received a handball in the middle with a minute to go, sidestepped a couple of the bombers blonde mosquitoe fleet, and passed to the Tank on the Flank, who somehow found himself 20 metres in the clear.

Conlan kicked the Goal to put the roys a point up. Richard Osborne walked over to pat him on the back and it looked like Mick was going to throw up.

The siren went soon after. Paul Roos took off on a goose-stepping high leaping celebrationary run towards the old dugout.

Took Roy fans a day to get out of the car park that night, but it had nothing to do with the bottle neck. Just sheer excitement.

 

[Minka Beaver]

Can't imagine anyone running onto Etihad to party after a win!

North Ballarat fans have turned it into an annual spectacle. Very funny to see some Woodstock drinking bogans ignore the little Hitlers in the fluorescent tops.

The sepia scoreboard was a classic and they used to show the results of the races in the 3rd quarter, haha. There was also a crappy animation of an umpire when they used to put the umpires names up.

God yes! The animation used to show an umpire cowering from a torrent of missiles such as fruit and cans before striding out imperiously. Great stuff.

 

[Mr Ripper]

A total and utter sh'ole. Some great, great memories, tho'.

 

[Spiro_Malakellis]

1991 Second Semi Final, Geelong vs Hawthorn. I was about 12, and Cats lost in a close one. My old man, with the thought of a four hour drive home to NE Vic after a soul crushing defeat, lost his sh*t in the car park traffic jam and "accidently" rear-ended a Hawks car trying to cut in.

Fortunately this occured at mystical a time before road rage, where punters were reassured by presence of an oversized novelty V scoreboard and loving warm orange glow of the monocrome screen, and needn't worry about settling such matters with violence. It seemed like they both felt equally wronged, yet somehow guilty at the same time. Victoria's finest arrived on the SE 'Free'way (had traffic lights then) and numbers were exchanged.

Funny thing was, a year later the other driver randomly met my old man a year later in Jeff's Shed and they had a joke about the whole thing. Proof of the power of footy, and fact that your average Hawks fans is not a complete d*ck.

Other than that, me and my best mate sat behind goals drinking cans of VB at a saints game on the most god awfully cold day ever. Forget when or who won, but met Peter Street's old man, there to watch him get around in the two. The man was proud as punch.

 

[Spiro_Malakellis]

Oh yeah, plus watching U2 Popmart concert there. Friggin awesome, but completely underestimated time it would take to get there from Errol St and arrived 30 mins late. Great show though.

On a side note, the success of one-day cricket (and subsequently 20/20) can be attributed to VFL park being a suitable venue to start a 'rebel' series by Kerry Packer.

 

[belfast_bomber]

Took Roy fans a day to get out of the car park that night, but it had nothing to do with the bottle neck. Just sheer excitement.

Conversely we couldn't get out quick enough. Sick as a parrot, I was.

Of course if that TOTALLY LEGIT goal by one of the mozzies (the late Steven Clark?) a few minutes earlier hadn't been rubbed out for "running too far" (what the ****?!) it would have been academic. Not that I'm bitter, hell no.

 

[Bring-Back-Powell]

On a side note, can people describe the old southern stand at the MCG. I can only vaguely rememeber sitting there in 89/90 when I was only 7 or 8.

 

[Smaaart]

God yes! The animation used to show an umpire cowering from a torrent of missiles such as fruit and cans before striding out imperiously. Great stuff.

Ha! Couldn't have put it better myself. It WAS a torrent of rubbish. And he did stride out rather confidently after the initial barrage. Love it.

 

[raskolnikov]

Freezing my **** off at an Essendon-St.Kilda game in 94 and being in bed with a chill for a week afterwards. I don't miss that dump at all.