1986 – A Year With The Blacks Round 9: Mid Seaman Slump

Last week was the Queen’s Birthday Bye, named in honour of our ex-Premier Don Dunstan, who recently returned to the Festival State after failing to convince anyone that Victoria is worth visiting.

 

There is another week off in a few weeks. Jeepers, the Amateur League has more byes than the Mars Bar.

 

I’m keeping this week’s report short as my gout carnival knee has been playing up and I’ve been laid low for a few days.

 

Fortunately the Royal Adelaide continues to stand proudly opposite the Botanic next to the Botanical Gardens, assured of its role in the well-being of all South Australians for decades to come. It has been reported that it has the most well equipped outdoor ashtrays in the Central Standard timezone, a boast that I can personally vouch for.

 

June 14th 1986 – Round 9

A1 – Griff’s Grenfell Tavern Goers

Adelaide Uni 20.15 def Riverside 7.7 (University Oval)

Goalkickers: Tasker 5, Dadds 4, T Hancock 3, Hall 3, Huston 2, Ewers, Eckert, Bland

Best Players: Hall, A Parker, Williams, Cooke, Schulz, Tasker

 

The Ones have had more Hancocks than the front row of the Penthouse Cinema so far this season with Snappy Tom taking over Sandy’s role up forward. JP, whose Blacks career pre-dates Gough Whitlam, was there in the trenches helping show up Riverside for the rabble they will no doubt be in September. Trevor “Just Trevor” Hall inked himself into the State side with a 3-Pfitzner-votes outing. Richard Cooke might have been the first Elizabeth High student to play A1s, he’ll probably be the last too. The ‘Kid’ experiment might be working though.

 

6 from 9 at half way leaves Griff with a finals chance, which might shut up a few of the old guard.

 

A8 – The Glamour Side

Adelaide Uni 19.10 def Port District 8.6 (Park 9)

Goalkickers: Burfield 6, Maddern 5, Fairbrother 2, Coleman, Drummond, Dutschke, Graetz, Stewart, C Watson

Best Players: Hansen, Maddern, C Watson, Burfield, Holmes, Verrall

Nickname "Handbag" for obvious reasons

Nickname “Handbag” for obvious reasons

Strange match this one. Hansen’s BOG rating was a sop by the coach who really wanted to give himself the nod ahead of Tweet Pie Burfield’s half-a-dozen. Seven wins so far, but the Glamour side have a few nasty fixtures in the North West in the run home.

 

Coach’s Notes – Peter Coleman is dialled in an unfortunate incident and has his cheekbone broken. But this is not his day. Dr Rob Hoile is the radiographer at the R.A.H., Young Maddern undertakes to wash his footy gear and doesn’t and finally the plastic surgeon gets the operation all wrong and Coleman, unbeknown to the team, is hauled all over the country for weeks afterwards to appear at surgical conventions, rodeos and side shows as the world’s first 2-eyed cyclops.

 

A9 – Sty Council

Adelaide Uni 8.5 lost to Scotch OC 12.11 (Unley High School)

Goalkickers: Priest 3, Schwerdt 2, Bohonis, Marinoff, Thomson

Best Players: Richardson, Marinoff, Goodwin, G Pattison, Davidson, Carey

 

The two undefeated titans of A9 met at the alma mater of Keith Seaman, Mark Oliphant, John Halbert and Plug Harcourt. Why Scotch played at Unley High was anybody’s guess. The stench of Al Grassby’s visit four years ago still lingered (or was that Prefect Plug’s toadying speech that wafted through the Public Buildings Department designed pink terrazzo dunnies?)

 

Sty’s mob were laughed off the park by the nonces from Scotch, who had necks like the top twenty at the Gladstone Small Imitators Club. Hell, who sends their kids to Scotch these days? Do Tupperware make spoons? Will Scotch lose a game? Has arrogance hit a new high point in Torrens Park?

 

The Council were looking too far ahead, at their visit to the Aldinga Sharks in a month’s time – the footballing cross-cultural exchange sponsored by SAFM. Or maybe they were distracted by the sight of Flop’s sister on the boundary? Big Jim took the votes once more, with Davo and Solomons putting in against the tougher opposition, unlike the squibs ahead of centre.

Big Jim Richardson - A Dirty Player

Big Jim Richardson – A Dirty Player

About Mark 'Swish' Schwerdt

Saw my first SANFL game in 1967 - Dogs v Peckers. Have only ever seen the Dogs win 1 final in the flesh (1972 1st Semi) Mediocre forward pocket for the AUFC Blacks (1982-89) Life member - Ormond Netball Club -That's me on the right

Comments

  1. Seven wins so far, but the Glamour side have a few nasty fixtures in the North West in the run home.

    Exactly. Can you define the border? In Loose Men Everywhere I think I had it with Gepps Cross intersection as the focal point. How do you define it Gordon and please give us some of the teams. I remember a brawl at half-time against Elizabeth West where the dressing rooms had barbed wire around them.

