West Adelaide Football Club
Encyclopedia
West Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football
club in the South Australian National Football League
(SANFL). Commonly known as The Bloods and Westies, the clubs home base is City Mazda Stadium
(formerly Richmond Oval) located in Richmond
, an inner-western suburb of Adelaide
.
and White
as their colours and the club played in the Adelaide and Suburban Association form 1892 to 1896. Wests won the Adelaide and Suburban Association premierships in 1895 and 96 and following the clubs annual general meeting on March 30, 1897, the club joined the (then) South Australian Football Association (SAFA) in 1897. The SAFA would subsequently became the SANFL.
Upon entering the SAFA, West Adelaide changed their colours to Black
and Red
, the colours previously worn by the defunct Adelaide Football Club and its training headquarters was moved from the South
to the West Parklands. The club often struggles to field a full team in its early years as clubs were then controlled by wealthy businessmen and its was no secret that players were regularly poached from less wealthy clubs. West Adelaide was one of the 'poor' clubs and this resulted in West Adelaide winning only 1 of its first 31 matches.
From the 1899 season the SAFA introduced District Football in which players had to play for the club in the district where they lived. West Adelaide immediately gained the services of one of the best players of the time, "Bunny" Daly who threw himself into developing the club. Within a few years with young players such as Richard "Dick" Head
joining veterans James Tierney
, Wests fortunes were about to change and the club would enter what is known as its "Golden Era"
but they also became Champions of Australia
when they defeated powerful Victorian Football League
team Carlton by five goals at the Adelaide Oval. James "Sorry" Tierney was the clubs first ever Magarey Medal
in 1908.
West Adelaide repeated as SANFL premiers in 1909 after defeating Port Adelaide
by a goal in the Grand Final while "Dick" Head won the clubs second Magarey Medal. The club slumped in 1910 to finish in fifth place before repeating their 1908 double success by winning the 1911 SANFL Premiership defeating Port Adelaide in the Grand Final and Essendon to win the Championship of Australia.
The club won its fourth premiership in five years in 1912 after again defeating Port Adelaide in the grand final before finishing their Golden Era with a third placing in 1913.
, West Adelaide would finish second in 1922, losing the Final to Norwood while player Robert Barnes
was the clubs third Magarey Madalist.
Bruce McGregor
became the clubs fourth Magarey Madalist when he won the award in 1926
The club began playing their home games at the Wayville Showgrounds in 1927 and the club won its fifth permiership by defeating North Adelaide
by two goals in the grand final. Captain-Coach Bruce McGregor would not only lead his team to the premiership in 1927 but became the first (and so far only) West Adelaide player to win back to back Magarey Madals.
Players Robert Snell
(1929), Jack Sexton
(1931) and Ray McArthur
(1939) all won the Magarey Medal while playing for the West Adelaide Football Club.
After finishing third in 1928 and 1929, Wests struggled on field and failed to make the finals again until finishing third in 1941. Following the outbreak of World War II
, the SANFL abandoned playing until the end of the war.
who played 54 games for the club between 1946 and 1949 before moving on to Captain-Coach Port Adelaide in 1950, a move that would haunt West Adelaide for the next 11 seasons as Wests would lost four Grand Finals to the Williams coached Port Adelaide between 1954 and 1959.
During the mid-1950s, West Adelaide, under the coaching of Laurie Cahill
and with strong players such as Neil Kerley
, Brian Faehse
, Doug Thomas, Ken Eustice
, Ken McGregor
and 1957 Magarey Madalist Ron Benton
, became regular finals visitors and finished as beaten grand finalists in 1954, losing the grand final to the Fos Williams led Port Adelaide by just 3 points. The 1954 final was marred by a brawl which broke out at half time of the match when angry Port supporters set upon Wests players as they attempted to enter the dressing room located in the Sir Edwin Smith
Stand. This was a reaction to a heavy but legal clash prior to the end of the half between Wests captain Brian Faehse and Ports Dave Boyd in which Boyd had come off second best. Wests had been leading by 25 points at half time but the melee in the crowd proved unsettling with some Wests players not making it back to the dressing room until the team was meant to go back out onto the oval. Port came back to trail by only 2 points going into the last quarter of the game and snatched victory by 3 points.
The half-time melee was the main topic of discussion at an SANFL meeting following the game which prompted the building of the underground dressing rooms at the Adelaide Oval during the summer of 1954/55 while leaving the rooms in the stands to the cricketers. West Adelaide and their captain Brian Faehse were given the honor of being the first team to use the new rooms and to run out onto the oval from them at the start of the 1955 SANFL season
Wests finished a disappointing 7th in 1955 but would return to form in 1956 where they would again be beaten grand finalists, again losing to Port.
After finishing third in 1957, West Adelaide would play in both the 1958 and 1959 SANFL Grand Finals and again would be beaten both times by the Fos Williams coached Port Adelaide, going down by just 2 points in 1958 and 10 points in 1959. A late kick for goal by Ruckman
Jack Richardson which would have given West the lead with only 90 seconds remaining hit the post allowing Port to hold on for a 2 point win. Later on grand final night, a group of Wests players, including Kerley, broke into the Adelaide Oval and cut down the goalpost. The post would later end up hanging over the Bar in the West Adelaide Footballers Club.
In 1954 the clubs search for a permanent home ground was solved with the founding of Richmond Oval. It was the first ground purpose built for Australian Rules Football in Australia, predating the VFL's Waverley Park
by 12 years. Richmond Oval was opened by long-serving member of the South Australian Legislative Council
Sir Lyell McEwin on April 26, 1958. A capacity crowd saw West Adelaide christen their new home with a 12 11 (83) to 10 13 (73) win over West Torrens
.
After finishing fourth in 1960, West Adelaide, Captain-Coached by Neil Kerley, won their seventh premiership in 1961 when they defeated Norwood by 6 goals in the Grand Final. The club would play its nemesis Port Adelaide in the 1962 grand final and once again would go down by a heartbreaking 3 points to The Magpies. Ken Eustice
would become the clubs 10th Magarey Medalist winning in 1962. Sensationally after taking the club to two Grand Finals and one premiership in his two years as coach of the club, Kerley was sacked as Wests coach after the 1962 season. He was replaced by long time team mate and friend Doug Thomas. Kerley continued on as a player in 1963 honoring his contract but the following season he left to become Captain-Coach of South Adelaide, taking the Panthers from bottom in 1963 to what has to date been their last SANFL Premiership in 1964.
Following the 1961 premiership win and subsequent runners-up in 1962, West Adelaide would go through a very lean time. After finishing 2nd in 1962 the club lost amongst others Kerley, Eustice, Jeff Bray
and Don Roach
from their playing ranks leading to a lean spell for the club. After having played in 13 finals series and 6 grand finals between 1946 and 1963 for two premierships (1947 and 1961), the club would only reach the finals another five times (1968 - 4th, 1969 - 3rd, 1976 - 5th, 1977 - 3rd and 1981 - 5th) between 1964 and 1982.
The ground record crowd for Richmond Oval was set in Round 5 of the 1969 season when 15,742 turned up to see Westies take on a Glenelg
side coached by none other than Neil Kerley. Glenelg defeated the Bloods 18 18 (126) to 8.9 (57) on the day and the record crowd still stands as of 2011.
West Adelaide suffered from mediocrity during the 1970s, finishing 10th and last in 1972, '73 and 1974. In 1970 West unearthed a young ruckman named Dexter Kennedy who made his league debut aged just 15 years, 11 months and 2 days. Kennedy would go on to play 236 games for the club between 1970 and 1982 before playing the last two seasons of his career with Port. 1947 premiership player and long time premiership coach of Port Adelaide, Fos Williams began coaching the club in 1974 and after a tough start the team improved finishing 6th in 1975 and 1976 and 3rd in 1977. Unfortunately that was to be the high point for the Bloods during the 70s as they fell dramatically to 9th in 1978 in what was to be Williams last season of coaching league football before again finishing 10th and last under coach Trevor Hughes in 1979. The other great highlight for the club during the 1970s was the recruitment of Port rover Trevor Grimwood
who would become the clubs 11th Magarey Medal winner in 1977.
The Bloods would continue to perform poorly as they finished 9th in 1980 and Trevor Hughes was sacked following the season. Club General Manager Doug Thomas and President Bob Lee
enticed 1961 premiership coach Neil Kerley back to West Adelaide in 1981 and the improvement in the team was immediate. The Bloods finished 5th in 1981, defeated in the Elimination Final by Norwood. Under Kerley players such as Roger Luders, Bruce Lindner
, Ian Borchard
, Peter Meuret, Geoff Morris
and Mark Mickan all started to play their best football and 1982 was almost a repeat of the 1981 season. Going into the final round West were locked in a battle for the 5th and final finals spot on the ladder. Unfortunately it was again Norwood who ended their run when they thumped the Bloods at Norwood Oval
consigning West to a 6th place finish.
