The men of Norwood in the AFL
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Over the last 150 years the stories of some Australian football clubs have been nothing short of epic. Of these epics, in this case of the tragic kind, none come any starker that that of Norwood. It maybe seen as unfair to describe the ‘Men of Norwood’ in this fashion; many at the club today would point to their recent three-peat (2012-2013-2014) in a league they have always called home since 1878, and laugh. Sadly this would have to be done with a brave face, brushing aside the failings of 1990 and 1994 when attempts to join the expanded AFL competition faltered. Especially when one considers that the last of their three recent premierships, in 2014, was won against a reserves team field by the club's arch nemesis Port Adelaide. The mighty Redlegs are a club born to greater things.
The early Kensington and Adelaide clubs laid the initial claims to be South Australia's football powerhouses but by the time Norwood completed its first season in 1878, the question of who would rest upon this mantle was unequivocally settled. The extended dominance of the Norwood Football Club from its founding until Australia’s federation is unlikely ever be surpassed or even matched in top level football. Six premierships in its first six seasons and 14 in its first 30 in the major league, along with seven runner-ups for good measure, leave one in awe.
The 1888 season, in particular, was notable for their disposal of Port Adelaide in the SAFA along with a clean sweep against Victorian premiers South Melbourne in a three-game series. The club was the undisputed national champion of the Australia game. These feats were no fluke or simply achieved against lesser competition, with the Redlegs regularly winning matches against other Victorian clubs at home or away. Without doubt Norwood was one of Australia's greatest clubs - some would argue greatest - of the late colonial era.
The level of dominance was possible due to the concentration of wealth within the club's administration, supporters and locality. Norwood is located in the heart of the leafy eastern suburbs of Adelaide. Subsequent, the wealth of the area allowed the club to poach players from within South Australia and interstate. Notable early examples included the poaching from Carlton of Alfred 'Topsy' Waldron (above right), Alf McMichael, Billy Dedman, Billy Bracken, Alf Wishart, Lach Bracken and George Bragge. Topsy Waldron played in Carlton’s first premiership in 1877 and the following season he would win the first of eight premierships with the Redlegs. He captained the club for the following 10 seasons. He was the first superstar of South Australian football.
The club's song¹, especially the snippet below, from 1878 wouldn’t be out of place today. The base tune Killarney² gives one an idea of what it might sound like when sung in gusto play it at double speed.
“When they met the sprightly Vics,
With their little marks and tricks,
People thought would be a fix,
Too much for the Norwoods.
Like the Souths the Vics were licked,
Traynor for us one goals kicked.
Forward! Norwoods, red and blue,
Wiry Vics you did subdue.
Sturdy Ports and Adelaides,
Little Parks [those knowing blades]
Kensingtons, who love the maids,
All succumbed to Norwood.
So the first year passed away,
And our men still held the sway;
Forward! Norwood, red and blue,
Beauty's lips are praising you.”
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While never again enjoying such sustained success as those early years, the Norwood football club remained a South Australian powerhouse, nearly always in the reckoning for finals and premiership honours. The 1920s was a great decade for the club (premierships in 1922, 1923, 1925, and 1929), as were the immediate pre and post-war years (1941, 1946, 1948, 1950). A series of near misses in the 1950s lead on to the club's worst decade in the 1960s, but sure enough the Redlegs came back with a vengeance in the 1970s and remained among the top echelon in the 1980s, woth premierships in 1975 and 1978 under Bob Hammond, and again in 1982 and 1984 under Neil Balme (left).
Norwood could still lay claim to being South Australia’s most successful club in 1978 (until superceded by Port). Between 1975 and 1985, Port Adelaide and Norwood had both won four premierships. As late as 1987 the Redlegs were only one premiership behind Port Adelaide with the head-to-head tally then standing at 27-26.
From the mid-1980s, however, arch-rivals Port Adelaide began to assert themselves, on and off the field, to a degree that Norwood could not match. A three-peat, in 1988, 1989, and 1990, coupled with stronger finances, came at the most opportune time for the Magpies. The newly expanding VFL, officially reconstituted as the AFL - Australian Football League - in 1990, had committed itself to expansion in South Australia on the heals of it's foray into Sydney, Queensland, and Western Australia.
South Australian involvement was a logical next step. The question was, what form would that take? Behind the scenes both Port Adelaide and Norwood had had discussions with the V/AFL to enter the league. As early as 1983 Norwood had written to the VFL expressing interest in joining any expanded national competition, and had met VFL officials again in 1988 with a view to join the league (as did Port). In the event, that didn't happen but it was becoming a matter of when, rather than if, it would.³
By 1990, the AFL was favouring new composite teams - such as the West Coast Eagles model - over existing ones, although they were still open to strong established clubs in the right circumstances. The door was open for Norwood, but it was the men from Port who made the first move. When Norwood, struggling financially following several poor investments, saw the fallout after Port’s negotiations with the AFL became public, the club flinched, and quietly fell in line behind the SANFL's reluctant acceptance that a SANFL-backed composite team was the best option in the seemingly inevitable case of the AFL entering the South Australian market.
The upshot was the founding of the Adelaide Crows. When the AFL first officially mooted in 1994 that they were seeking a second 'established' South Australian club to join the national competition, Norwood jumped at the chance. Putting together a proposal to amalgamate with Sturt, the men from Norwood simply did not know that the AFL had already made up its mind on the matter - they 'owed' Port Adelaide for forcing the SANFL's hand back in 1990 - and so it was that Port Adelaide became the second South Australian club to join the AFL.
