Why Woodville were admitted.

[Leaping Lindner]

Not sure of the exact boundaries, but in rough terms the Woodville High kids would have gone to Port and the Findon High kids would have gone to Torrens.

Under my rough rule of thumb I reckon Bob Simunsen, Craig McKellar, M.J. Blight, Ray Huppatz, Eddie Holland and John Cummins would have finished up at Thebarton - they all came from south of the Port Road. Six blokes (five State footballers) who would have come on stream through the 60's. I reckon Torrens were the BIG losers.

The only man to play in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's - Ralph Sewer - would have finished up at Port (not sure if he actually went to school, but he's a Ferryden Park lad).

I stand corrected on these assertions, but there certainly were some handy locally bred footballers who Port and Torrens missed out on.

Oh, and North missed out on Mike Doszna 'cos he was from Kilburn.

It's okay we got him back in the end! I also think McVicar may have headed to Prospect if there had been no Woodville but I'm prepared to stand corrected on that.

 

[stacksonthemill]

I always thought that Blighty came from Murray Bridge Imperials originally.

 

[McCavity]

I always thought that Blighty came from Murray Bridge Imperials originally.

Nope...he lived a decent drop punt away from Oval Avenue in Woodville.

 

[PrideOf]

Finally, I believe the casting vote of the SANFL President of the time-: Tom Kenny enabled South Adelaide to remain in the League and both Woodville and Cental District to be admitted to the competition.

Big mistake with hindsight to just leave South in the comp as they were. With a bit of foresight they should have shifted them to Christies Beach/Noarlunga at the same time as Centrals came in.

Then in the south we'd have a community that had grown up with a local team rather than the situation now where people in the south would rather watch the Southern Footy League than the Panthers.

 

[mianfei]

Big mistake with hindsight to just leave South in the comp as they were. With a bit of foresight they should have shifted them to Christies Beach/Noarlunga at the same time as Centrals came in.

Then in the south we'd have a community that had grown up with a local team rather than the situation now where people in the south would rather watch the Southern Footy League than the Panthers.

An interesting point that I would like to give my own assessment, even if it goes beyond mere football.

It is certainly true that growth in Adelaide's southern suburbs has been large. However, knowing from the VFL the history of Hawthorn from 1925 to 1953, when it won only 111 (plus three draws) of its first 522 games, and that of St. Kilda especially from 1940 to 1955 (all but two wooden spoons were taken by Hawthorn or St. Kilda in those sixteen years) I am by no means sure that South Adelaide would have done better had it relocated in the 1960s rather than the 1990s. Reading about Hawthorn and St. Kilda during the 1940s and 1950s makes me realise that a noncombative, noncompetitive cultural attitude prevalent in these affluent suburbs and persisting today in outer suburbs where land is cheap, is totally inimicable to producing competitive, professional sporting teams. Players coming from these regions were, at Hawthorn and St. Kilda, brought up before they played senior football to tolerate defeat too benignly to encourage them to fight to win in any difficult situation.

The way the religious, socially ultraconservative Family First thrive in Adelaide's mortgage belt suburbs where South Adelaide relocated intuitively suggests to me that the same culture that kept Hawthorn and St. Kilda near the bottom of the ladder for so long would have affected South Adelaide's performance had it moved to Noarlunga much earlier (and does affect it as things are). It is interesting to note that in the early 1950s it was often thought that Hawthorn should relocate further out to Mitcham because there was so little interest in footy near where Hawthorn were based. The way I see it, a relocation further out would have made no difference. The people in Melbourne's outer east have never possessed the interest in competitive football people in less comfortable suburbs possess: consider Box Hill's early record in the VFA up to 1981 which resembles Hawthorn's from 1925 to 1953 (they won only seven games out of 108 from 1976 to 1981).

The point that people in Adelaide's outer southern suburbs prefer to watch local leagues rather than the Panthers is an interesting one that could potentially contradict my point about cultural attitudes influencing results. I have however never looked at this issue in Melbourne and cannot judge.

 

[PrideOf]

An interesting point that I would like to give my own assessment, even if it goes beyond mere football.

It is certainly true that growth in Adelaide's southern suburbs has been large. However, knowing from the VFL the history of Hawthorn from 1925 to 1953, when it won only 111 (plus three draws) of its first 522 games, and that of St. Kilda especially from 1940 to 1955 (all but two wooden spoons were taken by Hawthorn or St. Kilda in those sixteen years) I am by no means sure that South Adelaide would have done better had it relocated in the 1960s rather than the 1990s.

