1879 SAFA season
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The 1879 South Australian Football Association season was the 3rd season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.
2nd premiership
Norwood (7 Goals)
| 1879 SAFA premiership season | |
|---|---|
Norwood premiership team | |
| Teams | 7 |
| Premiers | Norwood 2nd premiership |
| Leading goalkicker | William Dedman Norwood (7 Goals) |
| Matches played | 34 |
| Highest | 3,000 (Round 11, Norwood vs. Port Adelaide) |
The Norwood Football Club went on to record its 2nd consecutive premiership, going through the season undefeated for the second consecutive season.
The Kensington Football Club received its second consecutive wooden spoon, failing to win a game, and extending its winless streak to 27.
Several disputes between South Adelaide and the other clubs arose during the season. This was principally due to rough play. The Association officially sanctioned that any Club not wanting to play against South Adelaide that a forfeit would not be recorded.[1]
Second Twenty Programmed Match
An official programme was also organised for the second twenties for all the clubs with South Adelaide winning the Premiership. Second Twenty games were also advertised and scheduled for a 3pm start, the same time as the First Twenty, but were programmed at the Home ground of the visiting First Twenty team.
West Torrens application to join the SAFA rejected
West Torrens Football Club submitted an application to the join the SAFA but at the Association's Annual General Meeting held on 1 April 1879 the club's application was rejected by 12 votes to 19 against as a number of delegates felt there was already too many weak teams in the Association.[2] The club would be admitted in 1887 when it renamed to West Adelaide but folded after one season.
SAFA Senior Clubs 1879 Season
| Club | Colours | Home Ground | Captain | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | Black Red | Old Adelaide Ground, North Adelaide | W.Hughes (retired) Wyatt |
102 Members |
| Kensington | Scarlet White | Kensington Oval, Kensington | A.T. Harrison | |
| Norwood | Dark blue Red | East Park Lands, Adelaide | J.R.Osborne | |
| Port Adelaide | Magneta | Glanville Hall Estate | W. Fletcher | |
| South Adelaide | Navy Blue White | South Terrace, Adelaide | S.A. Wallace | |
| South Park | Light Blue White | South Park Lands, Adelaide | A.M.Pettinger | 104 Members 3 x Twenty Teams |
| Victorian | Orange Black | Montefiore Hill, North Adelaide | G. Downs C. Warren |
Pre season
| South Australians vs. Allcomers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day, 10 May (3:30 pm) | South Australians 0 | drew with | Allcomers 0 | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,200) | [3] |
Premiership season
Round 1
| Round 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 17 May (3:00 pm) | Norwood 1 | def. | South Adelaide 0 | East Park Lands (crowd: 2,000) | [4] |
| Saturday, 17 May (3:00 pm) | Kensington 3 | def. by | Adelaide 5 | Kensington Oval | [4] |
| Saturday, 17 May (3:00 pm) | South Park 0 | def. by | Port Adelaide 2 | Adelaide Oval | [5] |
| Bye Victorian |
|||||
| |||||
Round 2
| Round 2 | [6] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 24 May (3:00 pm) | Norwood 1 | def. | Victorian 0 | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,500) | [7] |
|
Only 1st Twenty fixture. Second Twenties Victorian vs Norwood on North Park Ground | |||||
Round 3
| Round 3 | [8] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 31 May (3:30 pm) | South Adelaide 1 | drew with | Port Adelaide 1 | South Terrace (crowd: 1,500) | [9] |
| Saturday, 31 May (3:15 pm) | Adelaide 0 | drew with | Victorian 0 | Old Adelaide Ground (crowd: 550) | [9] |
| Saturday, 31 May (3:00 pm) | Kensington 0 | def. by | South Park 1 | Kensington Oval | [9] |
| Bye Norwood |
|||||
Round 4
| Round 4 | [10] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 7 June (3:01 pm) | Adelaide 0 | def. by | Norwood 4 | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 500) | [11] |
| Saturday, 7 June (3:30 pm) | South Adelaide 1 | def. | South Park 0 | South Terrace, Adelaide | [11] |
| Saturday, 7 June (3:20 pm) | Port Adelaide 1 | def. | Victorian 0 | Glanville Estate | [12] |
| Bye Kensington |
|||||
Round 5
| Round 5 | [13] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 14 June (3:15 pm) | Port Adelaide 1 | def. by | Norwood 3 | Glanville Estate (crowd: 1,000) | [14] |
| Saturday, 14 June (3:00 pm) | Victorian 0 | drew with | South Park 0 | Montefiore Hill (crowd: 500) | [14] |
| Saturday, 14 June | South Adelaide ? | def. | Kensington ? | Adelaide Oval | |
| Bye Adelaide |
|||||
|
South Adelaide vs Kensington was advertised for Adelaide Oval. No Match report located. But table published on Monday 16th June has result included as a win for South Adelaide.[15] Ironically a match report is available for South vs Kensington Second Twenties Match played on the Kensington Oval.[16] | |||||
Round 6
| Round 6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 21 June (3:30 pm) | Adelaide 1 | drew with | Port Adelaide 1 | Adelaide Oval | [17] |
| Saturday, 21 June (3:00 pm) | Victorian 3 | def. | Kensington 0 | Montefiore Hill | [18] |
BYE ROUND - Saturday 28 June
SAFA representative First Twenty Team on interstate visit to Melbourne, Victoria to play the VFA. No 1st Twenty games were advertised by the SAFA. There were 3 second matches scheduled.[19]
Non Association Match on 28 June at 3.30pm - West Torrens defeated South Adelaide 2-0 (Played On Victorian Ground with a fair attendance) [20]
Round 7
| Round 7 | [21] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 12 July (3:15 pm) | South Park 1 | drew with | Adelaide 1 | South Park Lands (crowd: 300) | [22] |
|
Non Association Match on 12 July - Victorian defeated West Torrens 3-0 (Crowd 500) [23] | |||||
BYE ROUND (Saturday 19 July)
A series of special matches were played against Geelong the Premier Football Club from the Victoria Football Association.
