GLENORCHY'S Barry Strange is one of the greats of Tasmanian football.
But for a form players signed binding them to the state for two years, he almost certainly would have accepted one of two VFL offers to play with Carlton or South Melbourne in the late 1950s.
Strange, 68, played in six premierships for Glenorchy, won All-Australian selection and was a member of the Tasmanian side which beat Victoria at York Park in 1960.
He was among the inductees at the Hall of Fame Ball and Reunion at Wrest Point Casino on Friday October 25th 2002, which was organised by the club along with the New Town and Glenorchy Past Players and Officials Association.
Strange is delighted to see the introduction of the Hall of Fame.
"With Glenorchy now playing in different colours and calling itself the Storm, I think it's very important to remember the club's past players and achievements,'' he said this week.

Already named in the club's Team of the Century, Strange played 165 TFL games with the then Magpies between 1952 and 1965. His first coach at New Town was the legendary Roy Cazaly. "Roy was a gentleman off the ground, but a hard taskmaster on it,'' he recalled. "He was a strong coach who straightened out a lot of good players. In my first stint at the club, between 1952 and 1957, we played in every grand final but one.'' He cites the Melbourne Olympics year of 1956 as his best and it was certainly a golden one for him.

"I made Tasmania's side for the national carnival in Perth and with Geoff Long was fortunate enough to win an All-Australian blazer. "We finished third, beating South Australia and the VFA, just went down to Western Australia and put up a good fight against Victoria. "And I got to play on Ted Whitten, who was a bit of a mouth but had the talent and the toughness to back it up.'' To cap off a memorable season, New Town won a grand final thriller by three points against North Hobart to give the club its sixth TFL premiership in nine years.

Like he was in his playing days, Strange isn't backward in coming forward.
"I think Tasmanian footy these days has been hijacked by the AFL,'' he said.
"The formation of the Statewide League was the beginning of the end.
"The format we had with the three regional competitions, along with the intrastate series, was great because it produced the best footy in Tasmania and was seen by crowds of 15,000 to 20,000.''

By: DAVID STOCKDALE
The Mercury, Hobart.

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Barry Strange - A Tasmanian Football Legend