  2. Surely the border starts at west of West Terrace and north of Fitzroy (etc) Terrace. All the south teams played in the SAFA back then.

  3. The border at the Grand Junction intersection did get a improvement made at 1 stage with,Welcome to
    Bob Neil City being spray painted on it not every one agreed with the glamour side team members work that night luckily the judge had played for the Black’s

  4. Dan Hansen says

    Who’s the bloke with the hair????

  5. How can the captain of The Glamour Side kick 5 goals when he plays so wide?

  6. I remember that match thanks Gordon. We played a team that was prepared to go in hard, which probably was a shock to us considering the teams we had played up to that point. Their arrogance after the match stuck in my craw and I believe also in a number of my fellow teammates to vow to do better next time. Pity I can’t remember whether we actually DID do better when we faced them at home!
    Great memories (when one can actually remember).

  7. At The Races says

    Gordon is right. Scotch were built like the Russian Olympic weightlifting team and they ran like Ben Johnson. It was a shock. And they had a style of play not unlike the Australian Rugby team … do they have a nickname? Anyway, not what we were expecting.

    I don’t recall any rain or mud that day (so cannot explain the Big Jim photo above), although that would have definitely contributed to hampering our free flowing game style – that was totally absent.

    It became clear early that our only hope was to get our big men to the centre scrums – all three of them. But I think that must have been the game that Pee Wee Taylor went down with a season ending knee injury in (let’s say) the first 5 minutes. Or was that the previous game? There’s 5 goals missing off our score sheet right there.

    But what can you do? Clearly Big Jim and Evil contributed but generally we had trouble adapting our game on such short notice. But next time …

  8. Peter Coleman says

    In defense of a my former team mate Holiey, he did manage to detect a break, although to be fair the bone protruding from my eye sock was a bit of a give away.
    Young not only did you not wash my footy gear but a black sock went missing!

  9. ” most well equipped outdoor ashtrays in the Central Standard timezone”, – Brilliant observation and recollection Gordon. I’m guessing you may have shared a fag or two in the RAH courtyard with our current social commentary scribe, Peter “I went to Scotch but despised it” Goers ?

    BTW Do you have any inside knowledge when the new RAAAAH will open its doors to the next wave of injured Blacks players and home for failed Med students?

  10. Brett 'BD/The Levitator’ Dutschke says

    I believe the Northwest boundary has broadened since the dismantling of the Gepps Cross Abattoirs. There is now a No-Mans Land between the Bob Neil City Welcome Arch (Gepps Cross Intersection) and Mawson Lakes College. At this rate, Elizabeth East will lose Northwest status 50 years sooner than Elizabeth West.

  11. Swish your forensic ability is amazing

    Yes I did give a speech honouring al grassby at unley high and who would have predicted that Al s response destroyed a once happy example of multiculturalism ?

    As you know Julia Gillard went to Unley High too but mysteriously started barracking for the western Bulldogs in an aim to make partner at Slater and Gordon in her way to the Lodge

  12. charlie brown says

    Do tupperware make spoons? Brilliant! Well played sir.

  13. Mark 'Swish' Schwerdt says

    JTH – according to Gordon’s notes, scrawled on the inside cover of a discarded Best Bets, the Glamour Side run home was

    West Croydon at Athol Park – North West team away
    Riverside at Park 9 – North West team at home
    Old Iggies at Iggies
    ANZ Bank at Park 9
    Kilburn at Blair Athol – North West team away
    Salisbury Central at Park 9 – North West team at home
    Gaza at Klemzig
    Greek at Kurralta Park
    Port District at Largs – North West team away^2

    But my experience is that North West is a lifestyle rather than something that can be tied down by geography.

    The captain of Westfields Under 11s in 1971 went on to become a partner in one of Adelaide’s leading law firms, but I think he played before they put in the razor wire.

  14. Mark 'Swish' Schwerdt says

    Thanks for all your responses, geographic or otherwise.

    Plug, in 1986, Gordon probably only knew JG for her stellar work in Student Politics. She even had me marching down King William St chanting “To Live on TEAS is to freeze” in support of my state govt Cadetshipless comrades in 1980.

    I hate to think what Young did to that other sock PC

  15. rabid dog says

    Outrageous! All of us from the Bef KNOW that it’s anything ‘north of Grand Junction Road.’ Pity too that the West is now know as ‘Davvie Park’ – I look forward to discussing with you all at the Karri somtime.

  16. Mark 'Swish' Schwerdt says

    Only the best parts of Elizabeth had a local Rabs #Rose&Crown

  17. Greg 'Evel' Patto says

    Gave it a go that day that’s for sure… Taking on there SAPOL hired Thug contingent, Dunno, in a mid field melee. Also, think we were short 6++ players from normal turnout due to mid terms?

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