The team hit its straps in the 1983 season, winning its first minor premiership since 1962 by two games from Sturt with an 18-4 record. The team finally got its revenge on Norwood when they thumped the Redlegs by 77 points in the 2nd Semi-final to earn a spot in their first Grand Final since 1962. The Following week Sturt defeated Norwood in the Preliminary to earn the other Grand Final berth. Westies won their eighth and so far last premiership when Kerley coached the team to a 34 point win (21 16 (142) to 16 12 (108)) win in the Grand Final in front of 47,129 fans at Football Park. West Adelaide had winners all over the ground but it was captain Ian Borchard who won the Jack Oatey Medal as the best player in the Grand Final while Centre half-forward
Bruce Lindner
with 5 goals and Full-forward
Roger Luders kicked 4. Lindner's 5th goal was the last of the game, a 65m kick on the full from inside the centre square only seconds before the game ended.
Roger Luders created history in 1983 when he became the first West Adelaide player to ever kick 100 goals in an SANFL season, finishing with 109 goals from 24 games played. Luders kicked 96 goals in the 22 game minor round and with the 4th of his 9 goals in the 2nd Semi-final against Norwood he kicked his 100th for the season. Luders remains the clubs all-time leading goal kicker with 558 goals kicked in 162 games played between 1978 and 1986 at an average of 3.4 goals per game. Luders tally of 558 goals places him 14th on the list of all-time SANFL goal kickers. During his career Luders was known as one of the most spectacular high marking full-forwards in the SANFL
In 1985 Grantley Fielke
, a premiership player from 1983, would become the clubs 12th Magarey Medal winner. West Adelaide, coached by Port Adelaide premiership coach John Cahill (nephew of former West coach Laurie Cahill) finished 3rd in the 1985 SANFL season, missing out on a grand final spot by less than 2 goals to North Adelaide in the Preliminary Final.
West Adelaide, which has earned a reputation amongst its fans as being "consistently inconsistent" would win through to their next grand final in 1991. After a slow start to the season under the coaching of former (then VFL
) premiership player Kevin Morris
, the team won 9 of its last 11 games to reach the finals in 5th place. With young players such as leading goal kicker Greg Mellor, best and fairest Peter Banfield
and a young Tony Modra
playing alongside returning experienced veterans Mark Mickan and Bruce Lindner (who while playing for the Adelaide Crows
in the AFL
had played enough games with West through the season to qualify for the finals). West easily defeated three-time defending premiers Port Adelaide by 89 points in the Elimination Final before winning the 1st Semi against Woodville-West Torrens by 60. They then defeated a determined South Adelaide by 21 points in the Preliminary Final and would then come up against North Adelaide in the Grand Final. The Bloods were rated an even chance to beat the Roosters who were playing in their 5th Grand Final since 1985. In front 39,276, the smallest Grand Final crowd since the 1950s, the game was a spiteful affair with many brawls erupting between opposing players following Norths Steven Sims knocking out Wests Matthew Simpson
early in the 2nd quarter. North Adelaide would go on to win easily by 73 points, 21 22 (146) to Wests 11 7 (73) with another Crows player, Darel Hart
, kicking 7 goals for the Roosters on his way to winning the Fos Williams Medal. Also in the West Adelaide squad during 1991 was future dual Crows premiership player Shaun Rehn
although he missed the finals through injury.
Following the 1991 grand final appearance Kevin Morris was sacked as coach after a dispute with the clubs board. In his place for his third run as West Adelaide coach was Neil Kerley. Unfortunately the club slipped to 6th in 1992 and a disappointing 8th in 1993. Following the '93 season, Kerley wasn't retained and he was replaced by 220 game player for the club Geoff Morris
who led the team to 8th in '94 but improved to finish 5th in 1995. Glenn Kilpatrick
would be Wests 13th Magarey Medalist in 1995 when he jointly won the award with Norwood legend Garry McIntosh
. West would reach a best of 3rd in 1998 under coach Michael Taylor
(who replaced Morris in 1996) while full-forward Adam Richardson
became the first West Adelaide player since Ron Phipps in 1957 to lead the SANFL in goal kicking when he kicked 80 in the regular season and 5 in the finals to finish with 85 for the year.
After missing the finals in '99 and 2000 under Taylor, West Adelaide hired former premiership captain and best and fairest winner Ian Borchard as coach for 2001. Borchard led The Bloods back to the finals in '01 when they finished 5th before repeating the performance in 2002
Former West Adelaide player and Adelaide Crows (AFL
) premiership player Shaun Rehn
replaced Borchard as coach in 2003 led the club to its so far last SANFL grand final that same year. Facing a red-hot Central District
team, aiming for their 3rd premiership in four years, West went down by 34 points in the grand final 17 9 (111) to 11 11 (77) in front of 28,199 at AAMI Stadium. Wests Darren Bradshaw
was the SANFL's leading goal kicker in 2003 kicking 88 for the season. He added another 9 goals in the finals to finish on 97 for the year.
Once again West Adelaide failed to follow up its good form from the previous season and while still managing to qualify for the finals in 2004 had to be satisfied with just a 5th placed finish. Things went from bad to worse for the club in 2005 when the team finished with the wooden spoon for the first time since 1979.
Following such a dramatic drop in form, Rehn resigned as coach following the 2005 season and was replaced by former Crows team mate Wayne Weidemann
for both 2006 and 2007. Despite West Adelaide playing their 400th game at Richmond Oval when they faced Sturt on 7 April 2006, neither season would bring any joy for The Bloods or their supporters as they finished with the wooden spoon in each season. Not surprisingly, Weidemann was replaced as coach following the 2007 SANFL season.
Weidemenn's replacement was former Hawthorn (AFL) premiership player from 1991
Andrew Collins. Unfortunately Collins couldn't improve the results in 2008 and the club finished with an unwanted 4th wooden spoon in a row. Strong recruiting helped the team improve to 6th in 2009 while James Ezard
, nephew of 1984 and 1985 Essendon premiership player Alan Ezard
, jointly won the Magarey Medal with North Adelaide's Rhys Archard, becoming the 14th West Adelaide player to win the award.
Westies again finished 6th in 2010, frustratingly missing the finals for the sixth straight year. In a major development for the club, lights for night games were installed at Richmond Oval (now called City Mazda Stadium under a sponsorship deal) in 2010 and Friday night games became a success with 6,133 fans attending The Bloods first ever home game under lights against North Adelaide on 26 March.
Despite winning their last game of the season at home against Sturt, West missed the SANFL Finals for the seventh straight season finishing 7th with an 8-12 record. The Bloods started the season well with a 5-1 record but injuries to key players plus general poor form saw the Bloods lose 7 games in a row mid-season. Early in the 2011 season coach Andrew Collins had his contract extended for a further two years tying him to the club until 2013.
As at the end of the 2011 SANFL season West Adelaide have had the second longest premiership drought of any of the current nine SANFL league clubs with 28 years since their last premiership (also the longest in the clubs history). Only South Adelaide has had a longer drought with their last premiership win being 1964. Ironically both premierships were coached by Neil Kerley who showing his worth as a player and coach took over as Panthers coach in 1964 and took them from 8th and last in 1963 to the SANFL premiership just one year (1964 was the first year of the 10 team competition with the Central District Bulldogs
and Woodville Woodpeckers
joining the league. This arrangement lasted until the end of 1990 when Woodville merged with West Torrens
to become the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles).
Other Premierships
Best: Borchard, Morris, Bennett, Meuret, Grosser, McKinnon
Goals: Lindner 5, Luders 4, Grosser 4
AO
, who was also a former Number 1 Ticket Holder with the club, and former South Australian
Sheffield Shield cricketer and SANFL umpire turned Adelaide television and radio personality K. G. Cunningham are known to be proud Bloods fans.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
club in the South Australian National Football League
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
(SANFL). Commonly known as The Bloods and Westies, the clubs home base is City Mazda Stadium
Richmond Oval (South Australia)
Richmond Oval is an Australian rules football oval in Richmond, a western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia...
(formerly Richmond Oval) located in Richmond
Richmond, South Australia
Richmond is an inner urban suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of West Torrens.-History:Settlement of the area dates from the late 1830s with land used mainly for farming. Residential and industrial growth took place from the late 19th century into the early 20th century....
, an inner-western suburb of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
.
Early Years (1897-1907)
West Adelaide was formed in 1891, adopting MagentaMagenta
Magenta is a color evoked by light stronger in blue and red wavelengths than in yellowish-green wavelengths . In light experiments, magenta can be produced by removing the lime-green wavelengths from white light...
and White
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
as their colours and the club played in the Adelaide and Suburban Association form 1892 to 1896. Wests won the Adelaide and Suburban Association premierships in 1895 and 96 and following the clubs annual general meeting on March 30, 1897, the club joined the (then) South Australian Football Association (SAFA) in 1897. The SAFA would subsequently became the SANFL.
Upon entering the SAFA, West Adelaide changed their colours to Black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
and Red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
, the colours previously worn by the defunct Adelaide Football Club and its training headquarters was moved from the South
Adelaide Park Lands
The Adelaide Park Lands are the parks that surround the centre of the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. They measure approximately 7.6 square kilometres in a green belt encircling the city centre....
to the West Parklands. The club often struggles to field a full team in its early years as clubs were then controlled by wealthy businessmen and its was no secret that players were regularly poached from less wealthy clubs. West Adelaide was one of the 'poor' clubs and this resulted in West Adelaide winning only 1 of its first 31 matches.
