Former yellow and blacks came roaring back to Longford on Saturday as members of the Tigers' 1966 reserves premiership team returned to the club to celebrate the team's 50 year reunion.
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A dozen of the flag-winning side gathered to relive old memories before watching Longford record a five-goal win over Bridgenorth in the seniors.
Flag winner Greg Blair said the 1966 side had entered the finals series as second or third favourites before claiming a 68-point win over City South in the grand final.
“I remember the build up because City South beat us in the second semi and they were probably the favourites,” Blair said.
“In the preliminary we played Scottsdale and we beat them very easily but we were building all the time and I still remember that week leading up to the grand final, (the feeling was) like “boys, it's really on this week, we've got a bit to prove here”.
“It was reasonably tough but City South only kicked one goal for the match.”
The Tigers side was relatively tall for its time, boasting at least seven players measuring up at six-foot-two or taller.
“There were two really big players - Melvin Arnold and John Hodgman - and they used to just crash the ball out of the centre, they were big men.
“They set the tone for the day but we had good players all over the ground.”
Blair said while not all the team had made it back for the reunion, the chance to catch up with old mates was a truly special experience.
“There's some sad stories, there's probably four or five of those people that have passed away but generally everyone looks pretty well.
“You don't realise how much you've missed some of those people until you see them again.”
