| That Winning Feeling! |
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| ......sadly, an all too infrequent experience as far as South Adelaide supporters during the twentieth century were concerned. |
Back to South Adelaide Part 2
| That Winning Feeling! |
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| ......sadly, an all too infrequent experience as far as South Adelaide supporters during the twentieth century were concerned. |
Between 1942 and 1944 the SANFL conducted a restricted, four team competition in which South joined forces with Sturt, finishing 3rd, 4th and 3rd. On the resumption of full scale football in 1945 the club embarked on the most sustained period of under-achievement in its history. The bare statistics make dire reading: in the nineteen seasons from 1945 to 1963 the side's success rate was a paltry 19.5%; it finished bottom in an eight team competition no fewer than eleven times, 7th on six occasions, and 6th twice; in 1948 and 1950 it failed to win a single match, and never once managed to win as many games as it lost. The problem, at least in the view of the club's administration, centered on the inadequacy of its metropolitan recruiting zone, and although the committee tried desperately, and repeatedly, to duplicate its successful pre-war interstate and country recruitment strategies, other clubs were now increasingly doing the same, and by and large with more resources at their disposal, and hence greater success.
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Jim Deane - click to enlarge. |
Lack of success
notwithstanding, South Adelaide was often a happy club, boasting an active and
vibrant social life. Football, after all, is essentially a game - or, if
that no longer quite holds true in an era when the AFL's declared perception of itself is
of being 'Australia's premier sporting brand name', then it was at least more
nearly the case half a century ago.
At the end of a 1954 season which had seen the senior side win 5 out of 18 matches to finish 7th, an official club party comprising 26 players, 14 officials, 10 'A' Grade staff, and 3 'guests' embarked on a 12 day interstate tour which took in brief visits to Ballarat and Melbourne, and a lengthy stay in Tasmania. During the tour, a match was played against 1954 TFL premier Hobart (which South won by 6 points), but the main objectives of the trip appear to have been rest, relaxation and sight-seeing - with a spot of gambling at the 1954 Caulfield Cup in Melbourne on the return journey thrown in for good measure (see footnote 21). Of course, such journeys are commonplace nowadays, but in the 1950s they were still comparatively rare, and highlighted the fact that, although nothing like 'professional' in the strict sense of the word, to be a league footballer was often to enjoy benefits denied to the majority of the population at large. |
The pick of South Adelaide's players during the 1950s was undoubtedly Jim Deane. A dual Magarey Medallist (including a retrospective award for the 1957 season, in which he initially lost to West Adelaide's Roy Benton on a countback), Deane also played successfully with Richmond in the VFL for two years. Despite being an almost totally one-sided player - far from unusual in those days - he "was so good it didn't really show - or matter" (see footnote 22). Described by Jeff Pash as "elegant and effortless" (see footnote 23), and by Merv Agars as "a tremendous competitor, a prodigious kick getter and a polished performer" (see footnote 24), Deane deserves to be remembered as one of the game's all time greats.
| In 1959 the SANFL finally
acceded to the club's repeated pleas to extend its metropolitan recruiting zone
by granting it a substantial slice of the southern suburbs, meaning that for the
first time it was possible for South to go about the task of forging a
meaningful local identity for itself. Although it would take some time for
the benefits of this to be properly felt, it needs to be born in mind as a
significant underpinning factor to the eventual, albeit fleeting, success that
the club enjoyed under Neil
Kerley.