From the 1899 season the SAFA introduced District Football in which players had to play for the club in the district where they lived. West Adelaide immediately gained the services of one of the best players of the time, "Bunny" Daly who threw himself into developing the club. Within a few years with young players such as Richard "Dick" Head
Richard Head (footballer)
Henry Richard 'Dick' Head , was an Australian rules footballer who played 143 games with West Adelaide in the South Australian Football League ....
joining veterans James Tierney
James Tierney (footballer)
James Michael "Sorry" Tierney was an Australian rules footballer who played in the SAFA and SAFL, mainly with the West Adelaide Football Club....
, Wests fortunes were about to change and the club would enter what is known as its "Golden Era"
Golden Era
Prior to the 1908 season, West Adelaide never finished higher than fifth on the premiership ladder. In 1908 however, Wests not only became SANFL premiers for the first time defeating Norwood in the Grand Final at the Adelaide OvalAdelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
but they also became Champions of Australia
Championship of Australia
The Championship of Australia was the name given to an Australian rules football tournament which was contested between football clubs from the Victorian, South Australian and West Australian football leagues. The Championship took place three times in the 19th century and then from 1907 to 1914...
when they defeated powerful Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
team Carlton by five goals at the Adelaide Oval. James "Sorry" Tierney was the clubs first ever Magarey Medal
Magarey Medal
For the biography award of the same name, see Magarey Medal for biography. For a list of winners, see List of Magarey Medallists.The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football...
in 1908.
West Adelaide repeated as SANFL premiers in 1909 after defeating Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide Magpies
The Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the South Australian National Football League...
by a goal in the Grand Final while "Dick" Head won the clubs second Magarey Medal. The club slumped in 1910 to finish in fifth place before repeating their 1908 double success by winning the 1911 SANFL Premiership defeating Port Adelaide in the Grand Final and Essendon to win the Championship of Australia.
The club won its fourth premiership in five years in 1912 after again defeating Port Adelaide in the grand final before finishing their Golden Era with a third placing in 1913.
Between Wars
After the SANFL resumed competition following World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, West Adelaide would finish second in 1922, losing the Final to Norwood while player Robert Barnes
Robert Barnes (footballer)
Robert "Bobbie" Barnes was an Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the SAFL.Born in Mount Barker , Barnes played his early football in Broken Hill and was a Kenwrick Medal winner while at West Broken Hill Club...
was the clubs third Magarey Madalist.
Bruce McGregor
Bruce McGregor
Harry Bruce McGregor was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide and South Adelaide in the SANFL. His son Ken also played for West Adelaide and was a successful tennis player....
became the clubs fourth Magarey Madalist when he won the award in 1926
The club began playing their home games at the Wayville Showgrounds in 1927 and the club won its fifth permiership by defeating North Adelaide
North Adelaide Roosters
North Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club, who play in the South Australian National Football League.- History :Formed in 1888 as Medindie, in 1893 the club renamed itself to North Adelaide. It is the fourth oldest club still in operation in the SANFL...
by two goals in the grand final. Captain-Coach Bruce McGregor would not only lead his team to the premiership in 1927 but became the first (and so far only) West Adelaide player to win back to back Magarey Madals.
Players Robert Snell
Robert Snell
Robert 'Bob' Snell was an Australian rules footballer who played for East Perth in the WAFL and West Adelaide in the SAFL....
(1929), Jack Sexton
Jack Sexton
Jack Ettwell George Sexton was an Australian rules footballer who played in the SANFL and for Fitzroy in the VFL....
(1931) and Ray McArthur
Ray McArthur
Ray McArthur was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide in the SANFL.McArthur played in many positions during his career including ruckman. He made his debut 1935 and was West Adelaide's best and fairest winner two years later. In 1939 he tied in the voting for the Magarey...
(1939) all won the Magarey Medal while playing for the West Adelaide Football Club.
After finishing third in 1928 and 1929, Wests struggled on field and failed to make the finals again until finishing third in 1941. Following the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the SANFL abandoned playing until the end of the war.
Post World War II
West Adelaide became one of the power teams in the SANFL following the resumption of competition in 1945. The club finished third in 1946 before winning its sixth premiership in 1947 defeating Norwood 10 15 (75) to 8 15 (63). One of Wests leading players during this time was future SANFL legend Fos WilliamsFos Williams
Foster Neil "Fos" Williams AM 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 in a career spanning 1946-1978...
who played 54 games for the club between 1946 and 1949 before moving on to Captain-Coach Port Adelaide in 1950, a move that would haunt West Adelaide for the next 11 seasons as Wests would lost four Grand Finals to the Williams coached Port Adelaide between 1954 and 1959.
During the mid-1950s, West Adelaide, under the coaching of Laurie Cahill
Laurie Cahill
Laurie Cahill was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and Richmond in the Victorian Football League ....
and with strong players such as Neil Kerley
Neil Kerley
Donald Neil Kerley OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. Known to his mates as either Neil or Knuckles and to South Australian football fans as King Kerley or simply "Kerls", he is best known for taking three clubs to four SANFL premierships over three decades as both a...
, Brian Faehse
Brian Faehse
Brian Faehse was an Australian rules footballer in the South Australian Football League.The great Fos Williams, who played alongside Brian Faehse at West Adelaide, and against him with Port Adelaide, paid him the ultimate compliment when he said "I've never met a better team mate or a more...
, Doug Thomas, Ken Eustice
Ken Eustice
Kenneth James Eustice is a former Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide, Central District and Glenelg in the SANFL.Eustice started his career in 1958 with West Adelaide and was a member of their premiership side in 1961. He usually played on the wing at West Adelaide and it was...
, Ken McGregor
Ken McGregor
Kenneth Bruce McGregor was a former tennis player from Australia who won the Men's Singles title at the Australian Championships in 1952. He and his longtime doubles partner, Frank Sedgman, are generally considered to be one of the greatest men's doubles teams of all time...
and 1957 Magarey Madalist Ron Benton
Ron Benton
Ronald Mark Benton is a former Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide in the SANFL.Benton made his debut for West Adelaide in 1955 shortly before his 17th birthday. His first kick in league football saw him score the first of 172 goals for the club...
, became regular finals visitors and finished as beaten grand finalists in 1954, losing the grand final to the Fos Williams led Port Adelaide by just 3 points. The 1954 final was marred by a brawl which broke out at half time of the match when angry Port supporters set upon Wests players as they attempted to enter the dressing room located in the Sir Edwin Smith
Edwin Thomas Smith
Sir Edwin Thomas Smith KCMG was an English-born South Australian brewer, businessman, councillor, mayor, politician and benefactor.-Early years:...
Stand. This was a reaction to a heavy but legal clash prior to the end of the half between Wests captain Brian Faehse and Ports Dave Boyd in which Boyd had come off second best. Wests had been leading by 25 points at half time but the melee in the crowd proved unsettling with some Wests players not making it back to the dressing room until the team was meant to go back out onto the oval. Port came back to trail by only 2 points going into the last quarter of the game and snatched victory by 3 points.
The half-time melee was the main topic of discussion at an SANFL meeting following the game which prompted the building of the underground dressing rooms at the Adelaide Oval during the summer of 1954/55 while leaving the rooms in the stands to the cricketers. West Adelaide and their captain Brian Faehse were given the honor of being the first team to use the new rooms and to run out onto the oval from them at the start of the 1955 SANFL season
Wests finished a disappointing 7th in 1955 but would return to form in 1956 where they would again be beaten grand finalists, again losing to Port.
After finishing third in 1957, West Adelaide would play in both the 1958 and 1959 SANFL Grand Finals and again would be beaten both times by the Fos Williams coached Port Adelaide, going down by just 2 points in 1958 and 10 points in 1959. A late kick for goal by Ruckman
Ruckman (Australian rules football position)
In Australian rules football, a ruckman is typically a tall and athletic player who contests at centre bounces and stoppages . The ruckman is one of the most important players on the field...
Jack Richardson which would have given West the lead with only 90 seconds remaining hit the post allowing Port to hold on for a 2 point win. Later on grand final night, a group of Wests players, including Kerley, broke into the Adelaide Oval and cut down the goalpost. The post would later end up hanging over the Bar in the West Adelaide Footballers Club.
In 1954 the clubs search for a permanent home ground was solved with the founding of Richmond Oval. It was the first ground purpose built for Australian Rules Football in Australia, predating the VFL's Waverley Park
Waverley Park
Waverley Park was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian based Victorian Football League/Australian Football League clubs. However, during the 1990s it became the home ground of...
by 12 years. Richmond Oval was opened by long-serving member of the South Australian Legislative Council
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
Sir Lyell McEwin on April 26, 1958. A capacity crowd saw West Adelaide christen their new home with a 12 11 (83) to 10 13 (73) win over West Torrens
West Torrens Football Club
West Torrens Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League from 1897 to 1990...
.
