Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 4 March 1948, page 18


SPORTS DJARY

I FOOTBALL |

O pen in g-of-seo son Preparations

the weeks rolling by, cricket . almost over, and time rapidly moving on towards the first scratch matches foot-ball hives are beginning to buzz after their summer leth-argy, annual re-unions are be-ing held, and clubs are getting ready for that all-important first bounce" on April 17. With a visit pending from a Victorian side, it should be a great sea-

son.

Having broken the drought by winning the premiership aftei 30 years, South Fremantle will start the season brimful ot confidence and some of the club's officials go so far as to say that this year's competition will be merely a knock-out af-fair between the other seven clubs to determine who will be the team to play South off in the grand final. Brave words, no doubt, but with South likely to be stronger than ever, not without considerable signi-ficance.

Because South Fremantle and East Perth will tour the East-ern States this year they will begin the season with a match a week before the other clubs play their first games.

New Coaching Appointments

(ROACHING appointments tc

the eight clubs ma ve mostly | been completed, newcomers in this capacity this year being Austin Robertson, who will again coach Perth, George Moloney, who will return to coach Claremont, Fred Wil-liams, who will coach Subiaco, and W. ("Billy") Kingsbury, who will go to Bassendean.

Perth's appointment of Austin Robertson should not be con-sidered in any sense a slight to .Tubby" Weiland. «Tubby" did well with the team, last year, and probably would have been certain of re-appointment had not Austin Robertson , returned from Melbourne. Robertson is too good a man to pass over and Weiland can go back to his Juniors in. the knowledge that he did a grand job for Perth last year and got his team into the final. Austin, Robertson's job is to try to go one better this year. ^

j The appointment of Fred Wil-liams at Subiaco is an expres-sion of confidence in a grand player. Subiaco carne with a

¡late run after a tardy start last ¡season and gave the impression

that it could be a force to be reckoned with this year. The appointment of Williams will scotch once and for all the ugly rumours that got about last year when it was being said ithat Williams had not done his

{best in the last match between ; Subiaco and Perth. Williaihs certainly had" an off-day, but that was no reason why his character should have been be-smirched by irresponsible per-sons who showed how ready they were to Condemn where previously they had almost screamed their applause.

Crowd psychology is certainly Sard to understand at times.

SWANS COACH RELAXES:

In between football seasons

Swans new coach, Billy Kingsbury, is never happier than

when filling in time at the beach with his wife and family. ! Picture shows Bill-bronzed and burly-Marcia (16 I months), Mrs. Kingsbury and Gale (aged three) '

sunbathing after an ocean dip.

Only the other day at Head-|

quarters racecourse an am-bulance and its crew rushing in their errand of mercy to the aid!

of two injured jockeys, were j actually hooted by a section of the crowd. The ambulance may) have been a little tardy arriving on the scene, but for a -crowd I to hoot an ambulance just does not add up.

But that is by the Way. To re-turn to Williams, all football sportsmen will wish him the best of luck with the Maroons, the only league team he has ever known.

In throwing in his lot with Swans, "Billy" Kingsbury will return to the magpie colours he knows so well. In a way it will be something like the

Wanderer returning to the fold. -"Bill" Kingsbury learnt his ' football with Kalgoorlie, the "Magpies" of the Çastern Gold-

fields, and played many sterl- |

ing games in the black-andwhite jersey before he was transferred to Perth-^he is a traveller for a confectionery firm-and joined up with West

Perth.

The Tigers will welcome George Moloney back. With his vast knowledge and experi-ence and great popularity with the team, Moloney is the ideal coach. The club will be back on its home ground again this

year and with Moloney at the , training helm it will be like old times again at Claremont.