FINAL 1977 B Grade Waratahs v Hillgrove
Armidale Waratahs (The Tahs) | March 06, 2026
The B grade Final in Armidale in early March of 1977 is proof that deep batting and big hundreds are not always the stuff of excitement and nail biting finishes. In a game where no team scored more than 84 - it was in fact scored three times and the odd innings out was 83 - Hillgrove and Waratahs played a game right down to the thinnest of wire.
Michael Connolly
It was also a game that would feature three of Waratahs finest, at a time when they were exciting prospects only two seasons from debuting in the A grade. Michael Connolly (#293), Tim Muldoon (#296) and Graham Frost (#333) would go onto to have stellar careers for Waratahs, scoring more than 12,000 runs between them, taking more than 351 wickets and holding 256 catches.
They were genuinely the achetypal local juniors who joined in their early teens and blazed their way to the top grade. All three played interdistrict for Armidale and Connolly's career took him as far as first grade with the legendary St George, where his name appears on one of the pickets at Hurstville Oval.
In this season, however, they were just kids in short pants with promise. Connolly and Muldoon both had more than 40 wickets in single figures. In the last game of the regular season, Muldoon had taken 8-53 against Uralla and Connolly's last two outings had netted him 7-52 and then in the semi against The Armidale School, 7-22. They were just three of an ethusiastic bunch under the guidance of seniors Ian Campbell (#212), Syd Philp (#269) and Brian Joice (#218) at various points of the season and here they were in the Final.
Waratahs batted first, skipper Philp opening and denying Hillgrove with his unique, gloveless defence which sought drop the ball at his feet and not hand away his wicket. He watched five of his young charges leave before he was bowled for the innings top score. Frost was one of them, caught and bowled without scoring. 84 all out seemed indefensible.
Graham Frost
At 6-40 in reply, Waratahs looked at least to be able to bat a second time with a lead but Lawrence stepped up for Hillgrove until Connolly dispatched him and when Howard Munday was caught by McDougall from Lyndon Strong (#337), the game was tied after twenty wickets.
Second time around, Peter Baillie (#331) top scored after being not out in the first innings but Lawrence was again too much for them and 83 a paltry target. Frost got a second duck - again at the hands of Lawrence - becoming the only Waratahs player to get a pair in a Final.
The nature of the game to that point should have pointed to what was to follow, as Hillgrove quickly slumped to 4-22, Muldoon and Connolly on point and creating havoc. Gary Hamilton and Morgan reversed the trend, adding 35 but 4-57 was soon 7-64 as John Briggs (#332) removed both and then Schumacher for a duck.
When David Wheaton bowled Waters, Hillgrove still needed 5 to win and it was Hillgrove legend in the making, Frank Tanner - whose son Mark "Spanner" Tanner would create heroics in the tail of Waratahs 1st grade fifteen years later - who did the buisness among loud appeals not given, and leg byes that would be denied a more deadly outcome. Hillgrove won by 2 wickets.
Heartbreak is a common theme in Waratahs Finals appearances but luckily, these young hearts had not experienced it enough - yet - to be disillusioned.
Waratahs v Hillgrove - B Grade FINAL, 5th & 6th March 1977
