SA Footy

This weeks WWT will wear the Woodville Warriors guernsey in the match against Glenelg at Woodville.

Just wondering if any of the old school Woodville fans can relate to me the history of why the club made the change in name and what the events were that led up to the change, and how it was historically recieved by the membership?

Not an old school Woodville fan - Phil H would be a great one to answer this in more depth - but I remember the change well. I remember there was a perception that the Woodpecker wasn't the sort of logo/emblem to strike fear into the hearts of opposition, and there was then a push to get Malcolm Blight and John Roberts back from the VFL to play with the clubs (at one point, both were being touted as being able to come back with no transfer fee at all - The News headline saying "Woodville to get Blight and Roberts - free!". I believe that a transfer fee was eventually negotiated for Roberts, but can't remember whether any such fee was payable for Blight).

When Blight was appointed coach, he promptly sacked 10 players and the change to the Warriors began. IIRC, it was generally well accepted by the members and the players.

CK wrote: When Blight was appointed coach, he promptly sacked 10 players and the change to the Warriors began. IIRC, it was generally well accepted by the members and the players.

A common theme it would seem.

CK wrote:I remember there was a perception that the Woodpecker wasn't the sort of logo/emblem to strike fear into the hearts of opposition,

Like a Redleg, Rooster and Double Blue does

CK wrote:Not an old school Woodville fan - Phil H would be a great one to answer this in more depth - but I remember the change well. I remember there was a perception that the Woodpecker wasn't the sort of logo/emblem to strike fear into the hearts of opposition, and there was then a push to get Malcolm Blight and John Roberts back from the VFL to play with the clubs (at one point, both were being touted as being able to come back with no transfer fee at all - The News headline saying "Woodville to get Blight and Roberts - free!". I believe that a transfer fee was eventually negotiated for Roberts, but can't remember whether any such fee was payable for Blight).

When Blight was appointed coach, he promptly sacked 10 players and the change to the Warriors began. IIRC, it was generally well accepted by the members and the players.

If I'm not mistaken (Mcalmanac or Phil H can verify/deny) there was a clause in every Woodville player's contract that went to the VFL which allowed him to return to Woodville free of charge. I seem to remember North Melb at the time kicking up a fuss over losing Blight for "nothing" as he such a good player. I seem to recall he coached but didn't play for the first two or three games because of on going legal hassles.
Mind you the only players who returned to Woodville from memory were Huppatz, Blight and Roberts and Huppatz and Roberts finished up with other clubs.

I know Blight kicked 100 goals in his final season with North, and was still a top level player in the VFL, but once he decided to return to Woodville, he should have been cleared for nothing. If North didn't think they'd get value for the money they paid for him, they were a very hard bunch to satisfy.

Pretty sure the decision to change to the Warriors was made before Blight was even appointed. I seem to remember a front page story in "Football Times" late in 1982 with the new logo and guernsey design. I'd suggest they were all formulated before Rod Olsson was sacked and Blight appointed. Blighty certainly put a broom through the joint though as soon as he got there, in a similar way to how he did when he arrived at Adelaide.
There'd be case for arguing the Warriors jumper was the first of the "cartoon" or non-traditionial jumpers in footy.
Never liked it much .. they've got a bit to answer for actually.

Harry the Horse wrote:There'd be case for arguing the Warriors jumper was the first of the "cartoon" or non-traditionial jumpers in footy.
Never liked it much .. they've got a bit to answer for actually.

You could argue that, but all they really did was go back to the jumper they wore from 1964 to 1967 and place their club logo on the chest.

Harry the Horse wrote:There'd be case for arguing the Warriors jumper was the first of the "cartoon" or non-traditionial jumpers in footy.
Never liked it much .. they've got a bit to answer for actually.

Not going to argue with you Harry and being a WWT fan and not a Woodville only fan .BUT if you had the chance to view the replica woodville jumper the guys wore based on the 40's you would not have made the above statement .IMHO there is very little difference between the 40's and the warriors jumper .
Perhaps a few of the Woodville guys like PhilH etc would like to comment.

