Dandenong North resident Tom James has been alive for all of Geelong’s seven VFL/AFL premierships, with memories of at least five of them. He couldn’t be happier after the Cats thumped Port Adelaide on Saturday afternoon to claim the club’s seventh flag.
By Shaun Inguanzo
TOM James lives in Dandenong but his heart is with Geelong.
Perhaps the most dedicated Cats fan in the nation, Mr James, 83, can still recall the euphoria of the Cats’ 1937 win against Collingwood – a whopping 70 years before the mighty team purred its way to 2007’s AFL premiership victory.
While most Cats fans are too young to remember the previous six Cats premierships, Mr James can attest to being alive for all of them.
He admits that 1925 and 1931 are a bit of a stretch, but can definitely recall the euphoria of the 1937 win.
“I was only about 13 or 14 when we won the flag from Collingwood in 1937, and I never went to the game, of course, because at that time I lived in Mildura,” he said.
“But I remember Geelong winning, and it went down at the time as one of the best grand finals ever played.”
Mr James said he inherited his love for Geelong from his father, despite having no birthrights in the city.
His siblings chose other teams.
“One of my brothers barracks for Carlton, one for North Melbourne, and my sister Hawthorn,” he said.
But Mr James was the only one smiling on Saturday.
The Dandenong RSL member kicked back with a few beers as the Cats demolished Port Adelaide by 119 points on Saturday afternoon.
“It has been 44 years (since the last premiership) and now I’m in my middle 80s, and I thought a while back now that I mightn’t have lived long enough to see Geelong win another flag,” he said.
“But I am now very confident we might do the same next year.”
A few more draughts to celebrate the victory and Mr James was on cloud nine.
“I was over the moon, really,” he said.
“I was a bit worried before the match because I thought the way Port Adelaide was playing that they would give us a bit of trouble.
“But it turned out to be the other way around, and it was just a walkover.
“I would like to have seen it a little bit closer, with Geelong still coming out winning.
“But I’m just happy we got up there.”
Mr James ranks Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer and Billy Goggin as the two best Geelong players of all time – a surprise for the latest generations of fans whose tongues are more familiar with the names of Brownless, Ablett and Hocking.
“The way they used to combine, Farmer was a great ruckman,” Mr James said.
“He would knock the ball down Billy Goggin’s throat and away Billy would go.
“They had a great combination going.”
