1978 The year it was

[smithy]

Pat TOCACIU - Did he go to Centrals ?

For some reason I always used to try and look for his name first in the "scrambled player" competition that used to run in one of the newspapers at the time.

I think it was called scrambled or jumbled player competition.

[mal]

NW list of players who played in 1978
I aplogise if I am innaccurate or wrong with any comments

P ADLER...handy forward
B ADAMSON...well worth the effort to recruit him
N BUTTON..the bear, big tough ruckman
G CLARK...wa recruit only played 2 games
G DUNSTAN...mocca, recruited form CO from memory, what a hairdo what a player
U COLOSANTE...big big man, something of a cult figure
N CRAIG...fantastic midfielder, ended up at ST + NA later in his long great career
J CLARKE...scintiliating half back/half forward, I reckon a knee injury finished his career
G DALWOOD...big fella, did a job
R DILLON...marshall matt, recruited fom ML, was a powerful mark at mainly CHF, star player
C FIENEMANN ...underated
P GALLAGHER...gags was a skinny sensational wingman
M GREGG..the doctor, was uncordinated, but was a big hearted trier and gave great service
D JENKINS...brilliant
S KERLEY...recruited from ML I reckon, flashy spectacular CHB
G LEAHY...handy fringe player
J LOKAN....played 1 game in 1978, then went to CD [THANKS HAWKY !!!]
G MADDISSON...fringe player
J MICHELENNEY...reliable tall forward, reckon he debuted in the finals in 1975 ?
G NICHOLSON..recruited from Westies, started as a rover, but made a name as a brilliant rebounding back pocket
M OLSEN...Big Mike the face at the club for many years, good player in his day
D PALM...good rover, later went to perth and the Richmond in the VFL[THANKS BAGGY !!!!!!]
M NUNAN...ST star rover, somehow ended up at NW this season, a great handballer
W PHILLIS...big butch, one of the toughest men to play at the time, was recruited from GL
G MENZEL..debut season, good rover, and Alby was a good nightclubber
R POPE...rocker rod , recruited from WA, one of the greatest half backs, played 300 games. and a good barman
G ROSSER...the black duck , was a prolific kick getter on the wing, and a good bloke to work with in the late 70s !
T SAPWELL..fringe player rover
I STASINOWSKI..big Ian, full forward then became a miserly full back, a real socialiser, and cult figure
M TAYLOR...kingo, what a player, started back pocket, then a star centreman, great mark for his size
G TURBILL...If only he had good knees, was a star rover, and like Alby a great socilaliser, the good days !
T VON BERTOUCH...was a star rover at NA, dunno how NW got him, but what a fantastic player
R WOODCOCK..splinter dick was an amazing half forward, rarely missed on that trusted left foot, kicked hundreds of goals, my idol
J WYNNE....elbows two eight Wynne, a legend at the club, my favourite player in the 70s, and a rough tough CHF
G ZUBRINICH...fringe flanker, had the skills
D ARMOUR, recruit from perth, played very well in defence
G RIX...every club needed that Bronte Mumford type HB, greg was the NW version !

Coach: Bob half case Hammond
CAPTAIN: Mike Taylor

MY TOP 5
1 TAYLOR
2 WYNNE
3 WOODCOCK
4 CRAIG
5 ADAMSON

I could have included: TURBILL,BUTTON, DILLON,GALLAGHER, and a few others

NW won its first flag in 1975 after a 25 year drought, thay defeated the seemingly unbeatable GL[and I ran from West Lakes to Athol Park that day !!!]
The success of the mid to late seventies can be largley attributed to Robert Oatey, who nutured a group of fine young players
Bob Hammond took over, and with some good recruiting turned NW into a very good team
I recall NW being a handball happy club in those days, but had lots of good players

Im sure Adelaide Hawk will elaborate further

DEBUTANTS
ADAMSON
CLARK
MENZEL
PHILLIS
NUNAN
ARMOUR

[GWW]

G LEAHY...handy fringe player

Anyone got any further information on this player? Was he from Murray Bridge?

[Adelaide Hawk]

B ADAMSON...well worth the effort to recruit him
G CLARK...wa recruit only played 2 games
G MADDISSON...fringe player

Brian Adamson - in very ill health at present after a series of setbacks.
Gary Maddison - a mate of mine who went to Queensland where he played state footy and got rich in the computer game.
Geoff Clark - Former ATSIC leader. When a civil jury found in 2007 that Clark took part in two pack rapes of Carol Stingel in 1971, the former head of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission retreated to his base at Framlingham, near Warrnambool in southwest Victoria.

[Adelaide Hawk]

J MICHELENNEY...reliable tall forward, reckon he debuted in the finals in 1975 ?
G TURBILL...If only he had good knees, was a star rover, and like Alby a great socilaliser, the good days !

