The toss of a coin that decided the last Sturt-Glenelg grand final

Nearly 50 years since Glenelg and Sturt met in a SANFL grand final, the two clubs are poised to face off again. So what happened last time? We caught up with some of the players.

It was the toss of a coin that might have decided a SANFL grand final.

When Glenelg captain Peter Marker stood in the middle of Football Park alongside Sturt counterpart Paul Bagshaw prior to the start of the 1974 grand final – the first at the West Lakes venue – he knew just how important winning the toss would be.

“It was blowing a gale and given the weather forecast, we felt that the toss was pretty much going to decide the game,’’ Marker recalled this week, 49 years after the Tigers and Double Blues last met in a grand final.

“That was the reality of the situation. Neil (legendary Glenelg coach Neil Kerley) spoke to me before the game and said he had been given info from the Bureau (of Meteorology) that it was probably going to rain in the second quarter and that the wind would probably die out late in the game.

“That’s exactly the way it played out and unfortunately we were on the wrong end of it.

“The reality is that the footy gods and weather conspired against us at the wrong time and virtually reduced the result to a flip of a coin.’’

Sturt’s Robert Oatey holds the 1974 premiership cup aloft, flanked by teammates Brenton Adcock (left) and Phil "Sandy" Nelson.

After gleefully winning the toss in front of a bumper crowd of 58,042 and kicking with the wind, minor premier and flag favourite Sturt kicked 6.5 to 0.1 in the opening quarter to lead by 40 points.

Glenelg kicked two early goals in the second term before the rain came and went into the long break trailing by 12 points.

It then produced what has been described as one of the great defensive quarters in SANFL history, kicking 2.1 while holding the Double Blues to 0.6, to trail by only five points at the last change.

But the Tigers, having had to work so hard into the wind and battling injuries, were physically spent – in Marker’s words “we were stuffed’’ – and, with the wind dropping, they were overrun in the final quarter, with Sturt kicking 3.4 to 2.0 to win by 15 points, 9.16 (70) to 8.7 (55).

As the two clubs prepare to lock horns in a grand final again on Sunday, The Advertiser brought together three members from each of the ‘74 grand final teams – Sturt’s Robbert Klomp, Phil “Sandy’’ Nelson and Michael Graham and Glenelg’s Peter Carey, Graham Cornes and Neville Caldwell – to reminisce about that fateful day (there was plenty of friendly banter), discuss the Glenelg-Sturt rivalry and get their thoughts on this year’s premiership decider.

1974 SANFL grand final combatants, from left, Neville Caldwell, Michael Graham, Robbert Klomp, Peter Carey, Phil 'Sandy' Nelson and Graham Cornes were brought together this week to reminisce about the famous game. Picture: Matt Loxton

ANDREW CAPEL: What are your memories of the 1974 grand final?

SANDY NELSON: It being very windy. The wind was so strong that you rarely played in conditions like it and it upset everything, your kicking, marking and your tactics for the whole game. What hit me when we lobbed at the ground for what was the first grand final at Football Park, which at that stage didn’t have a lot of grandstand protection, was the north wind that was howling down to the southern end. It was incredibly strong and it howled all day.

PETER CAREY: Hang on a minute, not all day. The wind dropped right away in the last quarter, it died. I’m not saying it changed the result but it certainly didn’t help us. And in the second quarter when we had the wind, it rained after about 10 minutes, which made it tough to score.

MICHAEL GRAHAM: My biggest memory of the game was just how windy it was because I hated playing in windy conditions. And then I remember that last quarter. We were in trouble and Jack (coach Jack Oatey) just said ‘attack, attack’ and that's exactly what we did.

ROBBERT KLOMP: We stopped running the ball in the third quarter, relying on the wind too much and Glenelg stacked the backline and got back into the game.

GRAHAM CORNES: It wasn’t a pleasant day weather-wise, it was blowing a screaming gale, and the rain didn’t help us in the second quarter and then the wind died when we needed it in the last.

SN: Graham, you also made the mistake of mouthing off at three-quarter time. Paul Bagshaw came into our huddle saying ‘Cornesy reckons he's got us’.

GC: So you’re blaming me. I reckon he’s made that up but we should have had you. But you had some stars in that last quarter. Micky Nunan played really well and Robbie Barton came off the bench and did to us what (Port Adelaide’s) Adrian Settre did in the 1990 grand final, igniting the team.

Glenelg’s Kym Hodgeman dives on the ball in the 1974 grand final, watched by, from left, Bob Tardif, Mick Nunan, Greg Wild and Peter Obst (hidden).

AC: How big was rover Barton’s influence in that last term?

GC: One of the intriguing things of that game is that Robbie Barton is almost its most famous contributor. The Sturt team was full of stars, with (Rick) Davies, Bagshaw, Graham and Klomp but Barton was probably the hero.

