1978 The year it was

[Pseudo]

I never did know why Jim West left Glenelg. All I know is I was surprised (and delighted) to hear he was coming to Norwood where he kicked 80 goals in 1997 and a valuable member of our premiership team. I think at times some coaches need to suck it up and stop putting their personal feelings ahead of the welfare of the club.

Pretty sure that Jim West outscored Glenelg's total by himself at the Bay that year. Should never have been given marching orders.

[Adelaide Hawk]

I never did know why Jim West left Glenelg. All I know is I was surprised (and delighted) to hear he was coming to Norwood where he kicked 80 goals in 1997 and a valuable member of our premiership team. I think at times some coaches need to suck it up and stop putting their personal feelings ahead of the welfare of the club.

Pretty sure that Jim West outscored Glenelg's total by himself at the Bay that year. Should never have been given marching orders.

At the bay, West kicked 8-1 and Glenelg kicked 6-3.

[mal]

GRAND FINAL LINE UPS
as listed in the Grand Final Budget
22 players listed per team


STURT
1 HOWARD B
3 WINTER B
4 SIMS T
6 BURGAN T
8 BAGSHAW P
9 HEINRICH P
12 LEONARD G
14 REED G
15 WARK N
19 GRAHAM M
20 CASEY C
21 SANDERS P
22 KLOMP R
24 DAVIES R
26 HARGREAVES P
28 BARTON R
30 LLOYD T
32 CECE S
34 WISEMAN G
36 DOWNES A
37 WEATHERALD R
39 MUTTON G


NORWOOD
3 JENKINS D
5 STASINOWSKI I
6 ARMOUR D
7 CRAIG N
10 WOODCOCK R
11 GALLAGHER P
12 NICHOLSON G
14 FIENEMANN C
15 ADAMSON B
16 ADLER P
17 TURBILL G
19 PALM D
20 VONBERTOUCH T
21 ROSSER G
25 KERLEY S
27 OLSEN M
28 WYNEE J
29 TAYLOR M
30 BUTTON N
31 MICHALANNEY J
32 NUNAN M
38 PHILLIS W



ST were the best performed team in 1978, and perhaps the best performed team in SANFL history in 1978
In the Minor round 20-1
Finals 1-0
21 wins and only 1 loss
One would think this final was almost a forgone conclusion, particularly after ST beat NW easily in 3 games this
season
Hindsight is always the best judge, and looking at the line ups I think this :
ST had arguably the 2 best footballers in Jumbo Davies and Paul Bagshaw
But NW were a lot more even and had plenty of depth and considerable experience
IF NW were able to nullify Jumbo and Baggy then they had to think they were a realistic chance to win the final
The other dangerous player for ST was the 'flashy' Michael Graham

[mal]

BOB LOVEDAY
A magnificent player for WA previewed this match

I think the incentive of winning the premiership in thier 100th season will give them the extra incentive they need to win said Loveday when asked why he tipped NW
If they can beat Davies they can beat ST he said
Sturt are not unbeatable, we WA, proved that.
And I think NW win over PA last week will be a real confidence booster for them.
It was an efficient win.
They were 5 goals down at one stage but they didnt panic.
They methodically put thier game together and the players have obviously got a lot of confidence in each other
Man for man, NW can match ST
The only defiency in NWs team as I see it is a spearhead
But they have got more overall experience...enough experience to win the Grand Final

WA.. 13-12
ST.... 9-14
That game at Richmond Oval was the only loss ST incurred
7437 people witnessed this in round 6
WA had only 1 win at that stage of the year and this win was a big upset

[mal]

BRAIN CUNNINGHAM
Bucky one of the most skillfull 2 sided rovers Ive seen in the SANFL previewed this game
The preview done on the morning of the GF with Mike Coward

IF
If NW can match Rick Davies and increase its scoring potential, it will win todays Grand Final
So far in this finals series NW scoring has been done by the half forward and centrelines
In the 3 finals NW has played the FF has MUSTERed only 11 goals, 5 of those goals in the GL final, Nunan [3] Colosante[1] Dillon [1]
Colosante and Dillon have been left out of the GF line ups
Against ST in the 2nd semi final, an interchange Greg Turbill was the most productive performer with 2-1
It was the same in the PF v PA , Button getting 2 goals and Adler 1
That simply wont be enough in a GF
But I would expect Nunan and Vonbertouch to have more shots today