To anyone reading between the lines, South Adelaide's latent pre-eminence was apparent even during the wooden spoon year of 1963, when the team won just 2 of its 20 games. On numerous occasions during the year, the side did everything but win, prompting the 'Budget' writer to pose the question, "How well do you have to play before you can win more than one out of ten matches? Ask South that, and if they don't gnash their teeth they ought to" (see footnote 25). During the first half of the season in particular, before disillusionment set in, South lost many games that could realistically be classed as 'winnable', suggesting that the problem was not one of lack of talent, but rather of inadequate application of talent. All the elements of a good orchestra were there; what was needed now was an expert conductor, and throughout the 1963 season South was determinedly courting the man they had in mind. |
'Kerls' - click to enlarge. |
That man was Donald Neil Kerley, who in 1961, as playing coach, had been responsible for steering West Adelaide to what its supporters, and many neutral observers, regarded as a long overdue premiership. The following year he had failed by just 3 points to repeat the achievement, and to the astonishment of many had been dumped as West coach in favour of Doug Thomas. Although he carried on with the club as a player in 1963, the South committee sensed - rightly, as it turned out - that here was a plant ripe for the picking.
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Ian Day |
Initially
- and, given South Adelaide's playing record over the previous twenty years,
understandably - sceptical, Kerley was ultimately won over largely through
the persistence of South's president, Clem Croft, who, along with several
of his fellow committee members, visited him on numerous occasions, and
basically would not take 'no' for an answer (see footnote
26). When Kerley finally accepted their invitation to coach
South it was with eyes wide open as to the reality and scale of the task
confronting him. That the team possessed talent was undoubted, but
it needed to be fitter, he realised, and it needed to be much more
focused. Consequently, he put the players through the most gruelling
pre-season training regime any of them had experienced in preparation for
the opening game of the season which, as chance would have it, was at home
to Kerley's former club, West Adelaide.
Kerley himself had not yet been cleared to play, but he received a tumultuous ovation from the crowd as he made his way to the coaching dug-out prior to the start of the game; clearly, most members of the public were firmly on his side over his sacking debacle with West. Much more importantly though, as far as Kerley was concerned, his team did him proud, putting in a solid, tenacious and cohesive all round four quarter effort to comprehensively vanquish the Blood 'n Tars by 36 points. Already, it was obvious that the maestro had made a significant difference to his team which, mirroring its new found tenacity, had now adopted the Panther as its emblem. Keenly aware that Port Adelaide was the benchmark against which all other SANFL clubs were currently measured, Kerley would no doubt have derived at least a glimmer of satisfaction from the front page article in 'the SANFL Football Budget' for 30th May 1964, the week after South had scored a notable upset win over the Magpies. Under the heading 'South took Port on at own game', the writer observed: |
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| South
proved a point against Port last week. They took the Magpies on at their
own game and beat them......... (The) victory proved many things. One is
that Neil Kerley has coached them on the right lines, and has them very fit.
Secondly, they now have the will-to-win. Very few teams have come back to
win after Port have run to a 16 points lead in the third quarter. South
did. Courage and will-to-win have won Port many League matches.
Repeat that for South now, and there is the complete picture. (See
footnote 27)
The win over Port saw the Panthers sitting proudly at the head of the premiership ladder, with 6 wins and just 1 defeat, and thereafter there was no question of letting up. By the end of round 20 the side had qualified for its first post-war finals series in 2nd place with a 17-3 win/loss record, equal on points with minor premier Port Adelaide. South supporters were presumably having to pinch themselves prior to the 2nd semi final in which 38,918 spectators were treated to a bona fide classic, in which Port, having trailed by 32 points at the last change, snatched victory at the death by a single point. Given that it was the Panthers' first finals outing there was little reason to feel discouraged, and when Sturt was comprehensively outplayed to the tune of 39 points in the following week's preliminary final the scene was set for a titanic, quintessential 'David vs. Goliath' premiership decider. |
Bob Schmidt - click to enlarge. |
Of the South Adelaide team which took the field in front of 56,353 spectators on grand final day, only Neil Kerley, Lester Ross (ex Norwood) and Ian Day (ex West Adelaide) had played in a grand final before. Aware of this, 'the King' had kept everything low key in the build up to the big game, and right from the early moments of the opening term it was clear that the players were not about to let their coach down. As usual, Port's tackling was ferocious, but the Panthers gave as good as they got, and in half forward Alf Skuse (10 kicks in the 1st quarter), rovers Ian Day and Alan White, strong marking ruckman David Kantilla, and elusive centreman Lindsay Backman they had the dominant players on view. The South rucks were on top early too, although later this would change. By quarter time, the Panthers had kicked the only 2 goals of the game and were 12 points to the good - still anybody's match, but a sound start.