After finishing fourth in 1960, West Adelaide, Captain-Coached by Neil Kerley, won their seventh premiership in 1961 when they defeated Norwood by 6 goals in the Grand Final. The club would play its nemesis Port Adelaide in the 1962 grand final and once again would go down by a heartbreaking 3 points to The Magpies. Ken Eustice
Ken Eustice
Kenneth James Eustice is a former Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide, Central District and Glenelg in the SANFL.Eustice started his career in 1958 with West Adelaide and was a member of their premiership side in 1961. He usually played on the wing at West Adelaide and it was...
would become the clubs 10th Magarey Medalist winning in 1962. Sensationally after taking the club to two Grand Finals and one premiership in his two years as coach of the club, Kerley was sacked as Wests coach after the 1962 season. He was replaced by long time team mate and friend Doug Thomas. Kerley continued on as a player in 1963 honoring his contract but the following season he left to become Captain-Coach of South Adelaide, taking the Panthers from bottom in 1963 to what has to date been their last SANFL Premiership in 1964.
Following the 1961 premiership win and subsequent runners-up in 1962, West Adelaide would go through a very lean time. After finishing 2nd in 1962 the club lost amongst others Kerley, Eustice, Jeff Bray
Jeff Bray (footballer)
Jeff Bray was an Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League ....
and Don Roach
Don Roach
Don Roach is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League during the 1960s and also had a noted career in the South Australian National Football League ....
from their playing ranks leading to a lean spell for the club. After having played in 13 finals series and 6 grand finals between 1946 and 1963 for two premierships (1947 and 1961), the club would only reach the finals another five times (1968 - 4th, 1969 - 3rd, 1976 - 5th, 1977 - 3rd and 1981 - 5th) between 1964 and 1982.
The ground record crowd for Richmond Oval was set in Round 5 of the 1969 season when 15,742 turned up to see Westies take on a Glenelg
Glenelg Tigers
Glenelg Football Club is an Australian rules football team, which plays in the South Australian National Football League. The club is known as the "Tigers" , and their home ground is Gliderol Stadium @ Glenelg , located in the southern coastal suburb of Glenelg East, South Australia.-Club...
side coached by none other than Neil Kerley. Glenelg defeated the Bloods 18 18 (126) to 8.9 (57) on the day and the record crowd still stands as of 2011.
West Adelaide suffered from mediocrity during the 1970s, finishing 10th and last in 1972, '73 and 1974. In 1970 West unearthed a young ruckman named Dexter Kennedy who made his league debut aged just 15 years, 11 months and 2 days. Kennedy would go on to play 236 games for the club between 1970 and 1982 before playing the last two seasons of his career with Port. 1947 premiership player and long time premiership coach of Port Adelaide, Fos Williams began coaching the club in 1974 and after a tough start the team improved finishing 6th in 1975 and 1976 and 3rd in 1977. Unfortunately that was to be the high point for the Bloods during the 70s as they fell dramatically to 9th in 1978 in what was to be Williams last season of coaching league football before again finishing 10th and last under coach Trevor Hughes in 1979. The other great highlight for the club during the 1970s was the recruitment of Port rover Trevor Grimwood
Trevor Grimwood
Trevor Foster Grimwood is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Port Adelaide and West Adelaide in the SANFL.Grimwood's first attempt at a career in the SANFL was unsuccessful, he was on the books for Norwood in both 1965 and 1966 but didn't play a senior game...
who would become the clubs 11th Magarey Medal winner in 1977.
The Bloods would continue to perform poorly as they finished 9th in 1980 and Trevor Hughes was sacked following the season. Club General Manager Doug Thomas and President Bob Lee
Bob Lee (Australian footballer)
Robert William Lee was an Australian rules footballer and administrator who played with West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League...
enticed 1961 premiership coach Neil Kerley back to West Adelaide in 1981 and the improvement in the team was immediate. The Bloods finished 5th in 1981, defeated in the Elimination Final by Norwood. Under Kerley players such as Roger Luders, Bruce Lindner
Bruce Lindner
Bruce Norman Lindner is a former Australian Rules footballer who played for Geelong and Adelaide in the AFL and for West Adelaide in the SANFL.-SANFL Career:...
, Ian Borchard
Ian Borchard
Ian Alfred Borchard is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League during the 1970s. He also played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League ....
, Peter Meuret, Geoff Morris
Geoff Morris
Geoffrey Paul Morris is a former Australian rules footballer who played 220 games and kicked 316 goals for West Adelaide in the SANFL between 1973 and 1986....
and Mark Mickan all started to play their best football and 1982 was almost a repeat of the 1981 season. Going into the final round West were locked in a battle for the 5th and final finals spot on the ladder. Unfortunately it was again Norwood who ended their run when they thumped the Bloods at Norwood Oval
Norwood Oval
Norwood Oval is a suburban oval in the western end of Norwood, an inner eastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council own the Oval but rent it, for a peppercorn rental, to the Norwood Football Club...
consigning West to a 6th place finish.
The team hit its straps in the 1983 season, winning its first minor premiership since 1962 by two games from Sturt with an 18-4 record. The team finally got its revenge on Norwood when they thumped the Redlegs by 77 points in the 2nd Semi-final to earn a spot in their first Grand Final since 1962. The Following week Sturt defeated Norwood in the Preliminary to earn the other Grand Final berth. Westies won their eighth and so far last premiership when Kerley coached the team to a 34 point win (21 16 (142) to 16 12 (108)) win in the Grand Final in front of 47,129 fans at Football Park. West Adelaide had winners all over the ground but it was captain Ian Borchard who won the Jack Oatey Medal as the best player in the Grand Final while Centre half-forward
Centre half-forward
In Australian rules football, the centre half-forward is a position on the half-forward line of a football field. The directly opposing player is a Centre-Half-Back....
Bruce Lindner
Bruce Lindner
Bruce Norman Lindner is a former Australian Rules footballer who played for Geelong and Adelaide in the AFL and for West Adelaide in the SANFL.-SANFL Career:...
with 5 goals and Full-forward
Full-forward
Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals.Leading full-forwards of the Australian Football League are usually among those awarded with the Coleman Medal for the most goals in an AFL season....
Roger Luders kicked 4. Lindner's 5th goal was the last of the game, a 65m kick on the full from inside the centre square only seconds before the game ended.
Roger Luders created history in 1983 when he became the first West Adelaide player to ever kick 100 goals in an SANFL season, finishing with 109 goals from 24 games played. Luders kicked 96 goals in the 22 game minor round and with the 4th of his 9 goals in the 2nd Semi-final against Norwood he kicked his 100th for the season. Luders remains the clubs all-time leading goal kicker with 558 goals kicked in 162 games played between 1978 and 1986 at an average of 3.4 goals per game. Luders tally of 558 goals places him 14th on the list of all-time SANFL goal kickers. During his career Luders was known as one of the most spectacular high marking full-forwards in the SANFL
In 1985 Grantley Fielke
Grantley Fielke
Grantley Craig Fielke is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the SANFL and for both Collingwood and the Adelaide Crows in the VFL-AFL between 1979 and 1997.-League career:...
, a premiership player from 1983, would become the clubs 12th Magarey Medal winner. West Adelaide, coached by Port Adelaide premiership coach John Cahill (nephew of former West coach Laurie Cahill) finished 3rd in the 1985 SANFL season, missing out on a grand final spot by less than 2 goals to North Adelaide in the Preliminary Final.
West Adelaide, which has earned a reputation amongst its fans as being "consistently inconsistent" would win through to their next grand final in 1991. After a slow start to the season under the coaching of former (then VFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
) premiership player Kevin Morris
Kevin Morris
Kevin Morris is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL between 1971 and 1976 for the Richmond Football Club and then from 1977 until 1981 for the Collingwood Football Club....
, the team won 9 of its last 11 games to reach the finals in 5th place. With young players such as leading goal kicker Greg Mellor, best and fairest Peter Banfield
Peter Banfield
Peter Charles Banfield is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon and the Brisbane Bears in the Victorian Football League during the 1980s.-Playing Career:...
and a young Tony Modra
Tony Modra
Anthony 'Tony' Dale Modra is a former Australian rules football player, known for his spectacular marks. He played for the Adelaide Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League, mainly at full forward. Modra had the physical strength and size to match the best...
playing alongside returning experienced veterans Mark Mickan and Bruce Lindner (who while playing for the Adelaide Crows
Adelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
in the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
had played enough games with West through the season to qualify for the finals). West easily defeated three-time defending premiers Port Adelaide by 89 points in the Elimination Final before winning the 1st Semi against Woodville-West Torrens by 60. They then defeated a determined South Adelaide by 21 points in the Preliminary Final and would then come up against North Adelaide in the Grand Final. The Bloods were rated an even chance to beat the Roosters who were playing in their 5th Grand Final since 1985. In front 39,276, the smallest Grand Final crowd since the 1950s, the game was a spiteful affair with many brawls erupting between opposing players following Norths Steven Sims knocking out Wests Matthew Simpson
Matthew Simpson (footballer)
Matthew Simpson is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Brisbane Bears in the Victorian Football League ....
early in the 2nd quarter. North Adelaide would go on to win easily by 73 points, 21 22 (146) to Wests 11 7 (73) with another Crows player, Darel Hart
Darel Hart
Darel Hart is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the South Australian National Football League and for Adelaide in the Australian Football League ....
