[Home]
[Great Games]
Action from early in the match as Port Adelaide rookie Mark Warton marks safely in front of Sturt's Greg Whittlesea.
|
Sturt coach Merv Keane addresses his players at ¾ time of the round 18 clash with Central District. The Double Blues' loss in this game made the round 19 meeting with Port Adelaide all the more crucial. (Click to enlarge.) |
In Australian football, the winning culture
has acquired such primacy that it has become all too easy to lose sight of the
fact that there are occasions when losing can actually be beneficial.
Conversely, winning is not always what it seems.
During the 1980s, public apathy and increased direct competition with the VFL were having a significant negative impact on crowds, the SANFL began programming 'double header' fixtures at Football Park. In 1988, the success of these matches reached their peak, with an all time record SANFL minor round crowd of 38,213 attending the round 19 double header which featured 2nd placed Port Adelaide against 4th placed Sturt, and ladder leaders Central District against 6th placed reigning premiers North Adelaide. The possible permutations were intriguing: had both Port and North emerged victorious, they would have displaced Centrals and Sturt on the ladder respectively. Conversely, wins for the Bulldogs and the Blues would, in the former's case, effectively shore up the minor premiership, and in the case of Sturt make it well nigh certain that the club would contest the 1988 finals series. |
In the case of the Sturt-Port Adelaide encounter, however, it is possible to argue that the actual winners and losers were not the ones appearing on the scoreboard at the end of the match. If this strikes you as a preposterous or contentious assertion, read on.
| Port
Adelaide '88
|
Click on the images to view enlarged versions. | Sturt
'88
|
||
| ***** | ||||
 |
||||
On a warm, sunny, spring-like afternoon there are probably in excess of 20,000 spectators already in the stadium as the first game of the double header, featuring Port Adelaide and Sturt, gets underway. As the match progresses, these numbers swell steadily, with more than 30,000 fans being witness to the game's gripping and extraordinary climax.
Sturt captain Greg Whittlesea wins the toss and opts to kick to the southern end of Football Park, with first use of what the Channel 10 TV commentators describe as "a 3 to 4 goal breeze".
| 2 mins
Carl Dilena
accepts Scott Russell's pass on the left forward point of the centre square and
runs on some 5 metres before sending a high kick in the direction of centre half
forward. A pack comprising some half a dozen players contests the mark
only for the ball to spill loose to David Wark, who turns quickly and spears a
low kick through the vacant goal square and over the goal line for full points.
Sturt 1.0; Port Adelaide 0.0
5 mins From a boundary throw-in in Sturt's right forward pocket Port ruckman Russell Johnston wins the tap but the ball goes straight to John Paynter, who runs on towards goal before being met heavily by Martin Leslie. Paynter nevertheless just manages to get boot to ball and it rolls goalwards some 5 metres before being collected by Wark. The Sturt full forward is also assailed by Leslie, but he too manages to squeeze out a kick which, fortuitously for the Double Blues, trickles through for a goal. Sturt 2.0; Port Adelaide 0.0 |
Scott Russell |
7 mins With the ball at centre half forward for Port Adelaide, Richard Foster metes out a formidable hip and shoulder bump which prevents Heinrich from gaining possession and allows Leslie to collect before handballing on to Robbie Kerr. The former East Fremantle rover darts on and fires off a shot towards goal which holds up in the breeze and comes down just a metre or so from the goal line where David Hynes manages to palm it in the direction of Scott Hodges. Running away from goal towards half forward left, Hodges kicks back over his left shoulder and the ball sails toward the right forward pocket, where Richard Foster marks. From about 3 metres directly in field from the right behind post, the former Carlton reserves player unloads a perfect checkside punt kick which, in spite of the strong breeze, swings around from left to right like a leg break delivery and splits the centre of the goals. Sturt 2.1; Port Adelaide 1.0
17 mins After a 10 minute spell during which Sturt has assumed almost total control, peppering the goals seemingly at will, albeit to minimal effect, John Paynter finally registers a major score after taking a diving mark 40 metres from goal between centre half forward and half forward left. Sturt 3.7; Port Adelaide 1.0
|
Russell Johnston |
20 mins
Bruce
Abernethy at half back right for the Magpies tackles Paynter and, having run
down and collected the loose ball, throws it quickly on to his boot, only to see