BIG JIM
It would not surprise me if the NW selectors prefer Jim Michalanney to Paul Adler at full forward
I played with Michalanney in Perth last year and had the chance to watch him closely
Mind you I didnt envy the job of having to cope with Ross Glendenning who is NM latest superstar
Although he is lightly built Michalanney was competitive against Glendenning
But for some uncharacteristic innaccuracy, Jim may have caused Glendenning some considerable embarrasment
He kicked 2-4 as I recall it could easily have been 5-1
His experience would be invaluable today

HOW CAN DAVIES BE STOPPED ?
If NW knew how, Im sure room staff would already be loosening the champagne corks
Davies is undoubtably the best palmer of the ball in SA
If Button can maintain the touch he displayed against us last week he will make Davies earn every ball

NUNAN
NW could be at an advantage having Nunan in its ranks
He will be able to read Davies palm perfectly
I would expect Nunan to ferrett 7 of every 10 balls contested in the centre square

VON BERTOUCH
Is not playing as well as he can just at the moment, but he has vast experience and guile which will serve him well

DERRINGTON/BARTON/HEINRICH
I really feel sorry for Jim who is not fit enough to play
His absence places a big strain on Rob Barton
He seems certain to be assisted by Phil Heinrich , who is good enough at the moment, wherever he plays
They have greater goal scoring potential than the NW pair, but they might not be quite so active around the ground

THE GAME
ST greatest strength is its tremendous skill level
ST players dont waSTe a ball
It is thier disposal that puts them above other sides
But thru the year all of us at PA found NW to be just as strong an opponent as ST
And with an exception of a wet day at Alberton at the end of the minor round, I felt NW used handball just as effectively
This was particularly so last week when somehow it had 2 or 3 extra players at the fall of the ball
Im not worried that ST has a few youngsters who have not played in a GF
They are most fortunate to be surrounded by such experienced players
The old hands will talk to them and settle them down if they are overawed
After all skipper Paul Bagshaw is playing in his 9th GF
Against us NWs first action was to handball
They used 3 or 4 quick handballs to work the ball to a player with sufficient room to use it
They were good tactics, and we found ourselves chasing all the time
NW which is better suited by dry than wet conditions must use those tactics again

THE FINAL WORD
I know its an iffy business, but if NW can play as it did last week, if Button can go with Davies, and if the striking POWER can be increased, it will win
Ive got a sneaky suspicion it can do all of that, and it will be Mike Taylor and his men who will drink from the T S HILL Cup

[mal]

MAL
A magnificent junior footballer at Walkerville previews the game

DAVIES BAGSHAW not NUNAN
This was the best first ruck combo in the 70s
However due to whatever Nunan is lining up for the Legs
This move by Nunan was probably as significant as a Soviet Union or a US intelligence officer defecting to the other side
Nunans inside knowledge of Davies could be an advantage
Somehow NW must nullify Davies/ Baggy, you simply wont beat them so you must go in with a break even attitude

JOHN WYNNE
The late season inclusion of John Wynne must be a factor
Wynne can be the 3rd man up to neutralise Davies
Wynne can also make life difficult for Baggy08 at ground level
Wynne can intimidate his opponents with his loose elbows
Wynne can also be a target up forward if required
I can envisage two eight doing something in this final to either inspire his team-mates or disturb the ST machine


GARY HARDEMAN
Injured badly in the ST V NM game a few weeks earlier
The loss of this wonderful defender could end up being a factor
Why on earth would ST play a scratch match during finals time is open to conjecture

THE FINAL WORD
ST appear almost inVINCEable, I would expect Davies, Bagshaw will play well enough to set up the win
Michael Graham looms as the game breaker and will need to be curbed by the NW team
The ST pattern of play has proven to be a superior factor over NW in 3 previous games this season, I expect it will be one more time
NW played dazzling football against PA to win the Prelim Final, Im feeling that this win was like winning a premiership against its old rival, and might have taken too much of the legs off the Legs as well
ST after a week off should be fresher and look the winners by about 5 goals
And besides I am a better judge of football than Loveday and Cunningham

[Adelaide Hawk]