I'm not sure either, but I can tell you that they would have a hell of a lot more support than they currently do. Centrals grew as the northern suburbs grew. They live and breathe Centrals because it's always been their team. They grew up together. When you go to Noarlunga, they couldn't tell you who the coach or captain was because they just don't care. South moved to Noarlunga in the 1990s well after the development horse had bolted. At that stage the Crows were flying as a marketing machine so people in the southern suburbs were focussed on them. South was a minor distraction, if that. And they also built a outdoor fridge-freezer that masquerades as a footy ground.

The point that people in Adelaide's outer southern suburbs prefer to watch local leagues rather than the Panthers is an interesting one that could potentially contradict my point about cultural attitudes influencing results.

South Adelaide's major issues are their own, not the community's. They bring in also-rans from Queensland and Victoria, rather than recruiting from the local leagues. I've always thought that if they recruited 90% local kids and played them, they'd generate more support.

Your point about culture with St Kilda is interesting. I've umpired South Adelaide at all levels and their culture sucks. Whenever they lose, they're either happy they weren't belted or complaining that the loss was someone else's fault (the umpires, the opposition runner, the wind). I never saw that umpiring Port or Norwood. So while they continue to be a cultural basketcase, people in the southern suburbs will continue to watch AFL on TV or the Morphett Vale v Reynella game if they want to see something live.

But while the cultural issues are there, the fact remains that they were transplanted into a massively growing community far too late and everyone moved on without them.

 

[GremioPower]

Dont forget the Crows in a way are a merger of 8 clubs but no one (except Port supporters) slag them off for it.

Underrated comment.

 

[glengowan]

These were the zones in 1954.

 

[glengowan]

Roughly overlaid this against what it is now. Green is WWT, Yellow is Glenelg, Brown is West, Blue is Sturt, Light brown is Norwood, Red is North. Obviously no more Port zone and South are down South of this map and Central north of this map.

 

[glengowan]

An excerpt from John Devaney's Clubs of the South Australian National Football League

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/c3a15545-5fbc-453a-bfd7-d8a62cd21106/downloads/1cvdrrh5g_468909.pdf?ver=1563704898261&fbclid=IwY2xjawLbRBdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFLUUV5emw5Mm85NlpiZkR0AR6zmNCbv3mi8gsrLLPEzC1tvIEpdJCxC2rqLXBDz23GBNs9Uv13zaM__XLoVw_aem_PxSAEVKHDacYuX8uRpxKeA

"In 1959 the SANFL made the momentous and highly controversial decision to expand its competition from eight clubs to ten via the admission of Central District, representing Adelaide's rapidly growing northern suburbs, and Woodville.

The two Cinderella clubs would initially be required to serve an indeterminate probationary period in the seconds competition, beginning in 1960, but by 1962 it was clear that many of the key figures in the SANFL hierarchy were beginning to doubt the wisdom of the proposed expansion.

Consequently, in a bid to clear the air and focus minds, the League set up a special three man committee, chaired by its vice-chairman, Don Brebner, to examine the issue in detail, and to make formal recommendations to the clubs as to how the competition ought to be structured from 1964 onwards. In brief, the committee's recommendations were:

1. That the senior League competition should continue to comprise just 8 clubs
2. That the projected future population of the northern suburbs clearly warranted a League presence, and therefore South Adelaide should be required to re-locate to Elizabeth
3. That no more teams representing areas west of Adelaide should be admitted to the competition
4. That preparatory work should be undertaken to facilitate the expansion of the League competition to 10 clubs in about 1975 by means of the admission of teams based in Noarlunga and Tea Tree Gully

When these proposals were submitted to the eight club delegates for approval, voting was split 4-4, with Port Adelaide, Sturt, West Adelaide and West Torrens voting 'yay', and the other four club delegates 'nay'. The decision as to whether or not Central District and Woodville should be admitted to the League competition, or even continue to exist, was therefore placed squarely in the hands of League chairman, Tony Kenny, who had the casting vote...."

 

[Hobbes]

That 1954 map is bonkers. They made a real pig’s breakfast of South Adelaide.

I started primary school in the early 80s at Forbes (South Plympton) and played in the South Adelaide zone against teams like Westbourne Park and Colonel Light Gardens. The furthest south I travelled was Bellevue Heights.

Then I moved to Bellevue Heights and the zones were changed. We played against teams like Morphett Vale, which I assume is more in line with South’s current zone. That said, South fans were few and far between at this school - it was roughly 50% Sturt, and South probably lagged behind both Glenelg and Port.

Obviously, the Western suburbs were already congested, and adding Woodville was just silly. A club around Elizabeth was obviously necessary, and a club being based at Noarlunga was inevitable.

 

[GremioPower]

Dont forget the Crows in a way are a merger of 8 clubs but no one (except Port supporters) slag them off for it.

Underrated comment.

By the way, Freomaniac, one name I use for them is “Sanfull United”.