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Alan White |
The Magpies began the 2nd term well but were prevented from capitalising on their superiority by a bustling, hyper aggressive South Adelaide defence. The Panthers, who had hardly managed to get the ball ahead of centre all term, led 2.6 to 0.8 as time-on approached before hitting Port with not one, not two, but three massive body blows in the shape of goals to White, Day and Dick Jackson to go into the main break with a handy looking 26 point advantage. At half time, astonishingly, the reigning premiers and flag favourites had yet to kick a goal. South added to the Magpies' misery early in the 3rd term thanks to another goal from White, and although Eric Freeman finally managed to register a major for Port at the 7 minute mark, White's 3rd goal moments later restored the Panthers' healthy lead. However, with Magpie coach Fos Williams ringing the changes, Port finished the quarter strongly, adding 3 goals to get within 16 points at the final change. The scene was set for a thrilling finale. South did most of the attacking early in the final term but could only manage minor scores. Then, 7 minutes in, Eric Freeman goaled for Port to bring the margin back to 13 points, and the crowd to fever pitch. A lesser team would have buckled at this point, but the Panthers had graduated from the Neil Kerley School of Applied Fortitude and Resolve, and buckling was the last thing on their mind. A brilliant mark to Skuse, followed by a goal, extended the difference to 19 points, and shortly afterwards wingman Brian Ploenges found Ian Day in the clear, and the future television commentator gleefully put the seal on a great win. South had taken everything the 'mighty Magpies' had thrown at them, and triumphed. |
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On a day when "Every man in the South side pulled his weight - and a little bit more" (see footnote 28) selecting best players is perhaps a tad inappropriate. However, most media observers gave David Kantilla (18 kicks and 10 marks) the nod as best afield, closely followed by Alf Skuse, Lindsay Backman and Ian Day, all of whom had well in excess of 20 possessions. Statistical summaries of the game show that South had quite a few more kicks and many more handpasses than Port, while the Magpies, particularly after the 1st quarter, dominated in the air. What statistics cannot show, however, is the amount of passion, desire and pure old fashioned 'G and D' generated by the men in navy and white, as a result of which a twenty-six year premiership drought had been eradicated, and the beleaguered optimism of the club's loyal and long-suffering supporters rekindled. Five days after the grand final, South, without four members of its premiership team, took on VFL premier Melbourne at Norwood Oval in an unofficial championship match. The Demons had enjoyed a break of nineteen days since their grand final, and were much fresher, coming back from 12 points down at the last change to win by 11 points. Melbourne coach Norm Smith was, as ever, a modest winner, indicating "that he thought South was slightly the better side on the night, had more of the play, and was one of the fastest sides he had seen" (see footnote 29). |
David Kantilla |
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| XXXX |
The 1965 season proved to be one of missed opportunity for South, and the fact that the team's eventual 3rd position on the ladder was a source of genuine disappointment to the club's supporters shows just how much progress had been made in such a short space of time. However, it might all have been so different had the Panthers not succumbed, in the most controversial of circumstances, by a solitary point to Port Adelaide in the 2nd semi final. After trailing by 30 points during the 3rd quarter South came storming back to hit the front by 5 points with just a couple of minutes left on the clock. Then:
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A triumphant Neil Kerley is chaired from the arena at the end of the 1964 grand final. (Click to enlarge.) |
After the trauma and tension of such a finish, it is perhaps scarcely surprising that the Panthers hit the track for the following week's preliminary final against Sturt a trifle flat. As ever under Kerley, their endeavour and commitment could not be faulted, but such qualities alone were insufficient against the emerging power of Jack Oatey's Double Blues, who eased home by 7 points. If there is any truth to the theory that every club has at least one season which deserves to be called 'the one that got away', then this almost certainly was South's. |
If the Panthers were undeniably unfortunate in 1965, the following year they let both themselves and their coach down badly when they meekly capitulated to North Adelaide at the 1st semi final stage. To make matters worse, Kerley and certain members of the South Adelaide committee were no longer quite seeing things eye to eye, with the committee allegedly interfering in things like team selection that Kerley felt were ultimately the province of the coach. At the end of the 1966 season, Kerley left for pastures new at Glenelg, bringing the curtain down on a brief, but noteworthy, period of success for South.
