Ash Watson among GV sons of guns

By Rohan Aldous

Jun 25, 2023

More to come?: Rochester coach Ash Watson is a second-generation star with the Tigers and, with children of his own, the connection of the family to the club remains well and truly alive. Photo by Bianca Mibus

Rochester football’s long and distinguished list of father-son products stands as testament to the ability of the sport to capture multi-generational attention.

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Inside Tuesday’s edition of the Campaspe News Editor Rohan Aldous takes a stab, with a little help from his friends, at naming a modern-day Goulburn Valley league team whose fathers played senior football in the highly regarded country league.

The only selection criteria is that members of the teams on pages 18 and 19 must have a direct connection to current GVL players.

Any attempt to name all of Rochester’s father-son duos would be going down a very deep rabbit hole indeed, but we could not resist a little nostalgia by quickly mentioning a few of the most decorated father-son combinations of the past.

One of the ultimate connections comes via current Tigers coach Ash Watson, winner of the league’s Morrison Medal in 2015 and a premiership player with the club.

Watson is a GVL Hall of Fame member, played the first of his 300-plus senior games as a 15-year-old in the Bendigo league and was coach of the club’s only Under-18 premiership team.

Ash played 200 games and has taken on the task of leading the club in arguably its toughest season of football, following the flood of October 2022.

Rob Aitken came to the club as a star Hawthorn Under-19 and reserves player on a short-term clearance, but never left. He has led the club on and off the field, watching on as son Heath became a teenager premiership player and mid-field star.

There are too many others to mention, as there are throughout the league.

Some sons who have repeated the exploits of their fathers inlcude Seymour’s 1991 Wilf Cox Medallist Glenn Cole and VCFL captain son Jason, Des Campbell and sons Blake and Brad (stints with Tongala, Kyabram, Shepparton, Mooroopna and Shepparton United), Jock and Marcus Spencer (Shepparton United), along with Dick and Paul O’Bree (Euroa), Stephen and Lachie Ash (Shepparton).

Tuesday’s two-page GVL Data feature has the teams we have come up with and I’m certain they’ll create their fair share of debate throughout the region.