Jim Michalanney - debuted mid-1974.
Greg Turbill - His knee injury was almost a blessing in disguise for Norwood. Had he remained 100% fit, he would have been snapped up by Carlton and we'd never have seen him at Norwood again.

[mal]

PA players used in 1978

P BELTON....good small player
R BURTON....was his first name Rod , played in defence ?
D CAHILL...brilliant rover
B CUNNINGHAM.. Bucky was a skillful 2 sided rover, a sensational player, and he was a right footer, but who could tell
K CURTIS..reckon he was a defender who wore a helmet ?
R EBERT...arguably the 2nd best footballer in his playing time, champion
T EVANS...recruited from GE and played CHB there?, ended up a champion full forward, very strong mark, was he better than Scott Hodges ?
I ECKERMANN...Ivan was a good defender, had a lookalike on the TV soap Sons and Daughters
R ENRIGHT...rover/back pocket ?, later went to WWT ?
J EVANS
C FRAGOMENI..star back pocket
A GILL..played half forward at times, another PA past player with this surname was a ''rolls royce''
P HOFNER...dashing defender
A GILES...strong defender
D GRAINGER...grave danger, controversial super tough player,but never saw him belt NW players
A HANNAN
K KINNEAR....wingman, good career
B LIGHT...Bruce was a long haired brilliant blonde wingman, did he really fight Phil Carman after a game at the Parade ???
C NATT...underated big man
G PHILLIPS...was he the best or near best CHB at PA ?
A PORPLYCIA...gifted, skillful forward, and a chick magnet, related to Jason as well, a fav player of mine
Z SEPAROVICH...something Zany about this player, cant recall what it was though
T SORRELL...I reckon he started as a wingman, and ended up at full back, good player, long career
J SPRY..ruckman and a real talent, how many premierships teams did he play in at NA + PA ?
M BATT
S CLIFFORD...bomber, a larrikan but also a talented player, recruited from CO
I VERRIER...ruckman at WA, played in defence from memory for PA
L WARREN...Lenny was a under rated player
R WHATMAN... Robbie only played 4 games this year, a talented player, was recruited from the VFL ?
P WOITE...star defender, medallist, ended up at GL
M MARRETT...is he related to Big Paul Marrett ?
M FALETIC...spofffffa, cleared from WT to PA and ended up a fair bit at CHF, long good career
I BRADMORE....star junior, never reached the dizzy heights I had expected of him
S SHULTZ...this is not the TV star, cannot recall him, I know nothing
T TALBOT...?
G TREDREA...only played 1 game, must have been injured ? recruited from CO, and a real good player, and breeder


Coach :Jack Cahill
Captain: Russell Ebert

DEBUTANTS
P HOFFNER
M BATT
S CLIFFORD
M MARRETT
I BRADMORE
M FALETIC
S SCHULTZ
T TALBOT

PA were an awesome club in the 70s
They produced so many great footballers, the envy of other clubs
Back in those days PA people would say
"" There are 2 types of supPORTers, those who barrack for Port, and those that wish they did.""

TOP 5
1 EBERT
2 PHILLIPS
3 CUNNINGHAM
4 EVANS
5 WOITE
and I could have listed a few more including Cahill + Clifford

[Magpiespower]

K CURTIS..reckon he was a defender who wore a helmet ?

Kym Curtis.

Steve Curtis was the nuggety back-pocket who wore a helmet.

Crossed over from East Perth in '83.

Played for SA against his old state and was All-Australian in his first year at Alberton.

Best year was probably '87 when he played in the centre.

No place in the league team when Jack Cahill returned the next year.

Unfortunate because he deserved to play in a premiership team...

L WARREN...Lenny was a under rated player

Only played 25 games over five or six years.

But that included two premierships - '77 and '81.

Also played in two reserves flags as well.

Ended up at Sturt...

[DOC]

G LEAHY...handy fringe player

Anyone got any further information on this player? Was he from Murray Bridge?

Believe so. His family had a pub there.

[smithy]

S CLIFFORD...bomber, a larrikan but also a talented player, recruited from CO

Legend has it - He used to eat a pie and suck down a smoke at half time ????

[mal]

SA Players used in 1978

G BAYNES...banger, gutsy in an under player
A BENNETT...good player, did he coach or play interstate ?
P BROOKSBY
S BUTLER...good sMALl player
I COBB...defender, and skipper at some stage ?
C COCK...ever reliable defender
P COLLINS...not the singer, but a reliable rover
P COTTER
P COX....handy sMALl player
H CUTTING..was he a ruckman ?
R DOYLE
I DRY...Ian was a capable player
D EARL...David a good relaible player
J FARRER
E FRY...star, good mark for his size, played for ST as well
J FULLER
J GREEN
P HAINES...excellent CHB, asnd a good bloke as well
P HARRADINE...nice player
P HINES
R HATELEY....brilliant wingman. prolific ballgetter, I used to call him the bone on his own
B KARKLIS
S KEAM...Did he actually play for NW or another club
B LEWIS...cant be Bernie the loans guru ?
G LINKE...very relaible key forward
S MINNIS
G MOUSLEY...memories were he was a not a great kick, but was a good defender
S PALMER...played a long time and was a very good defender, with an impressive hairdo, lookalike to Bernard Whimpress
M SCULZ
J SCHNEEBICHLER...Big John a wonderful utility and talented player
W SLATTERY...brilliant rover, started when he was about 16 years old, what clubs did he play for
S WESSLINGH...on the list but did not play a game
N LYONS
P RUSCKLIC....from Fitzroy ?, good mark ?
G BRACEGIRDLE...speedster, impressed and played for ST as well ?
P STRINGER
C MOYLE
I WILSON
R SHAW
G SCHULTZE
R WHITE


