Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Peter B. Woite

Known as
Peter Woite

Senior clubs
Port Adelaide; Glenelg

Recruited from
Port Adelaide (1979)

Hall of fame
South Australian Football Hall Of Fame (2008)

Peter Woite


ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
Port AdelaideSANFL1969-19781821020.56
GlenelgSANFL1979-198020391.95
SANFL1969-19802021410.70
Total1969-19802021410.70

Winning best and fairest awards at Port Adelaide in the 1970s was no easy matter - unless your name happened to be Russell Ebert, that is. One player to buck the trend was Peter Woite, who won the Magpies’ top individual award in 1975 - and, for good measure, threw in a Magarey Medal as well.

Woite began with Port Adelaide in 1969, when he starred on the half back flank in the first two quarters of a pre-season match against Melbourne, only for injury to put him out for virtually the remainder of the year. His full scale resumption in 1970 was spectacularly successful, and he earned selection on a wing in South Australia’s team to meet the VFL at the Adelaide Oval in May, when he was widely acclaimed as the home side’s best player. Apart from anything else, the performance highlighted his versatility, as he was being used at centre half forward by Port in club games.

Arguably Woite’s best position, however, was centre half back, where his authoritative, one-grab marking, excellent anticipation, and good rebound skills came to the fore. Recognising these traits, North Melbourne endeavoured to sign him in 1976 with an offer that would, allegedly, have made him the highest priced South Australian recruit in VFL history. In the end, Woite elected not to transfer, although that was far from the end of the matter as North took him to court in an attempt to recoup an alleged $10,000 ‘signing on’ fee. Fortunately for Woite, the judge ruled in his favour.

A member of Port’s 1977 premiership team, Woite later joined Grand Final rivals Glenelg where he saw out his career with a further 20 league games in 1979-80, taking his final tally to 202. He represented South Australia a dozen times.

At the turn of the century, Peter Woite was selected as an interchange player in Port Adelaide’s official ‘Greatest Team 1870 to 2000’.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy's SA Football Companion

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.