STURT - Part One
Affiliated: SAFA 1901-6; SANFL 1907-present
Club Address: P.O. Box 10, Unley 5061, South Australia
Home Ground: Unley Oval
Formed: 1901
Colours: Oxford and Cambridge blue
Emblem: Double Blues
Premierships: SENIORS - 1915, 1919, 1926, 1932, 1940, 1966-67-68-69-70, 1974, 1976, 2002 (13 total) SECONDS/RESERVES (from 1919) - 1949, 1977, 1999, 2008 (4 total) THIRDS/UNDER 19s (from 1936) - 1951, 1958, 1964, 1984, 1987 (5 total) COLTS/UNDER 17S (from 1939) - 1941, 1949, 1963, 1974, 1976, 1980, 2003, 2008 (8 total) OTHER PREMIERSHIPS - Stanley H. Lewis Memorial Trophy - 1968, 1978, 1983, 2008 (4 total); SANFL Night/Knock-out/Pre-season Series 1954, 1975 (2 total); Living Health Cup (minor premiers) 1998
Magarey Medallists: Hendrick Waye 1903; Harry Cumberland 1911; Victor York Richardson 1920*; Horrie Riley 1923; Keith Dunn 1933; Len Fitzgerald 1952, 1954 & 1959; John Halbert 1961; Greg Whittlesea 1988; Brodie Atkinson 1997; Damian Squire 1999 & 2000; Jade Sheedy 2002#; Tim Weatherald 2002#; Luke Crane 2008 (13 Medallists/16 Medals)
Tassie Medallists: Nil
All Australians: Len Fitzgerald 1953; Clayton Thompson 1953; John Halbert 1961; Brenton Adcock 1966; Rick Schoff 1966 & 1969; Tony Burgan 1972; Rick Davies 1980 (captain); Peter Motley 1983 & 1985; Greg Whittlesea 1988 (11 total)
League Top Goalkickers: F.Golding (30) 1920; P.Caust (57) 1955; R.Sawley (70) 1964; K.Whelan (107) 1973 & (108) 1974; R.Davies (151) 1983; B.Chambers (112) 2007, (109) 2008 & (82) 2009 (9 total)
Sturt's Official 'Team of the Century': Click here
Highest Score: 32.19 (211) vs. Woodville 7.7 (49) at Woodville Oval in round 4 1974
Most Games: 360 by Paul Bagshaw from 1964 to 1980
Record Home Attendance: 22,015 in round 9 1968: Sturt 6.9 (45); Port Adelaide 5.14 (44)
Record Finals Attendance: 66,897 for 1976 grand final at Football Park: Sturt 17.14 (116); Port Adelaide 10.15 (75)
Overall Success Rate 1907-2009: 51.1%
* indicates awarded retrospectively by the SANFL in 1998
# indicates tied for the Medal
Norwood and Port Adelaide may possess the tradition and the premierships, North Adelaide and West Adelaide the galaxies of champion players, and Central District may have nouveau riche pretensions which have already gone some way toward obliterating the scars of a less than glorious past, but try a word association test involving the name 'Sturt' with South Australian football followers of more than thirty years of age - and long memories - and the chances are that the single most frequently proffered response would be "class".
The reason for such a response is simple. The Sturt side that dominated South Australian football during the second half of the 1960s had an impact which no other team in the history of the SANFL, with the possible exception of the great Port Adelaide side which won six successive premierships during the 1950s, ever managed. However, Port Adelaide's triumphs were founded on grim determination, fierce aggression and an almost fanatical desire to succeed; during their record sequence of grand final wins they only once won comfortably, and on at least a couple of occasions they were blessed by good fortune. During Sturt's period of dominance it was otherwise, an 11 point victory over Port Adelaide in the 1967 grand final being the only occasion when success could have been said to have been achieved with any real difficulty.
The real turning point in Sturt's fortunes came when former Norwood and West Adelaide supremo Jack Oatey was appointed coach in 1962. Initially, Oatey was less than enthusiastic about the Double Blues' approach, remarking that "You at Sturt can't even sell an ice cream to an Eskimo". However, the Sturt committee, led by chairman Ray Kutcher, was persistent, and finally landed its man.
Legendary Sturt coach, Jack Oatey.
Oatey's previous coaching record included premierships with Norwood in 1946, '48 and '52, and a string of narrow grand final losses to Port Adelaide while at West. He had a reputation as an innovator and astute tactician, but it took a while for his message to get across to his predominantly youthful charges at Unley.
