Scorpions return to winning days

By Cam Scott
WHILE it hasn’t been at the peak of its success as a club for the past few years, the Scorpions VFL side formerly the Springvale Scorpions returned to past days of glory on Sunday, at a huge premiership reunion luncheon.
Nearly 200 invited guests filled the Scorpions’ social club at its Newcomen Road home base, with premiership players from the 1965, 1975 and 1995 squads celebrating past glories with some even flying in from interstate to attend the function.
While the Scorpions make a point of celebrating 10year reunions of all premiership sides, the super Sunday celebration injected some of the historic dominance of the Scorpions back into the club.
All three premiership eras celebrated on Sunday have their own special significance, with the club’s reserve sides also winning in 1975 and 1995, while 1965 was just a special year according to current Scorpions general manager Brian Woodman.
The Springvale boys, after winning their way into a grand final, had to wait another month until they could actually play off for the flag, after enduring three preliminary finals to see who they would play.
Glenhuntly and East Malvern tied twice in their preliminary final shootout to enter the grand final, and on the third occasion the match was played, scores were tied until deep in the last term. Glenhuntly eventually prevailed by twopoints.
Mr Woodman said the epic finals series took its toll on the Glenhuntly side, but it was one for the Scorpions to remember.
“They were so exhausted. Everyone thought Springvale would have gone flat after the time off, but the reverse occurred and we won,” he said.
That memory was one of many shared in a bustling social club throughout the afternoon, with celebrations akin to those of the past premierships taking place after the modernday Scorpions belted archrivals the Frankston Dolphins in front of the legendary crowd.
Former clubcaptain, 1995 premiership player and icon of the club Jason Caples said that the first of his four premiership reunions was a great day.
“When I first walked in, I saw guys that I haven’t seen since the premiership,” he said.
“It’s just good to catch up with people you haven’t seen for a long time, and it was also really good to hear the 1975 and 1965 guys talking about their wins. So it was good to also get the chance to see and meet a couple of them.”