Round 8, 1984 SANFL - Central District Bulldogs 14.12 (96) d Port Adelaide Magpies 8.16 (64), Alberton Oval, Adelaide

Port Adelaide Magpies supporters at Foxtel Cup match versus Claremont at Subiaco Oval, Perth, 16 July 2011. David Granger aka "Grave Danger" was a huge cult hero for Port Adelaide Magpies fans in the mid-1980s.

Alberton Oval scoreboard bank, 11/8/2012 v Glenelg

An example of the “illusion of violence” (Marsh, 1978) among the cheer squads would be at Port Adelaide Magpies. I attended the Port Adelaide versus Central District game at Alberton Oval in May 1984. It was a day of driving rain and relentless wind but much of the terracing on the outer side of the ground was full of hardcore Port Adelaide cheer squad members or hooligans in black Victorian-style duffel coats with favourite players’ names and numbers pasted on the backs in white lettering. The Port Adelaide people were not much concerned at all about the rain, few had umbrellas, and they certainly were a tough mob. Their main hero was a borderline player called David Granger who had been suspended for eighteen months for on-field violence on the field-of-play. He was renamed “Grave Danger” by the Port faithful and the South Australian media and he served as a hero for Port Adelaide fans in the way that Phil Bradmore was for us at West Perth. After the May 1984 game I was caught up in the atmosphere of the Port Adelaide crew and, instead of taking the train back to the city-centre, by mistake I was swept along with the crowd taking the train in the other direction north-west to Port Adelaide. After realizing my error I was told by the conductor to stay on the train until it turned around at the end of the line. I made it back to my city centre hotel at 8.30pm. During the mid-1990s, Port Adelaide became the second Adelaide-based AFL club, and Port Adelaide Power debuted in the AFL in the 1997 season taking up the vacant position that was created by the coerced and unfortunate Fitzroy and Brisbane Bears’ merger. However, Port Adelaide had been required by the SANFL to form a separate club to operate Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL (South Australian National Football League) competition. On 17 November 2010, Homfray (2010) and Partland (2010) announced in the Adelaide Advertiser that the SANFL had permitted the two clubs to merge into one thus overcoming the confusion of the past decade as to which club was “the real Port Adelaide”. I thank Susan Briggs of University of South Australia for supplying me these articles. Fullpointsfooty.net comments on the problematic “two clubs” arrangement at Port Adelaide as follows:

“The converse of this, the emergence of two distinct and independent clubs where previously there had only been one, is almost, but not quite, unheard of.  It happened most famously in 1996, when the Port Adelaide Football Club, the oldest and most successful in the SANFL, effectively reproduced itself by a kind of fission: one club, henceforth to be known as the Port Adelaide Magpies, would continue to compete in the SANFL, with another achieving elevation to the AFL” [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/port_adelaide.htm; accessed 22 December 2010].

[by Kieran James, 23 January 2012]. 

Round 8, 1984 SANFL – Central District Bulldogs v Port Adelaide Magpies, Alberton Oval

Port Adelaide Magpies team, Subiaco Oval, 16/7/2011

Before this round Port Adelaide was “Won 7, Lost 0” and Central was “Won 6, Lost 1”, and sitting second (third after the Saturday games of the split-round behind South Adelaide which was "Won 6, Lost 2" but with a worse percentage). The East Perth FC premiership defender Steve Curtis returned for Port Adelaide for this Round 8 clash after being sidelined by a hamstring injury sustained in Round 1 [by Kieran James, 23 January 2012].

(Source: Adelaide Advertiser, Monday, 21 May, 1984, p. 33 and Geoff Kingston (1984), “Curtis back in Port team: West regains its captain”, Adelaide Advertiser, Monday, 21 May, p. 33)

Historic grandstand Alberton Oval, 11/8/2012

Likely line-ups

(Source: Adelaide Advertiser, Monday, 21 May, 1984, p. 33)

Port Adelaide Magpies FC

Backs: Curtis, Kennedy, A Williams

Half-backs: Owens, Leslie, Harvey

Centres: Anderson, Bradley, Kinnear

Half-forwards: Knight, Russell, C Ebert

Forwards: R Ebert, Evans, Belton

Ruck: Johnston, S Williams, Mahney

Interchange: Harris, Gill

Out: Giles (knee)

In: Curtis

Central Districts Bulldogs FC

Backs: Nolan, Beythier, Thomas

Half-backs: Prior, Hannam, Hearn

Centres: Bubner, Roe, Edwards

Half-forwards: Krieg, Wright, Connelly

Forwards: Norsworthy, Grant, Wilson

Ruck: Cousins, van Dommele, Platten

Interchange from: Moulds, Vivian, Pitman, Dearaugo

Out: Boehm (back), Fraser (concussion), Barilla

In: Bubner, Prior (recovered), Grant, Hearn, Dearaugo

Selections:

GEOFF KINGSTON: Port Adelaide Magpies

ALAN SHIELL: Port Adelaide Magpies

MERV AGARS: Port Adelaide Magpies

PETER HAYNES: Port Adelaide Magpies

ANDREW BOTH: Port Adelaide Magpies

(Source: Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday, 19 May, 1984, p. 21)

Match results - Monday, 21 May 1984

Central District Bulldogs FC 3.3 5.6 11.10 14.12 (96) d Port Adelaide Magpies FC 2.1 4.8 7.9 8.16 (64)

Scorers: CD: Bubner 2.3, Patten 2.2, Wilson, Grant, Wright, Connelly 2.0, Norsworthy 1.4, Edwards 1.1, Prior 0.1, Forced 0.1.

