SANFL 1960-1999

Some fantastic football played in the period of 1960-1999

Most people you talk to or post will say that the standard of the SANFL peaked somewhere between 1960-1990

The SANFL was able to retain sufficient good and  champion players from being recruited by  the VFL clubs in that period

But at the start of the 80s there were processes in place to weaken the SANFL playing stocks
This was evident in 1981
Port had beaten Glenelg in the Grand Final
The following day the VFL clubs had the nerve to list their draft choices for 1982

Here is that list :

SA-SM Phil Brooksby
GL-ES Stephen Copping
ST-FO Neil Craig
PA-RI Peter Hoffner
PA-ML Danny Hughes
SA-SK Geoff Linke
NA-GE Greg McAdam
GL-FI Chris McDermott
GL-GE Tony McGuiness
SA-SM Mark Naley
CD-HW John Platten
NA-RI David Tiller
NW-NM Tom Warhurst
GL-CA Chris Veide

On that day was a response by the SANFL General Manager and former West and Norwood footballer Don Roach
* The drafting of players by the VFL symbolised the lack of negotiations  between the VFL and other states
He said while drafting was an internal rule which had no real affect in SA, it highlighted the need for reasonable dialogue between the two bodies.*

Despite the increasing raiding by the VFL, the SANFL comp was a very high and entertaining standard in the 1980s


In the ensuing weeks the SANFL asked for an urgent meeting with the VFL
The agenda was to discuss a proposal to field a South Australian team in the VFL

The landscape of the SANFL was changing

These are my top 3 from that 1981 draft list :
1 John Platten
2 Mark Naley
3 Chris McDermott

The draft is the key sign for me that the Victorian football mentality, is fundamentally flawed.

Scrappy wrote:These are my top 3 from that 1981 draft list :
1 John Platten
2 Mark Naley
3 Chris McDermott

Mine would be:
1 Platten
2 McGuinness
3 McDermott/Naley (tie)

Agree FF
No disrespect to the other players but the 4 you mentioned all looked better than the 5th pick.
I tried to get Tony McGuinness in the top 3 , but went the others
I reckon most people would have Johnny Platten as the best of that draft lot

Platten definitely the best of those listed.

Fantastic player.

""I was thinking of pawning it when I had a bad run at the races."

By
Jimmy Deane
South Adelaide legend and dual Magarey Medalist
Comment made jocularly in 1993

Gentleman Jimmy had a great reputation as a champion footballer.
He is listed as a centreman in the South Adelaide Greatest team.
I never saw him play.
But I did hear Jimmy when he was a SANFL football commentator.
Jimmy had a very good calling style , his comments during a game were as good as it gets by any SANFL caller of his time.


Some great TV and Radio commentators of the 20th Century
Here's a few I liked listening to

Jimmy Deane
Wally May
Dick Jones
DB
Ian Aitken

The slogan that sticks out for me from All Those Years ago was :
" Comment Wally May."

Jimmy Deane use to say ''this is the best team i've seen since the war'' he said it most weeks:D .....also played in the VFL for Richmond from memory

Phil Carman

It was 1970 and as a young lad I attended a Norwood V Port Adelaide game at Norwood Oval.
It didnt take me long to spot number 9 for Norwood.
From memory I looked in my budget and could not find his name.
He played a very good game, but I went through the whole game without knowing who this number 9 was.
I later learnt from the press it was Phil Carman , and what an outstanding debut it was.
Little did I know that this player was to have a rather turbulent and  often sensational career

Phil Carman's career has been well documented
At his best , the best Norwood footballer I have ever seen.
The pinnacle of his career was 1975, playing for Collingwood, when he was 3 votes of winning the Brownlow Medal , after missing 9 matches with a foot injury!

I was most interested to find out how Fabulous Phil ended up at Norwood.
Edenhope was a Collinwood zone in those days , Phil was spotted in a bush representative game against Collingwood.
He made an impression with the Coliingwood football club and was asked to train with them.
Phil didn't like the Melbourne lifestyle and preferred playing for Norwood in the SANFL
Collingwood sent documentation down to the Edenhope Football Club for Carman to become a Collingwood player.
Carman and friends knew of Collingwood's intentions , and rounded up some stash and paid off Edenhope's club President Bill Hager to make the Collingwood documentation accidentally go missing !!!

