1980's SANFL

[FlyingHigh]

Not meaning to detract from the Port discussion but the first 5 minutes of the "Way it was 1981" are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6obMe7xA8yQ

Notable things to me:
- headline story of 1981 apparently was that the SANFL approached the VFL to enter a composite team called the Adelaide Football Club in the VFL in 1982 (if I had heard that before I had forgotten)
- North in the red guernsey in the last year before the stripes IIRC
- Neil Balme playing for Norwood
- Kym Dillon playing for Torrens
- West in the first year of the red sash guernsey after the stripes when the sash didn't go down the back of the guernsey. Looks odd - I read somewhere it was a mistake by the manufactuer
- A Rendell marking for Torrens but I am not sure if it was Matt or Tim

Great video Hondo.
I like the wider V of North's guernsey there better than their current one.
Re the VFL, I think it was in the '81 Footy Times Yearbook the president or chairman said they would move heaven and earth to get Port and Norwod into the VFL in 1982. Obviously must have changed to a composite side during the year. It really p!sses me off that the VFL wouldn't look at it then, but after their clubs got into financial strife and had taken a fair chunk of the best WA ans SA players for their clubs, suddenly it was a good idea.

[Interceptor]

First 5 minutes of "Crashes and Clashes" is there as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk9723-EhbU

Includes a nice right hook from Neil Balme

[Magpiespower]

Re the VFL, I think it was in the '81 Footy Times Yearbook the president or chairman said they would move heaven and earth to get Port and Norwod into the VFL in 1982. Obviously must have changed to a composite side during the year. It really p!sses me off that the VFL wouldn't look at it then, but after their clubs got into financial strife and had taken a fair chunk of the best WA ans SA players for their clubs, suddenly it was a good idea.

Don Roach made the presentation to the VFL - it's in the SANFL Annual Report.

Imagine how strong an Adelaide Football Club would've been in '82?

Aish, Bradley, Kernahan, Platten, Motley, McIntosh, Weston, Phillips, Naley, Rendell, Riley and so on...

[Wedgie]

Re the VFL, I think it was in the '81 Footy Times Yearbook the president or chairman said they would move heaven and earth to get Port and Norwod into the VFL in 1982. Obviously must have changed to a composite side during the year. It really p!sses me off that the VFL wouldn't look at it then, but after their clubs got into financial strife and had taken a fair chunk of the best WA ans SA players for their clubs, suddenly it was a good idea.

Don Roach made the presentation to the VFL - it's in the SANFL Annual Report.

Imagine how strong an Adelaide Football Club would've been in '82?

Aish, Bradley, Kernahan, Platten, Motley, McIntosh, Weston, Phillips, Naley, Rendell, Riley and so on...

Not that strong IMHO, would have taken several years to make the finals if at all IMHO.

[on the rails]

North didn't go to the candy stripes until season 1983.

[FlyingHigh]

Re the VFL, I think it was in the '81 Footy Times Yearbook the president or chairman said they would move heaven and earth to get Port and Norwod into the VFL in 1982. Obviously must have changed to a composite side during the year. It really p!sses me off that the VFL wouldn't look at it then, but after their clubs got into financial strife and had taken a fair chunk of the best WA ans SA players for their clubs, suddenly it was a good idea.

Don Roach made the presentation to the VFL - it's in the SANFL Annual Report.

Imagine how strong an Adelaide Football Club would've been in '82?

Aish, Bradley, Kernahan, Platten, Motley, McIntosh, Weston, Phillips, Naley, Rendell, Riley and so on...

Not that strong IMHO, would have taken several years to make the finals if at all IMHO.

McGuiness, McDermott, a younger David Marshall, younger Bruce Lindsay, Luders in a pocket
They would have had a huge impact by about 1984 I reckon.
Funny how all these players went to Victoria before the Vics wanted us to join

[Wedgie]

Playing at suburban ovals for the Crows was a piece of cake compared to what it would have been like in the early 80s.
And the Crows used to regularly go down by over 100.

[JK]

Playing at suburban ovals for the Crows was a piece of cake compared to what it would have been like in the early 80s.
And the Crows used to regularly go down by over 100.

So hard to know I reckon ... Natural ability-wise, the players an SA team would have had would have been miles in front of the Crows first group.

They would also have been in their prime and most of them were also proven on those Victorian suburban grounds (certainly Motley, Platten, Bradley, Kernahan, Naley) .. Those that weren't (Salisbury, McIntosh etc) Im pretty certain would have been fine in the slower game back in those days.

