The teams were playing for the Ron Barassi Jnr Trophy, in a tradition that began when Barassi moved to Carlton and had to coach against Norm Smith for the very first time, in 1965. The trophy lapsed in the early 1970s, but was restored to prominence by what was the last home and away game at Princes Park in Round Nine, 2005, with Melbourne taking out the honours by three goals.
The trophy is a silent symbol of a time of massive change in the Barassi story that in turn had impact throughout the game. Having left Melbourne after its twelfth premiership in 1964, he headed to the other side of the city to coach and play for Carlton. In Round Eight, 1965, with his foster father Norm Smith still at the helm of the red and blue, Barassi’s Blues came up against the Demons. It was billed as a classic ‘master vs apprentice’ scenario. The relative standings of both sides at this stage of the season - Melbourne undefeated, Carlton having suffered just two losses out of seven - meant that it was a fascinating contest in its own right.
Of course, the human drama element made it even more intriguing. Barassi had had to fight to get a clearance from Melbourne, with this battle overlapping the early part of his time at the Blues. He was combining coaching with playing, and had taken his competitive instinct to his new club in full measure - plus some. ‘I was determined to get it right’, he says. He introduced new training regimes, ran a ‘football school’ for the team, and gave the Carlton side a sense of structure that had hitherto been lacking. Now Barassi had to face the ultimate challenge - taking on Melbourne. ‘It was hard - and I always knew it would be hard the first time, and I didn’t have a great game myself, but it had to be done.’
Pre-game theatrics involved extensive newspaper coverage, including a special photo shoot involving both Smith and Barassi. Then, on the day, Smith got the upper hand over Barassi from the beginning. ‘We were all revved up, out on Princes Park, and Smithy kept the Melbourne players off the ground until that was all everyone was focused on. We had been fired up, but he won that round.’ That was indeed the case, but there was a long way to go until the final siren.
It was a huge match by any measurement. In the parallel encounter in 1964 - a two goal win to Melbourne - 17,831 had attended. This time, there were 41,561 squeezed into the stands. They saw Barassi fly off to a brilliant start, crash Brian Dixon out of the game at half time with a shoulder injury, and show that, while the Blues were not a powerhouse just yet, the future was bright. Fifteen points behind at quarter time, and three goals adrift at the long break, only ten points separated the two sides heading into the last quarter, before Melbourne stormed away to a 37 point victory. It was vehement, but not overwhelming.
‘I learned a lot from that experience’, muses Barassi. While the remainder of his debut season was marred by injury, he went on to make his imprint on Carlton in spectacular fashion in the seasons that followed.
In 1968, still combining captaincy and coaching - although splitting the captaincy duties with Blues great John Nicholls - Barassi led Carlton to its first flag since 1947. In 1970 - by now solely in the role of coach - Barassi repeated the feat. Meanwhile, in the ten Smith vs Barassi encounters that followed the inaugural meeting of 1965, Barassi emerged triumphant in nine. Indeed, Melbourne’s win against Carlton in Round Eight, 1965, was a rare bright light as fortunes changed. There were only two more victories for the Demons in 1965, set against the background of rare turmoil and the temporary sacking of Norm Smith. Reinstated, Smith’s Demons finished seventh. Barassi’s Blues finished sixth. The words of Barassi in the aftermath of Smith’s sacking ring loud even today; evidence of the loyalty and depth of attachment between the two. ‘What success I’ve had has been mostly due to the fact that I’ve improved as a player and Norm has been instrumental in this…he’s been like a father to me.’
The Ron Barassi Jnr trophy went on to form part of an exhibition at the National Museum of Australia. It is actually the first of two trophies instituted in the Barassi name. The other is named in honour of Ronald Snr, who was killed at Tobruk, and has formed part of commemorations when Melbourne and Sydney- another of ‘Barassi’s clubs’, along with North Melbourne - have taken each other on around Anzac Day.