You might be reading this thinking so what, the Edenhope, Collingwood, Norwood triangle is nothing new in negotiating for players.
However who was Edenhope's  Bill Hager ?
Bill Hager was the local Edenhope policeman ....

Team of the 1960 to 1999 era (although I'd probably prefer 1960 to 1990 era due to the Crows emerging in 1991).

FF  R Davies, M Blight, L Head
HF  M Aish, S Kernahan, P Bagshaw
C   J Cahill, R Ebert, M Graham
HB  K Eustice, G Phillips, G Motley
FB  N Kerley, B Hammond, B Lindsay

RUCK
P Carey
B Robran
J Platten

INT: G Cornes, P Darley

EMERG: G McIntosh

Some very good judges of SANFL football have expressed a belief that the 1983 West Adelaide team was the best team of all time.
But not one of that Premiership line up has made this magnificent team posted by Footy Follower

PS
If G Motley was injured , P Motley would be a good replacement

Also some good judges consider Barrie Barbary as one of the very best wingers to go around in the SANFL


Don Lindner was a brilliant footballer
I only saw him at the end of his career , he was a sensational mark

1974
Finals first played at Football Park
It met with some disapproval at the time
I got to like the move, and preferred spectating games at Footy Park instead of Adelaide Oval

Overall which ground is better for watching footy ?

Assume you mean in Adelaide Oval's former guise.
IE Pre development of the new stands.

I confess that watching anything including paint drying at Adelaide Oval is preferable to football at Football Park. Footy Park had and has little character about it. But that is what modern stadia are about.

Pack 'em, rack 'em and stack 'em.

Not too sure that the new AO will be any different to that philosophy in the seating arrangements, but at least we will see the familiar trees at the northen end. However, the shade sail type of roofing will have a bit more character about it I think.

Alberton Oval somewhere in time, in the 80's
Port V Norwood

Port were walloping the unremarkable Redleg's one afternoon
A rather boisterous Port supPorter yells out a directive at the players
" This is a circus, magicians versus clowns."

Its still stuck on my mind several decades later

2/10/1966
Richmond Oval
There was a single wicket cricket competition held
It was a comp with prize money of $1500

The cricketers I have listed to play in this comp are :

Richie Benaud
Chappelli
Jeff Davies
Les Favell
Wally Grout
Neil Harvey
Neil Hawke
Neil knuckles king Kerley
Keith Miller
Barry Jarman
Ken Slasher Mackay
Norman Oneill
Barry Shepherd
David Sincock
Graham Thomas
Graham Watson
Dougggggggie Walters

The rules were each batter bats for 3 overs or when out
Player v Player was done by a draw

Ive included this in the football thread because Neil Kerley played
Neil Hawkeye Hawke was playing cricket and footy in those days as well
Anyone know the results ?

3/10/1963
Very important day in South Australian football
A legend had the plaster removed from a broken left arm
The nuggety individual suffered the injury when representing Channel 9 against Channel 7
The 25 year old was Ernie Sigley
This probably put an end to any prospect of a league football career with his beloved South Adelaide Football Club !!!

MAX GEORGE
Played football in 3 states
Swan Districts
Fitzroy
Central Districts

In 1976 he played VFL for Fitzroy
Played for Geraldton in 1977
He joined Centrals in 1978

Centrals recruited some good footballers from the west in the 70s
Some of those were
Phil Haughan
Tony Casserly
Max George
John Duckworth

John Duckworth was a sensational player

Did you know

DARYL CAHILL
In the 1980's Darryl Cahill trained with West Adelaide and Glenelg
History shows he stayed at Port Adelaide
One of the best rovers to have played at Port Adelaide

In that era Darrell Cahill and Brian Cunningham were a dynamic duo
Bucky has seemingly got most of the accolades over the years
But I reckon DC was only a touch behind Bucky as a footballer

CHRIS BRENT

Played football for Fitzroy under 18s and kicked 95 goals
That team included a couple of fair footballers
Gary Pert
Paul Roos

Brent ended up playing football in Tasmana
He was rumoured to be coming to play in the SANFL for West Adelaide

Question for the Westies posters
Was Chris Brent  almost recruited to playing for West Adelaide ?
Did he Train at West ?

