SOUTH AUSTRALIAN TEAM OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Back Line

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Left Back Pocket - Jack Tredrea (South Adelaide)

Between 1903 and 1922, Jack Tredrea played a total of 191 league games - no mean feat considering that his club, South Adelaide, only played an average of 12 games per season for most of his career, which began in 1903 and ended nineteen years later, with the period 1916-18 being lost owing to World War One.  

A tough, team-orientated player, Tredrea was invaluable to both his club and state in that he was sufficiently versatile to succeed in almost any position on the field.  Tredrea was also supremely fit and could maintain the same high levels of pace and vigour throughout a game.  A highly proficient exponent of the stab pass, he rarely wasted a possession, and his fearless attack on the ball even won the admiration of notoriously hard to impress Victorians in the interstate arena, a type of football in which Tredrea excelled for over 30 games (sources vary as to the precise number).

South Adelaide's perennial failure not only in terms of premierships but even in qualifying for the major round must have frustrated Tredrea enormously, but there was never any question of his transferring allegiance to another club.  Even after his retirement he maintained association with South for another 3 seasons as non-playing coach but when premiership success continued to prove elusive he made a surreptitious exit leaving only a multitude of memories.

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Full Back - Ian McKay (St George & North Adelaide)

A photograph of Ian McKay taking a skyscraper of a mark over Norwood's Pat Hall in the 1952 SANFL grand final (click here to view)  is one of the most famous - in an international sense - images of Australian football ever promulgated.  Printed in newspapers as far away as London where it was described as having been taken at "a rugby match in Adelaide" the photograph should nevertheless not be allowed to obscure the fact that, as a footballer, Ian McKay was significantly more than a 'one mark wonder'.

McKay's senior football career began in 1943 when, stationed in Sydney, he played for a St George side almost entirely populated by players from the southern states.  Playing as a forward for the only extended period in his career McKay kicked 70 goals for the season in a side which defeated South Sydney for the premiership.

In 1946 McKay began his 10 season 164 game career with North Adelaide.  In his debut year, playing at centre half back, he gained state selection and was named South Australia's best player in a 37 point loss against the Vics in Adelaide.

By the 2nd half of the 1949 season, however - partly through force of circumstance, given dual Magarey Medallist Ron Phillips' irrepressible form at centre half back - McKay had found his true niche lining up against the opposition full forward.  In 1950 he became the first full back to win a Magarey Medal, in addition to representing South Australia in all 4 of its matches at the Brisbane Carnival.  He also won the North Adelaide best and fairest award.

McKay's athleticism and tremendous leaping ability meant that he was ideally suited to taking on Victoria's champion goalsneak John Coleman, a task he consistently performed with distinction.  In fact, it was the opinion of many observers that the South Australian interstate team's better than average performances against the 'Big V' during the early 1950s was in large measure attributable to Ian McKay's ability to negate the Bomber legend.

Quiet and unassuming off the field, McKay was nevertheless an excellent on field leader: he captained North during all bar his first 2 seasons in League football, leading the club to premierships in 1949 and 1952.  He also captained South Australia on 2 occasions.

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Right Back Pocket - Bernie Smith (West Adelaide & Geelong)

A centreman during his career with West Adelaide as well as during the early part of his VFL stint with Geelong, Bernie Smith is remembered as one of the greatest back pockets in the history of the game.  Moved to the back pocket by coach Reg Hickey in 1951 he went on to win both the club best and fairest award and the Brownlow Medal that same season, while for good measure he was among the Cats' best in their grand final defeat of Essendon. 

Smith was ideally suited to a back pocket because he was pacy, had good ground skills, marked well, was always cool under pressure, and had superb judgement.  Opposition coaches came to view him as Geelong's first line of attack, and in what was a virtually unprecedented move for the times he was often subjected to what would now be called tagging.

Bernie Smith played 55 games with West Adelaide winning a best and fairest award in that club's premiership year of 1947.  He won 2 best and fairest trophies during 183 games with Geelong, played in 2 premiership sides, and was club captain for part of 1950 and the whole of 1954.

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