1961 Brisbane Carnival
The 1961 Brisbane Carnival was the 15th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It was the last carnival to be held in Queensland.
It was one of the most competitive carnivals to have been played, with the traditional carnival powerhouse Victoria going down to Western Australia in the final game to give Western Australia its first carnival victory since 1921.[1] Despite Victoria comfortably accounting for South Australia, the Western Australians narrowly lost their game to South Australia. Tasmania, who traditionally struggle, lost all games but got within seven points of the South Australians. With Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria all finishing on 2 wins and a loss, Western Australia won the championship due to a superior percentage.[2]
In 2014, the Western Australian team from this carnival was inducted as a whole into the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.[3]
Teams
Although the carnival took place in Brisbane, no Queensland team competed in the tournament. The four teams were Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
Results
| Game 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 15 July | Victoria 21.22 (148) | def. | South Australia 13.12 (90) | The Gabba | |
| Game 2 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 16 July | Western Australia 24.23 (167) | def. | Tasmania 10.6 (66) | The Gabba (crowd: 7,192) | Match report |
| Game 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, 19 July | Western Australia 15.17 (107) | def. by | South Australia 16.13 (109) | The Gabba | Match report |
| Game 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, 19 July | Victoria 20.30 (150) | def. | Tasmania 12.17 (89) | The Gabba (crowd: 4746) | Match report |
| Game 5 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 23 July | South Australia 15.17 (107) | def. | Tasmania 14.16 (100) | The Gabba | |
| Game 6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 23 July | Western Australia 15.14 (104) | def. | Victoria 14.11 (95) | The Gabba (crowd: 7,500) | Match report |
Points table
| State | Played | Won | Lost | Points for | Pointsagainst | % | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Australia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 378 | 270 | 140.0 | 8 |
| Victorian | 3 | 2 | 1 | 393 | 283 | 138.9 | 8 |
| South Australia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 306 | 355 | 86.2 | 8 |
| Tasmania | 3 | 0 | 3 | 255 | 424 | 60.1 | 0 |
All-Australian team
In 1961 the All-Australian team was picked based on the Brisbane Carnival. Ron Barassi was named as captain. West Australian ruckman Jack Clarke became the first person to be named in four All Australian teams.[4]
| B: | Neil Kerley (SA, West Adelaide) | John Abley (SA, Port Adelaide) | John Schultz (Vic, Footscray) |
| HB: | Ted Whitten (Vic, Footscray) | Ray Gabelich (WA, West Perth) | Bob Shearman (SA, West Torrens) |
| C: | Brian Dixon (Vic, Melbourne) | John Halbert (SA, Sturt) | John Todd (WA, South Fremantle) |
| HF: | Don Roach (SA, West Adelaide) | Don Lindner (SA, North Adelaide) | Darrel Baldock (Tas, Latrobe) |
| F: | Graham Farmer (WA, East Perth) | Geoff Kingston (SA, West Torrens) | Bob Withers (Tas, North Launceston) |
| Foll: | Jack Clarke (WA, East Fremantle) | Ron Barassi (Vic, Melbourne) (captain) | Allen Aylett (Vic, North Melbourne) |
| Int: | Ray Sorrell (WA, East Fremantle) | Bill Wedding ( SA, Norwood) | |
| Coach: | |||
Tassie Medal
Brian Dixon of the VFL won the Tassie Medal after beating East Fremantle's Jack Clarke by one vote.[5]
| Player | State | Votes received | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Dixon | Victoria | 3,3,2 | 8 |
| Jack Clarke | Western Australia | 3,3,1 | 7 |
| Allen Aylett | Victoria | 3,2 | 5 |
| Darrel Baldock | Tasmania | 3,1 | 4 |
| Don Lindner | South Australia | 2,1 | 3 |
| Graham Farmer | Western Australia | 2 | 2 |
| Frank Adams | Victoria | 2 | 2 |
| Neil Kerley | South Australia | 2 | 2 |
| Colin Moore | Tasmania | 1 | 1 |
| Derek Chadwick | Western Australia | 1 | 1 |
| Bob Withers | Tasmania | 1 | 1 |
References
- "Rules Reign by Victoria Ended". The Canberra Times. 24 July 1961. p. 16. Retrieved 29 October 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
- Carter, Ron (24 July 1961). "W.A. Triumphs over Victoria. Wins Carnival Title". The Age. p. 20.
- Butler, Steve (26 October 2014). "The drought breakers: 1961 footy champions". Archived from the original on 28 October 2014.
- Carter, Ron (24 July 1961). "All Australian Team Surprise". The Age. p. 20. Note: This newspaper report incorrectly names Western Australia's Mal Atwell at full back, instead of South Australia's John Abley.
- "Dixon wins Tassie Medal". The Age. 24 July 1961. p. 20.
- "1961 Brisbane Carnival page". Full Points Footy. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.