In 1962 the Double Blues managed just 4 wins from 19 games to finish 2nd last. "Sometimes you couldn't help feeling that Oatey and his players weren't operating on the same wave-length," it was suggested. Moreover:
it may have been expecting too much for Sturt players to absorb the finer points of Oatey's teaching in one season. And finer points are the crux of Oatey's method. Handball with either hand, bullet-like find-a-player foot passes, thinking two or three kicks ahead, blinding non-stop speed. [see footnote 1]
Such were the traits that Oatey had instilled in the West Adelaide players during his stint there; at Sturt, they would be honed to a previously unimagined level.
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Among the list of forty-one players used by the Double Blues in 1962 were names like Hicks, Short, Jarrett, Clarke, Martin, Schoff, Murphy, Halbert and Rigney, all of whom were to play prominent roles in the club's success over forthcoming seasons, and all of whom, bar Halbert, were in the early stages of their careers. Sturt showed measurable improvement in 1963, winning 10 out of 20 matches for the season to finish 6th. In 1964, finals fever returned to Unley with a vengeance as the Double Blues downed Glenelg by 5 points in the first semi final before succumbing to eventual premiers South Adelaide by 41 points in the preliminary final. Afterwards, Oatey told Ray Kutcher that he needed to see just one additional player at the club in 1965 in order to mount a genuine premiership threat. The player Oatey had in mind was former Essendon utility Robert Shearman, who since 1961 had been starring for West Torrens. The Eagles were unwilling to clear Shearman but so keen was the player himself to join Sturt that he willingly stood out of football for twelve months in order to obtain an automatic clearance. [see footnote 2] Twelve months later, Oatey's prophetic declarations concerning Shearman would come to fruition in quite dramatic fashion, but even without his contribution the Blues continued to improve in 1965. That said, it needed a last round win over Woodville coupled with a loss the same day by arch rivals North Adelaide against South Adelaide, to see the Blues displace the Roosters in 4th place. Oatey's initial feelings of relief were quickly supplanted by a sense of eager relish. "Finals football is different," he enthused. "Anybody can win." |
One of the many Sturt champions of the Oatey era, wingman Darryl Hicks, sends the Blues into attack. Hicks went on to become the NFL's Director of Coaching. (Click to enlarge.) |
Playing superbly, Sturt outclassed Norwood in the first semi final by 45 points and then outlasted a determined South Adelaide in the preliminary final to win a thriller by just 7 points. In the grand final, in front of a league record crowd of 62,543, the Double Blues trailed Port Adelaide by 35 points early in the final term before coming home with a wet sail, as the cliché goes, to fall short by just 3 points. The inevitable disappointment was mixed with defiance: no one at Unley doubted that 1966 would see the Double Blues' favours adorning the tower of the West End Brewery for the first time since 1940.
With Bob Shearman slotting seamlessly in at centre Sturt's football for most of the 1966 season bore the unmistakable hallmarks of a team which had finally come of age. The Blues lost only 2 minor round matches all season to top the ladder with some comfort, 4 wins ahead of both Port Adelaide and South Adelaide. A 1 point second semi final loss to the Magpies proved to be nothing more than a temporary distraction as they swept inexorably to the flag. In the preliminary final Sturt annihilated North Adelaide 22.14 (146) to 9.7 (61) before gaining conclusive and indeed quite astonishing revenge by 56 points against Port Adelaide on grand final day. 'Astonishing' is not too outlandish an adjective: the Magpies of that era simply did not lose matches by margins of that magnitude. With time on in the 3rd term approaching Sturt led by juts 3 points, 7.8 to 7.5, before suddenly finding another gear and adding 9.8 to 0.3 over the next quarter and a bit before Ashley McKay chipped in with a consolation goal for Port in the dying moments. Final scores were Sturt 16.16 (112) defeated Port Adelaide 8.8 (56), with former Hawthorn ruckman Malcolm Hill, centre half forward and captain John Halbert, defenders Brenton Adcock, Philip 'Sandy' Nelson and Bruce Jarrett, and centreman Bob Shearman the leading lights for the victors.
A week later Sturt took on VFL runners up Collingwood in a challenge match. A crowd of 30,794 at the Adelaide Oval were treated to another vintage display as the Double Blues won with ease, 18.12 (120) to 11.18 (84). Collingwood president Tom Sherrin was generous in defeat, conceding "I was amazed with their skill - it was a real shock. They would be strong contenders for a VFL premiership."
Sturt finished half a win behind North Adelaide at the end of the 1967 minor round but then comfortably overturned that club in the second semi final by 44 points. The grand final was a repeat of the previous season, with Sturt heavily favoured having already defeated Port Adelaide by 23, 22 and 28 points during the 1967 minor round. The grand final was considerably closer, but once again Sturt proved to have too much class when the pressure was at its height. When the final siren sounded the Double Blues were 11 points to the good, 13.10 (88) to 10.17 (77), having been best served by back pocket Brenton Adcock, ruckman Tony Clarkson, utility Rick Schoff, ruck rover John Murphy and rover Roger Rigney.
