By David Nagel
It was the year Jim ‘Frosty’ Miller went beserk, leading Berwick to the 1978 South West Gippsland Football League (SWGFL) premiership with an unbelievable 201-goal season.
After a glittering career with Dandenong, ‘Frosty’ moved to Berwick in 1977, playing under legendary coach Daryl Nisbet.
Miller would kick 81 goals, including 17 in the finals series that year, to lead the Wickers to a premiership victory over Chelsea Heights.
But it was in 1978 when Frosty would leave his imperial stamp on the SWGFL forever.
He would boot 236 goals for the season, with his 35 pre-season goals not included in his official tally at the end of the year.
Frosty kicked 175 goals in home-and-away football that year, and would slot two bags of seven – in the second semi and grand final – to take his SWGFL tally to 189 goals.
Throw in his 12 goals in interleague competition that year and ‘Frosty’ would tick over the 200-goal mark for the first and only time in league history.
He kicked his 100th goal, just after half time, in the round 13 fixture against Keysborough, and broke through the 200-goal barrier in the last quarter of the 1978 grand final, with the Wickers once again triumphant over Chelsea Heights.
The report from the day said Miller received a standing ovation from the record crowd in attendance, on a sometimes sunny, but often overcast, Sunday afternoon at Doveton.
“I probably had the same amount of shots as other years but I just kicked very straight,” Miller told the Gazette when interviewed back in 2014.
“I kicked 15.1 one day, I just couldn’t do a thing wrong with the kicking. It’s great to kick that many goals but it’s more the premierships that worry me.”
Miller would eight times kick double-figure goals that season with a best of 15 against Cranbourne in round 16.
He kicked 14 twice, against Hampton Park and South Belgrave, in rounds four and nine respectively, and rammed home 13 against Dingley in round 14.
He started the season in spectacular style, with a 12-goal haul against ROC, and kicked back-to-back bags of 11 in rounds 20 and 21 against South Belgrave and Devon Meadows.
His double-figure exploits were rounded out with a paltry 10-goal haul against Cranbourne in round five.
Miller has certainly left his mark on football, with the Jim ‘Frosty’ Miller Medal now presented to the leading goalkicker in the VFL competition each year.
Berwick/Jim ‘Frosty’ Miller – 1978 – Round by Round
Round 1
Berwick 26.17 (173) def ROC 8.10 (58) – Jim Miller 12.
Round 2
Berwick 18.16 (124) def Keysborough 9.14 (68) – Jim Miller 7.
Round 3
Berwick 14.10 (94) def Dingley 12.9 (81) – Jim Miller 6.
Round 4
Berwick 23.25 (163) def Hampton Park 10.16 (76) – Jim Miller 14.
Round 5
Berwick 27.10 (172) def Cranbourne 15.12 (102) – Jim Miller 10.
Round 6
Berwick 16.15 (111) def Chelsea Heights 14.7 (91) – Jim Miller 4.
Round 7
Berwick 18.6 (114) def Doveton 6.27 (63) – Jim Miller 5.
Round 8
Berwick 17.14 (116) def Narre Hallam 14.9 (93) – Jim Miller 7.
Round 9
Berwick 36.20 (236) def South Belgrave 6.8 (44) – Jim Miller 14.
Round 10
Berwick 20.24 (144) def Devon Meadows 15.7 (97) – Jim Miller 7.
Round 11
Berwick 16.21 (117) def Beaconsfield 17.10 (112) – Jim Miller 6.
Round 12
Berwick 17.21 (123) def ROC 7.17 (59) – Jim Miller 4.
Round 13
Berwick 17.9 (111) def Keysborough 9.16 (70) – Jim Miller 6.
Round 14
Berwick 22.20 (152) def Dingley 8.5 (53) – Jim Miller 13.
Round 15
8.14 (62) def Hampton Park 2.1 (13) – Jim Miller 4.
Round 16
Berwick 27.19 (181) def Cranbourne 8.11 (59) – Jim Miller 15.
Round 17
Berwick 11.11 (77) def by Chelsea Heights 17.8 (110) – Jim Miller 4.
Round 18
Berwick 11.15 (81) def by Narre Hallam 15.9 (99) – Jim Miller 4.
Round 19
Berwick 17.6 (108) def Doveton 6.4 (40) – Jim Miller 7.
Round 20
Berwick 25.16 (166) def South Belgrave 4.7 (31) – Jim Miller 11.
Round 21
Berwick 19.14 (128) def Devon Meadows 4.6 (30) – Jim Miller 11.
Round 22
Berwick 11.16 (82) def by Beaconsfield 15.15 (105) – Jim Miller 4.
Second Semi-Final
Berwick 21.14 (140) def Chelsea Heights 15.13 (103) – Jim Miller 7.
Grand Final
Berwick 16.19 (115) v Chelsea Heights 8.13 (61) – Jim Miller 7.