, kicking 7 goals for the Roosters on his way to winning the Fos Williams Medal. Also in the West Adelaide squad during 1991 was future dual Crows premiership player Shaun Rehn
Shaun Rehn
Shaun Jason Rehn is a former Australian rules footballer who played for both the Adelaide Crows and Hawthorn in the Australian Football League...
although he missed the finals through injury.
Following the 1991 grand final appearance Kevin Morris was sacked as coach after a dispute with the clubs board. In his place for his third run as West Adelaide coach was Neil Kerley. Unfortunately the club slipped to 6th in 1992 and a disappointing 8th in 1993. Following the '93 season, Kerley wasn't retained and he was replaced by 220 game player for the club Geoff Morris
Geoff Morris
Geoffrey Paul Morris is a former Australian rules footballer who played 220 games and kicked 316 goals for West Adelaide in the SANFL between 1973 and 1986....
who led the team to 8th in '94 but improved to finish 5th in 1995. Glenn Kilpatrick
Glenn Kilpatrick
Glenn Matthew Kilpatrick is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon and Geelong in the Australian Football League .A midfielder, Kilpatrick played 146 games in the AFL after debuting in 1992 for Essendon...
would be Wests 13th Magarey Medalist in 1995 when he jointly won the award with Norwood legend Garry McIntosh
Garry McIntosh
Garry McIntosh is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Norwood in the South Australian Football League during the 1980s and 90s. He won back to back Magarey Medals in 1994 and 1995....
. West would reach a best of 3rd in 1998 under coach Michael Taylor
Michael Taylor (Australian footballer)
Michael 'Kingo' Taylor is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the VFL and also had a noted career with Norwood in the SANFL. He also played 13 interstate games for South Australia, which included State of Origin football.In two stints at Norwood, Taylor won six Best...
(who replaced Morris in 1996) while full-forward Adam Richardson
Adam Richardson
Adam Scott Richardson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and Adelaide in the Australian Football League ....
became the first West Adelaide player since Ron Phipps in 1957 to lead the SANFL in goal kicking when he kicked 80 in the regular season and 5 in the finals to finish with 85 for the year.
After missing the finals in '99 and 2000 under Taylor, West Adelaide hired former premiership captain and best and fairest winner Ian Borchard as coach for 2001. Borchard led The Bloods back to the finals in '01 when they finished 5th before repeating the performance in 2002
Former West Adelaide player and Adelaide Crows (AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
) premiership player Shaun Rehn
Shaun Rehn
Shaun Jason Rehn is a former Australian rules footballer who played for both the Adelaide Crows and Hawthorn in the Australian Football League...
replaced Borchard as coach in 2003 led the club to its so far last SANFL grand final that same year. Facing a red-hot Central District
Central District Bulldogs
Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in the city of Elizabeth about 25 km to the north of Adelaide, South Australia.-Origins and Background:...
team, aiming for their 3rd premiership in four years, West went down by 34 points in the grand final 17 9 (111) to 11 11 (77) in front of 28,199 at AAMI Stadium. Wests Darren Bradshaw
Darren Bradshaw (Australian footballer)
Darren Bradshaw is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League .Bradshaw joined Brisbane from Wodonga, during their run of three successive premierships...
was the SANFL's leading goal kicker in 2003 kicking 88 for the season. He added another 9 goals in the finals to finish on 97 for the year.
Once again West Adelaide failed to follow up its good form from the previous season and while still managing to qualify for the finals in 2004 had to be satisfied with just a 5th placed finish. Things went from bad to worse for the club in 2005 when the team finished with the wooden spoon for the first time since 1979.
Following such a dramatic drop in form, Rehn resigned as coach following the 2005 season and was replaced by former Crows team mate Wayne Weidemann
Wayne Weidemann
Wayne Weidemann is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He is most notable for his career in the Australian Football League with the Adelaide Crows....
for both 2006 and 2007. Despite West Adelaide playing their 400th game at Richmond Oval when they faced Sturt on 7 April 2006, neither season would bring any joy for The Bloods or their supporters as they finished with the wooden spoon in each season. Not surprisingly, Weidemann was replaced as coach following the 2007 SANFL season.
Weidemenn's replacement was former Hawthorn (AFL) premiership player from 1991
1991 AFL Grand Final
The 1991 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and West Coast Eagles, held at Waverley Park in Melbourne on 28 September 1991. It was the 95th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to...
Andrew Collins. Unfortunately Collins couldn't improve the results in 2008 and the club finished with an unwanted 4th wooden spoon in a row. Strong recruiting helped the team improve to 6th in 2009 while James Ezard
James Ezard
James Ezard is an Australian rules footballer, who played for Port Adelaide in the Australian Football League .The nephew of Essendon premiership player Alan Ezard, he was taken at pick 34 in the 2004 AFL Draft from Calder Cannons...
, nephew of 1984 and 1985 Essendon premiership player Alan Ezard
Alan Ezard
Alan Ezard is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL.Originally from Broadford, Victoria, Ezard made his debut with the Essendon Football Club in 1983 and made a name for himself as a very strong mark for a 173 cm man, playing mostly in the back pocket or as a rover...
, jointly won the Magarey Medal with North Adelaide's Rhys Archard, becoming the 14th West Adelaide player to win the award.
Westies again finished 6th in 2010, frustratingly missing the finals for the sixth straight year. In a major development for the club, lights for night games were installed at Richmond Oval (now called City Mazda Stadium under a sponsorship deal) in 2010 and Friday night games became a success with 6,133 fans attending The Bloods first ever home game under lights against North Adelaide on 26 March.
Despite winning their last game of the season at home against Sturt, West missed the SANFL Finals for the seventh straight season finishing 7th with an 8-12 record. The Bloods started the season well with a 5-1 record but injuries to key players plus general poor form saw the Bloods lose 7 games in a row mid-season. Early in the 2011 season coach Andrew Collins had his contract extended for a further two years tying him to the club until 2013.
As at the end of the 2011 SANFL season West Adelaide have had the second longest premiership drought of any of the current nine SANFL league clubs with 28 years since their last premiership (also the longest in the clubs history). Only South Adelaide has had a longer drought with their last premiership win being 1964. Ironically both premierships were coached by Neil Kerley who showing his worth as a player and coach took over as Panthers coach in 1964 and took them from 8th and last in 1963 to the SANFL premiership just one year (1964 was the first year of the 10 team competition with the Central District Bulldogs
Central District Bulldogs
Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in the city of Elizabeth about 25 km to the north of Adelaide, South Australia.-Origins and Background:...
and Woodville Woodpeckers
Woodville Football Club
Woodville Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League from 1964 to 1990, when it merged with the West Torrens Football Club to form the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles....
joining the league. This arrangement lasted until the end of 1990 when Woodville merged with West Torrens
West Torrens Football Club
West Torrens Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League from 1897 to 1990...
to become the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles).
Home Grounds
- Kensington OvalKensington Oval, AdelaideThe Kensington Oval is located on 344 The Parade, Kensington, South Australia. Now used primarily for cricket in South Australia, the venue was once Adelaide's premier athletics facility and known as Olympic Sports Field.-Early history:...
- Jubilee Oval
- Wayville Showgrounds (1927–1939)
- Adelaide OvalAdelaide OvalThe Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
(1940–1957) - City Mazda StadiumRichmond Oval (South Australia)Richmond Oval is an Australian rules football oval in Richmond, a western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia...
(1958–present)
Premierships
| Senior (8) | 1908–09, 1911–12, 1927, 1947, 1961, 1983 |
| Runners-up (8) | 1922, 1954, 1956, 1958–59, 1962, 1991, 2003 |
| Reserves (4) | 1929, 1940, 1951, 1994 |
| Thirds/Under 19s (6) | 1943–44, 1968, 1978, 2002, 2004 |
| Colts/Under 17s (3) | 1948, 2001, 2002, 2006 |
Other Premierships
- Adelaide and Suburban Association 1895–96
- Championship of AustraliaChampionship of AustraliaThe Championship of Australia was the name given to an Australian rules football tournament which was contested between football clubs from the Victorian, South Australian and West Australian football leagues. The Championship took place three times in the 19th century and then from 1907 to 1914...