RICK JUMBO PRINCE DAVIES

Arguably the most skilfull ruckman thats played in the SANFL
He also became a sensational full forward late in his  great career
Without doubt the man with the Ed Ames Mingo hairstyle is one of the greatest in the SANFL

There was a segment on Today Tonight about Jumbos weighty problems
So much so he had a tummy procedure , and he has shed a significant amount of weight

Heres some edits from the segment

" Ive just had a fantastic time of my life and it is so bloody good to be here."
*At the Hall of fame event in 2014*

" Most people in my situation start a new diet on a Monday
Hey , Thursday comes I'll have a few beers with the boys , and when I say a few beers , I used to probably have , 10 crowns was beautiful you know what I mean it was a nice little warm up wasent it."


" Monday Pritikin , 5 and 2 , I just couldnt work out what the 2 was."
Footnote:
* The 5 -2 diet is one where you eat normally for 5 days  and then have limited calories for 2 days.*

" And I thought right this year what are you going to do ?
Right your going to have a new knee a new hip and a new stomach."
Footnote:
*Jumbo had a gastric surgery , a surgery which ultimately meant that Prince Davies would be able to eat far less food per eating
Jumbo lost a whopping 30 kilos in 3 months after the surgery*

" You eat like a mouse[Neville Harris] I really do feel like it you know like one of those little mice you look in the corner thats just nibbling on a little bit of cheese , thats how I felt for about 3 months."

" Its amazing when you lose 30 kilograms what you can actually see , you know what I mean , you can actually look down the front and theres things you never thought about.
You could feel them but you couldnt see them , you know what I mean ."

" Somebody said to me the other day we are not going to call you the Jumbo anymore we're going to call you the quarter pounder."

Rick Davies
A champion on the field, and a funny man off the field

The Jumbo was struggling to walk last time I saw him at Unley, given his hip and knee ailments.

Very much a funny, charismatic character.

We had had a bit of banter with him in the Chambo Choir one day at Unley. After the match he was at the bar in front of us and turned with a couple of beers in his hand. We thanked him for having a photo taken with us. To which he responded as he walked past,

"no worries boys, that's what its all about, but just stay off the p!ss!"

781 goals kicked by Rick Davies
Thats a phenomenal effort considering how many games he played in the ruck
A phenomenal effort to play as many games as a ruckman when you consider he was about 6 foot 1 or 2 tall
He won about 7 Best and Fairest awards as the ruckman

On his debut against Woodville, Noel Teasdale had this to say to Rick
" If you touch the ball , I''ll kill you."

Highest goalscorers that played in the 1960-1999 period

1044 Tim Evans
884 Freddy Phillis
781 Rick Jumbo Davies
684 Scotty Hodges
618 John Roberts
615 Mal Greenslade
613 Neville Rocky Roberts
602 Roger Woodcock
558 Roger Luders
529 Glynn Hewitt
525 Lindsay Head
521 Peter Carey
517 Grenville Dietrich

There were other players who ended up being forwards , that didnt kick 500+
Then there are a plethora of players that probably would have kicked 500+ but played in the VFL and AFL
Mal Blight , Steve Kernahan , Tony Modra are some that might have

The one that must get a special mention is Roger Woodcock
To kick 600 goals from mainly half forward is astonishing
As was Jumbos 781 , when you consider all the rucking he did

Brant Chambers kicked 672 goals in this century
That means he is the 5th highest goalkicker overall



QUESTIONS
Who is the best forward in the 500 club 1960-1999 ?
Who are the best forwards overall 1960-1999 ?

Fred was my idol as a kid.
What is often forgotten about Freddy Phillis is that he played a couple of seasons in defence. From memory he got picked as a defender in a State squad towards the end of his career.

didn't Tim Evans say ''hello'' to Fred, or was it the other way around ? in a grand final when he lined up on him at full back ?


those flamboyant yellow boots in the 1975 grand final still gives me nightmares.......in todays footy where getting to a stage of a player wearing black boots he'd now be the flamboyant one