Selected teams

STURT
Coach: Jack Oatey
F: Trevor Sims, Paul Bagshaw, Phil Heinrich
HF: Michael Graham, Bruce Winter, Andrew Downes
C: Brendon Howard, Robbert Klomp, Geoff Leonard
HB: Phil Sanders, Graham Reed, Geoff Wiseman
B: Nigel Wark, Colin Casey, Peter Hargreaves
Ruck: Rick Davies, Tony Burgan, Robert Barton
Res: Tony Lloyd, Geoff Mutton

NORWOOD
Coach: Bob Hammond
F: Wayne Phillis, Jim Michalanney, Michael Nunan
HF: Chris Fienemann, Brian Adamson, Roger Woodcock
C: Phil Gallagher, Michael Taylor, Glen Rosser
HB: David Armour, Stephen Kerley, Danny Jenkins
B: Greg Nicholson, Ian Stasinowsky, Neil Craig
Ruck: Neil Button, John Wynne, Terry Von Bertouch
Res: Greg Turbill, Paul Adler

When you take a look at the premiership ladder at the end of round 22, you will see Sturt were undoubtedly the team who dominated the minor round.

However, the interesting thing for me years later was to take a retrospective look at the teams, not in terms of match ups, but the overall view of the quality of players. The Sturt teams has their champions: Bagshaw, Davies, Graham, Winter, Burgan, Klomp, Casey, etc, but also a number of players who had very good seasons in 1978 but very little added to the resume after that.

Conversely, the Norwood team is packed full of 200-300 game players, premiership winners, record holders, state players, VFL experience, etc. Tongue in cheek ... when you compare the two teams 30 years on, you wonder how Sturt actually got so close to Norwood in the final

[robranisgod]

Selected teams

STURT
Coach: Jack Oatey
F: Trevor Sims, Paul Bagshaw, Phil Heinrich
HF: Michael Graham, Bruce Winter, Andrew Downes
C: Brendon Howard, Robbert Klomp, Geoff Leonard
HB: Phil Sanders, Graham Reed, Geoff Wiseman
B: Nigel Wark, Colin Casey, Peter Hargreaves
Ruck: Rick Davies, Tony Burgan, Robert Barton
Res: Tony Lloyd, Geoff Mutton

NORWOOD
Coach: Bob Hammond
F: Wayne Phillis, Jim Michalanney, Michael Nunan
HF: Chris Fienemann, Brian Adamson, Roger Woodcock
C: Phil Gallagher, Michael Taylor, Glen Rosser
HB: David Armour, Stephen Kerley, Danny Jenkins
B: Greg Nicholson, Ian Stasinowsky, Neil Craig
Ruck: Neil Button, John Wynne, Terry Von Bertouch
Res: Greg Turbill, Paul Adler

When you take a look at the premiership ladder at the end of round 22, you will see Sturt were undoubtedly the team who dominated the minor round.

However, the interesting thing for me years later was to take a retrospective look at the teams, not in terms of match ups, but the overall view of the quality of players. The Sturt teams has their champions: Bagshaw, Davies, Graham, Winter, Burgan, Klomp, Casey, etc, but also a number of players who had very good seasons in 1978 but very little added to the resume after that.

Conversely, the Norwood team is packed full of 200-300 game players, premiership winners, record holders, state players, AFL experience, etc. Tongue in cheek ... when you compare the two teams 30 years on, you wonder how Sturt actually got so close to Norwood in the final

Norwood certainly look to be a stronger combination in hindsight. Surely though, Neil Craig would not have started in the back pocket on the changing ruckmen. His second cousin, Rick Davies would have kicked 10 goals on him if that had been the case. Did the Norwood rucks, Button and Wayne Phillis in fact change in the back pocket or did Fieneman play in the back pocket and Wynne and Craig as ruck rovers change at half forward?

[mal]

Agree RG , hindsight indeed is
You dont have to be a WISEMAN to work out that NW had more depth
I reckon ST had a core of 8 extremely talented footballers, and perhaps a couple more
These are the 8 stars [in my opinion]
BAGSHAW
BURGAN
CASEY
DAVIES
GRAHAM
HOWARD
KLOMP
WINTER

The ST top 8 would be a little bit better than the NW top 8
But after the top 8 NW look the better line up

DAVIES was the key player in this match
He could out mark the best of the SANFL ruckmen
His skill levels for a big fella were amazing, perhaps the best ever for a SANFL ruckman
His PALMing of the footy was very very good

When Jumbo gets the ball himself thats fine
BUT
The supPORT at ground level posed a problem
NW had NUNAN /TURBILL/ VONBERTOUCH , you back these in and under rovers to win the stoppages in front of HEINRICH and BARTON
Also TAYLOR would prob be slightly better than KLOMP in the stoppages in the centre

Another factor was would BUTTON /PHILLIS/WYNNE run into DAVIES and try and slow him down ?