it sail directly to Whittlesea, who promptly returns it with interest in the
direction of full forward. David Wark, who has been leading Roger Delaney
the proverbial merry dance, once again out-positions the Port full back and
takes a seemingly comfortable mark on the chest before converting from less than
30 metres out directly in front. Sturt 4.7; Port Adelaide 1.0
23 mins As the Magpies enjoy their first concerted spell of attacking pressure of the game Greg Whittlesea endeavours to relieve the pressure with a long clearing kick from deep in the left back pocket which travels to midway between half back left and left centre wing. Soaring high over the inevitable awaiting pack, Port ruckman David Hynes skilfully taps the ball to rover Tim Ginever, who steers a kick into space in the Magpies' right forward pocket. First to reach the ball is Rohan Smith, who has just entered the fray as a replacement for pulled hamstring victim George Fiacchi, but no sooner has Smith gathered possession than he is bundled to the ground by Bruce Lennon. Umpire Laurie Argent is right on hand to rule that Lennon has pushed the Port man in the back and, from the resultant free kick, the livewire half forward specialist lives up to his reputation as a deadly kick for goal by nonchalantly splitting the centre. Sturt 4.7; Port Adelaide 2.2 |
27 mins Dilena, running goalwards along right centre wing, receives a classic 'hospital handball' from Paynter, and is immediately and fiercely met, front on, by Port ruckman Russell Johnston, whereupon the Sturt rover collapses motionless to the ground. Players from both teams rapidly converge on the area and much jostling and posturing ensues. Meanwhile, the forlorn, stretcher-bound figure of Carl Dilena, who had already had one extended spell in the hands of the trainers after being flattened by Martin Leslie, is ferried from the ground.
A couple of minutes later, as Abernethy's seemingly goal bound shot is arrested by the breeze, and falls harmlessly into the waiting arms of David Welsby, the siren sounds to end a quarter which, apart from the closing 6 or 7 minutes, has been almost totally dominated by a pacy, determined and impressively cohesive Double Blues combination. QUARTER TIME: Sturt 4.7 (31); Port Adelaide 2.2 (14)
| 3 mins
Stephen
Williams is in possession of the ball between right centre wing and half forward
right and has sufficient time and space to measure his options before sending a
high centering kick towards centre half forward, where Jon Simpson, perched high
on the back of Sturt ruckman Damian Kitschke, takes a veritable screamer.
From 40 metres out, directly in front, he effortlessly goals with an elegant
drop punt. Sturt 4.7; Port Adelaide 3.3
5 mins A torrid, frenetic passage of play, during which the ball remains at or around the centre half forward position for Port Adelaide for over a minute, with players from both sides throwing their bodies at both the ball and each other with fearless abandon, is finally broken open by David Hynes crashing through a wall of players to gain possession and almost simultaneously squeeze out a handball to Tim Ginever. The future Magpie skipper just has time to throw the ball onto his left foot and propel it forward some 20 metres, right onto the chest of the waiting Darren Smith, who duly converts. Sturt 4.7; Port Adelaide 4.3 |
Darren Smith - click to enlarge. |
6 mins The boundary umpire throws the ball back into play at half back left for Port Adelaide, and Abernethy rises high to out-reach both ruckmen, grab the ball cleanly, and fire off a handball to the running Simpson. After dashing on his full measure, Simpson handballs in field to Stephen Williams who, from just inside the centre square, sinks his boot into a prodigious, towering drop punt that bounces a metre from the goal line and then over for a morale-boosting 6 pointer. Port Adelaide 5.3; Sturt 4.7
10 mins Kitschke is awarded a free kick for tripping against Rohan Smith and, from half forward right, looks for his ruck partner Reynolds in the right forward pocket. Reynolds indeed manages to get a hand to the ball, but is unable to hold on to it, and it bounces clear to David Ey. With no opposition players in his immediate vicinity, Ey has time to look up, take stock, and hit David Wark on the chest with a perfect foot pass. From 35 metres out on the slightest of angles, Wark looks odds on to convert, but his kick holds up in the breeze, and the ball is contested by a pack of players just in front of the goal line before spilling off hands to Kitschke, front and centre, whose clever snap over his head goes straight through the centre. Sturt 5.8; Port Adelaide 5.4