PAM: Evans 5.1, Russell 1.2, Harris 1.1, Mahney 1.0, Knight 0.2, Belton, R Ebert, Bradley, Kinnear 0.1, Forced 0.6.

Best: CD: Platten, Thomas, Roe, Hannam, Nolan, Bubner, van Dommele

PAM: Leslie, Johnston, Kennedy, Evans, Russell

Attendance: 13,000 (approx)

(Source: Adelaide Advertiser, Tuesday, 22 May, 1984, p. 36)

Monday temperatures: 19.1C (minimum), 21.8C (maximum)

(Source: Adelaide Advertiser, Tuesday, 22 May, 1984, p. 45)

Advertiser Trophy:

J Platten (CD) – 3 votes, M Leslie (PA) - 2 votes, J Thomas (CD) - 1 vote

Advertiser Trophy Leaders 1984 (after Round 8):

C Bradley (PA), M Naley (SA) – 12 votes; N Craig (St) – 11 votes; D Marshall (G), M Aish (N) – 8 votes; S Kernahan (G), P Martin (SA), M Mickan (WA), J Platten (CD) – 7 votes; M Leslie (PA), D Tiller (NA), S Stretch (WT) – 6 votes

(Source: Adelaide Advertiser, Tuesday, 22 May, 1984, p. 36)

Selected match statistics (Adelaide Advertiser, Tuesday, 22 May, 1984, p. 36):

CD: Platten 21 kicks-5 marks-3 handballs, Thomas 17-3-2, Hannam 16-4-3, van Dommele 15-3-7, Connelly 13-3-6, Bubner 11-5-6

PAM: Kinnear 20-3-0, R Ebert 16-2-8, Leslie 15-6-3, Russell 15-5-7, Bradley 11-0-6, Belton 10-1-7, Gill 10-5-5, S Williams 10-4-5

Alberton Oval, reserves game, 11/8/2012

Coaches’ Comments:

Kevin Neale (Central District): “I thought we played well under pressure.

“Our teamwork stood up well. It was the sort of commitment we have been searching for. “Over the past week and again today, all the players agreed this win was something worth achieving. Now I hope they will stay on the grindstone. They must realise they have to work hard all the time”.

Russell Ebert (Port Adelaide Magpies): “They worked harder than we did. They hit in harder and controlled the ball.

“They were too good on the day. Their attitude and commitment were a lot better than ours. They had the breaks and benefited from the heavy ball and the wet conditions after half time”.

Source: Alan Shiell (1984), “Bulldogs’ bite worse than their bark”, Adelaide Advertiser, Tuesday, 22 May, p. 36.

Match analysis

PA Magpies cheer squad, 11/8/2012

Quotes from ALAN SHIELL:

“Any lingering doubt that Central was an impostor filling one of the top three positions on the ladder were dispelled by its 32-point defeat of previously unbeaten Port Adelaide at Alberton Oval yesterday – in one of the most physically demanding battles of the season.

“It was only Central’s eighth win in the 50 matches between the clubs (since 1964) and its third in 18 trips to the graveyard of so many teams.

“The sheer joy the Bulldogs derived from yesterday’s result, surprising in view of their 47-point loss to West Adelaide at Richmond last Saturday week, was not lost on new coach Kevin Neale.

“However, the difference was only eight points at quarter-time and four-points at half-time before Central asserted its on-the-day superiority by adding 9.6 to 4.8 in the second half, including a match-winning 6.4 to 3.1 with the wind in the third term.

“Two magnificent long goals by tall, athletic wingman Peter Bubner at the five and seven-minute marks of the third quarter triggered Central’s breakaway and signalled the beginning of the end for Port, which was handicapped by Craig Bradley’s virus and stomach upset and the early thigh injury to Greg Anderson.

“The Dogs also were inspired, as usual, by the courage and creativity of Superpup John Platten, who was a terrier in and around the packs (if only he would have his hair cut...!)

“Central’s defence, in which Jamie Thomas and Canberra recruits Brett Hannam and Stephen Nolan were most conspicuous, repelled numerous Port thrusts, many of which lacked the necessary directness.

“In attack, Port had to rely almost solely on the always-dangerous [Tim] Evans, who kicked its first five goals, and sporadic bursts from vigorous centre-half-forward Dwayne Russell.

“While Central barely had a passenger, Port had too many players who were unsighted for most of the day.

“Among the more notable exceptions were centre-half-back Martin Leslie, ruckman Russell Johnston, full-back Dexter Kennedy, Evans and Russell.

“Much of the last quarter was played in semi-darkness, adding weight to the theory that league matches ought to begin at 2p.m., not 20 minutes later”.

Source: Alan Shiell (1984), “Bulldogs’ bite worse than their bark”, Adelaide Advertiser, Tuesday, 22 May, p. 36 [archival research by Kieran James].

Port Adelaide Magpies v Glenelg, 11/8/2012

To watch a selection from Central District v Port Adelaide Magpies, Alberton Oval, 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsAWO6c3xb4

To watch a selection from 1984 SANFL Grand Final Port Adelaide Magpies v Norwood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzU06TU781U