The old Box Hill

The above is a photo (click on it for larger version) of Box Hill Soccer Club from the 1928 season. The establishment of the Box Hill club began in 1922-23 with a team playing sporadic friendly matches. In 1925 the club was admitted to the new Fourth Division of the Victorian Amateur British Football Association. It was a successful season, the Championship clinched with ten wins out of twelve games leaving the club four points ahead of Brighton.

It was a barnstorming start for the pioneers of football in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, who took out the Third Division Championship in 1926. Eleven wins from fourteen games saw them finish two points clear of runner's-up Werribee United.

The following year was that of the District League schism. Box Hill were part of the District League, recognised as the official premier competition in Melbourne football. With one result missing (a game between Box Hill and St Kilda) my records have them level on points with Footscray Thistle and South Melbourne, four points behind Prahran City, the Champions. The inscription on the back of the above photograph lists the club as being runner's-up in the District League of 1927. With the weakest of the three teams on goal difference, a draw in the missing game would give them that position. Alternatively the game may have never been played and it maybe "equal runner's-up" would have been more accurate.

It may well be the latter, as it also lists them as being runner's-up in the District League Southern Division the following year. My records have them level with South Melbourne (but with an inferior goal difference), eleven points behind the Naval Depot who took the Championship.

With the split between the District League and Melbourne District Association resolved, 1929 saw Box Hill competing in the new Second Division, finishing fourth behind Caledonians. Winning the Second Division in 1931 led to a stint in the First Division which ended with relegation in 1935. The club competed through the early years of World War II until going into hiatus from 1942.

Returning to action in 1945 in the expanded top flight, steady improvement each year culminated with Box Hill taking out the First Division Championship in 1948. It would be a mainstay at the top level until 1962.

In the 1928 photo, there are only ten players, perhaps because "selfies" hadn't been invented yet. At the time the club was playing on a ground at the corner of Springfield and Dorking (then Doncaster) Roads in Box Hill North which literally was a cow paddock during the week.

The next picture is of a letter (with neat letterhead) from Box Hill to the Moorabbin City club regarding the possible move of R.Rigby between the clubs. It is from the Olympic year of 1956 when the club finished seventh in the First Division won by Juventus on goal difference from Hakaoh.

The old Box Hill went through an early 1980's revival before a downturn in fortunes eventually led to a merger with Clayton Inter. A further merger with Bulleen which formed Bulleen Inter Kings in 1997 saw the link to Box Hill disappear. Junior and women's clubs continued to play out of the Wembley Park ground, and a merger between them and Southern Suburbs in 2011 saw senior men's football return to the district with the formation of Box Hill United.

The Good and Bad of the NPL Victoria

With the opening round done and dusted it's an opportune time to consider what worked and what didn't as the season got underway.

Good

Crowds, most notably at Olympic Village where more than 3000 witnessed Heidelberg United v South Melbourne. Two clubs with tradition and a strong rivalry. Had the original vision of a zonal NPLV with generic clubs/consortia come to pass, would SE1 v N2 or NW1 v S2 have been able to draw comparable figures?

Bad

Sprinklers coming on during the game and causing an abandonment between Whittlesea Ranges and Kingston City. Even in one of the more modern NPLV venues, things can go wrong and despite the attempts to increase professionalism across the board, we may not have made the great leap forward just quite yet.

Good

Radio commentary on NPLV LiveCast. Solid coverage judging by the opening game. If you can't get to a match, a radio call should suffice. If you really want to watch a match, get to it. Video live streaming games to an audience of 30 or 40 for a match that may only attract a few hundred spectators is counter-productive. Radio is the way to go, I say.

Bad

Suspended player controversy, as revealed by South of the Border. Another black mark against the administration, especially if the club queried the FFV and was told the player was eligible to play.

Good

Both NPL Victoria and NPLV1 leagues getting the full FFV match commissioner treatment of team sheets posted on twitter as well as live match updates. A few games being filmed and highlights packages hitting the internet rather promptly. Excellent.

Bad

Only 40 NPL badges for shirts being allocated to each club. That covers a senior home kit and a senior away kit. What about the junior teams? Are they not NPL elite as well?

Good

After getting the Alex Ferguson hair-dryer treatment from the FFA, the FFV are promoting the League as if their life depended on it. Which is a nice change. Maybe now we can get somewhere if they and the clubs start pulling in the same direction.

Bad

Player Points System transparency. How is it being managed? With a suspensions shambles already arising, how can we be sure teams are meeting the PPS Cap? Should there be a list of players and their points value open to all? Maybe people can keep tabs on things through that? At the moment the whole thing seems to be shrouded in secrecy.

Good

It's nice to be able to go to see some local football again. Melbourne Knights v Northcote City was an exciting game, with a cracking goal from Marino Gasparis. Plenty of goals at Richmond v Box Hill United, even if they didn't go the right way from my perspective. Good crowd at the Veneto Club for Bulleen Lions v Moreland Zebras, with a couple of tidy goals for the home side.