1978 The year it was

[FOURTH ESTATE]

West Torrens last win a finals match before the merger with Woodville was the 1954 1st semi Final against Norwood 10-10 (70) to 9.15 (69)

The Eagles then lost the 54 Prelim to West Adelaide by 39pts beginning a 11 games losing streak including a draw in 1969 in their own right until the merger.

[mal]

Well howdydoodahhh
SANFL Football Budget from Round 2 , last weekend

CLUB NEWS AND CALENDER
NORWOOD
The Grand Old Flag Luncheon on Friday , May 6 will feature the 1978 Great Debate
The lunch will be held at the Intercontinental Adelaide, North Terrace
and feature guest speaker Tom Harley
Tickets $135 per person or $1250 per table
To book 8362 6278


Why Tom Harley as the guest speaker ?
Ive got some interesting trivia, that may answer why Tom has been invited to this luncheon

[mighty_tiger_79]

didnt he start out at norwood

[mal]

Tom Harley was 2 months old when Norwood won the 1978 Premiership
Born 18/7/78
Perhaps that coincides with Tom participating in the luncheon

Other players born in 1978 include

Scott Bassett 9/10/78
Health Culpit 16/2/78
Jared Crouch 5/3/78
Peter Burgoyne 19/1/78

[mal]

1978 Reserves ladder after the Minor Round

NW 17-5....58-72
SA 14-8.....53-42
WA 13-9....53-17
NA 13-9.....51-00
ST 12-10....50-65
PA 11-11....52.74
CD 10-12...47-47
WT 9-13.....47-51
WV 6-16.....43-15
GL 5-17......41-79

Elimination Final
NA 27-11[173]
ST 11-9[75]

Qualifying Final
WA 19-19 [133]
SA 11-14[80]

Looks like NW was the best Minor round team
PA finished 6th with a better % than the 4th +5th teams
The biggest differentials from league to 2nds finishing spots was :
NA 10TH -4TH
GL 3RD-10TH

[mal]

West Torrens last win a finals match before the merger with Woodville was the 1954 1st semi Final against Norwood 10-10 (70) to 9.15 (69)

The Eagles then lost the 54 Prelim to West Adelaide by 39pts beginning a 11 games losing streak including a draw in 1969 in their own right until the merger.

That quite a drought for the WT club !

1969 FIRST SEMI FINAL
WT 11-10
WA 10-16
WA hit the post on 5 occasions !
EG led most of the match
EG led then WA led in a close finish, WT levelled the scores with moments left[no details of the leveller]
John Forsyth [WT] and WA coach Murray Weideman were both reported by that great ump Max Occonell
Lindsay Head was rated as the best player for WT that day
Reports say that Head played one of his most memorable games

WOODVILLE CLUB BAR
If you walk into the premise you will see these great players pictured above the bar, in this order
From left to right
HANK
HEAD
BILLS
BLIGHT
PAYZE
ROGERS

[Adelaide Hawk]

Here are some players in the Norwood Reserves 1978 who didn't make the League GF team:

Geoff Clark, John Clarke, Ugo Colasante, Grant Dalwood, Ross Dillon, Mark Doherty, Robert "Sticks" Dolan, Graeme Dunstan, Michael Gregg, Gerard Leahy, John Lokan, Gary Maddison, Gary Menzel, Michael Olsen, Rod Pope, David Palm, Greg Rix, Trevor Sapwell, Craig Stanbridge, Trevor Sutton, Grant Zubrinich.

Talk about depth, most (if not all) of those players would be walk up starts in today's footy, and a number of them went on to play very well for other clubs.

[mal]

SEPTEMBER 11
Kym Hodgeman wins the Magarey Medal
What was unusual was that Kym also won the 1974 Reserves Medal

Top 3 from each club

CENTRALS
22 VIVIAN
19 WILSON
15 SWINSTEAD

GLENELG
50 HODGEMAN
34 WESTON
13 CORNES

NORTH ADELAIDE
17 JAWORSKYJ
12 CLOKE
9 HILL


NORWOOD
20 TAYLOR
20 CLARK
15 BUTTON

PORT ADELAIDE
49 EBERT
15 CLIFFORD
13 CUNNINGHAM

SOUTH ADELAIDE
22 BAYNES
22 PALMER
18 HYNES

STURT
42 DAVIES
35 KLOMP
18 GRAHAM

WEST ADELAIDE
26 KENNEDY
9 HAYES
9 MORRIS

WEST TORRENS
26 INGLIS
24 MCSPORRAN
19 LINDSAY

WOODVILLE
41 SEWER
14 MAYLIN
14 TYRELL


1ST HODGEMAN a sensational rover
2ND EBERT almost another
3RD DAVIES could be one of the very best players never to win the medal


Players who won the Best and Fairest at thier clubs that were not the leading medal voters
HILL , bugsy almost doubled his votes in the medal
MCSPORRAN who was narrowly beaten by INGLIS in the medal
CLIFFORD this is a shock, Bomber polled 15 medal votes, EBERT 49 votes [I might have the b/f wrong then ?]
IF it twas the PA Best and Funniest I could understand that !

