Growing up in the 1970s and ’80s, AFL game was so different, with all those suburban grounds and their unique characteristics.
There was the animal enclosure at Moorabbin along with that very muddy middle of the ground, where the players would stick like glue when they ventured there.
Arden Street at North Melbourne had the Gasometer, Glenferrie Road at Hawthorn contained the train line and Victoria Park Collingwood, wow! That ground was tough for the visiting team and their supporters, where being spat on was par for the course.
Then there was the Western Oval out at Footscray. It was famous for a gale blowing generally at the Williamstown end along with the rickety high wooden coaches box on the Doug Hawkins wing. Who could forget Mick Malthouse, then coach of the Dogs, hanging out the window of that box and barking instructions.
AFL footy returned there last Saturday for the first time since 1997 and guess what? The wind is still strong at the Williamstown end, but that coaches box is gone.
That famous old grandstand on the Western side still exists, but there is the relatively new football department and administrative facilities, which gives the ground the modern look it needed.
Capacity at the oval now is around about 14,000, and they had almost 10,000 on Saturday for the Dogs’ pre-season match with Richmond. It looked a picture with the banks and the terraces virtually full and there was a wonderful atmosphere.
Earlier this week, the Bulldogs even flagged the possibility that it could one day become a boutique ground and host AFL matches during the premiership season. Though I think at the moment that’s pie in the sky stuff as they would need to increase the capacity.
Car parking has always been a problem and nothing had changed on the weekend, although the West Footscray train station does help. It depends where you are coming from as you may have to use two or three different train lines, but if you are keen enough you will get there.
I think the days of the Whitten Oval being a bona fide AFL ground for premiership matches is long gone, but for pre-season and VFL games it is perfect. It’s a ground that will never change, always back the team kicking to the Williamstown end in the last quarter!
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