1978 SANFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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Date | Saturday, 2 September 30 (2:10 pm) | |||||||||||||||
Stadium | Football Park | |||||||||||||||
Attendance | 50,867 | |||||||||||||||
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The 1978 SANFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sturt Football Club and the Norwood Football Club, held at the Football Park in Adelaide on the 30 September 1978. It was the 57th annual Grand Final of the South Australian National Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1978 SANFL season, and attended by 50,867 ticketed spectators.
Sturt had only lost one game all season, were heavy favourites, and led by 29 points at three quarter time. However Norwood fought back and won by 1 point, marking the club's 24th premiership victory.
The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL, is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport.
Russell Frank Ebert was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of Australian rules football in South Australia. Ebert is the only player to have won four Magarey Medals, which are awarded to the best and fairest player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He is one of four Australian rules footballers to have a statue at Adelaide Oval, the others being Ken Farmer, Malcolm Blight and Barrie Robran. Football historian John Devaney described Ebert as coming "as close as any player in history to exhibiting complete mastery over all the essential skills of the game," and he is widely regarded as the Port Adelaide Football Club's greatest-ever player. Aside from his 392 games at Port Adelaide, Ebert played 25 games for North Melbourne in the 1979 VFL season and collected over 500 possessions as a midfielder for the club, which reached the preliminary final. Ebert was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996, and he was posthumously elevated to Legend status in June 2022, the highest honour that can be bestowed onto an Australian footballer.
Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the South Australian National Football League. Based at Elizabeth in the City of Playford about 25 km to the north of Adelaide, South Australia the club's development zones include the outer Adelaide northern suburbs of Salisbury, Elizabeth, Golden Grove, Greenwith, Township of Gawler, One Tree Hill and Barossa Valley Districts.
West Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Nicknamed the Bloods and commonly known as the Westies, the club's home base is Richmond Oval. The Oval is located in Richmond, an inner-western suburb of Adelaide.
Norwood Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club competing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in the state of South Australia. Its home ground is Coopers Stadium, which is often referred to as "The Parade". It is one of the two traditional powerhouse clubs of the SANFL, the other being Port Adelaide, who together have won half of all SANFL premierships. The club has won 31 SANFL premierships and 1 SANFLW premiership.
The Sturt Football Club, nicknamed The Double Blues, is a semi-professional Australian rules football club based in the suburb of Unley, South Australia, which plays in the South Australian National Football League.
Foster Neil "Fos" Williams was a leading Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the Port Adelaide and West Adelaide Football Clubs and coached South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in a career spanning 1946–1978. He also played 34 interstate games for South Australia, captaining the team from 1954 to 1958 and he coached the team in 45 games from 1955 to 1969.
West Torrens Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) from 1897 to 1990. In 1991, the club merged with neighbouring Woodville Football Club to form the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles.
Phillip Carman is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Norwood in the SANFL and Collingwood, Melbourne, Essendon and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1970s and 1980s.
Donald Neil Kerley was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He is best known for taking three clubs to four South Australian National Football League (SANFL) premierships over three decades as both a player and coach, and for playing 32 state games for South Australia.
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Rick Davies is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Sturt and South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Nicknamed the "Jumbo Prince", Davies played a total of 390 games throughout his career (317 for Sturt, 33 for South Adelaide, 20 for Hawthorn, and 20 State Games for South Australia. Though not tall for a ruckman at only 188 cm, Davies was known for his strong marking and body strength which he used to great effect against opponents who were often taller and heavier than him.
John Arno Halbert is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
Neville P. Roberts is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and Victorian Football League (VFL). He played with West Torrens, Richmond and Norwood. His interstate career consisted of games for both South Australia and Victoria. He was South Australian state captain in 1984 and 1985.
The 2014 South Australian National Football League season was the 135th season of the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Australian rules football competition.
Robert Reginald Oatey OAM was an Australian rules footballer who played with Norwood and Sturt in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He was a member of the South Australian Football Hall of Fame.
The 1983 South Australian National Football League season was the 104th, since 1877, of the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Australian rules football competition.
The 2015 South Australian National Football League season was the 136th season of the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Australian rules football competition.
The 2017 South Australian National Football League season was the 138th season of the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Australian rules football competition.