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Sturt's 1972 All Australian wingman, Tony Burgan. (Click to enlarge.) |
Carlton, which had finished 3rd in the VFL, took on Sturt at the Adelaide Oval a week later and, after leading 7.7 to 7.4 at the long break, were overrun in the second half as the Double Blues added 12.4 to 4.8 to win easily. Carlton coach Ron Barassi ventured the opinion after the game that "Sturt are one of the most talented and certainly one of the top teams in Australia". This assessment was born out in 1968 as the Blues continued to dominate. After losing only 2 minor round matches all year - both against Port Adelaide - Sturt proved to have the Magpies' measure when it really counted with wins in the second semi final, 15.15 (105) to 13.14 (92), and the grand final, 12.18 (90) to 9.9 (63). Best for the Blues in the grand final included ruck rovers Paul 'Mr. Magic' Bagshaw and John Murphy, centre half forward Rick Schoff, ruckman Tony Clarkson and first year rover Peter Endersbee. [see footnote 3] Sturt lost to Carlton on the Saturday following the grand final in a match which, in South Australia at least, was billed as being for the 'unofficial' championship of Australia (a description which seems almost to contradict itself). As far as most Victorians were concerned, of course, the 'real' championship of Australia had been determined a week earlier on the Melbourne Cricket Ground when Carlton defeated Essendon, while the opinion of the football-loving fraternity west of the Nullarbor is similarly easy to infer. |
Sturt finished the 1969 minor round on 15 wins from 20 matches, 2 fewer than minor premier Glenelg. However, once again, when the finals got underway, the Blues proved capable of elevating their football to another plane. In the second semi final they outclassed the Bays to the tune of 38 points, 18.16 (124) to 11.20 (86), and a fortnight later they were even more convincing against the same opponents, winning by nearly 11 goals and accumulating a grand final record score in the process. Final scores were Sturt 24.15 (159) to Glenelg 13.16 (94), with half forward flanker John Tilbrook (4 goals), ruck rover Paul Bagshaw, full forward Malcolm Greenslade (who bagged a grand final record-equalling 9 goals), wingman Daryl Hicks, and back pocket Brenton Adcock best for the victorious Blues.
The only blot on a record-breaking season came with a 57 point loss against Richmond in the so called 'Championship of Australia' clash the following week.
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Sturt Go 4 In a Row in '69 |
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Sturt made it five flags in a row with a disarming lack of fuss in 1970, losing only 3 minor round matches for the year before downing Port Adelaide in the second semi final by 35 points and Glenelg in the grand final by 21 points. Bagshaw, Rigney, Endersbee, Greenslade (6 of Sturt's 12 goals) and Schoff were the best players.
Carlton 21.13 (139) defeated Sturt 12.22 (94) in the Champions match.
The Double Blue bubble finally burst in 1971 when, after reaching the finals but failing to secure the double chance, Sturt lost the first semi final to first time finalist Central District by 27 points. Afterwards, stalwarts Trevor Clarke, Roger Rigney and Rick Schoff retired, while during the close season John Tilbrook was cleared to Melbourne for $18,000; it would take Sturt a while to cover these losses.
In 1972 Sturt, while still capable of playing some excellent football, finished 5th, missing participation in the major round for the first time since 1963.
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"You're going nowhere, mate!" Sturt defender Philip 'Sandy' Nelson locks up his Glenelg opponent - and some time state colleague - Brian Colbey. |
The 1973 season saw the introduction of a final five system with Sturt overcoming North Adelaide in the first ever qualifying final (played between the sides finishing the minor round in 2nd and 3rd positions) before losing the second semi final to Glenelg and, in an astonishing form reversal, the preliminary final to the Roosters by a record margin of 93 points. Full forward Ken Whelan kicked more than 100 goals for the season, the first Sturt player to do so since 'Bo' Morton in 1940, but this afforded little consolation.
Oatey took the embarrassment hard and in 1974 he had the Blues primed to a peak and producing football comparable with their best form of the five in a row era. Where the teams of the late '60s had been renowned for their attacking prowess, however, the Double Blues of '74 owed much of their success to a watertight defence, which statistically proved nearly 20% better than their nearest rivals.