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Panthers In Action - '60s Style [Images are clickable] |
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Frenetic, high-flying action from the 1964 grand final. |
Peter Darley contests a ruck hit-out against Port Adelaide. |
Darley again, marking strongly in the centre of the pack. |
During Neil Kerley's three year stint as coach of the Panthers there is no doubt that they became, in some respects, the darlings of the media. Everyone loves a 'rags to riches' story, and with Kerls playing 'fairy godmother' to Port Adelaide's 'ugly sisters' that is precisely what South provided. The SANFL was enjoying a boom time in terms of attendances during the mid-1960s, and a major reason for this was that South Adelaide had breathed new life into a competition which had tended to be dominated by Port Adelaide (8 flags in 10 years) for so long that people were becoming disillusioned and bored.
Neil Kerley's successor as coach, Peter Darley, was already a club stalwart who simultaneously happened to be one of the finest ruckmen in the game. Dubbed 'the jumbo Prince' because of his elegant way of dominating the ruck, Darley won no fewer than seven club best and fairest awards, achieved All Australian selection in 1969, and tied with Barrie Robran for the 1968 Magarey Medal, only to be ruled ineligible because of having incurred a suspension during the season. Noted opponent John Nicholls recalled Darley as being "a good mark, a very strong kick" and "a very smart cookie as far as using his body in ruck work goes" (see footnote 30). However, in three seasons as coach, despite being "an inspiring leader" (see footnote 31), he failed to build on the foundations laid by Kerley, and indeed had to endure the discomfiting experience of seeing his charges slowly but steadily lose the plot entirely, finishing 5th in 1967, 6th in 1968, and 10th and last in 1969.
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Things did not get much better under Jim Deane (1970-71) or Dave Darcy (1972-73-74) either. It was only after the appointment of Haydn Bunton junior as coach in 1975 that improvement, gradual at first, and then more marked, began to occur. By the late 1970s the 'little master' had the team producing football that was firmly rooted in the South tradition - blisteringly fast, cohesive and eye-catchingly skilful. It was a style of play ideally suited to night football, as the Panthers proved in winning the NFL night series in both 1978 and 1979. In the former year, the competition involved club teams from South Australia (5), Western Australia (4), and the VFA (3), plus representative teams from Tasmania, the ACT, New South Wales and Queensland. After a 31 point opening round win over Port Adelaide, South scored wins over Sandringham by 59 points at Norwood, and Port Melbourne, after having to overcome "what might best be described as 'home town difficulties'" (see footnote 32), by 5 points in Melbourne to set up a grand final meeting with Glenelg. The Panthers approached the match, played at Norwood Oval, with as much seriousness as if it had been a day grand final, an approach that was ultimately completely vindicated as they overwhelmed the Tigers "with an aggression and determination that was almost frightening" (see footnote 33). The match was strenuously fought for the first 3 quarters, with South having led narrowly at every change by 9, 8 and 14 points. During the last term, however, the Panthers played "their best football for the season" (see footnote 34), adding 4.6 to 1.1 to win with consummate conviction by 37 points, 9.9 (63) to 3.8 (26). Geoff Baynes, John Schneebichler, Shane Butler, Stuart Palmer and Wayne Slattery were South's best. |
Eddie Fry marks superbly against Glenelg - click to enlarge. |
In 1979, the Panthers played off for two premierships, beating Norwood 7.9 (51) to 5.10 (40) at the culmination of a truncated NFL series, but succumbing by 31 points against Port Adelaide in the grand final of the competition that really mattered, the SANFL. In retrospect, however, perhaps the most important occurrence in 1979 from the South Adelaide Football Club's point of view was the decision of the SANFL to award the club the growing urban areas of Adelaide extending south to Noarlunga as part of its territory. For the first time since the inception of electorate football eighty years earlier, the club now had the opportunity to set down roots and establish a meaningful local identity.
