By Jonty Ralphsmith
It was a trip down memory lane for many of the old Springvale Scorpions on Saturday.
Prior to Springvale Districts’ Southern League clash with Port Melbourne Colts…the Scorpions had a few reunions.
There was effectively three generations of footballers in the room, with a trio of surviving members from the 1963 side in attendance with premiership players from the 1983 and 1998 premiership teams.
Among those was Ben De La Rue, who was hit with a wave of nostalgia driving in to the Newcomen Road facility for the first time in, he estimates, 20 years.
“It felt like home again in a unique sort of way,” De La Rue said.
“We were a close-knit playing group which is probably why we were so successful.
“For many years we spent 11 months a year together.
“There’s a few I’m in regular contact with, but there’s a lot I haven’t seen for a long time.”
The Springvale Scorpions’ history takes a route through the Casey Demons’ VFL program.
Casey changed its name to the Scorpions in late 2016 after Springy had relocated to Casey and competed in the VFL competition.
Springvale’s a club that has long had to work harder than most for their wins – a theme still true today for a club which has no junior program.
Entering both the 1983 and 1998 grand finals, they were underdogs, but the Scorpions won against Brunswick in 1983 by 17 points and over Werribee by 38 points in 1998.
The win over Werribee came after a win by less than a goal in the preliminary final against North Ballarat.
“The expectation was you would train hard and play hard,” De La Rue said.
“Externally we were underdogs, but internally there was this air of confidence that we had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“There was relief after the siren that we had achieved something special.
“The great Michael Jeffs got up and gave his famous catchcry of ‘never ever write off the Scorpions’ and it was so true.
“That’s what the footy club was based on: determination, grit, skill.
“We felt like we didn’t have the money, but we had something unique which was on show on Saturday with the character and soul.”
De La Rue was a hard-at-it midfielder and was part of a glorious stretch of three flags in the 1990s for the Scorpions.
His son, Kade, is on AFL clubs’ radars, playing good footy at the Dandenong Stingrays.
Nephew, Tahj, is also with the Stingrays and is impressing in Pakenham’s senior team.
Springvale Districts won the Southern League clash concurrent to the reunions.