Why was it non-traditional

If the Green "V" ended a bit further up the jumper it's the same as the Melbourne FC design (replace green with red, yellow with blue)

Good, solid football guernsey design IMO

I presume the query is on the "warrior" emblem inside the green "V" - to me, you hardly noticed it as it wasn't a key part of the design

If you'd said the Brisbane Bears first guernsey then I'd tend to agree

I see where you're coming from and yes it was very similar to their jumper in the 60s I think ..

I just thought that the words and that Warrior mask splashed across the green yoke was pretty radical at the time ... as was the new club emblem.

Then four years later, Brisbane Bears came up with the worst jumper in history.

Here is one pic that I found online of the Warriors guernsey.

The Pecker brand, whilst never fearsome, had descended into a total mockery after a 1 win season in 1982 under ex-Geelong buffoon Rod Olsson. As Blighty himself once said, they were 14th in a 10 team competition when he arrived.

A marketing exercise, it was a fait accompli never voted on by the members. I remember sitting in the front row of the assembled members when the announcement was made and soon after buying what I reckon was the first commercially available jumper at Hughes and Loveday Sport Store in Adelaide Arcade.

Anyway - here's another bloke modelling one.... the long kicking Colin McDonald.

Sojourner wrote:Just wondering.... how it was historically recieved by the membership?

I clearly remember club member Don Barnwell (who lived on Oval Avenue and always one to speak his mind) piping up "I don't like it". But I think generally most people recognised that the club had sunk to such a depth that something had to be done.

I think the Warriors guernsey was great, i actually quite miss the Woodville Footy Club as it was.

IIRC Blightly's return together with people like Bill Sanders in charge helped the club get more money in its coffers to finally be able to do some decent recruiting.

Andrew Taylor, Stephen Nicholls, Panizza, Jakovich, Klug, Negri and Klemm are just a few that come to mind that helped get the team competitive again.

I don't know where the money came from other than good management I guess? Mac or PhilH? I'd be interested to know some of the good behind the scenes work that went on in that period.

I agree with GWW - I thought the guernsey was great and that green & gold is one of the great colour combinations now missing from the game.

As an eight year-old when the Warriors were born - I loved it!

Especially the superhero cartoon Warrior with the footy tucked under his arm

Reakon he might have even been flying, arm out straight, like Superman...

hondo71 wrote:Andrew Taylor, Stephen Nicholls, Panizza, Jakovich, Klug, Negri and Klemm are just a few that come to mind that helped get the team competitive again.

The latter five didn't help the team become competitive - Woodville had already played in a preliminary final before they arrived.

McAlmanac wrote:

hondo71 wrote:Andrew Taylor, Stephen Nicholls, Panizza, Jakovich, Klug, Negri and Klemm are just a few that come to mind that helped get the team competitive again.

The latter five didn't help the team become competitive - Woodville had already played in a preliminary final before they arrived.

OK, insert "get and help keep them competitive" then

The first 2 made a HUGE difference in 1986!

My main point was asking after the off-field work that allowed for the funds to get these type of quality recruits into the club, when it didn't seem to be possible before 1986.

Without Nichols and Taylor I don't think they have got 3rd in 1986, with all due respect to great players like Fuller, Harris, Rogers, Schwarze, Parker, Sewer, Lunn, McDonald, etc.

HeartBeatsTrue wrote:

CK wrote:I remember there was a perception that the Woodpecker wasn't the sort of logo/emblem to strike fear into the hearts of opposition,

Like a Redleg, Rooster and Double Blue does

I don't think any of those clubs had to re-invent their marketing strategies at the time whereas Woodville really did need to be taken seriously as a football club. Those Woodville teams of 81 and 82 were very ordinary indeed.

By the time they got to us (Norwood) in the 1986 EF, they were fantastic, and it wouldn't have surprised to see them in the Grand Final that season.