TOPIC:

Is a good article written by John Townsend I see. The competition has however, been like that for many years - sadly.
The first half of the article just leaps out and speaks volumes. Realistically I think it's too late!

Wednesday WAFL: Krakouer magic inspires golden WAFL memoriesJohn Townsend More than 52,000 people – nearly six percent of Perth’s population at the time – attended the four WAFL matches in an early round in 1979. That season was probably the WAFL’s pinnacle. More fans than before or since went to matches where they were treated to remarkable spectacles of skill and athleticism that created the game’s greatest traits of high marking, long kicking and prolific goal scoring.Plenty of WAFL fans are accused – probably accurately – of living in the past. They often hark back to a golden era when superstar footballers launched 60m drop kicks and hauled in speccy after speccy in front of sell-out crowds.Ground facilities were basic but who cared about comfort when the league was so robust, compelling and full of such great characters and stories? Of course, the modern-day WAFL is a far different proposition to earlier eras which is why comparing today’s football to the game of old is mostly futile.But that is not to say that it is not worth doing occasionally. That 1979 season and the era itself was brought alive this week at The Backlot, a small specialist cinema tucked away near the Polly Farmer sculpture (kicking right-footed for some bizarre reason) that stands next to the entrance of the Northbridge tunnel. Drawing on private VHS tapes of WAFL matches, news highlights and and the panel shows of the day that he had collected painstakingly over the years and converted to digital format, journalist and WAFL historian Sean Cowan compiled a highlights package of the Krakouer brothers to show at the Wayback WAFL event at The Backlot. Jim Krakouer was present and took part in an absorbing QnA session in which he revealed that he and his brother Phil would not have gone to North Melbourne in 1982 if Claremont had not won the flag the previous year. And, quite poignantly, he explained that his often-incendiary reaction to racist abuse was the result of deciding that he might have had to cop it at school but he was not going to do so on the football field.The Krakouers were stars of their time and their deeds shone brightly during nearly two hours of the footage that Cowan had put together. The dim recesses of your memory might not recall how good players were that you saw when you were young but the videotape does not lie. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/550b5c_9e6abe077e174995a0ac07d19b3839e3~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_810,h_456,al_c,q_90/550b5c_9e6abe077e174995a0ac07d19b3839e3~mv2.webpAnd what it revealed about both Krakouers was that Cyril Rioli and Eddie Betts and Dustin Martin might inspire awe and wonder in recent football followers but they had nothing on the two Aboriginal brothers from Mt Barker who made such a mark in the 1970s and 80s. There was Jim who claimed a thrilling mark high above a pack that was on a par with anything Shai Bolton has taken in recent times.A few minutes later in the same game, Krakouer laid three consecutive tackles on different opponents in the same passage of play before winning the ball back and spearing a goal from the boundary. It would have been the goal of the season to complement the earlier mark of the season.His speed around the ball, the cleanliness of his handling and the precision of his delivery combined in an extraordinary combination that was enhanced even further by the uncanny bond he had with his brother and the remarkable association he forged with ruckman Graham Moss. Commentator George Grljusich, who had a photographic memory of the numerous WA footballers he had watched from the mid-1940s, said during one passage of play that Krakouer ranked alongside Barry Cable and Steve Marsh as the three best rovers ever born in WA. Some tribute, that. Phil Krakouer, who regularly used both hands to pick up the ball on the ground while travelling at full speed, also produced a banquet of unbelievable moments.Preceding Rioli and Betts by several decades, he twisted and weaved his way through heavy traffic while his hapless opponents grasped at empty air like a scene out of The Matrix. At least twice during the footage, the television commentators started giggling at Phil’s exploits. It was the only appropriate reaction given how audacious and unimaginable were his gymnastics.The footage was not just about the Krakouers though they were the stars. Moss, probably WA’s least appreciated football superstar, had his agility and palming ability on full show while the technical proficiency of spearhead Warren Ralph underpinned his harvest of Krakouer passes. Stephen Michael and Maurice Rioli starred for South Fremantle, East Fremantle showcased an array of stellar talents like Brian Peake, Graham Melrose and Kevin Taylor, Swan Districts fans would have salivated at Leon Baker’s creativity and Peter Bosustow demonstrated his aerial and ground skills. It might not be the WAFL of today but it was a marvellous era for WA football, a time whose stars live on in wondrous memories and scratchy VHS tapes.

Was anyone lucky enough to have attended the Backlot Cinema to watch the Krakouer Brothers highlights on the weekend?

I still say that era of the late 70s to mid 80s was the greatest era of WA football I have seen.

Every WAFL club in that era had some of the greatest and most exciting footballers ever to lace up a boot Australia wide.

Agreed Beas, I saw a short clip from a 1979 game Subi v sf and was thinking it would be nice to have alot of those blokes running around for us now, and we were worse than shit that year!

I did! And it was really great. I got to meet Jimmy and he was so nice to chat to. I went with Mum and Dad and a cousin. My other cousin was supposed to come but she was coughing so had miss out. Unfortunately, neither of my boys or anyone else wanted to go so that ticket went to waste. It was a real shame as we had them booked since January.

Dad used to take me to watch Claremont every week from 1978 to the early 80s. Yes, I agree, it was definitely the golden era of WAFL footy. The footage was patchy but wonderfully collated and such a joy to see. I think that the skills were even better than I had remembered them to be, so I have not been exaggerating all these years after all. You always wonder if your childhood memories are overblown, but what I saw on Sunday proved I had been underselling the quality of play, if anything.

They are having another event in August which will feature Souths. I will go along to that too as my Grade 5 teacher played for them so that will be cool to watch. 

The Backlot theatre itself was cozy and comfortable with a great bar. Easy parking and cheap tickets. Why wouldn't all Wayback WAFL fans get behind it? I hope they do (but not before I get my ticket)! The Krakouer brothers event was a sell out so I would suggest getting in quick if you're keen.

Our game was a better standard than the VFL which was on The Winners afterwards Beas'
There were just so many quality players running around over here and so many highlight reels to prove that along with the raids they conducted upon us 
Great Footy at it's very best every weekend