Yet for all that, it's hard not to feel as though they wouldn't still have experienced the same syndrome as the Crows in the early days of playing much better at home before falling away dramatically interstate.

[FlyingHigh]

Playing at suburban ovals for the Crows was a piece of cake compared to what it would have been like in the early 80s.
And the Crows used to regularly go down by over 100.

But some of these blokes playing on these suburban ovals would have been playing for Adelaide, making them stronger and the Vic teams weaker, than what the Crows had to experience.

[Hondo]

It would depend on whether a 1982 team would have been the strongest possible team or whether they would have emphasised youth to build up to a strong team. I think Wedgie's call about the suburban VFL grounds is valid. That would have been even more of a culture shock than it was for the Crows in 1991. It's also worth noting that Essendon and Hawthorn were very strong from 83-85. I reckon things would have really opened up for the Adelaide team after that.

The 1983 State of Origin team beat Victoria at Footy Park by 10 goals. I think they lost closely in 1984 and then started winning regularly (89 excepted). I'd have to look at the line up in 83 but you would imagine a lot would have been in an Adelaide team if it existed. Not many ex-pats played SOO in those days because 1 - not as many were in the VFL and 2 - there was some rule limiting how many ex-pats per VFL side we could pick.

1982-85 is hard to speculate but if the Adelaide team had all the SOO regulars from 86-90 they would have won a premiership at some stage and been finals regulars up to the early 90s IMO. The WAFL was massively raided by VFL teams before the WCE could sign anyone (many in a last minute raid before 1987) yet they were still a dominant AFL force within 5 years. Imagine a SANFL team with the late 70s Teal Cup players as their core list and 3 years experience in the VFL. It would almost be the 85-early 90s SA SOO side depending on how smart they drafted after 1982. Well, there wasn't even a draft back then so I guess if the Adelaide team had the money they could have signed all the Jarmans, Andersons, etc that came through in the mid 80s.

Then again, by 1991 the next generation of Riccuitos, Rehns and Modras (even Darren Jarman) would have been available in the draft to other teams so the 97-98 flags may not have happened. It's scary to think of the impact it would have had on the SANFL as we would have lost what many see as one of the great SANFL eras.

[FlyingHigh]

I wasn't going to use the 1983 SOO team for my argument, as this game was played on the Monday and many of the VFL players played on the Saturday but the SANFL didn't IIRC.
Interesting comments Hondo, about the future drafts. Also, if it had have happened in '82, makes you wonder whether the Jarmans and Hodges etc would have stayed around or with the decline of the SANFL comp would have been more easily wooed by Victorian clubs.

[Hondo]

That's a fair call about the 1983 state game.

In 1982 we lost by 12 points and in 1984 by 4 points. Belted in 1985 by Victoria by 9 goals! That Victorian team probably had all the Essendon and Hawthorn stars. However, we smashed the WA side in WA that year.

We'll never know but I reckon after a couple of years experience and smart recruiting to get most of those late 80s SOO stars, after 84/85ish we would have had a very strong team. But at what cost to the SANFL?

[FlyingHigh]

Yeah, we would have probably had a big crash like the WAFL, rather than a sofer decline we had.

[GWW]

I have no doubt that a composite side from SA entered into the VFL in 1982 would have been quite competitive. I can imagine them struggling in away games for the first year or 2 like the Eagles did, but by year 3 or 4 i think they would have been contenders.

It obviously would have depended on who was selected for the initial squad. And if players like Platten, Bradley, Motley, Kernahan, Phillips etc were signed up, as was mentioned, this would have weakened the other VFL clubs around the mid 80's.

Its all hindsight, but i've had a go at selecting a team (i haven't selected McIntosh on the assumption that he didn't want to play for anyone but Norwood).

FF Naley, Luders, N Roberts
HF McGuinness, Kernahan, Copping
C K Thomas, Craig, Bradley
HB Lindsay, Phillips, Motley
FB Riley, Weston, Giles

RUCK
Carey
Aish
Platten

INT
Davies, Antrobus

EMERG
Redden

Other squad members could include – Warhurst, Marshall, McDermott, Clisby, Paynter, Derrington, Fosdike, Jenkins, G Anderson, Mickan, Grosser, Kappler, Darren Harris, B Phillips.

[MagareyLegend]

Davies full forward
Redden 2nd Ruck
Luders out - he was not that good