Euroa V. Seymour (1879)
July 25th, 1879.
Come all ye jolly footballers,
Some news I have in store,
'Tis of a famous football match
'Tween Seymour and Euroa.
The Seymour team to Euroa came,
They were a wiry-looking lot,
They felt quite sure they'd win the game,
But they got it rather hot.
When I arrived upon the ground
The umpire called out "play."
A Seymour man with a terrible bound
Then carried the ball away.
But Gorman, once of Carlton fame,
Did follow in his track,
He knows well how to play the game,
And threw Seymour on his back.
Then Gribben seized upon the ball
And ran with might and main,
But a Seymour man gave him a fall
And took the ball again.
But Bullocky Wescott, stout and strong,
Put on a splendid spurt,
He threw the Seymour man headlong
And rolled him in the dirt.
Then Booth the well-known Corio crack
,
The ball monopolised,
Five Seoymour men got on his back
But he the lot capsized.
At length, De Groot did get the ball,
And amid a deafening roar
He sent it fair between the posts,
And scored goal for Seymour.
The battle now raged fierce and strong,
Each tries his level best.
The fat, the thin, the short, the long,
Are each put to the test.
The umpire, in stentorian tones,
Did then call out half-time,
And this I think will bring me to
The middle of my rhyme.
Some to DeBoos' shed disperse,
Some on the ground do lie.
Whilst a few begin to growl and groan,
And so the minutes fly.
Once more begins the tug of war,
Once more they make a start,
And Bricky darted at long Maher
And upset his apple cart.
And Maxfield, Jobling, Tytler, too,
Are like lions in the fray.
McLean and Saddler Howe both do
Good work for Euroa to-day.
Once more did Wescott overthrow
Young Wallace with a shove.
And Captain Barrett was laid low
By an extra push from Love.
Just then Booth got a splendid mark
At fifty yards or more.
He kicked it fair between the posts
And scared goal for Euroa.
Loud, long the cheers that greet this feat,
"Well done," a lady cries.
The Euroaites say "we are not beat,
And the Seymours look surprised.
Just then the umpire calls out time,
It ended in a draw,
So I rushed home to get some tea,
And of course saw nothing more.
J. NOBLE, Euroa.
Notes
From the Victorian Newspaper the Euroa Advertiser Friday 2 August 1907 p. 3.
An Old-Time Football Match.
To the Editor.
Dear Sir,--I am sending you a copy of a "poem" on the first football match ever played in Eoroa. The poem was composed
by J. Noble, who was one of the artillery men stationed here after the bank was robbed by the Kelly Gang. Some of the
men played in this match, and some of the old Euroaites will recognise their own names, and will remember the match,
which was played on the site of the Friendly Societies' ground, and I think some of the matches should be played there
now, as it is a good ground for football. Yours etc.,
Old Euroa.