Fourteen members of the 1962 team, whose two youngest members are 80 years old, have committed to attend the function and all but a couple of the 1992 team will be in attendance.
The 1962 premiership team was part of a golden era for Rochester football, in the Bendigo league, earning the mantle as premier and champion for the season.
It was during a period when Rochester made eight successive grand finals, winning half of them.
The 1992 team made history in its own right, being the first Goulburn Valley League premiership team after the club had rejoined the competition.
It beat Tatura in that match, by two points in the wet, and the former stars will watch on as the 2022 Tigers battle Tatura again on Saturday — in round four of the GVL season.
Prior to the 1992 victory the Rochester club had won only one GV pennant, in 1914, before joining the Bendigo league.
Since 1992 the club has won premierships in 1999 and 2008.
Dave Williams coached the 1992 team, having returned to Rochester after being traded to Richmond — from Melbourne — at the end of the 1988 season.
His last game for the Demons was a grand final, with injuries preventing him from playing with the Tigers. His return to Rochester was triumphant.
Williams said all but his former Melbourne teammates, Jamie Duursma and Dean Duursma, were expected to be in attendance.
Williams said the intention, on returning to Rochester, was always to coach.
While recruiting was important to the 1992 Williams team, he also inherited plenty of experience with the likes of Simon McCarty, Tank McPhee and Shane Dupee.
“At one stage there were nine players in the Goulburn Valley league had that played 200 games, and Rochester had five of them,” Williams said.
– Fourteen members of Rochester’s 1962 premiership team will attend a 60-year reunion, who were part of the club’s greatest era, when the Tigers tackle Tatura at Moon Oval.
Bruce Major, who was among the youngest members of the premiership team at 20-years-old, said six of the team still lived in the area.
Major started playing with Rochester in 1958, as a teenager, and after serving his apprenticeship in the reserves moved into senior ranks.
Between 1958 and 1965 Rochester played in eight successive grand finals, winning four of those.
“Most of the 14 blokes who are returning for the reunion played in several of those grand finals,” Major said.
Rochester won back to back Bendigo league premierships on two occasions, in 1958-59 and 1962-63.
“Spencer Broome played in all eight grand finals and Darryl Hooper played in seven,” Major said.
“Ken (Ingram) and I played in five apiece.”
Major turned 80 in November last year and together with Bob Sill will be the youngest member of the grand final reunion.
The four Rochester-based members of the team are Daryl Hooper, Brian Jones, Spencer Broom and Major.
Ken Ingram lives just out of Elmore and Daryl Dobell is also at Elmore.
Major recalled the grand final against Golden Square being a terribly windy day, hence the scoreline of 9.17 (71) to 7.20 (62).
In 1961 the team was runners-up in the grand final to Kyneton.
Then, with eight or 10 new players, was premier in 1962.
They repeated the feat in 1963 under coach Con O’Toole, who was a policeman in Rochester.
“If we was still alive he would have been 91 or 92 years old now,” Major said.
“He passed seven of eight years ago. His son, Mark, was the mascot, and he will be back for the reunion.”
In the 1962 grand final Ray Willet was outstanding, the former Collingwood player having joined the club after accepting a teaching role at Strathallan as a 21-year-old.
“He won every award in the Bendigo league. He is coming back, he lives at Corowa now. He was the best and fairest for the club and the league that year,” Major said.
Rochester Football Club’s Rob Aitken said a lunch would be held for both these sides from noon until 2pm in our social rooms.
“Anyone else that may have played during that season or who may have helped at committee level or as a volunteer, is invited to join the teams to watch the game in a fenced-off area just north of our social rooms,” Aitken said.
“We hope it will bring back many memories as we celebrate two outstanding achievements in the history of the RFNC.”
8°C