Sturt Football Club

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**Sturt**

Full name	Sturt Football Club
Nickname	The Double-Blues
Strip	Light Blue with Navy emblem
Founded	1901
Sport	Australian rules football
League	South Australian National Football League
Ground	Unley Oval
Club song	It’s A Grand Old Flag
President/Chair
Coach	Rick MacGowan
Captain	Ben Nelson
2006	8th of 9

The Sturt Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League. The club is best known for its period of dominance from 1966-76 under legendary coach Jack Oatey, during which it revolutionised the style of play by emphasising teamwork and accurate ball disposal.

1 Establishment
2 Early success
3 Golden era
4 Drought
5 Resurgence
6 Facts
7 Famous players
8 External links

[edit] Establishment

The club was established in 1901 when the Sturt Cricket Club decided to form a football club in the Unley (suburban Adelaide) area in the Division of Sturt (named after Australian explorer Charles Sturt). The club used the two shades of blue of Oxford and Cambridge Universities as its home ground, Unley Oval, is situated on the junction of Oxford Terrace and Cambridge Terrace, hence the nickname of "Double Blues". Sturt played its first game against Norwood, losing by 33 points.

Sturt enjoyed little success initially and struggled to make the finals. In 1909, the club was strengthened by a number of interstate players enticed by offers of employment and accommodation and in 1910, Sturt played in their first Grand Final, losing to Port Adelaide.

[edit] Early success

The first premiership came in 1915 with a two goal win over Port Adelaide. The competition was suspended during the First World War, then in 1919, Sturt faced North Adelaide in the Grand Final. Despite giving up a big lead early, Sturt fought back and forced a draw. In a low scoring replay the following week, Sturt kicked its only three goals of the match in the last quarter (the last coming with thirty seconds remaining) to win by five points and secure consecutive premierships four years apart.

Sturt won another premiership in 1926 with Vic Richardson after he was not selected for the 1925 Ashes cricket tour of England. Between 1930 and 1941, Sturt played in five Grand Finals, winning in 1932 and 1940. From 1942 to 1944, Sturt combined with South Adelaide to compete in a restricted wartime competition.

[edit] Golden era

From 1945 to 1961, despite the efforts of triple Magarey Medalist Len Fitzgerald, Sturt performed poorly, “winning” five wooden spoons and failing to make a Grand Final. In 1962, former Norwood and South Melbourne player and West Adelaide coach Jack Oatey was appointed coach of Sturt and began to institute an innovative style of play that would modernise the game in South Australia.

Sturt showed gradual improvement in Oatey’s first years, losing the 1965 Grand Final to Port Adelaide by three points. They reversed that result in 1966, winning their first premiership in 26 years and entering a period of dominance that saw them win seven premierships in eleven years, including five in a row.

Jack Oatey’s legacy has continued to influence football in South Australia. Since their inception into the AFL, the Adelaide Crows have embodied much of the approach to the game that Oatey pioneered. Oatey is also credited with popularising the checkside punt, a kicking style the causes the ball to bend away from the body. In the 1968 Grand Final against Port Adelaide, Peter Endesbee used the checkside punt to kick two goals in the space of a few minutes turning the game in Sturt’s favour. Since 1981, the Jack Oatey Medal has been awarded to the best player in the SANFL Grand Final.

[edit] Drought

After Oatey’s retirement in 1982, Sturt entered the worst period of its history. In the middle of a 26 year premiership drought, the club won eight consecutive wooden spoons between 1989 and 1996, including a winless season in 1995, and churned through five coaches. A joint bid with Norwood in 1994 to enter the AFL was rejected in favour of Port Adelaide.

Facing financial difficulties in 1995, the board proposed a merger with North Adelaide. This was opposed by supporters who, along with former players, raised the required $250,000 in two weeks to keep the club in existence.

[edit] Resurgence

Sturt reached the Grand Final in 1998, losing to Port Adelaide by nine points. Damian Squire won consecutive Magarey medals in 1999-2000 and Jade Sheedy and Tim Weatherald shared the award in 2002. Sturt played Central Districts in the 2002 Grand Final, winning by 47 points, their first premiership in 26 years. Six days after the win, the club was celebrating the win at the Sari Club in Bali when the Bali bombing incident occurred. Player Josh Deegan and trainer Bob Marshall were killed.

[edit] Facts

Established:	1901
Nickname:	Double-Blues
Home Ground:	Unley Oval, Unley
Premierships:	13 (1915, 1919, 1926, 1932, 1940, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1976, 2002)
Magarey Medalists:	12 (H.S.Waye-1903; H.V.Cumberland-1911; V.Richardson-1920; H.A.Riley-1923; W.K.Dunn-1933; L.C. Fitzgerald-1952,1954,1959; J.A. Halbert-1961; G.L.Whittlesea-1988; B.Atkinson-1997; D.Squire-1999,2000; T.Weatherald & J.Sheedy-2002)