1953 Adelaide Carnival
The 1953 Adelaide Carnival was the 12th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It took place from 8 July to 18 July at Adelaide Oval.
Home state South Australia where joined by Western Australia, Tasmania, the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Victorian Football Association (VFA).
The VFL were the best performed side, finishing the carnival unbeaten.
A record crowd of 52,632 attended the game between South Australian and the VFL which would decide the Championship. South Australia, even though they had accounted for the VFL as recently as 1952, were no match on this occasion for their Victorian opponents and lost by 99 points. The VFA team performed admirably, defeating Tasmania and getting within 18 points of Western Australia and 33 points of the VFL.
Tasmania finished the carnival winless and had to play off against the Australian Amateurs team in order to re-qualify as an 'elite' team come the next carnival.
The youngest player at the carnival was 17 year-old Neil Conlan from Tasmania.[1]
Squads
| Victorian Football League | South Australia | Western Australia | Tasmania | Victorian Football Association | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coach: Frank 'Checker' Hughes | Bob Quinn[2] | Clive Lewington | Len McCankie | ||
| (C) Bill Hutchison (Essendon) | (C) Bob Hank (West Torrens) | (C) Frank Sparrow (Swan Districts) | (C) Len McCankie (North Hobart) | (C) Norm Tindall (Oakleigh) | |
| Lance Arnold (Melbourne) | John Abley (Port Adelaide) | Ken Ashdown (West Perth) | Noel Atkins (Launceston) | Boyd | |
| Jack Clarke (Essendon) | Dave Boyd (Port Adelaide) | Ken Caporn (Claremont) | Terry Cashion (Sandy Bay) | Jim Bohan (Camberwell) | |
| Ron Clegg (South Melbourne) | Colin Brown (West Adelaide) | Don Carter | Mike Clennett (Sandy Bay) | Tom Miller (Sandringham) | |
| John Coleman (Essendon) | Jim Coverlid (West Torrens) | Jack Clarke (East Fremantle) | Neil Conlan (New Town) | Reg Murray (Port Melbourne) | |
| Len Crane (Hawthorn) | Neil Davies (Glenelg) | John Colgan (South Fremantle) | Lance Cox (New Town) | G. Savory | |
| Fred Flanagan (Geelong) | Jim Deane (South Adelaide) | Keith Harper (Perth) | Joe Crawford (Devonport) | Don Fraser (Port Melbourne) | |
| Alan Gale (Fitzroy) | Brian Faehse (West Adelaide) | Cliff Hillier (South Fremantle) | Charlie Dennis (Scottsdale) | Ted Henrys (Preston) | |
| Ken Hands (Carlton) | Len Fitzgerald (Sturt) | Keith London (West Perth) | Darrel Eaton (Wynyard) | Hewes | |
| Des Healey (Collingwood) | Tony Goodchild (Sturt) | Don Marinko (West Perth) | Rex Garwood (New Town) | Bernie Miller (Port Melbourne) | |
| Jack Howell (Carlton) | Lyall Griffin (North Adelaide) | Steve Marsh (South Fremantle) | John Golding (Hobart) | Frank Johnson (Port Melbourne) | |
| Ted Jarrard (North Melbourne) | Pat Hall (Glenelg) | Merv McIntosh (Perth) | Kevin Haas (Scottsdale) | Max Kruse (Prahran) | |
| Neville Linney (St Kilda) | Lindsay Head (West Torrens) | Laurie McNamara | Cec Hammer (Sandy Bay) | Gordon Williams (Williamstown) | |
| Bob McKenzie (Melbourne) | Brian Luke (Port Adelaide) | John Munro (Claremont) | Jack Hawksley (North Launceston) | – | |
| Neil Pearson (Hawthorn) | Jack Lynch (West Adelaide) | Bernie Naylor (South Fremantle) | Arthur Hodgson (Ulverstone) | – | |
| Bruce Phillips (St Kilda) | John Marriott (Norwood) | Tony Parentich (South Fremantle) | Les McClements (Clarence) | – | |
| Bob Rose (Collingwood) | William L. McKenzie (North Adelaide) | Wally Price (West Perth) | Stan Walker (Ulverstone) | – | |
| Des Rowe (Richmond) | Alf Roberts (West Torrens) | Geoff Rakich | Jim Newton (Ulverstone) | – | |
| Bernie Smith (Geelong) | Clayton Thompson (Sturt) | Ray Schofield (West Perth) | Ashton Shirley (North Hobart) | – | |
| Bill Stephen (Fitzroy) | Norman Walker (Norwood) | Jack Sheedy (East Fremantle) | Paddy Williams (Hobart) | – | |
| Charlie Sutton (Footscray) | Ray Whitaker (Port Adelaide) | Norm Smith | Terry Pierce (Latrobe) | – | |
| Jim Taylor (South Melbourne) | H. Williams | Jim Spencer | Ray Stokes (Burnie) | – | |
| Leo Turner (Geelong) | – | Arthur Young | Geoff Long (City-South) | – | |
| Bill Wilson (Richmond) | – | Reg Zeuner (Perth) | John Leedham (North Launceston) | – | |
| Roy Wright (Richmond) | – | – | Paddy Martin (Launceston) | - | |
Results
|
Game One
Game Three
Game Five
Game Seven
Game Nine
|
Game Two
Game Four
Game Six
Game Eight
Game Ten
|
All-Australian team
The inaugural All-Australian team was named in 1953, based on the performances at the Adelaide Carnival.
Tassie Medal
| Ranking | Player | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merv McIntosh | 9 | Western Australia |
| 2 | Bill Hutchison | 5 | VFL |
| John Leedham | 5 | Tasmania | |
| G.Savory | 5 | VFA |
Goalkicking
| Ranking | Player | Goals | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clayton Thompson | 17 | South Australia |
| 2 | John Coleman | 15 | VFL |
| 3 | Bernie Naylor | 14 | Western Australia |
| 4 | Bill Hutchison | 12 | VFL |
References
- ↑ 'Drop-Kick' "Offer to 'Baby' of Carnival", The Mercury, 15 July 1953, p. 28.
- ↑ Barber, R. "Where are they now?", Football Times, 1 May 1980, p. 14.