Buckets and bins were distributed. Then the players moved forward in their line, picking up sticks and stones until they reached the opposite end.
Alan Morrow, a 1960s Saints ruckman, said the players did an "emu bob", which is an Australian slang term for bending over to pick up litter. "We got barrow-loads of rubbish," he told afl.com.au.
The Saints' response to their ground problem was a down-home solution to what was a big deal for the club. The Saints and the St Kilda Cricket Club had fallen out over the footy club's wish for improvements to their shared venue, the Junction Oval.
The footy club's president and vice-president, Graham Huggins and Ian Drake, responded to the Moorabbin City Council's entreaties and moved to the bayside suburbs. The plans caused uproar, but the Saints were determined to create a better home, where they had more say in ground management, while opening up the gates to supporters in the south-east suburbs.
The Saints were not the only club to make their debut at a new home in a momentous opening round. North Melbourne played its first game at the Coburg City Oval while Richmond played its first game as a co-tenant at the MCG.
At Hawthorn's Glenferrie Oval, Ron Barassi made his debut as captain-coach after a huge kerfuffle over his decision to leave Melbourne for the Blues.
The final two games had nothing particularly hanging on them, but even they turned out to be beauties. Geelong defeated Footscray by two points, while Essendon defeated lowly Fitzroy by just 22 points, a margin that questioned the Bombers' premiership credentials.
Then there were the attendance records. The crowd at Moorabbin for the clash against Collingwood was 51,000, a figure that would never be topped. The crowd at Glenferrie for Barassi's debut was 36,000, also a record that would never be topped.
These two games were played on Easter Saturday, as was Fitzroy's match at Brunswick Street. Three other three games were played on Easter Monday. Conditions were wet to atrocious on both days, but you could barely ask for more storylines from a round of football.
The newspapers of the time were surprisingly muted. There was no reference to the round's historic nature; there was not even an acknowledgement of the record crowds.
With the passage of time, however, there must be little doubt that the opening round of 1965 is the most momentous in the history of the VFL/AFL.
Ian Synman, the Saints' 1960s centre half-back, said there was a traffic jam as he tried to nose his car towards Moorabbin for the first time on a game day. "I remember driving into the car park," he said. "It was nearly full. From memory, I don't think the players even had their own parks."
In those days, there was just a grandstand and no social club at Moorabbin. When the players ran onto the ground, there was an enormous roar. Saints fans had come to see their team knock off the runner-up from the previous season.
Synman lined up on Magpies first-gamer Peter McKenna and kept him kickless. St Kilda's ruck division was on top, while rover Ross Smith revelled in the wet and windy conditions.
St Kilda held sway until Collingwood coach Bob Rose made several positional changes late in the third quarter. Collingwood kicked five goals and swept to the lead after what The Age described as "a series of physical clashes in which fists and elbows were used freely".
The last quarter was a desperate slog before St Kilda triumphed by six points. Smith was clearly best on ground.
North Melbourne's move from its traditional home base at Arden Street was less adventurous than St Kilda's venture into the southern badlands. North had a fan base in the Broadmeadows area but it chose to go to Coburg even though the area was home to many Carlton and Essendon supporters.
The move caused casualties even before the season had started. Roos coach Allan Killigrew disagreed with the move and voiced his opposition to secretary Leo Schemnitz. An impasse developed and the two stopped talking. Schemnitz resigned on the eve of the season. He was replaced by 19-year-old Ron Joseph.
The Roos' opening game was against South Melbourne. It marked Bob Skilton's debut as the Swans' captain-coach. While West Adelaide recruit Bert Johnson was impressive for the Roos, Skilton sizzled for the Swans.
North Melbourne kicked 12 behinds in admittedly sodden conditions before they managed a goal. South Melbourne kicked 1.4 in the final quarter while holding the Roos goalless. The Swans' victory by 10 points was worth several more goals on a dry ground. Skilton ended up with 35 kicks.
North Melbourne struggled at Coburg for the rest of the season.
Richmond's move to the MCG was a seamless affair, at least on the surface. The move made sense given that the Tigers' ground, the Punt Road Oval, was in the bottom corner of Yarra Park while the MCG was in the centre of Yarra Park, a few hundred metres away.
During the off-season, however, Richmond had believed it was a big chance to lure Barassi to Tigerland as playing coach. Richmond coach Len Smith had even offered to step back and become the assistant coach if the club could lure Barassi to Tigerland.
Barassi was interested, but Richmond president Ray Dunn pulled the pin on talks because he did not want to jeopardise discussions with Melbourne over sharing the MCG.
Neville Crowe, the Richmond captain in 1965, said the players were pleased to leave behind the poky Punt Road Oval to play every second week at the most famous sports stadium in Australia.
"It was a fantastic opportunity," he said. "The Tigers players were thrilled to bits to be running on to the MCG."
The opening-round match was fittingly between the co-tenants. Len Smith was coaching against his brother Norm. Richmond faced a tough task against the reigning premier. The Tigers gave everything only to fall short by six points.
Barry Richardson made his debut with Richmond that day, playing at full-forward against Tassie Johnson. Richardson's main memory, besides struggling to get a kick, was the reception of Len Smith at the top of the race.
Smith was keen to congratulate his team for its effort against the might of Melbourne. "He said well done to every player," said Richardson, who found it a curious experience having come from St Patrick's College, Ballarat, where victory was demanded in every match.
The main story was the buzz over Barassi after the upheavals of summer. When the announcement had been made that he was leaving Melbourne for the Blues, supporters of all clubs cried into their scarves in mourning for what they believed was the passing of club loyalty. The emotion surrounding his switch created an intense focus on his first game in navy blue.
Barassi said this week he was unable to remember much from the match other than he had had no a particular influence as a player. He also remembered his relief at starting out with a win.
When told that his Carlton debut had prompted 36,000 fans to squeeze into the ground often referred to as the Sardine Can, he said: "Really? Well, I'll be."
The Age described Carlton in that match as "revitalised and highly disciplined" while Hawthorn was "a struggling set of ineffective individuals". "Every supporter of the Blues must agree that what has happened in these past months has been in the best interests of Carlton," the newspaper said.
The Blues had no trouble accounting for the Hawks by 37 points.
At Kardinia Park, Footscray's playing coach Ted Whitten threw himself between centre half-forward and centre half-back in his attempt to lift his team over the line. The Cats' young ruckman John Newman, in his second year, was among his team's best as the Cats scraped home.
At Brunswick Street, Essendon was sluggish in seeing off Fitzroy, which had failed to score a victory the previous season. Bomber fans need not have worried. At the end of the season, their team won the flag.
Round one 1965
Hawthorn 8.6 (54) v Carlton 12.19 (91)
St Kilda 8.12 (60) v Collingwood 8.6 (54)
Fitzroy 8.16 (64) v Essendon 11.18 (84)
North Melbourne 4.12 (36) v South Melbourne 6.10 (46)
Geelong 5.5 (35) v Footscray 5.4 (33)
Richmond 6.5 (41) v Melbourne 7.5 (47)
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