July 19âGeelong v. Victorian. Won by Geelong by four goals 24 behinds to one behind.
July 21âGeelong v. Port. Geelong won by eight goals 26 behinds to one behind.
July 22âGeelong v. Norwood. Geelong won by three goals 19 behinds to 3 behinds.
July 24âGeelong v. S.A. Association. Geelong won by four goals 13 behinds to 1 goal 4 behinds.
Round 8
| Round 8 | [25] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 26 July (3:30 pm) | Kensington 0 | def. by | Norwood 7 | Kensington Oval | [26] |
| Saturday, 26 July | South Park 1 | drew with | South Adelaide 0 | South Park Lands | [27] |
| Saturday, 26 July | Port Adelaide 2 | def. | Adelaide 0 | Glanville Estate | [28] |
| Bye Victorian |
|||||
Football Association and South Adelaide
The Football Association decided at its meeting on Tuesday 29 July 1879 that in the event of any of the other clubs objecting to meet the South Adelaides they would not forfeit the matches by so doing, but the games would be simply struck out of the list of those arranged for the season.
The decision had been arrived at on account of the alleged disgraceful way in which some of the South Adelaide players conducted themselves in their recent game with the South Parks.[29]
Round 9
| Round 9 | [30][31] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 2 August (3:00 pm) | Port Adelaide 2 | def. | South Park 0 | Glanville Estate | [32] |
| Saturday, 2 August (Time pm) | Kensington 0 | def. by | Victorian 6 | Kensington Oval | [32] |
| Bye Norwood |
|||||
|
Saturday 2 August - Norwood played a Novel Football Match in Fancy Custom against Theatricals (Theature Royal Troupe) on Exhibition grounds. | |||||
Round 10
| Round 10 | [33] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 9 August (3:15 pm) | Norwood 4.15 (4) | def. | Adelaide 0.1 (0) | East Park Lands (crowd: 400) | [34] |
| Saturday, 9 August | Victorian 0.2 (2) | def. by | Port Adelaide 1.2 (1) | Montefiore Hill (crowd: 750) | [34] |
| Bye South Adelaide |
|||||
|
Advertised game - South Park vs Kensington postponed until Saturday, 20 September | |||||
Round 11
| Round 11 | [35] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 16 August (3:20 pm) | Norwood 2.18 (2) | drew with | South Park 2.2 (2) | East Park Lands | [36] |
| Saturday, 16 August (3:30 pm) | Victorian 1 | def. | Adelaide 0 | Montefiore Hill (crowd: 300) | [36] |
| Saturday, 16 August (3:40 pm) | Kensington 0.6 (0) | def. by | South Adelaide 1.7 (1) | Kensington Oval | [37] |
| Bye Port Adelaide |
|||||
Round 12
| Round 12 | [38] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 23 August (3:15 pm) | Norwood 1.7 (1) | def. | Port Adelaide 0 | East Park Lands (crowd: 3,000) | [39] |
| Saturday, 23 August (3:00 pm) | South Adelaide 2 | def. | Victorian 0 | South Park Lands | [39] |
| Saturday, 23 August | Adelaide 2? | def. | Kensington 0? | Old Adelaide Ground | See notes |
| Bye South Park |
|||||
|
Advertised by SAFA - 1st Twenties - Adelaide vs Kensington on Adelaide Ground and 2nd Twenties Kensington v. Adelaide, on Kensington Oval. Matches to start at 3pm.[38] No Match report found but the result deduced as a win for Adelaide based on published end of season table. The number of goals scored in the game for and against Adelaide also deduced from the table. (Kensington had also lost all games for the season except for a draw in the last round) | |||||
Round 13
| Round 13 | [40] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 30 August (3:20 pm) | Victorian 0.3 (0) | def. by | Norwood 3.4 (3) | Montefiore Hill | [41][42] |
| Saturday, 30 August (3:20 pm) | Adelaide 0.4 (0) | def. by | South Park 4.8 (4) | Old Adelaide Ground | [43] |
| Bye Kensington |
|||||
| |||||
Round 14
| Round 14 | [44] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 6 September (3:15 pm) | South Park 0.2 (2) | def. by | Victorian 1.4 (1) | South Park Lands (crowd: 550) | [45] |
| Bye Norwood, Adelaide, South Adelaide |
|||||
Eight players from St. Peter's College were selected to take part in the match, but they were ordered by the Head Master not to play. Mr C. W. Hughes from the Adelaide Club acted as the umpire.[48] | |||||
Round 15
| Round 15 | [49] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 13 September (3:00 pm) | South Park 0.0 (0) | def. by | Norwood 3.13 (3) | South Park Lands (crowd: 2,000) | [50][51] |