Rarely has a GF depended on one player to make such a big difference [in my time of watching SANFL G/Fs]
Perhaps when Barrie Robran played in the NA grand Finals earlier in the decade ?

[mal]

You learn something everyday
Jumbo Davies and Neil Craig are second cousins

[robranisgod]

RG
I reckon Johnny Elbows two eight Wynne was a ruck rover ?
I recall either this game or other ST V NW games where he was used as the 3rd man up to combat that man Rick Davies

There were always two ruck rovers. I assume that WYnne and Craig were the two, I just couldn't imagine Craig changing in the back pocket on Davies and Sims.

[GWW]

I had also heard that Davies and Craig were related. I think was a key reason for Craig joining Sturt. 2 more different personalities you could ever get, 1 the joker, the other the scientist

[mal]

GRAND FINAL LINE UPS
as listed in the Grand Final Budget
22 players listed per team


STURT
1 HOWARD B
3 WINTER B
4 SIMS T
6 BURGAN T
8 BAGSHAW P
9 HEINRICH P
12 LEONARD G
14 REED G
15 WARK N
19 GRAHAM M
20 CASEY C
21 SANDERS P
22 KLOMP R
24 DAVIES R
26 HARGREAVES P
28 BARTON R
30 LLOYD T
32 CECE S
34 WISEMAN G
36 DOWNES A
37 WEATHERALD R
39 MUTTON G


NORWOOD
3 JENKINS D
5 STASINOWSKI I
6 ARMOUR D
7 CRAIG N
10 WOODCOCK R
11 GALLAGHER P
12 NICHOLSON G
14 FIENEMANN C
15 ADAMSON B
16 ADLER P
17 TURBILL G
19 PALM D
20 VONBERTOUCH T
21 ROSSER G
25 KERLEY S
27 OLSEN M
28 WYNEE J
29 TAYLOR M
30 BUTTON N
31 MICHALANNEY J
32 NUNAN M
38 PHILLIS W



ST were the best performed team in 1978, and perhaps the best performed team in SANFL history in 1978
In the Minor round 20-1
Finals 1-0
21 wins and only 1 loss
One would think this final was almost a forgone conclusion, particularly after ST beat NW easily in 3 games this
season
Hindsight is always the best judge, and looking at the line ups I think this :
ST had arguably the 2 best footballers in Jumbo Davies and Paul Bagshaw
But NW were a lot more even and had plenty of depth and considerable experience
IF NW were able to nullify Jumbo and Baggy then they had to think they were a realistic chance to win the final
The other dangerous player for ST was the 'flashy' Michael Graham

Silvano Cece did not make the Grand Final line up
The Grand Final was played on 30/9/1978, on the same day Cece had his 21st Birthday
Oh dear
Cece had played 26 games for ST since his debut in 1976

[Adelaide Hawk]

Norwood certainly look to be a stronger combination in hindsight. Surely though, Neil Craig would not have started in the back pocket on the changing ruckmen.

No, he didn't. The sides I posted were selected teams, as published. When the game started, Butch Phillis lined up in the back pocket, Craig appeared to start on the ball and Von Bertouch looked to be on a flank. After that, Craig seemed to be playing off a half back flank.

[Adelaide Hawk]

In the build up to the game, Ray Titus wanted to take the customary photo of both team captains with the TS Hill trophy. He contacted Taylor who said yes, but Bagshaw refused to come to the city.

So, they arranged a time to meet him at his property in McLaren Flat. Titus and Taylor drove down to Baggy's house, pulled up and knocked on the door, expecting to be greeted by Bagshaw.

His wife opened the door and told them they could find him out in one of the fields. They walked 2 miles and finally found him sitting on a tractor. This incensed Taylor who used it as motivation the following day.