Haydn Bunton's record eight year association with the club as senior coach ended after a disappointing 1982 season which saw the team plummet from 4th place in 1981 to 8th. Under his replacement, Graham Cornes, the Panthers returned to the finals action in 1983, but lost heavily to North Adelaide in the elimination final. In the club's Annual Report, Cornes identified three areas in which the team would need to show dramatic improvement if it was to mount a credible premiership challenge in 1984: 1. accuracy of disposal; 2. physical strength; and 3. speed of movement of the ball (see footnote 35). Unfortunately, although South did manage one more minor round win in 1984 (13 as against 10), it was no match for eventual premier Norwood in the elimination final.
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Panther action from the 1990 elimination final defeat of Norwood, featuring David Kappler (left) and Darryl Heath (about to kick). (Click to enlarge.) |
On the brighter side, during
the Graham Cornes era the Panthers maintained their reputation for producing
some of their best football at night, reaching the final of the Escort Cup in
both 1983 (when they lost to West Torrens) and
1984 (when they scored a comprehensive victory over Sturt).
Cornes returned 'home' to Glenelg in 1985 and the Panthers endured a calamitous and much publicised start to the season under new coach, Don Scott, a former star ruckman with VFL side Hawthorn. South lost the opening 7 games of the season, and Scott was on his way, with ex Sturt star Rick Davies stepping into the breach with the unenviable task of trying to restore some respectability to the club. Over the remainder of the 1985 season, he actually succeeded to some extent in doing so: the Panthers won 8 of their remaining 15 games to clamber to 8th place on the ladder. The team also made a promising start to the 1986 season when it won its second Escort Cup grand final in three years courtesy of an 11 point victory over Graham Cornes' Glenelg. However, this achievement merely flattered to deceive, as over the course of the next three seasons the club's performances went from bad to worse. In 1986 and 1987, under Davies, South finished 9th and 10th respectively, before enduring the ignominy of another wooden spoon under Davies' replacement, John Reid, in 1988. The following year brought marginal on field improvement, but much more worryingly the club now found itself confronted by financial difficulties of such magnitude that extinction was threatened. By May 1990 the situation had become so dire that, in what seemed like a last bid attempt to avoid having to close its doors for good, the club began actively to seek a merger arrangement. On 10 May 1990, under the headline 'South Adelaide Crisis: Counting the Cost', South Australia's only football newspaper, 'Football Times', reported: |
South Adelaide, one of SA's oldest football clubs, is in the throes of dying. With a debt of $500,000, combined with an annual interest bill of close to $100,000, the club is seeking a merger with another club. (See footnote 36)
Inside the publication, various writers speculated on possible merger partners (with Sturt appearing favourite), congratulated South on showing guts in facing reality, and delighted in blaming the SANFL for the crisis. However, in retrospect the most astute analysis of the situation came from Lance Campbell, who observed:
There is an irony in the South Adelaide saga. It is that for as long as the club exists, it has a better long term chance of survival than some others in the SANFL. In other words, South could live for another 100 years if it had another million dollars now. Yet that sum of money couldn't guarantee the futures of West Adelaide, West Torrens and Woodville. South has the player rights to the land where hundreds of thousands of the people of Adelaide will live in the decades to come. Already the club is beginning to groom young footballers from the other side of O'Halloran Hill, and reaping its rewards in the junior grades. Developers eye every spare hectare down there. It cannot be any other way than that the region will become even more densely populated in time. Torrens, West and Woodville, hemmed in by the sea and the city, have no such hopes.
