Swallows begin their slide into oblivion: the 1990s fade-out

By the 1990s Northern United’s glory years of the mid-1980s were starting to recede in people’s memories.

Historian and ex-player Trevor Ludeman said the decline in rural and township populations and the amalgamation of farms were against the club.

“The mantra in the late 1970s and into the 80s for farmers was ‘to get big or get out’ and that ruled,” he recalls.

“The primary industry sector completely transformed with farms doubling in size and rural, farming populations falling by up to 50 per cent.”

Ludeman noted that the local families of Raywood, Kamarooka, Neilborough and Sebastian and all areas in between which provided the majority of players from 1949 onwards were unable to support the club into the 1990s.

Another matter which was key to the whole situation was the Swallows’ enormous debt.

“By the end of the ‘80s sponsorship and volunteer fatigue had set in,” Ludeman states.

“There were ever-increasing costs, amounts of time and energy needed to run the club doubled and in two, short years United was in massive debt --- and a lot of this was carried over from the 1980s.”

The Swallows writer notes one matter which has completely escaped me.

“At the end of 1991 Northern United was forced to offer players 22 cents in the dollar to clear this debt,” he notes.

I vaguely recall low murmurs of discontent in United’s Raywood rooms after matches in the early 90s --- 1992 through to their eventual wind-up after just one match in the 1996 season --- but I recall thinking players must have been unhappy with team placements and their spots in the re-shuffle.

The payments issue didn’t enter my head. A few seasons later, maybe, but not early-Nineties.

Interestingly after all their 1980s successes, Northern United through the three grades won just 69 games in the 1990s and lost a whopping 257.

There was no appearance in any senior final.

However at the start of the decade, in 1990 in fact, the Swallows finished just outside the BFL Top Five on 9 wins and 9 losses, in sixth position.

It was the first season United had not finished the year in a finals berth since 1980. The signs were starting to look ominous.

It turned out exactly that way in 1991. United did not win a single match in either the seniors or Reserves competitions and the Thirds managed just a single victory in ‘91.

We’ll come to that shortly. Lets have a look at what happened in 1990 first.

Matt Scully was re-appointed senior coach with ‘Bluey’ Southcombe returning and signing on as coach of the under-18s side.

A total of 15 new players were on the senior list with seven playing nine games or more. Murray Varcoe topped the list on 16, followed by Warren Doyle with 15, and then Bill Ross and Andrew Day on 14.

Ace midfielder Phil Nicholson managed just seven games with the Swallows in 1990.

The eventual sixth-placed finish marked the first time United had not finished in the finals, in either league, since 1980.

Southcombe’s tenure as under-18 coach was productive though as the young Swallows finished on six wins for the season.

Garry ‘Mountie’ Mountjoy won his sixth senior fairest and best award while Shawn McCormick won the BFL and club senior goalkicking awards with 79 goals.

There were a handful of highlights for United in 1991.

Dennis Grinton played all 18 games to reach the milestone of 50 and took out the club fairest and best trophy, David Ludeman turned out in 14 while Ashley Miles reached a total of 75 matches.

But on a sad note outstanding centreman Mountjoy retired after the ’91 season’s opening match on 183 games, four premierships, a co-Michelsen Medal award with Marty Graham (South) in 1984 and six United fairest and best trophies.

Another retirement came at the end of the year. David Ludeman pulled the pin after 238 games and no less than six premiership medals.

Ludeman had started his career in 1977 (my first year at the Addy so I would have seen him when he first started out) and was in the Golden City F.L. premiership teams of 1978-79 plus the four BFL flag sides in the mid-80s.

Another well-deserved life membership, along with Ludeman’s, went to Pat Murley who had been active at the club since the Sixties.

When she received her life membership Pat was club secretary and she’d also served on the Swallows’ women’s committee for a huge number of seasons, plus she’d organised multiple fund-raising activities.

It wasn’t any better for the senior side in 1992, under new coach Simon Green. He’d arrived at Raywood via the Essendon under-19s and Toora club in the Alberton Football League.

The Swallows finished in the cellar again, turning over no less than 40 senior players with Green playing the full 18 home and away games.

Others to rack up handy totals were Trevor Stagg and Kurt Schubert (17), Jason Denton and Mick O’Brien (both 16), and Dean Stewart, Damien Garlick and Cameron Jones, all with 15.

Not surprisingly Green won the club best and fairest award while Gary Brook was the top senior goalkicker on 52.

The Hall name featured again. Helen Hall’s 30-year association with the Swallows at both senior and junior levels was recognised with a life membership.

The other ’92 life membership was awarded to Judy Thompson (wife of legendary trainer George) who also had a 30-year involvement with United.

There was a slight improvement in 1993 with United winning three games under new Tasmanian captain-coach Bill Wickham.

The Hall name, prominent on the Swallows’ roster during this period, was again to the fore.

Damien Hall was the playing captain-coach of the Twos.

The BFL introduced the netball competition in 1991. Club stalwarts Judy Cail, Robyn Martin and Kristy Muir cobbled together a Swallows’ team at the last moment.

By the end of August the team was made up of Irene Kline (c), Kerrie Bennetts (v-c), Karen West, Ellane Foley, Jodie Giles, Brenda Archer, Sarah Haughton, Anita Martin, Jodie Murley and Laurel Raeburn.

A feather in the cap for the United girls was the BFNL’s inaugural netball best and fairest Fulton medal (now known as the Betty Thompson medal) going to skipper Irene Kline.

Not surprisingly, Irene also won the Northern United FNC club award.

She backed up again at BFNL club level winning the Swallows 1993 A grade fairest and best award and reaching the 50-game milestone.

There was a B grade division in the BFNL netball by 1993 and Kylie Lamb won the Swallows’ B division’s club fairest and best that season.

*With thanks to former regular correspondent and knowledgeable United facts man Trevor Ludeman.

**More to come on-line and in later editions of the BFNL Record.