1908, 1911 - SANFL Night Series 1955, 1957, 1960, 1962
- SANFL Escort Cup (night series) 1985
- SANFL Foundation Cup (night series) 1987
Magarey Medallists
| 1908 | James Tierney James Tierney (footballer) James Michael "Sorry" Tierney was an Australian rules footballer who played in the SAFA and SAFL, mainly with the West Adelaide Football Club.... |
| 1909 | Richard Head Richard Head (footballer) Henry Richard 'Dick' Head , was an Australian rules footballer who played 143 games with West Adelaide in the South Australian Football League .... |
| 1922 | Robert Barnes Robert Barnes (footballer) Robert "Bobbie" Barnes was an Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the SAFL.Born in Mount Barker , Barnes played his early football in Broken Hill and was a Kenwrick Medal winner while at West Broken Hill Club... |
| 1926 | Bruce McGregor Bruce McGregor Harry Bruce McGregor was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide and South Adelaide in the SANFL. His son Ken also played for West Adelaide and was a successful tennis player.... |
| 1927 | Bruce McGregor Bruce McGregor Harry Bruce McGregor was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide and South Adelaide in the SANFL. His son Ken also played for West Adelaide and was a successful tennis player.... |
| 1929 | Robert Snell Robert Snell Robert 'Bob' Snell was an Australian rules footballer who played for East Perth in the WAFL and West Adelaide in the SAFL.... |
| 1931 | Jack Sexton Jack Sexton Jack Ettwell George Sexton was an Australian rules footballer who played in the SANFL and for Fitzroy in the VFL.... |
| 1939 | Ray McArthur Ray McArthur Ray McArthur was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide in the SANFL.McArthur played in many positions during his career including ruckman. He made his debut 1935 and was West Adelaide's best and fairest winner two years later. In 1939 he tied in the voting for the Magarey... |
| 1957 | Ron Benton Ron Benton Ronald Mark Benton is a former Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide in the SANFL.Benton made his debut for West Adelaide in 1955 shortly before his 17th birthday. His first kick in league football saw him score the first of 172 goals for the club... |
| 1962 | Ken Eustice Ken Eustice Kenneth James Eustice is a former Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide, Central District and Glenelg in the SANFL.Eustice started his career in 1958 with West Adelaide and was a member of their premiership side in 1961. He usually played on the wing at West Adelaide and it was... |
| 1977 | Trevor Grimwood Trevor Grimwood Trevor Foster Grimwood is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Port Adelaide and West Adelaide in the SANFL.Grimwood's first attempt at a career in the SANFL was unsuccessful, he was on the books for Norwood in both 1965 and 1966 but didn't play a senior game... |
| 1985 | Grantley Fielke Grantley Fielke Grantley Craig Fielke is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the SANFL and for both Collingwood and the Adelaide Crows in the VFL-AFL between 1979 and 1997.-League career:... |
| 1995 | Glenn Kilpatrick Glenn Kilpatrick Glenn Matthew Kilpatrick is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon and Geelong in the Australian Football League .A midfielder, Kilpatrick played 146 games in the AFL after debuting in 1992 for Essendon... tied with Garry McIntosh Garry McIntosh Garry McIntosh is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Norwood in the South Australian Football League during the 1980s and 90s. He won back to back Magarey Medals in 1994 and 1995.... (Norwood) |
| 2009 | James Ezard James Ezard James Ezard is an Australian rules footballer, who played for Port Adelaide in the Australian Football League .The nephew of Essendon premiership player Alan Ezard, he was taken at pick 34 in the 2004 AFL Draft from Calder Cannons... tied with Rhys Archard (North Adelaide) |
League Top Goalkickers
| Year | Goals | |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | 31 | F.Fitzgerald |
| 1957 | 90 | Peter Phipps |
| 1998 | 85 | Adam Richardson Adam Richardson Adam Scott Richardson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and Adelaide in the Australian Football League .... |
| 1999 | 66 | Adam Richardson Adam Richardson Adam Scott Richardson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and Adelaide in the Australian Football League .... |
| 2000 | 72 | Adam Richardson Adam Richardson Adam Scott Richardson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and Adelaide in the Australian Football League .... |
| 2001 | 84 | Adam Richardson Adam Richardson Adam Scott Richardson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and Adelaide in the Australian Football League .... |
| 2003 | 97 | Darren Bradshaw Darren Bradshaw (Australian footballer) Darren Bradshaw is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League .Bradshaw joined Brisbane from Wodonga, during their run of three successive premierships... |
Honour Board 1945–2011
| Year | Pos | Coach | Captain | Best & Fairest | Top Goalkicker | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | 6 | H Lee | J Taylor | G Burkett | R McArthur | 42 |
| 1946 | 3 | G Scott | G Scott | G Burkett | J Coad | 50 |
| 1947 | Premiers | G Scott | J Taylor | B Smith Bernie Smith Bernard Keith "Bernie" Smith was an Australian rules footballer in the South Australian National Football League and VFL, who is perhaps best remembered as one of the greatest back pockets in the history of the game.-SANFL career:Smith commenced his career with West Adelaide in the SANFL as a 16... |
R Zeuner Reg Zeuner Reginald Jack "Reg" Zeuner is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and Perth in the Western Australian National Football League .-Career:... |
53 |
| 1948 | 3 | J Taylor | J Taylor | C Brown | J Atkins | 57 |
| 1949 | 4 | J Taylor | F Lewis | J Coad | J Coad | 38 |
| 1950 | 6 | J Broadstock Jack Broadstock Jack Broadstock was an Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond in the Victorian Football League during the 1940s.... |
J Broadstock | B Faehse Brian Faehse Brian Faehse was an Australian rules footballer in the South Australian Football League.The great Fos Williams, who played alongside Brian Faehse at West Adelaide, and against him with Port Adelaide, paid him the ultimate compliment when he said "I've never met a better team mate or a more... |
B Slattery | 28 |
| 1951 | 6 | B Faehse | B Faehse | B Faehse | M Agars | 22 |
| 1952 | 6 | B Faehse | B Faehse | J Lynch Jack Lynch (footballer) John 'Jack' Lynch was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide in the SANFL during the late 1940s and 1950s.Lynch, a wingman, started out at West Adelaide in 1948 and won their 'Best and fairest' in his final season... |
G Williams | 26 |
| 1953 | 6 | L Cahill Laurie Cahill Laurie Cahill was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and Richmond in the Victorian Football League .... |
B Faehse | C Brown | C Brown | 42 |
| 1954 | Grand Finalist | L Cahill | B Faehse | C Brown | K McGregor Ken McGregor Kenneth Bruce McGregor was a former tennis player from Australia who won the Men's Singles title at the Australian Championships in 1952. He and his longtime doubles partner, Frank Sedgman, are generally considered to be one of the greatest men's doubles teams of all time... |
33 |
| 1955 | 7 | L Cahill | B Faehse | G Williams | J Wright | 33 |
| 1956 | Grand Finalist | L Cahill | B Faehse | S Costello Stan Costello Stan Costello was an Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League .Costello, a defender, had his best year in 1956 when he was selected in the All-Australian team at the 1956 Perth Carnival and won West Adelaide's 'Best and fairest'... A Rossetto |
I Day | 29 |
| 1957 | 3 | J Oatey Jack Oatey Jack Oatey, AM was a former Australian rules football player and coach.-Playing career:Oatey played 181 games for the Norwood Football Club between 1940 and 1952 and acted as playing-coach from 1945 to 1952.... |
C Brown | R Benton Ron Benton Ronald Mark Benton is a former Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide in the SANFL.Benton made his debut for West Adelaide in 1955 shortly before his 17th birthday. His first kick in league football saw him score the first of 172 goals for the club... |
P Phipps | 90 |
| 1958 | Grand Finalist | J Oatey | C Brown | N Kerley Neil Kerley Donald Neil Kerley OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. Known to his mates as either Neil or Knuckles and to South Australian football fans as King Kerley or simply "Kerls", he is best known for taking three clubs to four SANFL premierships over three decades as both a... |
J Wright | 52 |
| 1959 | Grand Finalist | J Oatey | N Kerley | N Kerley | J Wright | 55 |
| 1960 | 4 | J Oatey | N Kerley | J Bray Jeff Bray (footballer) Jeff Bray was an Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League .... |
J Brad | 40 |
| 1961 | Premiers | N Kerley | N Kerley | N Kerley | F Hogan | 46 |
| 1962 | Grand Finalist | N Kerley | N Kerley | N Kerley | F Hogan | 47 |
| 1963 | 4 | D Thomas | D Thomas | J Bray | R Benton | 29 |
| 1964 | 7 | D Thomas | D Thomas | R Pope | D Bertelsmeier | 36 |
| 1965 | 9 | D Taylor | D Thomas | R Day | A Bitmead | 34 |
| 1966 | 6 | D Roach Don Roach Don Roach is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League during the 1960s and also had a noted career in the South Australian National Football League .... |
D Roach | R Day Robert Day (footballer) Robert John Day is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the VFL.Day was a centreman and started his career with West Adelaide in the SANFL. In 1966 he was named in the All Australian team and he won three best and fairests during his time with West Adelaide... |
G Sims | 61 |
| 1967 | 7 | D Roach | D Roach | T Hughes | G Sims | 52 |