Sturt lost only 3 minor round matches before progressing straight to the grand final with a hard fought 7.19 (61) to 8.8 (56) victory over Port Adelaide. The grand final opposition was provided by reigning premiers Glenelg and, after another dour tussle, the Double Blues emerged victorious by 15 points, 9.16 (70) to 8.7 (55). The win was all the more meritorious in that Sturt had to kick into the breeze in the last quarter after leading by just 5 points at the final change but, after being enjoined by Oatey to "attack, attack, attack", added 3.4 to 2.0 to claim an improbable triumph. Best players for Sturt were ruckmen Rick Davies and Greg Wild, ruck rover Paul Bagshaw, rover Mick Nunan, and back pocket Brenton Adcock in his last ever league game.
In the 'Championship of Australia' series, which was now contested by teams from all four of the major football states [see footnote 4], Sturt defeated East Fremantle but lost heavily to a Richmond combination which was arguably one of the greatest in Australian football history.
In 1975 Sturt remained a force but were somewhat surprisingly bundled out of the major round in successive weeks by Glenelg and Port Adelaide. A small measure of consolation was afforded by the club's success in winning the Datsun-sponsored League Cup, contested by the sides occupying the top eight places on the premiership ladder after all teams had played each other once. The competition was not well patronised, however, and 1975 proved to be the only year in which it was held.
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The following year the Double Blues continued to play good football but the consensus was that they were a trifle past their best. 'Too old and too slow' was the catch cry, and when Glenelg annihilated Sturt 28.16 (184) to 15.12 (102) in the last minor round match of the season and followed this up with another comfortable win in the qualifying final this assessment seemed vindicated. Come first semi final day, however, and a different Sturt emerged, only Norwood's exceptional accuracy in front of goal preventing a massacre. The Double Blues won 17.23 (125) to 16.3 (99) and in the following week's preliminary final maintained their good form to gain revenge over Glenelg by 7 points in a thriller. Sturt's grand final opponents were Port Adelaide, which had been far and away the season's dominant club. The bookmakers made the Magpies 10/7-on favourites but, perhaps significantly, players from the other eight league clubs, when asked to predict the winner for a feature in the grand final issue of 'Football Budget', seemed less sure, three having no hesitation in tipping the Double Blues, with West Adelaide's Bob Loveday predicting a draw. "Port should win it, but the way Sturt are playing I can't see them losing" [see footnote 5] was his assessment. Interest in the match was unprecedented, in part because of the intense rivalry between the two clubs which had burgeoned over the preceding decade. An all time record crowd of 66,897 crammed into Football Park, many of them being forced to sit on the grass just outside the boundary line. Many thousands more were locked out. |
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Port started strongly with the aid of a 3 to 4 goal breeze but, with Sturt ruckman Rick Davies acting as an extra defender and taking several telling marks, numerous Magpie forward thrusts were repelled. At quarter time Port Adelaide led by only 8 points, and thereafter the Double Blues gradually assumed complete control adding 16.11 to 8.10 over the remainder of the match to win 'running away'. Rick Davies gave one of the greatest all round performances seen in a grand final accumulating 21 kicks, 21 handballs, 15 marks and 21 hit outs, all the while displaying a "nonchalant air and unruffled ease". Other notable contributors to what the vast majority of Sturt supporters would probably tend to regard as the club's finest hour were ruck rover Paul Bagshaw - always a dynamic force in big matches - the half forward line of Michael Graham, Robbert Klomp and John Murphy [pictured above, right - see footnote 6], and centreman Brendon Howard. Seventy-five years on from its formation the Sturt Football Club's position had never seemed so secure, but the next two decades were to demonstrate that no club can afford to rest on its laurels when it comes to maintaining a position of pre-eminence in the cut-throat world of Australian football.
Where now?
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Footnotes
1. South Australian National Football League 1963 Official Yearbook, page 77. Return to Main Text
2. Ironically, Shearman's decision was rendered 'less painful' after he broke an ankle playing in a pre-season match for Sturt, meaning that he would have missed a large proportion of the ensuing season in any case. Return to Main Text
3. Technically, it could be argued that Endersbee was actually a second year player as he had been named on the bench for one match in 1967 when a number of his team mates were away in Perth with the state team; however, he had not actually taken the field on that occasion. Endersbee's 2 first quarter 'checkside' goals from deep in the scoreboard pocket were a highlight of the 1968 grand final. Return to Main Text
4. By common agreement, the four major football states are those where football constitutes the number one traditional winter sport: Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. Return to Main Text
5. 'The South Australian Football Budget', 25/9/76, page 4. Return to Main Text
6. This was the last of Murphy's 204 games for Sturt in a career which began in 1962 and which also took in 5 interstate matches for South Australia and four seasons and 58 VFL matches with South Melbourne. Return to Main Text