It is often said children in Australia play footy in the winter and cricket in the summer.
Growing up in the Riverina, straddling the ‘Barassi Line’, it is more like cricket, maybe golf, and a bit of basketball in the summer. In the winter it is league on Saturdays and ‘Aussie’ on Sundays.
Sport is a way of life in the Riverina. Not surprisingly, the region has produced a wealth of champion sportspeople.
What is surprising, given that teams of the century are numerous, an official team of the all-time best Riverina Australian footballers has never been announced.
In recent times the idea has been put forward by none other than the legendary Kevin Sheedy. Since taking over as coach of GWS Giants at their introduction to the AFL, Sheedy has championed the cause of the game in NSW. In particular, GWS have a strong relationship with Wagga Wagga, more or less the heart of the Riverina.
One of the factors potentially working against the idea is defining what is the Riverina. Essentially it is the area bordered by the Great Dividing Range to the east, the Lachlan River in the north and west, and the Victorian border in the south. Thus, towns and cities include Albury, Wagga Wagga, Deniliquin, Finley, Corowa, Griffith, Hay and anywhere in between.
With a figure such as Sheedy taking the helm, surely the idea of a celebratory Riverina team will become a reality.
I will put forward my nomination of best 22 from the area and hopefully encourage some debate.
Back pocket: Frank Gumbleton (Ganmain/North Melbourne)
Full back: Anthony Daniher (Ungarie/Turvey Park/South Melbourne/Sydney/Essendon)
Back pocket: Leo Barry (Deniliquin/Sydney)
Back flank: Neale Daniher (Ungarie/Essendon)
Centre half back: Bernard Toohey (Barooga/Geelong/Sydney/Footscray)
Back flank: Dennis ‘Dinny’ Ryan (Albury/Fitzroy)
Wing: David Murphy (Turvey Park/Sydney)
Centre: Brett Kirk (North Albury/Sydney)
Wing: Shane Crawford (Finley/Hawthorn)
Forward flank: Terry Daniher (Ungarie/Ariah Park-Mirrool/South Melbourne/Essendon)
Centre half forward: Wayne Carey (North Wagga/North Melbourne/Adelaide)
Forward flank: Dennis Carroll (Ganmain/South Melbourne/Sydney)
Forward pocket: John Longmire (Corowa-Rutherglen/North Melbourne)
Full forward: Bill Mohr (Wagga/St Kilda)
Forward pocket: Luke Breust (Temora/Hawthorn)
Ruck: Brian Gleeson (Berrigan/St Kilda)
Ruck-rover: Paul Kelly (Wagga Tigers/Sydney)
Rover: Haydn Bunton, Sr. (Albury/Fitzroy)
Interchange
Bill Brownless (Jerilderie/Geelong)
Harry Lampe (Wagga/South Melbourne)
Gordon Strang (East Albury/Richmond)
Cameron Mooney (Turvey Park/North Melbourne/Geelong)
Captain: Wayne Carey
Vice-Captain: Terry Daniher
Coach: Allan Jeans (Finley/St Kilda/Hawthorn/Richmond)
The reason for calling it the ‘Team of All-Time’, rather than ‘Team of the Century’, is that Harry Lampe retired from the VFL in 1907 and was a necessary inclusion, thus ‘Team of the Century’ would be redundant.
Magic
Guest
No mention of Allan Hayes not a bad player, would be close to being in.
Magic
Guest
Only reason I say best players that didn't play AFL is because Wayne Carey could not care less, everybody knows how good he was! It's just there is a lot more players who deserve recognition and a lot of them were good enough to play AFL. Cheers
Magic
Guest
I agree. Should of been best in the Riverina and did not play in the AFL. Daryl Breust.
conchie
Roar Rookie
West Wyalong is in Northern Riverina and plays in the Northern Riverina football league. Next year Condobolin is re-entering the league and Cobar is already in it. Condobolin and Cobar are no where near the Riverina, Cobar is closer to the QLD border than Victorian.
Pope Paul vii
Guest
Hey Mister Football, West Wyalong is indeed in the Northern Riverina, although Riverina is a very generous description, I've never seen any flowing water there.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Go south from Griffith through Darlington Point, Jerilderie then down to Finley.
alicesprings
Guest
I wonder how much this 'team of all time' will change over the next few years. Theres been two or three drafted from the region consistently for the last few years. With the academies streamlining player development, i wouldn't necessary expect the numbers of players drafted to rise but their quality should. Hopefully the Riverina can shurn out a top30 draft prospect each yr.
alicesprings
Guest
Coota is in the riverina. For those super interested in this hotly debated topic of what constitutes the riverina…rdariverina.org has a nice little map. Either way a great little town with a rich footy history.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Also from Wiki: "... the Riverina covers those areas of New South Wales in the Murray and Murrumbidgee drainage zones to their confluence in the west. " I wouldn't have thought that includes the highlands around Canberra and Yass. Cowra and Forbes are too far North in my opinion. Cootamundra might just make it in as the North-East corner, it might take in West Wyalong as the Northernmost point, and from there, it's everything South West to the Murray river.
Penster
Guest
That's plumbing the depths of my local geography too, will take your word for it! Stunning region.
conchie
Roar Rookie
Cootamundra is in the riverina, anything south of the Lachlan river and west of the great dividing range ( wiki) Makes Canberra, Forbes, Cowra, Yass etc in the Riverina Buggered if that sounds right to me !!
Penster
Guest
Didn't know that. I heard on the grand final the commentators say along the lines of Smith passes to his old Riverina mate Breust. Cootamundra, wouldn't have thought so.
conchie
Roar Rookie
Smith is from Cootamundra I believe, at least for a considerable period of time, his father was principal of the local primary school. Is it debateable that Coota is even in the Riverina ?.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Was Allan Jeans from Finley? Geez a few AFL notables have come from this little town. I like to think I know the Southern NSW region quite well, but I actually don't know where Finley is.
Phantom
Guest
Jason wild, Paul Hawke, Chris Daniher, Mick Gayfer
Trev
Guest
Daniel Cross?
Penster
Guest
It must be a fertile sporting area if Isaac Smith didn't make the grade. From this year's grand final sides, add Matt Suckling and Harry Cunningham are also from the area.
Don Freo
Guest
Any team with a Gumbleton in it is pretty good.
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
That's a formidable team Josh. Doug Strang must've been close to a guernsey. It was a long time ago, but he managed 14 goals in only his second VFL match as an 18 yo. Real bush footy legend stuff! Cheers.
Hendrix
Guest
Turkey Tom Carroll?