11 mins Straight from the ensuing centre bounce David Ey, having been freed for an over the shoulder tackle, pinpoints Whittlesea at half forward right and the eventual 1988 Magarey Medallist marks cleanly before playing on and launching a hefty kick in the direction of the goal square. Somewhat surprisingly, no one from either team manages to get hands to the ball, which bounces about 10 metres from goal and, as Wark applies the perfect shepherd on Delaney, Kitschke has the easiest of tasks to run in, sweep up the ball, and run into an open goal to register his 2nd 6 pointer in a minute. Sturt 6.8; Port Adelaide 5.4
|
Port's Simon Tregenza and Sturt's Peter Reid contest a mark. (Click to enlarge.) |
13 mins
Kerr, in the
right back pocket for Port Adelaide, soccers the ball ahead of himself in the
direction of the boundary line, but instead of letting it cross over he puts a
hand on it to trap it. This enables Paynter to swoop in, snatch the ball
away, and steer a low centering kick towards full forward where Kitschke takes
an easy chest mark. A bare 20 metres from goal, straight in front, the
Sturt giant never looks like missing. With 3 goals already into a
formidable breeze, the Double Blues are threatening to take the game out of
Port's reach. Sturt 7.8; Port Adelaide 5.4
15 mins Stephen Williams, having marked near the centre circle, unloads another prodigious kick in the direction of full forward where Scott Hodges is seemingly ideally placed to mark, only to allow the ball to slip through his grasp, and spin away in the direction of the right forward pocket boundary. Just before the ball goes over the line, Russell Johnston intercepts it, and handballs in field to Foster, whose high, centering kick is contested by a pack of 4 players in the goal square, before spilling loose. Russell Johnston, who has been following the flight of the ball, finds himself ideally placed to scoop it up and, while the players comprising the pack are still regaining their bearings, he sprints to the goal line and prods the ball over with his left foot. Sturt 7.8; Port Adelaide 6.4 |
18 mins Delaney's kick in after a Sturt behind almost reaches left centre wing and Simpson, using his direct opponent Scott Russell as a step ladder, marks brilliantly before playing on and sending a mistimed torpedo punt some 45 metres forward where Darren Smith takes a 2 grab mark before off loading to Foster. With space to run on, Foster does precisely that before kicking truly from about 50 metres (see footnote 1). Sturt 7.9; Port Adelaide 7.5
20 mins At a boundary throw-in deep in the right forward pocket for Port Adelaide Johnston gets high above Reynolds and briefly manages to get both hands to the ball only for it to slip through his fingers and bounce away to Abernethy who, from 20 metres out on the slightest of angles, claims full points with a well judged left foot snap. Port Adelaide 8.5; Sturt 7.9
|
Phil Heinrich - click to enlarge. |
26 mins Welsby's ill-directed clearing kick from centre half back is intercepted by Simpson right on the centre circle, and the Port wingman promptly unloads a towering torpedo punt which Scott Hodges, at full stretch, manages to mark just inside the boundary line adjacent to the left point post. After taking at least 30 seconds to measure his options, Hodges eventually does the predictable thing by running around to improve the angle and meticulously steering home the Magpies' 9th goal. Port Adelaide 9.6; Sturt 7.9 28 mins In a near carbon copy of the previous goal, albeit at the opposite end of the ground this time, Greg Phillips' hurried relieving kick from midway between centre half back and half back left travels only as far as Darryl Smith who, having marked easily on the chest, sends a high torpedo punt deep into the right forward pocket where Wark, unattended, holds the grab, before bringing the Blues to within less than a straight kick. Port Adelaide 9.6; Sturt 8.9 |
30 mins Having spoiled Laurence Schache's attempt to mark near the centre circle, Greg Phillips runs on, pushes Paynter off the ball, collects, and feeds off by hand to Leslie, who promptly returns it on the double play. Phillips then fires off another handball to Tregenza, whose quick kick forward elicits a marking contest at centre half forward which sees the ball spill off hands in the direction of the right forward pocket. Astonishingly, the only player in this vicinity is Scott Hodges who, having snatched up the ball, has plenty of time to take careful aim and coolly register his 2nd goal of the quarter and of the game. Port Adelaide 10.6; Sturt 8.9
32 mins Sturt's Carl Dilena makes a surprise return to the fray and, within moments, finds himself flat on his back once more courtesy of a hefty bump, ruled illegal by umpire Argent, from Jon Simpson. As Dilena totters to his feet ready to take his free kick the siren sounds to bring the first half of the match to an end. HALF TIME: Port Adelaide 10.6 (66); Sturt 8.9 (57)