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The mighty Redlegs had missed their chance again. Many believed that it would be their last chance. As club legend Michael Aish (right) said, “In my opinion coming second [not getting the second South Australian AFL licence] means you die”.
Might there be a third chance? The modern Norwood Football Club is so far down the path regarding its future with the SANFL that any other existence seems distant and impossible. Reluctance within the clubs supporters to contemplate playing in the national competition leaves the question not begging but questioned itself. Why has a club that was so confident, brash and determined to succeed decided to lower its ambitions to such an extent as to shun any attempt at restoring its rightful profile?
The old ‘Men of Norwood’ would never be content with being a third-rung amateur club. Now all this is well and good, throwing up the idea of Norwood reclaiming its former glory, but unless indicators point to concrete feasibility it will forever be a pipe dream and the subject of many a (longstanding club administrator) Nerio Ferraro nightmare.
Let us now look extensively at why it could, and in my opinion should, happen.
Firstly, Adelaide Oval is a beacon of hope and new opportunity for Norwood playing on the national stage. People are going to the venue simply for its unrivalled aesthetic and atmosphere, with the contest of the day merely being an excuse to make the visit. Simply put, people will turn up to Adelaide Oval, and if it is a football game with meaning, they will do so in their droves.
Additionally, the bulk of Norwood supporters are within walking distance of the oval. The recent SANFL Grand Final between Norwood and Port Adelaide mentioned above attracted 38,644 despite a huge portion of the latter's fan base making their way back from the AFL Preliminary Final against Hawthorn the night before. Photos from the game show that the crowd was split 80-20 in favour of the Redlegs. People who attended this match attest to this, for what that is worth.
Secondly, as mentioned earlier, Norwood is located on the eastern side of Adelaide where a modest house demands seven figures. There is a lot of potential corporate backing with past, and paid up, fans on this side of town. In fact, in the mid 1990’s, Norwood, with the backing of a local wine company, attempted to buy the Adelaide Crows and relocate them to the Parade. If successful, the club may have become known as the Norwood Crows. A reinterpretation of the old saying “If you can’t beat them…buy them”.
Jokes aside, Norwood and its surrounding suburbs is a wealthy area with some very, very wealthy supporters who could potentially provide backing necessary to run a professional club. Further, with the influx of people a football game brings into the city, the State Government could help assist the club and arguably produce a net benefit for the state economy in doing so.
Thirdly, along with the financial strength, is a rivalry second to none in Australian football. When one thinks of the great Australian Rules football rivalries you generally think of Collingwood v Carlton. However, the Norwood v Port Adelaide rivalry, despite its currently reduced standing, was just as ferocious and storied. Starting 14 years earlier than the Victorian counterparts, Norwood v Port clashes have so far produced 50 finals match ups and 17 Grand Finals. This includes the first true Grand Final decider in Australian football history when the two clubs met on the Adelaide Oval for the 1889 premiership. (Read John Devaney's article on that match here.) The Redlegs were victorious.
This rivalry was also popular with punters. Consistent full capacity Grand Final crowds and the state's largest home and away crowds were part and parcel of the pairing. As late as 1990 a home-and-away match between the two attracted 36,397. Geographically, the synergy between the Adelaide Crows, Port Adelaide and Norwood in the long term would be viable. One team located to the West, Adelaide (eventually when relocated from West Lakes) in the centre, and Norwood to the East.
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Moreover, the club has long had the ability to produce, and recruit, players of the highest calibre. Greats such as Topsy Waldron, J.J. Woods, Joe Traynor, Bunny Daly, Alby Bahr, Walter 'Wacca' Scott, Bruce Schultz, John Marriot, Jack Oatey (left) and family, Bill Wedding, Michael Taylor, Phil Carman, Neville Roberts, Michael Aish and family, John Wynne, and Garry McIntosh, to name just a few, are among the outstanding footballers of South Australia.
Since the introduction of the AFL draft, the club has also produced many high quality players that have gone on to establish successful AFL careers, among them Scott Burns, Craig Kelly, Tony Francis, Heath Grundy, Tom Harley, Joel Patfull, Martin Pike, Paul Puopolo, Matthew Primus, Jonathon and Matthrew Robran, and many others.
What do the men of Norwood do then? When Port Adelaide tried and failed to enter the AFL, they had announced they were on a crusade and their fans followed. In the midst of SANFL attendances dropping by 14%, Port Adelaide’s crowds increased by 13%. Port fans didn’t fear failure of their attempts to enter the new national league; they just wondered when they would be admitted. If South Australia can sustain a third club in the AFL, and there are many who believe the state can, then the Norwood Football Club is the logical choice. The club itself simply need to state their true intentions and their fans, and many others, will follow.
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Footnotes
1. Norwood club song full lyrics: http://www.norwoodfc.com.au/THE_CLUB/FANZONE1/CLUB...
2. Killarney, by John A. Finnigan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAqmmul4XGg
3. Men Of Norwood by Mike Coward, p.52. Phoenix Rising, by Ross Oakley
Comments
Jeff Reynolds 5 May 2016
I forgot to mention Norwood's attempts to join the VFL in 1986 and 1988.
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