So it's no wonder that the South faithful are now seeking the alternatives to the Sturt 'merger' dumped upon us as all but a fait accompli last week. Over one last hurdle, just one more jump - and South, with help, could be back in the pack containing the clubs with the best chances of maintaining their individual identities - Central District, Port Adelaide, Glenelg and Norwood. (See footnote 37)
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Panthers In Action - '90s Style [Images are clickable] |
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Aided by some rousing on field performances, the 'Save South Adelaide' campaign achieved a memorable, some would say miraculous, success. By the end of the 1990 season all thoughts of a merger had been shelved, while the team's performance in recovering to make the finals after a poor start to the season had fans buoyant. Indeed, not only did the side reach the finals, once there it performed with considerable credit, riding the crest of a wave of popular sentimental support to crush Norwood by 42 points in the elimination final, and giving North Adelaide a scare early on in the 1st semi final before succumbing by 56 points.
| The arrival of the Adelaide Crows on the scene in 1991 was something that the South Adelaide administration, spearheaded by president Ray Hendrie, a former player with the club, regarded positively (see footnote 38), and as was discussed in part one of this account there certainly proved to be aspects of South Australia's foray into the pseudo-national environment of the AFL that local club administrators were able to utilise to good effect. In South Adelaide's case, the move to Noarlunga Oval in 1995 remains, potentially at any rate, the most important single development in the club's history. As Central District have conclusively demonstrated in connection with Adelaide's northern suburbs, building a strong local identity, and forging meaningful community relationships, are perhaps the most crucial elements in achieving success at state league level in the modern game. So far, South Adelaide has failed to emulate its northern counterpart, but the scope to do so exists, and indeed one could almost venture to suggest that, if the Era of the Panther does not arrive soon, the club will have only itself to blame. |
Home at last - Noarlunga Oval, pictured just before the grand opening in May 1995. (Click to enlarge.) |
Where now?
or
21. Details are as per 'South Adelaide Football Club Tour of Tasmania October 6-17 1954: Official Programme and Itinerary'. Return to Main Text
22. Merv Agars writing in League Football in South Australia 1977, page 60. Return to Main Text
23. Pash, op cit., page 94. Return to Main Text
24. Agars, op cit., page 60. Return to Main Text
25. 'SANFL Football Budget', 29/6/63, page 12. Return to Main Text
26. See Knuckles: The Neil Kerley Story by Jim Rosevear, pages 80-83, for a more detailed account of the circumstances surrounding Kerley's recruitment by South. Return to Main Text
27. 'SANFL Football Budget', 30/5/64. Return to Main Text
28. From Neil Kerley's speech at the club's victory dinner at the Victoria Hotel, quoted in Rosevear, op cit., page 88. Return to Main Text
29. Champions Of Australia by Max Sayer, page 26. Return to Main Text
30. Big Nick by John Nicholls with Ian McDonald, page 179. Return to Main Text
31. Ibid., page 179. Return to Main Text
32. 'SANFL Football Budget', 22/7/78, page 5. Return to Main Text
33. 'SANFL Football Budget', 29-30/7/78, page 27. Return to Main Text
34. Ibid., page 27. Return to Main Text
35. See 'South Adelaide Football Club Inc. 107th Annual Report and Balance Sheet', page 10. Return to Main Text
36. 'Football Times', 10/5/90, page 1. Return to Main Text
37. Ibid., page 5. Return to Main Text
38. In The South Adelaide Football Club 1990 Yearbook, page 14, Hendrie expresses optimism over the potential financial windfall which the fledgling AFL side would bring to the SANFL's constituent clubs, an optimism that ultimately proved - in the short term at any rate - well-founded. Return to Main Text