| 1968 | 4 | M Weideman Murray Weideman Murray Weideman is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .-Playing career:Weideman is probably best remembered today as Collingwood's 'enforcer' of the late 1950s and early 1960s, loved by the club's supporters, and loathed by those of the opposition.He made his VFL... |
M Weideman | R Pope | J Pannenburg | 28 |
| 1969 | 3 | M Weideman | M Weideman | G Wallis Gary Wallis (footballer) Gary Wallis is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League during the 1960s.... |
D Jonas | 54 |
| 1970 | 6 | M Weideman | R Day | R Day | D Jonas | 56 |
| 1971 | 8 | M Weideman | R Loveday | S Fraser | D Jonas | 46 |
| 1972 | 10 | R Loveday | R Loveday | G Nicholson | G Hewitt Glynn Hewitt Glynn Maxwell Hewitt is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the SANFL and for Richmond in the VFL during the 1970s. He is the father of Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt.... |
62 |
| 1973 | 10 | R Keddie Bob Keddie Bob Keddie is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League and West Adelaide, South Adelaide and Glenelg in the South Australian National Football League .... |
R Keddie | R Keddie | R Loveday | 39 |
| 1974 | 10 | F Williams Fos Williams Foster Neil "Fos" Williams AM 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 in a career spanning 1946-1978... |
R Loveday | R Loveday | R Loveday | 51 |
| 1975 | 6 | F Williams | R Loveday | R Loveday | G Hewitt | 45 |
| 1976 | 6 | F Williams | R Loveday | T Grimwood Trevor Grimwood Trevor Foster Grimwood is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Port Adelaide and West Adelaide in the SANFL.Grimwood's first attempt at a career in the SANFL was unsuccessful, he was on the books for Norwood in both 1965 and 1966 but didn't play a senior game... |
T Pierson | 57 |
| 1977 | 3 | F Williams | R Loveday | T Grimwood | T Pierson | 68 |
| 1978 | 9 | F Williams | R Loveday | D Kennedy | P Meuret | 36 |
| 1979 | 10 | T Hughes | K Beswick | M Gregg | R Luders T Pierson |
59 |
| 1980 | 9 | T Hughes | K Beswick | I Borchard Ian Borchard Ian Alfred Borchard is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League during the 1970s. He also played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League .... |
R Luders | 43 |
| 1981 | 5 | D Kerley | I Borchard | J Kantilaftas | R Luders | 72 |
| 1982 | 6 | D Kerley | I Borchard | I Borchard | R Luders | 75 |
| 1983 | Premiers | D Kerley | I Borchard | M Mickan Mark Mickan Mark James "Rubbers" Mickan is a former Australian rules footballer who has the unusual history of being on the inaugural player list for two VFL/AFL clubs – Brisbane Bears and Adelaide Crows. He began and finished his senior career with SANFL club West Adelaide. All-Australian Team selection in... |
R Luders | 109 |
| 1984 | 6 | D Kerley | I Borchard | D Herbert | R Luders | 75 |
| 1985 | 3 | J Cahill | I Borchard | M Mickan | R Andrews Ron Andrews Ron Andrews is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon and Collingwood in the VFL.Andrews was a centre half back and had a reputation throughout his career as being a tough and uncompromising player... |
51 |
| 1986 | 7 | J Cahill | M Mickan | M Mickan | P Meuret | 55 |
| 1987 | 7 | J Cahill | L Grosser | K Sporn Kieran Sporn Kieran Sporn is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the AFL during the early 1990s.Sporn played in 19 consecutive games for Essendon during his debut season in 1989, a knee injury ending the streak. He was originally from South Australia where he played for West... |
D Twomey | 56 |
| 1988 | 8 | K Morris Kevin Morris Kevin Morris is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL between 1971 and 1976 for the Richmond Football Club and then from 1977 until 1981 for the Collingwood Football Club.... |
P Winter | N Shaw | C Lamb Clayton Lamb Clayton Andrew Lamb is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Adelaide in the Australian Football League .... |
38 |
| 1989 | 7 | K Morris | C Lamb | N Shaw | L Grosser | 35 |
| 1990 | 6 | K Morris | L Grosser | G Fielke Grantley Fielke Grantley Craig Fielke is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the SANFL and for both Collingwood and the Adelaide Crows in the VFL-AFL between 1979 and 1997.-League career:... |
G Goss | 35 |
| 1991 | Grand Finalist | K Morris | L Grosser | P Banfield Peter Banfield Peter Charles Banfield is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon and the Brisbane Bears in the Victorian Football League during the 1980s.-Playing Career:... |
G Mellor | 53 |
| 1992 | 6 | D Kerley | L Grosser | L Grosser | A Modra Tony Modra Anthony 'Tony' Dale Modra is a former Australian rules football player, known for his spectacular marks. He played for the Adelaide Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League, mainly at full forward. Modra had the physical strength and size to match the best... |
53 |
| 1993 | 8 | D Kerley | L Grosser | M Mickan | C Palmer | 47 |
| 1994 | 8 | G Morris Geoff Morris Geoffrey Paul Morris is a former Australian rules footballer who played 220 games and kicked 316 goals for West Adelaide in the SANFL between 1973 and 1986.... |
G Fielke | J Andriske | S Simister Scott Simister Scott Simister is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Australian Football League .... |
72 |
| 1995 | 5 | G Morris | G Fielke | A Banik Anthony Banik Anthony Banik is a former Australian rules football player who played in the Australian Football League between 1990 and 1994 for the Richmond Football Club... |
S Simister | 65 |
| 1996 | 5 | M Taylor Michael Taylor (Australian footballer) Michael 'Kingo' Taylor is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the VFL and also had a noted career with Norwood in the SANFL. He also played 13 interstate games for South Australia, which included State of Origin football.In two stints at Norwood, Taylor won six Best... |
G Fielke | B Fogden | S Simister | 51 |
| 1997 | 6 | M Taylor | G Mellor | A Banik | E Richardson | 30 |
| 1998 | 3 | M Taylor | G Mellor | A Richardson Adam Richardson Adam Scott Richardson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and Adelaide in the Australian Football League .... |
A Richardson | 85 |
| 1999 | 6 | M Taylor | G Mellor | T Symes | A Richardson | 66 |
| 2000 | 7 | M Taylor | G Mellor | D Myles | A Richardson | 72 |
| 2001 | 5 | I Borchard | G Mellor | B Hollands | A Richardson | 84 |
| 2002 | 5 | I Borchard | A Richardson | C Chubb | A Richardson | 40 |
| 2003 | Grand Finalist | S Rehn Shaun Rehn Shaun Jason Rehn is a former Australian rules footballer who played for both the Adelaide Crows and Hawthorn in the Australian Football League... |
E Richardson | D Bradshaw | D Bradshaw | 97 |
| 2004 | 5 | S Rehn | L Norman | L Norman | P Shepherd | 32 |
| 2005 | 9 | S Rehn | L Norman | J Porplyzia Jason Porplyzia Jason Porplyzia is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. He wears the number 40 for the Adelaide Football Club, and is known as a dangerous forward with a strong mark for his size. He is also widely regarded as one of the most accurate kicks for goal in the competition... |
P Wiggins | 31 |
| 2006 | 9 | W Weidemann Wayne Weidemann Wayne Weidemann is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He is most notable for his career in the Australian Football League with the Adelaide Crows.... |
D Piasente | B Haynes | B Haynes | 48 |
| 2007 | 9 | W Weidemann | D Piasente | S McCormick | D Cupido Damian Cupido Damian Cupido is a former Australian League footballer whose 53 game Australian Football League career spanned two clubs in the Australian Football League.-AFL career:... |
37 |
| 2008 | 9 | A Collins | N Brown | R Ferguson Ryan Ferguson (footballer) Ryan Ferguson is an Australian Rules Footballer who played for Melbourne in the Australian Football League and currently plays for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League .... |
R Willits Ryan Willits Ryan Willits is a former Australian Rules Footballer of the Port Adelaide Football Club.Ryan was recruited by Port Adelaide from St Marys /Northern U18 as Port's number 19 selection in the 2004 AFL Draft... |
20 |
| 2009 | 6 | A Collins | R Ferguson | R Ferguson | R Willits | 29 |
| 2010 | 6 | A Collins | R Ferguson | D Caire | R Bennetts | 30 |
| 2011 | 7 | A Collins | R Ferguson | S Morris | Brad Fisher | 33 |
Hall of Fame
West Adelaide's Hall of Fame includes- Ron BentonRon BentonRonald Mark Benton is a former Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide in the SANFL.Benton made his debut for West Adelaide in 1955 shortly before his 17th birthday. His first kick in league football saw him score the first of 172 goals for the club...
- Ian BorchardIan BorchardIan Alfred Borchard is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League during the 1970s. He also played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League ....
- John BroadstockJack BroadstockJack Broadstock was an Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond in the Victorian Football League during the 1940s....
- Robert DayRobert Day (footballer)Robert John Day is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the VFL.Day was a centreman and started his career with West Adelaide in the SANFL. In 1966 he was named in the All Australian team and he won three best and fairests during his time with West Adelaide...
- Brian FaehseBrian FaehseBrian Faehse was an Australian rules footballer in the South Australian Football League.The great Fos Williams, who played alongside Brian Faehse at West Adelaide, and against him with Port Adelaide, paid him the ultimate compliment when he said "I've never met a better team mate or a more...
(Legend 2011) - Grantley FielkeGrantley FielkeGrantley Craig Fielke is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the SANFL and for both Collingwood and the Adelaide Crows in the VFL-AFL between 1979 and 1997.-League career:...
- H R 'Dick' HeadRichard Head (footballer)Henry Richard 'Dick' Head , was an Australian rules footballer who played 143 games with West Adelaide in the South Australian Football League ....
