| Names | |
|---|---|
| Full name | West Adelaide Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | Westies The Bloods Blood and Tars The Wolves Red and Blacks |
| Motto | Pride, Gratitude, Resolve |
| 2011 season | |
| Leading goalkicker | Brad Fisher (33) |
| Best and fairest | Steven Morris |
| Club details | |
| Founded | 1891[1] |
| Colours | Black and Red |
| Competition | South Australian National Football League |
| Coach | Andrew Collins |
| Captain(s) | Ryan Ferguson |
| Ground(s) | City Mazda Stadium (capacity: 16,500) |
| Other information | |
| Official website | www.westadelaidefc.com.au |
| Guernsey: |
|
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.
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West Adelaide was formed in 1891, adopting Magenta 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"
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 Oval 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.
After the SANFL resumed competition following World War I, 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.
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 Williams 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 Richmond (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).
Red and Black
| 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 |
| 1908 | James Tierney |
| 1909 | Richard Head |
| 1922 | Robert Barnes |
| 1926 | Bruce McGregor |
| 1927 | Bruce McGregor |
| 1929 | Robert Snell |
| 1931 | Jack Sexton |
| 1939 | Ray McArthur |
| 1957 | Ron Benton |
| 1962 | Ken Eustice |
| 1977 | Trevor Grimwood |
| 1985 | Grantley Fielke |
| 1995 | Glenn Kilpatrick tied with Garry McIntosh (Norwood) |
| 2009 | James Ezard tied with Rhys Archard (North Adelaide) |
| Year |
Goals |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | 31 | F.Fitzgerald |
| 1957 | 90 | Peter Phipps |
| 1998 | 85 | Adam Richardson |
| 1999 | 66 | Adam Richardson |
| 2000 | 72 | Adam Richardson |
| 2001 | 84 | Adam Richardson |
| 2003 | 97 | Darren Bradshaw |
| 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 | R Zeuner | 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 | J Broadstock | B Faehse | B Slattery | 28 |
| 1951 | 6 | B Faehse | B Faehse | B Faehse | M Agars | 22 |
| 1952 | 6 | B Faehse | B Faehse | J Lynch | G Williams | 26 |
| 1953 | 6 | L Cahill | B Faehse | C Brown | C Brown | 42 |
| 1954 | Grand Finalist | L Cahill | B Faehse | C Brown | K McGregor | 33 |
| 1955 | 7 | L Cahill | B Faehse | G Williams | J Wright | 33 |
| 1956 | Grand Finalist | L Cahill | B Faehse | S Costello A Rossetto |
I Day | 29 |
| 1957 | 3 | J Oatey | C Brown | R Benton | P Phipps | 90 |
| 1958 | Grand Finalist | J Oatey | C Brown | N Kerley | J Wright | 52 |
| 1959 | Grand Finalist | J Oatey | N Kerley | N Kerley | J Wright | 55 |
| 1960 | 4 | J Oatey | N Kerley | J Bray | 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 | D Roach | R Day | G Sims | 61 |
| 1967 | 7 | D Roach | D Roach | T Hughes | G Sims | 52 |
| 1968 | 4 | M Weideman | M Weideman | R Pope | J Pannenburg | 28 |
| 1969 | 3 | M Weideman | M Weideman | G Wallis | 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 | 62 |
| 1973 | 10 | R Keddie | R Keddie | R Keddie | R Loveday | 39 |
| 1974 | 10 | F Williams | 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 | 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 | 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 | R Luders | 109 |
| 1984 | 6 | D Kerley | I Borchard | D Herbert | R Luders | 75 |
| 1985 | 3 | J Cahill | I Borchard | M Mickan | R Andrews | 51 |
| 1986 | 7 | J Cahill | M Mickan | M Mickan | P Meuret | 55 |
| 1987 | 7 | J Cahill | L Grosser | K Sporn | D Twomey | 56 |
| 1988 | 8 | K Morris | P Winter | N Shaw | C Lamb | 38 |
| 1989 | 7 | K Morris | C Lamb | N Shaw | L Grosser | 35 |
| 1990 | 6 | K Morris | L Grosser | G Fielke | G Goss | 35 |
| 1991 | Grand Finalist | K Morris | L Grosser | P Banfield | G Mellor | 53 |
| 1992 | 6 | D Kerley | L Grosser | L Grosser | A Modra | 53 |
| 1993 | 8 | D Kerley | L Grosser | M Mickan | C Palmer | 47 |
| 1994 | 8 | G Morris | G Fielke | J Andriske | S Simister | 72 |
| 1995 | 5 | G Morris | G Fielke | A Banik | S Simister | 65 |
| 1996 | 5 | M Taylor | 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 | 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 | 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 | P Wiggins | 31 |
| 2006 | 9 | W Weidemann | D Piasente | B Haynes | B Haynes | 48 |
| 2007 | 9 | W Weidemann | D Piasente | S McCormick | D Cupido | 37 |
| 2008 | 9 | A Collins | N Brown | R Ferguson | R Willits | 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 |
West Adelaide's Hall of Fame includes [2][3]
West Adelaide 21.16 (142) defeated Sturt 16.12 (108)
| 1983 Premiership Team | |||
| B: | John Kantilaftis | Tony Burgess | Peter Winter |
| HB: | Larry Watson | Mark Dreher | Greg Summerton |
| C: | Robin McKinnon | Richard Hamilton | Randall Bennett |
| HF: | Mike Smith | Bruce Lindner | Geoff Morris (vc) |
| F: | Craig Williams | Roger Luders | Leon Grosser |
| Foll: | Dirk de Jong | Ian Borchard (c) | Bernie Conlon |
| Int: | Grantley Fielke | Peter Meuret | |
| Coach: | Neil Kerley | ||
Best: Borchard, Morris, Bennett, Meuret, Grosser, McKinnon
Goals: Lindner 5, Luders 4, Grosser 4
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!
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 Olsen 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.
A song written dedicated to the West Adelaide Team by Reg Stoneham 1911. Scan of the sheet music
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