MEMBERS ON SPORTING STAGE - Melbourne Cricket Club
MEMBERS ON SPORTING STAGE - Melbourne Cricket Club
MEMBERS ON SPORTING STAGE - Melbourne Cricket Club
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CLUB NEWS<br />
THOMPS<strong>ON</strong>, OPAS<br />
DEPART MCG SCENE<br />
We lost two fi ne friends of the<br />
club and the ground with the<br />
recent passing of Lindsay<br />
Thompson and Phil Opas.<br />
A former Premier and long-time<br />
Education Minister, Mr Thompson<br />
was an MCG trustee for 32 years and<br />
chairman for 12 years until 1999. While<br />
he was not a member of the MCC, he<br />
was a great clubman, recognising the<br />
MCC’s role as part of a unique triangular<br />
arrangement with the government of<br />
the day and the MCG Trust in managing<br />
and maintaining the People’s Ground.<br />
Current trustee and MCC Honorary<br />
Life Member John Cain recalled Lindsay<br />
Thompson’s commitment to the ground.<br />
“The interests of the public were<br />
The MCC Foundation has<br />
continued the club’s longstanding<br />
support of junior sport<br />
through its links with AFL Victoria’s ‘G<br />
Footy initiative. This program aims to<br />
promote and develop the game in<br />
secondary schools across Victoria and the<br />
MCC is chief sponsor of both the MCC<br />
Herald Sun Shield and VSSSA State<br />
Championships.<br />
On August 2, the AFL Victoria MCC<br />
VSSSA State Championship fi nal was<br />
6 MCC NEWS<br />
DECEMBER 2008<br />
always uppermost in Lindsay’s mind,” he<br />
said. “He appreciated how people from all<br />
sides of politics had worked together for<br />
many years to create a culture that, I<br />
think, refl ected the public’s expectations<br />
of how the MCG should be run.”<br />
Phil Opas QC, a 50-year member, was<br />
a remarkable man. He served with<br />
distinction in World War II and later<br />
represented his country in war-torn<br />
Europe, recruiting skilled workers as<br />
migrants. As a youngster he was a good<br />
footballer, cricketer and athlete and in<br />
1956 managed the athletics competition at<br />
the <strong>Melbourne</strong> Olympics.<br />
He was admitted to the Bar in 1942 and<br />
most famously represented Ronald Ryan,<br />
the last man hanged in Victoria (1967).<br />
STR<strong>ON</strong>G SUPPORT<br />
FOR JUNIOR FOOTY<br />
played as a curtain-raiser to the<br />
Essendon-<strong>Melbourne</strong> match.<br />
In a high-standard contest, Box Hill<br />
Secondary College turned around<br />
a 29-point half time defi cit against<br />
Ballarat High School to take out their<br />
second consecutive state championship<br />
and sixth overall.<br />
The MCC Herald Sun Shield was a<br />
tough contest between Assumption<br />
College and Essendon Keilor College,<br />
played prior to the <strong>Melbourne</strong>-West<br />
Lindsay Thompson (right) with honorary<br />
librarian Rex Harcourt and Tony Charlton<br />
at an MCC function in 1987.<br />
Dr Opas protested Ryan’s innocence<br />
to the end and, 40 years on, would<br />
recite – at the drop of a hat – details of<br />
bullet projections and so on,<br />
enthusiastically putting his case to<br />
anyone who’d listen.<br />
Those lucky enough to be seated on<br />
an Opas table were privileged indeed.<br />
At 90, he attended last year’s<br />
preliminary fi nal and the grand fi nal<br />
won by his beloved Cats and returned<br />
yet again to the MCG for the fi rst two<br />
days of the Boxing Day Test.<br />
Coast clash on August 16. Essendon<br />
Keilor led by 27 points heading into the<br />
main break. However, Assumption<br />
College capitalised on their opposition’s<br />
wayward goalkicking to fi ght back and<br />
record a nail-biting six-point victory and<br />
tenth title.<br />
MCC president David Meiklejohn<br />
(above) and MCC committeeman<br />
Stephen Spargo (top) represented the<br />
club and presented the trophies to the<br />
winning teams.