Aust. Rules travels

Press, 11 October 1988, Page 38

Aust. Rules travels

NZPA-AAP London

As the cry of “Gaaawn Dipper” echoed around The Oval, many of the Australians present could be forgiven for breaking down and weeping with emotion.

Australian Rules giants, Hawthorn and Carlton, had come to town and for a few hours on Sunday The Oval, the world’s most famous cricket ground, was a small outpost of Australia, albeit an extremely grey, wet and windy one. “It's a typical Melbourne day," one of the many expatriate Australians present said as the rain bucketed down before the match.

There was plenty of

Fosters on sale, the voice of Lou “The Lip” Richards boomed through the Oval speakers and of course, the presence of the “Dipper” — the hulking, lantern-jawed figure of Hawthorn’s Robert DiPierdomenico — made the crowd of 10,500 feel very much at home. “This is our only chance to get a taste of life back home,” one Australian expatriate said.

Some local Londoners braved the outpouring of Australiana. “Our nextdoor neighbour’s a real fan of the game so we came along,” one said. “Maybe by the end we will have worked out the rules.” Hawthorn won the promotional Fosters Cup

match by 21 points, qualifying for a Toronto showdown with Collingwood, which won its match in Miami against Geelong. The Hawks, the reigning VFL champions, scored 9-14 (68) to the Blues 6-11 (47). Of the London newspapers, “The Guardian” provided the most extensive coverage. But it concluded that Australian Rules still had some way to go before it caught on in Britain. “On this subdued display, Aussie Rules — so desperate to follow Fosters Lager as the hype of the Eighties — is still a frog of great potential waiting for its prince to come.”