Reflections on West Torrens

It seems somewhat strange to look back and realise that its been some 20+ years since the merge of Woodville and West Torrens. I would like to ask people to share with us some of their memories of the West Torrens Football Club.

First off for me it was never "West Torrens" it was always simply "Torrens" Its my opinion that their Eagle logo and colours looked awesome and I love to see it when WWT bring it out for Heritage Week - (Hint-Hint Col).

My memories of SANFL go back to the 1970's and more predominantly the 1980's, this sadly was a time in the life of the club where they were not really as successful on the field. From my reading, the 1950's were the best times for West Torrens when they won the premiership in '53 and contested the finals several times during that decade.

For whatever reason the player I most seem to remember was Steven Stretch who was often amongst their best players in the era I most remember them. He later went to Vic and went on to a pretty distinguished career. Sadly West Torrens lost a number of players to the VFL and seemed to be hit really hard by it in their final decade as a club, one cant help but wonder what things might have been if that did not happen, yet no doubt the same thing could be said for other clubs also.

I am pretty sure the great man Neil Kerley took the reigns at the Eagles for a few seasons and brought them up the ladder in his time there as well.

I remember being at Thebarton and it being packed, with the grandstands often full, West Torrens may have struggled in the later years but had a very strong group of supporters back then, the atmosphere at their home games was something to see as well!

Please add some more thoughts if you have any!

The team my mum used to (very passively) support simply because they were always on the bottom. She always sympathised with the underdog!

When I was about 10 playing footy for school in the early 70s we had a training night there and dinner with the players under the grandstand. A young fella can lower his colours when asked who he supports and cannot bring himself to be truthful.

I remember sitting opposite Glen Pill and next to Freddy Bills. They are about as Torrens as you get and were very gracious hosts to a young whipper-snapper.

I also remember much more recently (I was in my 30s at the time) being entertained by their then President, Rex Sellars as a guest of my Dad at a game day luncheon. Very nice it was too washed down with Hardys wine who sponsored them. That probably wasn't too far from when the merger took place.

Still a lot of heritage at that ground and interesting in its own right for running largely east - west instead of north - south.

Its a pity it can't be used more, but certainly seems to need some major coin in upgrades around the stands.

Be interesting to hear from Eagles supporters who came from the Torrens side as to their views on the merger and the good old days prior to.

My father was a very passionate west torrens supporter and if it was not for my nan and mum being south supporters I would have supported them . They now the eagles are my 2nd side in a way .
I remember going to thebarton oval with dad to see many games in the 80's and lived watching Andrew payze ..... I used to really laugh watching the "witch" I can't remember his name but was a real character on the footy field ... He mostly played full back ... Was it Stephen Robertson ???

Lee Robson?

The player who I think of most when thinking of Torrens is Bruce Lindsay who was a fantastic player. I do associate the term "battlers" with Torrens but they have had some great players over the years.

That's it footy follower !!!

He had all shaggy hair ... We used to call him the witch

Must say Bruce Lindsey was a superstar !! Amazing player !!!

When I started watching footy, West Torrens were a very good side, Players such as Bob Shearman, Lindsay Head, Neil Hawke, Geoff Kingston, Tracy Braidwood, Fred Bills, etc, and towards the late 60s they had John Birt, Jim Forsyth, Peter Phillipou, Brian Mulvihill, Kevin McSporran, Glen Pill, and John Graham.

They had the best footy jumper I've seen, the lace-up with the large gold eagle on the chest. Even now, I find it hard to believe that club hadn't won a flag since 1953.

I'm equally as amazed at how they became cellar dwellers late in their history, many people blame the introduction of Woodville for that. Seeing how the Eagles have gone since the merger, it's hard not to agree.

Some vivid memories of West Torrens:
Lindsay Head's final game at Norwood Oval
Round 2, 1971 when Henry Dabrowski flew early for a mark, grabbed the behind post, and snapped it off
The infamous 'count' against West Adelaide in 1975
Bill Barrot's monster goal at Thebarton Oval, 1973

West Torrens were a popular club in the 50's and 60's, with some graet players. I always remember watching Lindsay Head. Apart from his great skills, he took advatage of the rules of the day and would throw the ball out in front of himself just before being tackled. Always a free kick to him for holding on. Thank goodness they eventually changed that silly rule. and now it would be the total opposite, holding the ball.

My first memories of Torrens players would be the likes of Slaven, Coverlid, Clingly, etc. Their guernsey was great and they tended to be a 'middle-range' club for a fair while.

Was Head's effectiveness as a player lessened when they changed the rule?

Also, did they change it Australia wide (ie. in the VFL as well), or just in the SANFL, at that time?

It may have been after that when it changed, I'm not sure.

It was only one of his 'tricks' though. The umpires loved him, but he was very much an 'outside' player in today's terminology, from distant memory.

His skills, however, were really good and he didn't waste many possessions.

He would have been just as effective if they had changed the rule as he would have adapted easily.

FOOTYfollower wrote:Was Head's effectiveness as a player lessened when they changed the rule?

Also, did they change it Australia wide (ie. in the VFL as well), or just in the SANFL, at that time?