Coach : Hayden Bunton
Captain: Geoff Baynes


DEBUTANTS
J GREEN
M SHULZ
G BRACEGIRDLE
N LYONS
P RUSCUKLIC
P STRINGER
C MOYLE
I WILSON
R SHAW
R WHITE

SA struggled in the 70s
But did improve in 1979 ?
The 1978 list was only average, but managed to beat a few teams home on the ladder

[Magpiespower]

R WHITE

Robin White won the Knuckey Cup in '82 and played a few games for SA.

But then his career seemed to peter out.

IIRC, he had a brief stint in the VFL?

[GWW]

Kym Curtis.

Steve Curtis was the nuggety back-pocket who wore a helmet.

Crossed over from East Perth in '83.

Played for SA against his old state and was All-Australian in his first year at Alberton.

Best year was probably '87 when he played in the centre.

No place in the league team when Jack Cahill returned the next year.

Unfortunate because he deserved to play in a premiership team...

Stephen Curtis was one of my favourite players of the mid 80's, he shone out in a relatively poor Port side.

It is indeed a pity that he didn't have premiership success during the late 80's, and its a little bewildering that Cahill didn't hang onto him, when there were blokes like Mark Wharton in the side, but in the end Cahill has been justified in not playing him given that they won those 3 in a row from '88.

One player on mal's list who is under-rated was Tony Giles. He was a great player, but unfortunatley he was cut down by injury in the early 80's.

[nickname]

Andy Bennett went across to play for Hawthorn and later ended up coaching in Tassie, where he still lives.

Robert Doyle, ex South Melb, was a very good ruckman, and father of Stephen.

The B. Lewis I reckon would be Brendan, who also played for Westies and possibly one other club, Torrens?

Robin White was a terrific, gutsy HBF who played some very good footy for Melbourne, if memory serves.

[GWW]

P HARRADINE

I can recall him still playing in the early 90's in the Southern Footy League.

[DOC]

Andy Bennett went across to play for Hawthorn and later ended up coaching in Tassie, where he still lives.

Robert Doyle, ex South Melb, was a very good ruckman, and father of Stephen.

The B. Lewis I reckon would be Brendan, who also played for Westies and possibly one other club, Torrens?

Robin White was a terrific, gutsy HBF who played some very good footy for Melbourne, if memory serves.

And coached West Torrens I think.

[DOC]

To answer some Questions MAL:

Ian COBB defender but never Skipper. His son Kym played as well.
B LEWIS is not the late Bernie LEWIS
Haydn Cutting was a ruckman who later became General Manager (before the days of CEO's). Gave his all.
Wayne Slattery went to the VFL (St Kilda and ?) then came back and "starred" in North 's 1987 Premiership.
Garry Bracegirdle I think came from Sturt and for his size was a very gutsy player. A school teacher who these days runs Bracegirdle's chocolate shops.

[Interceptor]

Andy Bennett went across to play for Hawthorn and later ended up coaching in Tassie, where he still lives.

And coached West Torrens I think.

I can remember an appearance on tv where he was very evasive or brief in his reponses to queries.
Came in for some heavy criticism I think.

[Interceptor]

Garry Bracegirdle I think came from Sturt and for his size was a very gutsy player. A school teacher who these days runs Bracegirdle's chocolate shops.

Had him as my PE teacher at Norwood High.
A good guy, but was reasonably strict from memory.

[CK]

Two players in the Port list, MAL:

- Was T.Evans better than Scott Hodges? I firmly believe so, and by a reasonable stretch too (and that is in no way to denigrate Scott Hodges, who was a very, very good full forward in his own right), but Evans was one of those players who was very hard to move off the spot while remaining very mobile when the ball hit the ground, vice like hands and a very good converter from most places.

- Trevor Sorrell; coached me in the country, with both sons playing in the team. Very interesting bloke to talk to and had some great stories from the era. Not sure coaching was his forte though.

[GWW]

I think Sorrell coached Jervois to the 1984 River Murray FL premiership (was replaced as coach by a player of roughly the same SANFL era Andrew Zilm, although the less said about him, the better). A few years later he coached Mannum in the same league.