I probably would have worked for The Truth newspaper back in the 1970s. It just seemed a little more ‘out there’ than everything else.
You had your standard media covering footy – Channel Seven, the ABC, and the Melbourne newspapers – The Sun, The Herald, and The Age, but The Truth was a weekly paper that was a little more outlandish. And saying “a little” is like saying Patrick Cripps might have got a little more than the average number of votes in the 2024 Brownlow.
Ah yeah… the Brownlow.
The Truth may have ceased to exist in 1993, but for a while there, both it and The Sporting Globe had a big foothold in sports-mad Melbourne – enough that it was able to negotiate an awards night of their own on Channel Nine (and later, Channel Ten) to rival the Brownlow Medal – The Golden Cazaly Awards.
It was held on the Monday before the Grand Final – sound familiar?
You can still find clips of the 1978 Golden Cazalys on Youtube, complete with the same horrendous fashion we saw at the Brownlow, but it is one thing to establish an award and it is another to gain credibility. How was this award meant to stand against the then-VFL-endorsed Brownlow?
The obvious answer, with the benefit of history, is that it couldn’t.
But boy… it gave it a shake!
From a players’ perspective, the Cazaly Awards carried with them something that the Brownlow didn’t – cash! By 1980, the winner pocketed $8,000 on the night, with the runner up receiving $3K.
It may not sound like much now, but you were buying good houses in Melbourne for $50K back then, so keep that in mind.
The winner of the Golden Cazaly received the most, obviously, but there were also incentives for players to win the Silver Cazalys. These were presented to the most popular player, as per a supporter vote, for each team. And the Cazaly version of the All-Australian team was announced, as well – they all received Silver Cazaly Awards.
Not a bad setup – probably ahead of its time.
Anyway, records for these awards are difficult to track down – I was lucky enough to enlist the help of the State Library of Victoria, and a librarian there named David, who went above and beyond to source information for me – thank you, mate.
Below is a list of Gold Cazaly Winners from the years 1973 through to 1981.
We’ll list the Brownlow Medallists along with them, and you can tell me whether they were deserving winners of the gold.
1973
Gold Cazaly – Kevin Bartlett
Runner Up – Leigh Matthews
Brownlow – Keith Greig
Runner Up – Graham Moss
Interesting – Bartlett is held in such high regard in the footy world for a very good reason, and there were many who believed he was the standout player of the season. Greig won the Brownlow, but with Bartlett and Matthews as 1-2 in the Cazaly Awards, you have to think they were doing something right.
1974
Gold Cazaly – Kevin Bartlett
Runner Up – Leigh Matthews
Brownlow – Keith Greig
Runner Up – Gary Hardeman
Second verse – almost the same as the first, with KB pocketing his second award (and some mighty fine cash) and Lethal sitting just below him.
1975
Gold Cazaly – Leigh Matthews/Sam Newman
Brownlow – Gary Dempsey
Runner Up – Stan Alves
Now, this is interesting. Lethal gets his nod as the best player in the game, but I reckon there’d be a few who raise their eyebrows at Newman being assessed as the equal-best player in the game, right? Wake up, bozos – you don’t play 300 games and make the team of the century because you’re no good. Newman was a beast. Jump onto AFL tables and check out his 75 season – 20+ disposals as a ruck in 13 of his 20 games.
1976
Gold Cazaly – Graham Moss
Runner Up – Greg Wells/Gary Dempsey
Brownlow – Graham Moss
Runner Up – Peter Knights
A consensus across the two awards, but I am loving the quality at the top of both. Knights was a star – a golden boy of the league and would go on to be runner up twice in the Brownlow. Meanwhile, Greg Wells is a name I haven’t heard in a long time. I remember him running around for the Dees, but I was a bit young at this stage. And Demps… I love Demps.
1977
Gold Cazaly – Leigh Matthews
Runner Up – Kevin Bartlett
Brownlow – Graham Teasdale
Runner Up – Kevin Bartlett
Bam – a second Cazaly for Lethal, sitting him right at the top with KB, who was close to a third. Poor old KB – runner up in the Cazaly and the Brownlow. Maybe he should have worn a better suit to the Brownlow? Teasdale’s brown velvet tyx is the lasting memory of that night.
1978
Gold Cazaly – Garry Wilson
Runner Up – Val Perovic
Brownlow – Malcolm Blight
Runner Up – Peter Knights
Now, here is a winner I love – the other “flea” of the VFL. Garry Wilson was a star, but the lack of recognition and the lax All-Australian team selection process at the time means he is forgotten by too many. With his little helmet and a hardness you would not expect from a smaller player, he was a favourite of many Lions supporters.
Also, Val Perovic! WOOF! Would not have picked that.
1979
Gold Cazaly – Gary Dempsey
Runner Up – Wayne Harmes
Brownlow – Peter Moore
Runner Up – Garry Wilson
Two rucks taking out the big awards. Moore was something else – when people comment about modern rucks and the way they cover the ground, a quick trip down memory lane to watch Peter Moore usually opens a few eyes. He was like a greyhound in a Great Dane’s body.
And then you had Dempsey. Thai was his first year at North – man, I loved watching this bloke play. Dominated the ruck, and just controlled games by dropping a kick behind the play and clunking marks. Was the record holder for marks until Nick Riewoldt played 336 games to eclipse him.
1980
Gold Cazaly – Kelvin Templeton/Gary Dempsey
Runner Up – Leigh Matthews
Brownlow – Kelvin Templeton
Runner Up – Merv Neagle
Another year with equality… almost, with Dempsey picking up Cazaly number two. He had one game where he had 22 marks… freak! You also have to remember these games were ALL out in the elements. No pristine conditions for a big man to thrive in. Demps, and all the rucks in this era, did the work.
I also love seeing my old neighbour, Merv Neagle, get a mention. Never forgotten.
1981
Gold Cazaly – Rod Ashman (Carlton)
Runner Up – Geoff Raines (Richmond)
Brownlow – Bernie Quinlan/Barry Round
Runner Up – Rod Ashman
And the final year of the Cazaly Awards saw Rod Ashman get up. Like Garry Wilson, this bloke carved teams to bits – he is one of the reasons Carlton were so good in this period. As a rover, he kicked 41 goals in 1981… 41 bloody goals!!! With 20+ disposals and 2+ goals in ten games, he was a very worthy winner.
And a year after perhaps the biggest Brownlow snub in history, Geoff Raines backed up to finish second in the Cazaly. I’m sure Ashman doesn’t think so, but those who run the Cazaly awards would have loved him to win, just to stick it to the VFL, a little more.
And so, instead of the Cazaly Awards, we now have the ALFPA awards and the AFLCA awards. We have media awards that half the providers don’t even remember.
I would have loved to see these awards continue, but for whatever reason (nice research there, HB), there were done long before I was even permitted to stay up and watch them. An award to rival the Brownlow would have been nice – it may have even resisted the lure of handing it to a midfielder every single year.
Probably not, though. 🙂
You can watch the 1978 awards HERE.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. It is a labour of love for me, and having you guys as members of the site basically keeps me going. So sincerely… thank you – HB
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