Alan came to Bridgenorth from City South (later South Launceston), a club widely regarded as one of the strongest in Tasmania. When he was appointed Senior Coach in 1967, he stepped into a very different world.
His first training night summed it up: 15 players showed up. That was it. But Alan didn’t flinch. He backed the club, backed the people, and slowly those numbers grew. That 1967 side finished fourth after the home-and-away season, and then caught fire when the finals arrived. The group was tightly bonded, and they played like it. Bridgenorth didn’t need to be told who they were playing for. They already knew.
And then came the semi-final that still gets talked about as the strangest game of football anyone can remember. Rain had flooded Rosevears’ ground, so a tribunal meeting during the week said the game would be shifted to Beaconsfield. Simple enough. Until Saturday arrived. Bridgenorth rolled into Exeter ready to play, only to be told there was no match there at all. The change hadn’t been signed off by the West Tamar Association, just the tribunal, so in hindsight, it wasn't binding.
Rosevears, thinking it was sorted, went to Beaconsfield anyway. The ball was bounced, they even kicked the first goal, but with no Bridgenorth captain on the ground, the game couldn’t officially start, and that goal meant nothing.
Back at Exeter, Bridgenorth had made their call. If there was going to be a game, it was going to be here. So they trained. No drama, no panic. Just a team getting on with the job. Eventually, Rosevears came back to Exeter, watched Bridgenorth go through their run, and started giving them a bit of stick. They thought the Parrots were done.
When the semi-final finally went ahead, the Parrots played like a team that had been doubted to their faces. They didn’t get distracted by the week or the mess around it, they got sharper. Tougher. More connected. They won the semi-final, and they earned it. From there, the group carried that edge into the Grand Final. In 1967, under Alan Pearson, Bridgenorth beat Beaconsfield to take the premiership.
Alan was later named in the 1925–1970 Bridgenorth All-Star Team on the half-back flank, a reminder that his contribution to the club wasn’t limited to one season. But 1967 stands tall. He speaks of Bridgenorth as a true family club, one that deserves the success it earns, and of a playing group that was close, united, and willing to stand up for the jumper.
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