SN: Yep, it was a bit like Teddy Hopkins for Carlton in the 1970 grand final.

RK: Barton was terrific in that last quarter but to me, the turning point was when (full forward) Ken Whelan took a mark about 40m from goal. I placed myself 20m around from the left side of the goal because when he didn’t get hold of his screw punts that’s where they used to fall. But he hit it perfectly and absolutely drilled it through the middle. The adrenaline rush you get from something like that is huge and I knew exactly how the Glenelg players would have been feeling at that time, it would have been demoralising for them.

SN: Jack’s three-quarter time speech was great too. When we sat down on the mat he made it very clear that we weren’t going to adopt the tactics that ‘Kerls’ did in the third quarter (with numbers behind the ball) and that it would be attack, attack, attack. He told us to control the footy and handball at every opportunity and that’s what we did. It worked. We played a great last quarter, aided by Barton coming on and running everywhere with his fresh legs. And that Whelan goal was freakish because his screw punts were a 50-50 proposition at best.

MG: Micky Nunan took over that last quarter as well, He was everywhere.

AC: If the coin toss had gone the other way would the result have been different?

SN: If the Bays had kicked eight goals in the second quarter it might have been different.

PC: We started that quarter well but then it rained heavily, so I’m not sure where the eight goals were going to come from. But, yes, I’d like to know what would have happened if we’d won the toss.

SN: Well, you come from the Bay and it rains a lot down there.

RK: The Bays always regarded themselves as a skilful side and aren’t skilful sides supposed to come to the fore in the wet?

Sturt coach Jack Oatey jumps out of the coaches box to yell instructions at his players during the 1974 grand final against Glenelg at Football Park.

AC: Glenelg and Sturt played three grand finals against each other in six years in 1969, 1970 and 1974, with the Double Blues winning all three. What are your most vivid memories of that era and how strong the rivalry was between the clubs?

SN: 1969 was a big one. I had (Richmond’s) Royce Hart (as an opponent) and he fell over (got knocked out). He tripped over, although I must admit I might have eased him a little bit as the ball was running out of bounds on the eastern wing (of Adelaide Oval). I can’t believe it’s been 49 years since the two clubs last met in a grand final.

RK: The teams played it hard on the field but there was great respect for each other.

PC: Sturt was one our biggest opponents from the late 1960s all the way through to the mid 1980s. There were three grand finals but there were also a lot of other great finals battles.

AC: Who was the opposition player you most feared?

GC: The big Sturt stars were Bagshaw, Nelson, Davies, John Tilbrook, Bob Shearman and Brenton Adcock.

PC: Davies was the one I loved playing against. He was the best ruckman in the competition, so I looked forward to those battles. We had some pretty good clashes, although he would argue that he thrashed me a few times. I might argue that I occasionally broke even.

MG: ‘Super’ Carey was a great ruckman – and a nice guy too. Kymmy Hodgeman was always a nuisance and ‘Colbs’ (Brian Colbey). I used to say to everyone that he was the best bloke I ever stood because he was a copper (policeman) and tried to lock me up on the field all the time. He was a great player who stuck to me like a leech.

SN: Fred (Phillis) was a terrific full forward who had strong hands and was hard to beat while Peter Marker was always very busy in the middle of the ground, he was a really strong player.

Sturt coach Jack Oatey is congratulated by Glenelg coach Neil Kerley and captain Peter Marker after the 1974 grand final.

AC: If you could pick a former teammate to play for your club on Sunday, who would it be?

SN: I’d put Bob Shearman right in the guts. He was tough, could kick the ball a mile and was a great, natural-born leader. He was probably the greatest recruit Jack ever got for us.

RK: Rick Davies. He not only had a great influence at the centre bounces, where he was so strong and had a great vertical leap, but also the ability to mark all around the ground – and he was a pretty handy kick.

GC: (Stephen) Kernahan, Carey and Hodgeman would be the ones I’d want playing for us this week.

MG: Thank god ‘Kernas’ isn’t playing. I’d love to have ‘Wheels’ (Whelan) playing at full forward for Sturt. He was a freak.

NEVILLE CALDWELL: It would be ‘Supes’ (Carey) or Marker for me. ‘Super’ always put the ball down a teammate’s throat while Marker was always winning the ball out of the middle.

AC: Why does your club win on Sunday?

RK: Sturt’s ability to win the ball in the midfield, lock down the opposition and then break the game open at critical times has been the key to its success.

GC: Martin Mattner (Sturt coach) has an ability to get his team in a great defensive mode but Glenelg has been the best side all year and has a good midfield, strong defence and potent forward line.

PC: Marty Mattner happens to be my nephew and we have quite a few discussions about footy. It will be fascinating to see who wins the choke (Sturt) versus attack (Glenelg) game. Obviously I’m a Glenelg man but I hope the attacking side wins because that’s the type of footy I like watching.