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Thanks for the providing some e-references frog. I was away and missed your PM. I'd also like to mention "A Game of Our Own" by Geoffrey Blainey 2003 and "A National Game" by Rob Hess etal 2008 (both well researched histories).
And you are both correct, my observation was not meant to be understood in legalistic but an historical sense. However I ahve emended my post so it now refers to allegations. I happily acknowledge that no has ever admitted that they took (or paid) bribes to ensure the result.
The remarkable 80+ point turnaround from one year to the next (with almost exactly the same personnel) may well ahve been completely unremarkable. It was however not the only questionable result from the early days of the VFL (and there had been a smell about South since before WWI).
The unusual thing in this case is that the allegations were made by two team mates with very good reputations. Nor were these back-of-the-hand rumours. Reville and Pratt actually confronted team mates over this issue.
And while all the Swans from that game are all now deceased (and therefore unlikely to litigate), it would take Blind-Freddy-like obtuseness to suggest that all was well within that team. Perhaps co-incidentally, there were quite a few changes in playing personel by the time the Swans contested the 1935 grand final (about a third in fact)
As Henry Thoreau once remarked "Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."
And you are both correct, my observation was not meant to be understood in legalistic but an historical sense. However I ahve emended my post so it now refers to allegations. I happily acknowledge that no has ever admitted that they took (or paid) bribes to ensure the result.
The remarkable 80+ point turnaround from one year to the next (with almost exactly the same personnel) may well ahve been completely unremarkable. It was however not the only questionable result from the early days of the VFL (and there had been a smell about South since before WWI).
The unusual thing in this case is that the allegations were made by two team mates with very good reputations. Nor were these back-of-the-hand rumours. Reville and Pratt actually confronted team mates over this issue.
And while all the Swans from that game are all now deceased (and therefore unlikely to litigate), it would take Blind-Freddy-like obtuseness to suggest that all was well within that team. Perhaps co-incidentally, there were quite a few changes in playing personel by the time the Swans contested the 1935 grand final (about a third in fact)
As Henry Thoreau once remarked "Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."
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