- Neil KerleyNeil KerleyDonald Neil Kerley OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. Known to his mates as either Neil or Knuckles and to South Australian football fans as King Kerley or simply "Kerls", he is best known for taking three clubs to four SANFL premierships over three decades as both a...
(Legend) - Dexter Kennedy
- Roger Luders
- Mark MickanMark MickanMark James "Rubbers" Mickan is a former Australian rules footballer who has the unusual history of being on the inaugural player list for two VFL/AFL clubs – Brisbane Bears and Adelaide Crows. He began and finished his senior career with SANFL club West Adelaide. All-Australian Team selection in...
- Geoff MorrisGeoff Morris (footballer)Geoffrey Morris is an English former footballer.-Playing career:Morris played for Walsall, Shrewsbury Town and Bangor City before joining Port Vale for a £200 fee in August 1975. He was unable to impact on the 1975–76 season, making 17 appearances, 5 of which were as a substitute...
- Bernie SmithBernie SmithBernard Keith "Bernie" Smith was an Australian rules footballer in the South Australian National Football League and VFL, who is perhaps best remembered as one of the greatest back pockets in the history of the game.-SANFL career:Smith commenced his career with West Adelaide in the SANFL as a 16...
- Doug Thomas
Club Records
- South Australian Premiers: 8 – 1908, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1927, 1947, 1961, 1983
- Champions of Australia: 2 - 1908, 1911
- South Australian Night Series Winners: 6 – 1955, 1957, 1960, 1962, 1985, 1987
- Home Ground: City Mazda Stadium (1958–present)
- Previous Grounds: Kensington OvalKensington Oval, AdelaideThe Kensington Oval is located on 344 The Parade, Kensington, South Australia. Now used primarily for cricket in South Australia, the venue was once Adelaide's premier athletics facility and known as Olympic Sports Field.-Early history:...
, Jubilee Oval, Wayville Showgrounds (1927–1939), Adelaide OvalAdelaide OvalThe Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
(1940–1957) - First Game at Richmond OvalRichmond Oval (South Australia)Richmond Oval is an Australian rules football oval in Richmond, a western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia...
: 12.11 (83) v West TorrensWest Torrens Football ClubWest Torrens Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League from 1897 to 1990...
10.13 (73) in 1958 - Record Attendance at City Mazda StadiumRichmond Oval (South Australia)Richmond Oval is an Australian rules football oval in Richmond, a western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia...
: 15,742 v GlenelgGlenelg TigersGlenelg Football Club is an Australian rules football team, which plays in the South Australian National Football League. The club is known as the "Tigers" , and their home ground is Gliderol Stadium @ Glenelg , located in the southern coastal suburb of Glenelg East, South Australia.-Club...
in Round 5, 1969 - Record Night Attendance at City Mazda StadiumRichmond Oval (South Australia)Richmond Oval is an Australian rules football oval in Richmond, a western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia...
: 6,133 v North AdelaideNorth Adelaide RoostersNorth Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club, who play in the South Australian National Football League.- History :Formed in 1888 as Medindie, in 1893 the club renamed itself to North Adelaide. It is the fourth oldest club still in operation in the SANFL...
on 26 March 2010 - Record Attendance: 54,282 v Port AdelaidePort Adelaide MagpiesThe Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the South Australian National Football League...
at Adelaide OvalAdelaide OvalThe Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
, 1958 SANFL Grand Final - Record Attendance at AAMI Stadium: 47,129 v Sturt, 1983 SANFL Grand Final
- Record Attendance since Adelaide Football Club formation (1991): 39,276 v North AdelaideNorth Adelaide RoostersNorth Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club, who play in the South Australian National Football League.- History :Formed in 1888 as Medindie, in 1893 the club renamed itself to North Adelaide. It is the fourth oldest club still in operation in the SANFL...
at Football Park, 1991 SANFL Grand Final - Most Games: 364 by Grantley FielkeGrantley FielkeGrantley Craig Fielke is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the SANFL and for both Collingwood and the Adelaide Crows in the VFL-AFL between 1979 and 1997.-League career:...
(1979–86, 1988–90, 1992–97) - Most Goals in a Season: 109 by Roger Luders in 1983 (24 games)
- Most Goals for the Club: 558 by Roger Luders (1978-86 - 162 games)
- Most Years as Coach: 8 by Bruce McGregorBruce McGregorHarry Bruce McGregor was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide and South Adelaide in the SANFL. His son Ken also played for West Adelaide and was a successful tennis player....
(1926–29, 1937–39, 1941) and Neil KerleyNeil KerleyDonald Neil Kerley OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. Known to his mates as either Neil or Knuckles and to South Australian football fans as King Kerley or simply "Kerls", he is best known for taking three clubs to four SANFL premierships over three decades as both a...
(1961–62, 1981–84, 1992–93) - Most Premierships as Coach: 2 by Neil KerleyNeil KerleyDonald Neil Kerley OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. Known to his mates as either Neil or Knuckles and to South Australian football fans as King Kerley or simply "Kerls", he is best known for taking three clubs to four SANFL premierships over three decades as both a...
(1961, 1983) - Most Years as Captain: 7 by Bob Loveday (1971–72, 1974–78)
- Most Premierships as Captain: 2 by Bernie Leahy (1908, 1909) and Jos Dailey (1911, 1912)
- Most Best & Fairest Awards: 4 by Neil KerleyNeil KerleyDonald Neil Kerley OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. Known to his mates as either Neil or Knuckles and to South Australian football fans as King Kerley or simply "Kerls", he is best known for taking three clubs to four SANFL premierships over three decades as both a...
(1958, 1959, 1961, 1962) and Mark MickanMark MickanMark James "Rubbers" Mickan is a former Australian rules footballer who has the unusual history of being on the inaugural player list for two VFL/AFL clubs – Brisbane Bears and Adelaide Crows. He began and finished his senior career with SANFL club West Adelaide. All-Australian Team selection in...
(1983, 1985, 1986, 1993) - All-AustraliansAll-Australian TeamThe All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and a coach, of the best performed during the season....
: Jack LynchJack Lynch (footballer)John 'Jack' Lynch was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide in the SANFL during the late 1940s and 1950s.Lynch, a wingman, started out at West Adelaide in 1948 and won their 'Best and fairest' in his final season...
(1953), Stan CostelloStan CostelloStan Costello was an Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League .Costello, a defender, had his best year in 1956 when he was selected in the All-Australian team at the 1956 Perth Carnival and won West Adelaide's 'Best and fairest'...
(1956), Neil KerleyNeil KerleyDonald Neil Kerley OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. Known to his mates as either Neil or Knuckles and to South Australian football fans as King Kerley or simply "Kerls", he is best known for taking three clubs to four SANFL premierships over three decades as both a...
(1961), Don RoachDon RoachDon Roach is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League during the 1960s and also had a noted career in the South Australian National Football League ....
(1961), Robert DayRobert Day (footballer)Robert John Day is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the VFL.Day was a centreman and started his career with West Adelaide in the SANFL. In 1966 he was named in the All Australian team and he won three best and fairests during his time with West Adelaide...
(1966), Geoff MorrisGeoff MorrisGeoffrey Paul Morris is a former Australian rules footballer who played 220 games and kicked 316 goals for West Adelaide in the SANFL between 1973 and 1986....
(1979), Craig WilliamsCraig Williams (Australian footballer)Craig Williams is a former Australian rules footballer who played a season with in the VFL. He also played for West Adelaide in the SANFL for the entire 1980s....
(1983) - Highest Score: 36.21 (237) v West TorrensWest Torrens Football ClubWest Torrens Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League from 1897 to 1990...
16.5 (101) at Richmond Oval in Round 8, 1982
Last premiership side (1983)
West Adelaide 21.16 (142) defeated Sturt 16.12 (108)Best: Borchard, Morris, Bennett, Meuret, Grosser, McKinnon
Goals: Lindner 5, Luders 4, Grosser 4
Club Song
We're a happy team at Westies,
We're the mighty fighting Bloods,
We love our club and we play to win,
Riding the bumps with a grin,
At Westies
Come what may you'll find us striving,
Team work is the thing that counts,
All for one and one for all,
The way we play at Westies
We are the mighty fighting Bloods!
Famous Supporters
Despite the SANFL being a localised league, West Adelaide have some high profile Adelaide personalities as supporters of the club. Former Premier of South Australia (1996–2001) John OlsenJohn Olsen
John Wayne Olsen, AO was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001.-Parliament:Olsen was a member of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for more than 20 years...
AO
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, who was also a former Number 1 Ticket Holder with the club, and former South Australian
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
Sheffield Shield cricketer and SANFL umpire turned Adelaide television and radio personality K. G. Cunningham are known to be proud Bloods fans.
Miscellaneous
A song written dedicated to the West Adelaide Team by Reg Stoneham 1911. Scan of the sheet musicExternal links
- Official West Adelaide Football Club website
- Full Points Footy History of the West Adelaide Football Club
- Bloodntars – A Forum for Fans of the Mighty Bloods
- Merv Agars' Book Written for the Club's Centenary
- Legends of SANFL
- 1908 Premiership Coach John Cole Reedman
- Photos of Richmond Oval