Vale Ken Newland
Vale Ken Newland:
Ken Newland, who starred in 216 VFL games with Geelong (198) and Footscray (18) in the 1960’s/70’s, and booted 255 goals, passed away recently aged 75. Some of you may be respectfully thinking; ‘What does this have to do with WAFL history?’
Well, in 1979 Newland was recruited by East Fremantle at the age of 29 on the eve of Bradley Smith’s first season as coach of Old East’s.
During the off-season, the former Geelong and Footscray star who had been training at East Fremantle, was eventually cleared to the blue and whites with the original intent of filling the vacant key forward post. As early as August 1978, Newland had been put forward as a lure by his VFL club Geelong, in its bid to secure the services of champion Brian Peake in return.(1) However, not long after, Newland was transferred West regardless, through his job as a bank officer, and history shows Peake of course resisted the move East until 1981.
Initially there was great optimism in the securing of Newlands' services and the man himself was excited at the move. In an article by Robbie Burns for the Daily News on 2 February 1979 headlined, "Newlands raring to go with Old East's", Burns wrote(2):
"Ken Newland, one of the biggest names in VFL football over the past decade is looking forward to making a big impact on WA football."
Unfortunately, the Newland move never reached any heights after playing just the solitary league game in round one against Swan Districts kicking 1.1. He did however remain around the club, playing in the seconds and offering advice where he could. At one stage Newland actually lost his spot in the reserves side after round 5 and played a few games with Gosnells in the Sunday South Suburban league in a bid to regain form, which he did.
Legend has it, towards the end of a frustrating season in East Fremantle’s reserves, culminating in an inaccurate display in his last game, Newland ended his career in a symbolic fashion. Anecdotally, frustrated with his efforts in booting several behinds, Newland reportedly had taken his boots to the Swan river and thrown them off the old Fremantle traffic bridge, never to play again.
Mid-Season Slump Fuels Rumours of a Newland Return:
Earlier in season 1979, an atmosphere of uncertainty and tension was building around Moss street following four successive defeats that resulted in them plummeting from first to fourth on the ladder and threatened to derail their finals ambitions. In reaction to their sharp loss of form, and a need to strengthen the forward line, East Fremantle's brains trust of Smith, Trevor Sprigg, and Eddie Donnes were reportedly considering recalling the forgotten Victorian recruit. In another Daily News article headlined, "Newland May be Recalled", five days out from Old East's round 13 clash with Perth on 23 June 1979 at home, Peter Sweeney wrote(3):
"East Fremantle, knowing a loss to Perth on Saturday will see them tumble from the four, will probably be forced to gamble at the selection table this week. Old East's have sprung some surprise inclusions in recent matches and this week Ken Newland could be asked to help restore lost prestige."
Another article on the same page, said that former East Perth and South Melbourne big man, Ian Thomson, who had transferred down to East Fremantle from Wanneroo the week before, had professed to being undecided on how long his stay at Moss street would be under his old Royals teammate Smith. Smith had sought out his old mate to shore up East Fremantle’s big man stocks with a view to occupying key positions forward and back. Following Thomson’s poor debut at full-back in Old East’s surprise round 12 loss to cellar dwellers West Perth in the wet, their fourth loss in succession, he had in fact played back at Wanneroo just 24 hours later, in a bid to help them remain undefeated in the WAFA competition. The Daily News article headlined, "Thomson Undecided", said(4):
"Thomson said he put in a very ordinary performance with Old East's but was happy with his game on Sunday. A veteran of 170 odd league games in two states, Thomson, has left his options open to return to Wanneroo."
Thomson was full of praise for Wanneroo and thankful East Fremantle had released him to play the day after his Old East's debut.
"If things don't work out at Old East's, I could go back to Wanneroo. However, I will keep battling and stay at East Fremantle as long as Bradley Smith wants me."
Sliding Doors:
In the end, Old East's resisted the temptation of recalling Newland, preferring instead to swing Thomson from full-back to full-forward — a masterstroke that eventually paid the ultimate dividends. This move had been facilitated following the return of key defender Doug Green from the family farm at Trayning and the selection of Merv Carrott after transferring back to Old East’s from WAFA club Mosman Park the previous week.
In hindsight, round 13, unlucky for some, proved to be somewhat of a sliding doors moment for East Fremantle. Hypothetically, if not for the early re-inclusion of Green at centre half-back plus the surprise return of Carrott at full-back, then the course of history could well have been different. And if Thomson’s performance happened to once again be under-par, then he just may well have returned to Wanneroo prematurely. However, the rest as they say is history, as Thomson booted 6 goals in a return to the winners list for Old East’s against Perth, and the dye was cast for the remainder of 1979.
Thomson finished up playing a pivotal role in East Fremantle’s famous 1979 premiership win over South Fremantle three months later, something that potentially may well have never happened without Ken Newland failing to find the form that made him a star in the VFL.
R.I.P. Ken.
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/K/Ken_Newland.html
Pictures 1) Battye library Perth, 2) Geelong Advertiser and 3) Facebook.
Endnotes:
East, A. 16 August 1978. Newland is part bait for Peake. The West Australian, p. 67.
Burns, R. 8 February 1979. Newlands raring to go with Old East’s. Daily News, p. 42.
Sweeney, P. 19 June 1979. Newland may be recalled. Daily News, p. 30.
Thomson Undecided. 19 June 1979. Daily News, p. 30.