4 mins A boundary throw-in takes place at half forward left for the Blues and Damian Kitschke palms the ball into the middle of a pack of players. Crashing through the pack, Scott Russell manages to grab the ball before breaking clear and kicking truly from a distance of 40 metres on a 60 degree angle. Port Adelaide 10.7; Sturt 9.9
|
7 mins Delaney, bringing the ball back into play after a Sturt behind, looks for Harrison at half back left. His kick misses the body, but Harrison just manages to prevent the ball from going out of play before sending an awkward looking tumble punt in the direction of left centre wing. Sturt's Underwood manages to trap the ball whereupon Harrison, who has chased his kick up field, attempts to soccer it out of the Sturt player's hands, conceding a free for kicking in danger in the process. Underwood quickly plays on with a pass to Wark, who marks deep in the right forward pocket before being foolishly flung to the ground by Phelps. The inevitable 15 metre penalty brings the Sturt man to within easy range of goal and he duly converts. Sturt 10.10; Port Adelaide 10.8 12 mins Delaney's kick in after a Sturt behind is horrendously wayward and travels out of bounds on the full in the left back pocket a mere 30 metres along from the behind post. Andrew Underwood inflicts the maximum punishment with a superbly judged checkside goal. Sturt 11.12; Port Adelaide 10.9 |
Roger Kerr |
17 mins Mark Warton, under considerable duress in Port's right back pocket, throws the ball blindly on to his boot, only to see it sail out of bounds on the full at half back right. Scott Russell takes the ensuing free kick quickly and finds Darryl Smith, unmarked, 40 metres from goal on a 45 degree angle, and the Sturt veteran has no difficulty in extending his side's lead to 15 points. Sturt 12.12; Port Adelaide 10.9
|
David Reynolds |
19 mins Tim Ginever
takes a strong defensive mark at half back right and floats a kick in the
direction of David Hynes near the centre of the ground. Hynes has to stretch,
but manages to hold on to a finger tip mark before sending a probing kick
towards centre half forward where Scott Hodges, who for once has managed to
elude the attentions of David Welsby, marks cleanly overhead. From just
over 40 metres out, more or less straight in front, the Magpie goalsneak makes
no mistake. Sturt 12.12; Port Adelaide 11.9
24 mins Darryl Smith, having won a free kick against Phil Harrison for holding the ball on left centre wing, kicks towards centre half forward where Scott Russell and Mark Warton contest. Russell briefly gets both hands to the ball, only to drop it under pressure from Warton. However, the umpire rules that Warton has illegally interfered with the Sturt man, who coolly steers the ball home to push the margin out to 16 points. Sturt 13.13; Port Adelaide 11.9 |
The Magpies add a behind shortly afterwards, which proves to be the last score of a term in which the Double Blues' overall superiority has arguably not been adequately reflected on the scoreboard. The Channel 10 commentary team are of the unanimous view that Port Adelaide, which will be coming home with the aid of the still appreciable breeze, are in the proverbial 'box seat'. THREE QUARTER TIME: Sturt 13.13 (91); Port Adelaide 11.10 (76)
|
1 min After Sturt win the initial centre clearance of the final term, Laurence Schache at centre half forward is controversially awarded a mark after seeming to dive forward and trap the ball midway between half forward left and centre half forward for the Blues. Schache passes to Scott Russell, who eludes Warton before handballing to Whittlesea, and the Sturt skipper, with his 20th kick of the game, snaps accurately from deep in the left forward pocket. Sturt 14.13; Port Adelaide 11.10 7 mins Russell Johnston wins the tap at a boundary throw-in on left centre wing for the Magpies, and skilfully directs the ball to Simon Tregenza. The teenaged wingman initiates a chain of handballs involving Stephen Williams, Greg Boyd, Richard Foster and finally Jon Simpson, who runs on, taking a bounce, before kicking truly from a distance of about 50 metres. Sturt 14.14; Port Adelaide 12.11 8 mins At the ensuing centre bounce, Reynolds thumps the ball 15 metres forward but it is intercepted by Williams who is promptly taken high by Scott Russell and awarded a free kick. Williams' high torpedo punt goes toward half forward left where Darren Smith has found space, and marks comfortably, before playing on and kicking in the direction of the goal square. One on one with Welsby, Port full forward Hodges arrests the progress of the ball with his right hand before diving headlong and completing a remarkable grab. There is no anti-climax either as he nonchalantly steers the ball home for his 4th major. Sturt 14.14; Port Adelaide 13.11 |
Greg Whittlesea, pictured with the 1988 Magarey Medal. |
9 mins Bruce Abernethy misses an easy left foot snapshot from barely 20 metres out.