| |||||
Round 10 (Postponed Game)
| Round 10 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 20 September | South Park 0.17 (0) | drew with | Kensington 0.1 (0) | South Park Lands | [52] |
Ladder
| ||||||||||||
| TEAM | P | W | L | D | GF | GA | Pts | Adj Pts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwood (P) | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 3 | 19 | 22.80 | |||
| 2 | Port Adelaide | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 12 | 16.00 | |||
| 3 | South Adelaide | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 15.42 | |||
| 4 | Victorian | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 10.91 | |||
| 5 | South Park | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 10.00 | |||
| 6 | Adelaide | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 7 | 8.40 | |||
| 7 | Kensington | 9 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 27 | 1 | 1.33 | |||
| Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, Adj Pts = Points adjusted for match ratio, (P) = Premiers | [53] | |||||||||||
Notes:
- Following disputes between South Adelaide and other clubs, Adelaide (twice), Norwood, Port Adelaide, and Victorian (once each) all refused to play them: these five cancelled matches are not included in the above ladder.
- Kensington only played Norwood once, with their only scheduled match against Port Adelaide being forfeited due to a lack of players.
- Port Adelaide were ranked above South Adelaide on match ratio (only match was drawn), while Victorian were ranked above South Park (1-0-1) and South Park were ranked above Adelaide (1-0-1) on head-to-head record.
Ladder - Second Twenty
| ||||||||||||
| TEAM | P | W | L | D | GF | GA | Pts | Adj Pts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Adelaide (P) | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | ? | ? | 15 | 20 | |||
| =2 | South Park | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 17 | 17 | |||
| =2 | Port Adelaide | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 17 | |||
| 4 | Norwood | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 12 | |||
| 5 | Victorian | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 12 | |||
| 6 | Adelaide | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ? | ? | 4 | 9.6 | |||
| 7 | Kensington | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 29 | 2 | 2.4 | |||
| Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, Adj Pts = Points adjusted for match ratio, (P) = Premiers | [54] | |||||||||||
Second Twenty Notes:
South Adelaide did not met Norwood or Adelaide two matches;
Norwood and Victorian each forfeited a game to Port Adelaide ;
Adelaide forfeited five matches and Kensington two.
Intercolonial matches
During July 1879, a team representing the South Australian Football Association toured Victoria, and played two intercolonial matches against a Victorian Association representative team; the first on a public holiday Tuesday, and the other on the following Saturday. The games were the first ever intercolonial matches between colony representative teams.
At an Association meeting held on 5 June 1879, the following players were selected for the first ever representative South Australian Team.
Adelaide â C. W. Hughes; Kensingtonâ A. Harrison; Norwood â W. H. J. Dedman, A. McMichael, G.Giffen, J. Traynor, L. Suhard, E. Colbey, T. W. Green; PortâT. Smith; South Adelaideâ A. Mehrtens, E. Absalom, K. Kennedy, M. Considine; South ParkâA. M. Pettinger; Victorianâ W. Knill, W. Osborn, C.E. Warren, W. Davis, G. E. Downs.
Emergencyâ W. Bracken (Norwood), S. M. Turner (Adelaide).
The South Australian side wore an all-blue uniform with SAFA in white on the cap. [55] [56] Due to commitments there was four replacements to the team, as Knill, Dedman, Waldron, and A. Mehrtens had to withdraw, that sailed for Melbourne on Wednesday 25 June 1879. Alfred McMichael from the Norwood Club, and formerly from Victoria, was selected as Captain.[57]
| 1879 Intercolonial Matches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, 1 July | Victoria 7 | def. | South Australia 0 | East Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 10,000) | [58] |
| Saturday, 5 July | Victoria 4 | def. | South Australia 1 | East Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 6,000) | [59] |
