Kiewa-Sandy Creek set to celebrate its 1972 flag this weekend

But Kiewa-Sandy Creek will officially celebrate its 1972 grand final victory over Bullioh for the first time with a reunion on Saturday.

The club has never previously held a reunion to celebrate the occasion.

Eight players have passed away since the triumph but more than a dozen premiership players are expected to make the trek to Tangambalanga.

High-profile recruit and centre half-forward Bob Whitehead said it was hard to believe that five decades had passed since they achieved the ultimate success.

Whitehead joined the Hawks in 1970 after an outstanding career which included a stint in the Ovens and Murray with North Albury and Wodonga.

"To be honest, it still feels like it only happened yesterday," Whitehead said.

"Probably if we had lost it would have felt like 50-years ago.

"I played at quite a few clubs before I arrived at Kiewa-Sandy Creek.

"But I rate Kiewa-Sandy Creek as the best club that I ever played at.

"And it has carried on since, five decades on and the club still has the reputation as one of the most successful clubs in the district."

Kiewa-Sandy Creek was coached by Alan Rogers who was also the captain of the Hawks.

Bullioh had a high-profile mentor in Don Stanley who had previous experience in the VFL with South Melbourne.

The Bulldogs entered the match as favourites.

Whitehead recalled the Bulldogs tried to physically intimidate the Hawks early in the contest with several fiery incidents between the two sides.

"A couple of incidents happened early and I got hit from behind after I kicked a goal," Whitehead said.

"But we had a VFL umpire that day and he didn't miss much.

"So he awarded me a free kick and I kicked another goal straight away.

"It really lifted us as a side and was deflating for the opposition.

"We had a two goal lead at the first change which blew out to six goals at the main break.

"I knew we had the flag in the bag at half-time because everyone was chock-full of confidence."

History says the Hawks would go on to win the flag by 41 points which sparked huge celebrations.

Whitehead was judged best-on-ground after booting six-goals in the convincing win.

"We won well," Whitehead said.

"We celebrated that night and again the following day."

Vin O'Neill was only 17-years-old and played in the midfield for the Hawks.

He recalled how his parents made him come home and have tea before joining the celebrations with his team-mates.

"Being young and dumb at the time, I just wanted to get on the beers straight away," O'Neill said.

"But mum and dad made me go home first and have tea.

"They then dropped me off at the hall to celebrate and said 'you will thank us for this later.'

"I remember walking into the hall and the floor was already covered in beer and full of cigarette smoke."

ALSO IN SPORT

Forward Vance McGrath who kicked two goals, got the three votes during the celebrations.

"Most people went home that night to get a bit of sleep before returning the next morning," Whitehead said.

"But not Vance.

"When a few of us arrived back at the hall the next morning Vance was asleep on the top of the piano in his jocks with his clothes folded up neatly beside the piano."

The Hawks boast an enviable record since merging in 1969 and have won 13 flags.

KIEWA-SC 17.13 (115) def Bullioh 11.8 (74)

Goals: KIEWA-SC: Whitehead 6, Schubert 3, Shalders 2, V. McGrath 2, Sutherland, Rogers, Wilkinson, Rolfe; BULLIOH: Stanley 4, Cook 4, McGrath, Turnbull, Laverty.

Best: KIEWA-SC: Whitehead, Sutherland, W. Bartel, Wilkinson, A Rogers; BULLIOH: Stanley, Croxford, Cooke, Turnbul, Piper.

ATTENDANCE: 2000

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