BENDEMEER Mountain Men – and women – gathered to rekindle some fond memories from their 1995 Group 4 Second Division premiership-winning season at the Family Hotel last Saturday as well as look forward to some more promising days in 2015.
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The Bendy boys won the 1995 grand final with a 31-28 victory over hot favourites South Tamworth Gators.
While the Gators are dead and buried, Bendemeer is still going strong, with Jake Reid to coach the Mountain Men again in 1995.
Last year was his first crack with a side that had talent but was knocked out early in the finals playoffs.
Reid was also a member of that 1995 premiership-winning side, booting a booming field goal into the bargain.
“Did you see that,” he said as he and his former teammates watched the grand final replay in the Dominoes Room at The Family on Saturday afternoon.
“At least 60m,” he grinned as he talked to this journalist and former goalkicking star Darren Rushbrook.
It was a good time, Reid recalled.
“We didn’t think we’d win that,” he said.
“They (South) beat us 52-nil two weeks before. They had all the stars like Phil Fisher.”
However South didn’t reckon on Bendy prop Peter Reid, who had a huge game, making busts all day.
Paul Hyson, now club secretary, was assigned the task of tackling Fisher by “super coach” Ken Thompson and did that well.
Dallas Thrift and Stu Little also scored memorable individual tries on a special day for the club.
“We had the super coach,” Jake Reid said of Thompson.
“I might get a few more tips off him too.”
He said “numbers are starting to pick up” at training for this season’s Group 4 Second Division premiership quest, a campaign that begins with an April 11 clash with reigning premiers Dungowan at the Dungowan Recreation Reserve.
“I was a bit worried for a while,” Reid said.
“But they are better now. Gee, I’d love to have some of these blokes playing now too,” he said motioning around the room.
“Big Pete was outstanding,” he said watching his cousin make another break against the Gators.
“He did that all day against them. They couldn’t stop him.”
Thompson remembered the year fondly.
“We had a team of no names,” he said.
“But a bunch of good mates.”
The Bendemeer club also has a reunion for its 2005 premiership- winning side in August this year.
Team of 1995: 1 Stu Little, 2 Gavin Thrift, 3 David Howard, 4 Ty Gross, 5 Robert Pickering, 6 Richard Bullock, 7 Dallas Thrift, 8 Brett Howard, 9 Paul Doring, 10 Peter Reid (capt), 11 Jason Reid, 12 Paul Hyson, 13 Jamie Bullock. Reserves - Shane Corney, Bert Hillier, Mark Walsh, Scott Fitzgerald, Dan Mitchell, Steve Sampson, Brian Sampson. Coach - Ken Thompson.