[Adelaide Hawk]

SEPTEMBER 11
Kym Hodgeman wins the Magarey Medal
What was unusual was that Kym also won the 1974 Reserves Medal

Unusual, but not unique. Gary Window won the Reserves medal in 1963, and the League medal in 1965. Then Brodie Atkinson won the Reserves medal for North in 1991 and the League medal for Sturt in 1997.

[baggy8]

CLIFFORD this is a shock, Bomber polled 15 medal votes, EBERT 49 votes [I might have the b/f wrong then ?]

No you're quite right Mal. For years I've been telling anyone who'll listen that Ebert was over-rated.

[baggy8]

Lindsay Head was rated as the best player for WT that day
Reports say that Head played one of his most memorable games

Just a different opinion I suppose, but according to Best of Both Worlds, Freddie Bills was Torrens' best in this one with 20 kicks and 14 handballs. Then Head next best, but no mention of how the scores came to be level. (It was WT who kicked the 11.10)

[mal]

Whats more accurate ?
Magarey Medal Votes
OR
Best and Fairest Votes
?

[Big Phil]

Whats more accurate ?
Magarey Medal Votes
OR
Best and Fairest Votes
?

I'd say Magarey because the umpire is looking at the game from a wholistic point of view, taking into account the performance(s) of players from both side, whereas the B&F votes are cast by specific people within a plyer's club and only look at their players performances.

[JK]

Whats more accurate ?
Magarey Medal Votes
OR
Best and Fairest Votes
?

I'd say Magarey because the umpire is looking at the game from a wholistic point of view, taking into account the performance(s) of players from both side, whereas the B&F votes are cast by specific people within a plyer's club and only look at their players performances.

Which might mean that both are accurate for the different criteria the judges use.

Personally I don't place a huge amount of stock in the medals (both AFL and SANFL) of the modern generation, as I don't think they are decided by the best assessors nor do they capture a true worth .. Ie, for me a most brilliant is very different to a most valuable, which takes into account a greater range of factors.

[dedja]

Whats more accurate ?
Magarey Medal Votes
OR
Best and Fairest Votes
?

is there a right and wrong answer?

[GWW]

Here are some players in the Norwood Reserves 1978 who didn't make the League GF team:
Geoff Clark, John Clarke, Ugo Colasante, Grant Dalwood, Ross Dillon, Mark Doherty, Robert "Sticks" Dolan, Graeme Dunstan, Michael Gregg, Gerard Leahy, John Lokan, Gary Maddison, Gary Menzel, Michael Olsen, Rod Pope, David Palm, Greg Rix, Trevor Sapwell, Craig Stanbridge, Trevor Sutton, Grant Zubrinich.

That would be the Robert Dolan that went to Port? If so, i didn't realise he was a former Norwood player. Likewise Doherty, who I believe played for North, and then Mannum in the River Murray Football League.

[Adelaide Hawk]

Here are some players in the Norwood Reserves 1978 who didn't make the League GF team:
Geoff Clark, John Clarke, Ugo Colasante, Grant Dalwood, Ross Dillon, Mark Doherty, Robert "Sticks" Dolan, Graeme Dunstan, Michael Gregg, Gerard Leahy, John Lokan, Gary Maddison, Gary Menzel, Michael Olsen, Rod Pope, David Palm, Greg Rix, Trevor Sapwell, Craig Stanbridge, Trevor Sutton, Grant Zubrinich.

That would be the Robert Dolan that went to Port? If so, i didn't realise he was a former Norwood player. Likewise Doherty, who I believe played for North, and then Mannum in the River Murray Football League.

Yep, the same Robert Dolan. And yes, it is the same Mark Doherty who played for North. A good cricketer as well.

[GWW]

I don't expect you to know this necessarily AH, given its about Port Adelaide, but I'm curious as to whether Dolan went on to play in any premierships with Port when he left.

[Adelaide Hawk]

I don't expect you to know this necessarily AH, given its about Port Adelaide, but I'm curious as to whether Dolan went on to play in any premierships with Port when he left.

Sure did. He was in the 1979 & 1980 premiership teams.

[GWW]

Thanks AH.

It seems interesting he chose to go to Port, who would have been one of the top sides at the time. From memory, and i was only a kid in the late 70's/early 80's, Port probably didn't have the strength in ruck that they did in other areas though - Chris Natt was a reasonable ruckman - so it turns out that with those 2 premierships it was an excellent decision.