12 mins At a boundary throw-in on left centre wing for Port, Darren Smith leaps high over both ruckmen and catches the ball on the full before handballing to Greg Boyd, who knocks it into space in front of Tregenza. The Port wingman dashes on his full measure before sending a low trajectory drop punt towards full forward where Hodges and Welsby engage in an indeterminate aerial contest, with the ball spilling to ground. A frantic scrimmage ensues with no player from either team able to secure a clean possession until David Hynes, with strong use of the body, clears a path for himself, snatches up the ball and, receiving a call from Rohan Smith 10 metres to his left, fires off a handball just in front of that player enabling him to gather possession without breaking stride and snap truly with his left foot from 20 metres out straight in front. Sturt 14.14; Port Adelaide 14.13
14 mins Russell Johnston wins the tap at a boundary throw-in on Sturt's left half forward flank. He endeavours to steer the ball in the direction of Roger Delaney, but David Ey anticipates brilliantly and intercepts before sending a low, left foot centering kick towards full forward. David Wark has front position and makes a diving attempt to mark, only to see the ball bounce off his chest into space. Fortunately for the Double Blues, the first player upon it is Scott Field, and before any opposition player can intervene he has thrown the ball onto his boot and sent it right through the centre to give his side some invaluable breathing space. Sturt 15.14; Port Adelaide 14.13
|
Martin Leslie - click to enlarge. |
18 mins Another wayward snap from Abernethy causes coach Cahill to drag the former Collingwood and North Melbourne player from the ground. 21 mins David Welsby takes a free kick for out of bounds on the full immediately adjacent to Port Adelaide's right behind post. His kick to half back right elicits a marking contest which sees David Hynes get higher off the ground than anyone else, only to allow the ball to slip through his hands, and go to ground to the rear of the pack. Tim Ginever promptly gathers the crumbs and sends a high, speculative kick towards the goal square where Scott Hodges, having again managed to get in front of David Welsby, marks strongly overhead. From near point blank range the Magpie spearhead is never going to miss. Sturt 15.15; Port Adelaide 15.14 28 mins David Ey registers a behind to extend Sturt's lead to 2 points. Sturt 15.16; Port Adelaide 15.14 |
29 mins Deep in the right forward pocket Simon Tregenza is flung to the ground while in the act of kicking for goal, forcing his shot off line for a minor score. Sturt 15.16; Port Adelaide 15.15
Approximately a minute later, with the ball being vigorously disputed on right centre wing for Sturt, the siren sounds, and Merv Keane on the Sturt bench leaps to his feet and punches the air in triumph. The Double Blues players embrace each other delightedly, while the disconsolate Port Adelaide team troops from the ground to a chorus of catcalls, whistles and colourfully phrased abuse. FINAL SCORE: Sturt 15.16 (106); Port Adelaide 15.15 (105)
When, in the second game of the double header, Central District helpfully overcame North Adelaide by 45 points, the Double Blues were effectively assured of competing in the 1988 major round, thereby redoubling their delight. However, over the remaining 3 weeks of the 1988 minor round, whether because of complacency or false confidence, or a combination of the two, the form of both of the double header victors deteriorated alarmingly. Sturt managed just 1 win, against a woeful South Adelaide side which would finish the season with just a solitary victory and a pitiable percentage of 32.3. The Blues' other 2 games, against Norwood and Glenelg, were lost by margins of 61 and 90 points respectively. Meanwhile, Centrals lost badly to both Woodville and Port Adelaide, before recovering marginally to secure a lack lustre win over West Torrens in the final round. After being many pundits' tip for the premiership until late in the season, the Bulldogs went on to complete their fall from grace in spectacular fashion with straight sets finals losses to Glenelg and Norwood. As for the Double Blues, they followed their inept round 22 showing against the Bays by effectively kicking themselves out of contention the following week against the same opponents in the elimination final. At quarter time Sturt had managed 8 scoring shots to Glenelg's 5, but trailed by 17 points; at the long break it was 14 scoring shots to 12, and a 28 point deficit; and by the final change the match was as good as over as the Tigers, with 16 scoring shots (12.4) led the Blues with 17 scoring shots (2.15) by 49 points. 'Bad kicking is bad football' runs the old adage, and ultimately Sturt, with greater use of the ball and more attacking possession than the Bays, could have no complaints about an eventual 59 point hiding.
