News Vale David Granger

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Spraying water on that serial pest and self important labor politician Mick Atkinson as he pedalled past was one of his post footy highlights imho.

The thin skinned Aquaphobic Atkinson laid charges and Dave turned up to the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court with a white ceramic pot on his head.

What a great footballer and a larger than life character.
 

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Spraying water on that serial pest and self important labor politician Mick Atkinson as he pedalled past was one of his post footy highlights imho.

The thin skinned Aquaphobic Atkinson laid charges and Dave turned up to the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court with a white ceramic pot on his head.

What a great footballer and a larger than life character.
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“This item is known as a gazunder, it’s white enamel (and) commonly known to us common people, as pisspot,” Granger said to assembled journalists.

“I wore it on my head when last I attended the Parliament of this state ... because I was so disgusted.”
 
“This item is known as a gazunder, it’s white enamel (and) commonly known to us common people, as pisspot,” Granger said to assembled journalists.

“I wore it on my head when last I attended the Parliament of this state ... because I was so disgusted.”

Dave was never backward in coming forward. He told you what he believed.
 
RIP Dave.

I remember him kicking 5 goals in the last quarter at Unley one game in the late 70's. We went from being smashed to only losing by a couple. He had many games like this where for patches of the game he was unstoppable.
 
Only thinking a month ago I hadn’t seen him for a while, DG lived around the corner from us.

When my youngest had his last couple of primary years at Kilkenny we would see Dave every morning, always giving us a unique salutation each time. Occasionally on the return he’d still be on the corner with his wireless & I’d stop for a chat, always interesting sometimes confronting. As young V would ride on his own when my work changed he would tell me every afternoon how DG would greet him & it made him feel safe for the day knowing DG was in his corner. We would call DG his guardian angel.

Dave will never know now how much of a difference he made to a young lads day. Little V and I would watch replays of the old days but my lad couldn’t connect this fearsome competitor with the kind man who recognised him every morning.

Thanks Dave for everything, a legend to our family.
 
David invited me over for lunch one Friday. He lived in a nice home but as we walked down the passage suddenly we were stepping into the back yard. David had decided to do some renovations and knocked down the kitchen and toilet and hadn't got around to rebuilding. (the loo was now behind a curtain)
He cooked me a delicious chicken stir-fry on a wok. We sat and talked drinking coke - he was on parole. He told me how poorly he was treated in prison - he said he was put in solitary confinement for over a week.
David was a sensitive guy, mixed up for sure and had a black sense of humour. He told me he had planned to pull out his replica pistol and force me into the car boot to see how i would react (as a laugh) - thank god we got on so well he decided not to go through with his plans!
He loved his daughter and showed me his entire collection of memorabilia laid out carefully in the spare room.
David wasn't an angel but he was kind.
 
RIP Dave.

I remember him kicking 5 goals in the last quarter at Unley one game in the late 70's. We went from being smashed to only losing by a couple. He had many games like this where for patches of the game he was unstoppable.
I remember David Granger kicked 6 at Unley in a losing side from centre half forward about 1982?
 

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I lived near Alberton in the Grainger days and would go to training , he was the fastest player , could jump the highest and kick the furthest, he probably had ADHD because he obviously had trouble staying focused but a mighty talent . Mate used to say he was xxx chromosome where men are xxy and women yyx, summed him up a bit lol .
He did some unnecessary things on field but Oh what a talent
R.I.P great man
 

Actually really nice article by Rucci.
It was a great article.

And I'm glad Glenelg got a mention. They and their General Manager at the time led the SANFL's vindictive treatment of Granger in the early 80s with the Advertiser's Alan Shiell the compliant publicist. Granger left the game with a cloud over his name he could never shake, while their sniping thug went on to be a SA business icon.
 
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Such a sad day. What a legend this man was. Guys like Ebert, Evans and Bucky were like gods to me when I was a kid but guys like Granger and Bomber were the hard nut heroes for me. Both were tough as nails.

Never got to meet him but got his (and Bombers) autographs through a family member back in the day, which I still have, which are some of my most prized possessions...

Sending love and prayers to his family and friends and the the PAFC.

RIP David.
 
As I’ve said before he got on the bus in the city and sat next to me once, this is when he was working as a gardener.
Massively fit looking guy who was so much bigger in real life than he looked on the tv.
He was one of those players you never realized just how good of a footballer he was until he finished playing.
The toughness overshadowed a truly talented footballer.
RIP Dave
 
Such a sad day. What a legend this man was. Guys like Ebert, Evans and Bucky were like gods to me when I was a kid but guys like Granger and Bomber were the hard nut heroes for me. Both were tough as nails.

Never got to meet him but got his (and Bombers) autographs through a family member back in the day, which I still have, which are some of my most prized possessions...

Sending love and prayers to his family and friends and the the PAFC.

RIP David.
100%, it’s like a part of your childhood has gone losing Russell and Dave Granger two of the most popular players from that era. David Granger could do anything when he was switched on will never ever forget 81 Grand Final standing on the outer number 18 gathers the ball and effortlessly sends a 30 metre left handed handball to GOD who doesn’t break stride has a couple of bounces and slams through another one to pile on the agony for the mob of whingers from the Bay.
 
I will always remember him as this hulking giant of a man when as a kid I asked for his autograph for my duffle coat at Adelaide Oval. I had David 18 Granger on the back.

I did see him a few years back near the Woodville/Port Rd corner. He was a shell of the man that I remembered. Just quietly he still scared me.

One of those players who was unbeatable when he decided to turn it on. I am sure there was a reserves Grand Final when Port were down by plenty at 3 quarter time and he turned it on and we won. 1980 if I remember correctly.
Remember that Ressies GF.
Bays had Sticks Kernahen and a few others in their side, and the wind blew a gale to the southern end all match.
Down by I reckon around 50 points at "lemons".
Blew them away in the final stanza.
Dave took complete control, marking everything in his vicinity - hangers, contested clunks, one handers, standing upside down on his head (well maybe the last one was a bit of an exaggeration).
Exhilarating stuff.
So glad he was our side all those years ;) :p:thumbsu::devil:
There was a minor round match versus Sturt, where he caught Brendan Howard. Every umpire on the ground sprinted to report him. Luckily, a committed rebuttal from Russell Ebert that it was a fair bump (back in those days at least), plus a 30 second study of the incident from the video replay, was enough to exonerate him unanimously :cool:
 
P.S the best sports nickname of all time is when NBA player CJ Miles got traded from a US side to Toronto and became CJ Kilometres.
I've always thought that John Eales' "nobody" was the perfect sports nickname.

But Grave Danger is right up there.

There is something quintessentially Port about the fearsome bad guy. I feel like he created a myth that had sides running scared for decades after.

And of course his tremendous skill is totally overlooked as a result as was the case for many of the 80s and 90s Port sides.

On SM-G975F using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
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Can just imagine the scene when Grave Danger walks into school Monday post-GF-victory to take premiership teammate Bruce Abernathy out of school because “leave no man behind”. Who could possibly tell him no?

RIP.
 
As a kid I was an autograph hunting pest. Dave was the best. Always stopped and had a proper talk and a joke with you - often playing up his fierce image before cracking a smile and a laugh.
On field he was almost a mythical presence - there was no one like him

Have to say, one of my all time favourite Port players. That handball in the 1981 grand final to Russ says it all really.
 

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