After Norwood defeated Port Adelaide in the Preliminary Final, John Cahill was driving back to the Port Adelaide Club when he had a motor accident on the corner of Tapleys Hill & Old Port Roads, not 100 metres from John Cahill Toyota. The driver of the other car? Greg Turbill, from the team that just defeated them

[mal]

Selected teams

STURT
Coach: Jack Oatey
F: Trevor Sims, Paul Bagshaw, Phil Heinrich
HF: Michael Graham, Bruce Winter, Andrew Downes
C: Brendon Howard, Robbert Klomp, Geoff Leonard
HB: Phil Sanders, Graham Reed, Geoff Wiseman
B: Nigel Wark, Colin Casey, Peter Hargreaves
Ruck: Rick Davies, Tony Burgan, Robert Barton
Res: Tony Lloyd, Geoff Mutton

NORWOOD
Coach: Bob Hammond
F: Wayne Phillis, Jim Michalanney, Michael Nunan
HF: Chris Fienemann, Brian Adamson, Roger Woodcock
C: Phil Gallagher, Michael Taylor, Glen Rosser
HB: David Armour, Stephen Kerley, Danny Jenkins
B: Greg Nicholson, Ian Stasinowsky, Neil Craig
Ruck: Neil Button, John Wynne, Terry Von Bertouch
Res: Greg Turbill, Paul Adler

When you take a look at the premiership ladder at the end of round 22, you will see Sturt were undoubtedly the team who dominated the minor round.

However, the interesting thing for me years later was to take a retrospective look at the teams, not in terms of match ups, but the overall view of the quality of players. The Sturt teams has their champions: Bagshaw, Davies, Graham, Winter, Burgan, Klomp, Casey, etc, but also a number of players who had very good seasons in 1978 but very little added to the resume after that.

Conversely, the Norwood team is packed full of 200-300 game players, premiership winners, record holders, state players, VFL experience, etc. Tongue in cheek ... when you compare the two teams 30 years on, you wonder how Sturt actually got so close to Norwood in the final

NW Recruits
B ADAMSON [WP]
D ARMOUR [EP]
S KERLEY [ML]
G NICHOLSON [WA]
M NUNAN [ST]
W PHILLIS [ST]
T VONBERTOUCH [NA]
J WYNNE [WP]

Im not dragon the chain, but is it any wonder that West Perth played hard ball with the Brian Adamson clearance
West Perth also lost John Wynne to NW in 1970
Fancy losing 2 star Centre Half Forwards to the same club
NW 8 recruits
In the B grade GF the legs also had
R DILLON [ML]
G DUNSTAN [CO]
R POPE [WA]
G CLARK [SUBIACO]

ST recruits
G MUTTON [SWAN DISTRICTS]
G REED [CD]
N WARK [NW]

Are there others in the line ups who debuted for other clubs ?


Some other trivia
Mike Olsen born in Tenterfield NSW
Greg Nicholson born in Frankston Victoria
Robert Klomp born in Holland
Bruce Winter born in Port Moresby [and went to Norwood High School]

Rick Davies and Trevor Sims
Both ruckmen
Both born in 1952
Both 6'3'' tall
Both weighed 14.7

[dedja]

Useless info ... Neil Craig is ex-Norwood High as well.

[mal]

GRAND FINAL BUDGET

EDITORS APPRECIATION
The editor wishes to thank all those who have made contributions to the Football Budget throughout the season
Special thanks to Ken Whelan of Messenger Newspapers
and also Ern Kolosche, Peter Messner, Ian Everitt and members of the SANFL staff
_Kim Boehm, Editor


QUESTION
Is that Ken Whelan the ST footballer ?

[Dogwatcher]

After Norwood defeated Port Adelaide in the Preliminary Final, John Cahill was driving back to the Port Adelaide Club when he had a motor accident on the corner of Tapleys Hill & Old Port Roads, not 100 metres from John Cahill Toyota. The driver of the other car? Greg Turbill, from the team that just defeated them

John Cahill and car accidents

[mal]

30/9/1978

WA COACH
Applications for the WA coaching position closed
Fos Williams tenure at WA had finished
Doug the mouth Thomas a WA legend said there was 5 applications
Interests came locally and from Interstate
The was speculation from the public of the following people
John Halbert
Francis Bourke
Kevin Sheedy[would have changed VFL/AFL history if he came over]


ADVERTISER TIPSTERS
All tipped ST to win the Grand Final
Those writers were
Gordon Schwartz
Merv Agars
Mike Coward
Tony Becker