Even more tragically for Sturt, the controversial departure of coach Mervyn Keane at season's end precipated a decade of demoralising under-achievement on a scale never equalled, before or since, in the entire history of the SANFL. Whatever the ostensible reasons for the Sturt committee's decision to replace Keane with unproven former champion Rick Davies, it is almost impossible, in hindsight, to avoid arriving at the conclusion that it represented a substantial and well nigh fatal shot in the foot for the club. Under Davies, the Blues would manage just 4 wins in 1989, which would consign the club to its first wooden spoon since 1961, but by no means the last for some appreciable time.
In stark contrast to all of this, Port Adelaide used the disappointment of the round 19 loss to Sturt to fuel an ultimately successful premiership challenge. When, during the week following the match, umpires' board chairman, Peter Shugg, on reviewing video evidence, exercised his right to report Magpie ruckman Russell Johnston for an allegedly illegal charge on Carl Dilena, the decision provoked a trickle of media comment, which rapidly developed into a flood when the Tribunal elected to impose a 5 match suspension, effectively ending Johnston's season (see footnote 2). Down Alberton way, the inevitable fury was mingled with a steely resolve to put things right in the most emphatic and incontestable way possible, by securing the club's first flag since 1981. Over the next month and a half, the Magpies gradually gained in strength: a desperate, 3 point come from behind win over Glenelg in round 20 was followed by comfortable victories over fellow finalist Central District (46 points) and Norwood (29 points) in rounds 21 and 22 respectively. These achievements paled into insignificance, however, compared to the team's performance against a hapless Redlegs combination in the 2nd semi final. After 3 full quarters of football, Norwood had only troubled the scorers twice, having registered 1.1 (7) to Port Adelaide's 9.15 (69). The Magpies' eventual 10.17 (77) to 2.5 (17) victory represented tight, tough, asphyxiating football at its best, and earned the side emphatic premiership favouritism going into the grand final meeting with Glenelg.
The previous meeting between the sides had been a close, hard fought game, with the result in doubt right up to the final siren. On this occasion though, after a keenly contested first half, there was only ever going to be one winner: Port Adelaide. The Magpies won 12.12 (84) to 8.7 (55), with David Hynes filling Russell Johnston's boots to perfection, and Bruce Abernethy - the man who had been dragged by Cahill after missing a number of easy shots for goal during the round 19 loss to Sturt - winning the Jack Oatey Medal.
Abernethy's achievement in the grand final perfectly highlights the point made at the outset: that the winning culture in Australian football has acquired such primacy it obscures the fact that losing can, on occasion, prove advantageous, while ostensible victories can all too easily and all too often metamorphose into nightmares. Writing in 'Football Times' a few days after the match in question, David McKay proffered an interesting and impressively prophetic assessment, which provides as good a note as nay on which to conclude:
What a top crowd at Football Park last Sunday for the double header between Sturt and Port and Central and North. A record home and away crowd of 38,213 people easily eclipsed the previous benchmark set at Adelaide Oval on ANZAC Day in 1975 between Sturt and Glenelg. For those who thought SA footy was doing it hard by not being a part of the expanded VFL competition, think again. The standard of football between Sturt and Port was as good as any football played this year and the 1 point cliffhanger the Blues finally won could have gone either way. In fact Port's Bruce Abernethy had a couple of shots for goal late in the game that could easily have sealed it for the Magpies......... Coach Cahill quickly pulled Abernethy from the field and you can bet your life he won't be making those uncharacteristic mistakes during the finals..... (See footnote 3)
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Pts | |
| Sturt | 4.7 | 8.9 | 13.13 | 15.16 | 106 |
| Port Adelaide | 2.2 | 10.6 | 11.10 | 15.15 | 105 |
BEST - Sturt: Whittlesea, Paynter, Smith, S.Russell, Kitschke, Wark Port Adelaide: Leslie, Simpson, Phillips, Johnston, Williams, Hodges
GOALS - Sturt: Wark 5; Kitschke 3; S.Russell 2; Field, Paynter, Smith, Underwood, Whittlesea Port Adelaide: Hodges 5; Foster, Simpson, R.Smith 2; Abernethy, Johnston, D.Smith, Williams
ATTENDANCE: 38,212 at Football Park (double header)
[Home]
[Great Games]
1. The SANFL, in line with the NFL, had yet to introduce the 50 metre arc. Return to Main Text
2. Theoretically, Johnston could still have played if Port Adelaide had qualified for the grand final having first had to resort to the 'double chance'. However, whether Magpie coach John Cahill and the Port selection committee would have elected to pick Johnston under such circumstances is debatable. Return to Main Text
3. 'Football Times', 18/8/88, page 5. Return to Main Text