Changed Australia wide. Another past master of the tactic was Kevin Bartlett. Can't recall when the rule was changed, I think it may have been after Head retired in 1970.

Watching the 76 grand final recently it was still rife.
Flash Graham did it, Bruce Light did it among others.

Maybe late 70s?

Yes, Chambo, the frees given in that game for 'holding on' would be laughable today.

I remember my primary school being donated some old Torrens junior jumpers for our school football team in the early 90s. We proudly wore the blue and yellow vertical stripes (I wore #6) before designing our own jumper nearly a decade later (which unfortunately now is Double Blue! )

At the risk of taking this thread off topic, if they reintroduced that rule about not tackling a player who is bouncing the ball, it would probably help counter the flood in that players adept at bouncing the ball past opponents could take on the extra numbers thrown back into defence.

Of course, with Lindsay Head, it was awesome to watch the most skilful player in the league, when about to be tackled, bounce the ball so that it didn't come back to him

The advantage of the new rule is that it's perhaps one of the the most obvious decisions in the game now when it happens.

I remember watching them in the 60's with the blue guernsey and the gold eagle on the front, what a great guernsey it was, I could never understand why they ever changed it.

My father to this day (he's a bloods man) says the best footballer he saw was Bob Hank, had the best kick he ever saw, no one came close. He played in 2 premierships and won 2 magarey medals and was there captain for 9 years.

testy1 wrote:
I remember watching them in the 60's with the blue guernsey and the gold eagle on the front, what a great guernsey it was, I could never understand why they ever changed it.

Don't know if this is 100% correct, but I was told it was because they considered it to be bad luck. Apparently they switched to that jumper the year after their 1953 flag, and hadn't won one since. I would think it had more to do with the players than the jumper, but who knows?

Just on the subject of West Torrens...I wonder, firstly, how would they have gone if a Jack Oatey or Fos Williams (or an administrator like Bob McLean) landed at Torrens. Would they have been able to lift them significantly like they did the other clubs? Kerley was there in the late 70's, its a bit difficult to search how successful he was there, as I presume there's no active WT website, but I'm thinking he only had moderate/average success there (was he anymore successful there than Centrals?)

..also, was Torrens' recruiting zone from the 1960's as bad as has been claimed? They had the whole of the Spencer Gulf (I'm presuming?) so that may have assisted them to some extent..?

In 1977, Kerley took over from Noel Teasdale who had coached wooden spoons in the previous 2 seasons having won only 2 games in each season.

Kerley made them more competitive, and in the 4 years he was there they finished 6th, 5th, 8th, 5th. After that, West Torrens was a perenial cellar dwellar until they merged with Woodville in 1991.

In Kerley's 4 years, they won 42 games, lost 45, and drew 1. Taking an overview of that period, you'd have to say Kerley was relatively successful.

FOOTYfollower wrote:..also, was Torrens' recruiting zone from the 1960's as bad as has been claimed? They had the whole of the Spencer Gulf (I'm presuming?) so that may have assisted them to some extent..?

A boss I had years ago played a handful of league games for West Torrens in the 1950s and was coaching in Whyalla in the 1960s. He said he was trying so hard to get West Torrens interested in a couple of young players named Barrie Robran and Graham Cornes, but the club showed little interest. Therein lies a story I think.

My fondest recollection of West Torrens came I think in either 1969 or 1970 seasons.

The team had a woeful start to the season winning a couple against easybeats Centrals and Woodville but losing about 8 others. John Birt was Captain/Coach.

Then came the most amazing string of victories that saw them scrape into the Final 4 on percentage - Sturt, Glenelf West and Torrens.

I recall them beating Sturt at Thebarton with Peter Phillopou streaking down the outer wing bouncing the ball with Sturts Nunan unable to keep up. The whole side seemed to have 'grown a leg' in that golden run.

Torrens winning streak came to an end in the first-semi against Murray Weideman's Westies - a drawn game! Unfortunately the Eagles lost the replay and so it ended. If they had won the drawn match then who knows what may have happened after that.

The following year Torrens slipped back into the mediocrity for which they were better known.

EDT: Found this reference on the present Eagles web site:

"1969 West Torrens wins 10 straight to reach first finals since 1963 but loses 1st semi-final replay"

West Torrens History



Image (1969) from Faded Memories which archives amongst other things a rich gallery of football memorbilia.

..

Adelaide Hawk wrote:

testy1 wrote:
I remember watching them in the 60's with the blue guernsey and the gold eagle on the front, what a great guernsey it was, I could never understand why they ever changed it.

Don't know if this is 100% correct, but I was told it was because they considered it to be bad luck. Apparently they switched to that jumper the year after their 1953 flag, and hadn't won one since. I would think it had more to do with the players than the jumper, but who knows?

I was born and bred in the Torrens area and most of my dad's friends and all of my mum's family (two definitely discrete groups) were Torrens supporters. They all hated the Eagles guernsey and disparagingly called it the clown outfit. I was probably influenced by that but I never thought of it as a "real" footy guernsey like Port or North, for example. I don't know if AH is spot on about the bad luck theory but the talk always was that "we will never be any good until we go back to the sash". Torrens tried a number of guernseys before going back to the sash but when they went back to the sash they were still generally no good.

I don't if I'm spot on about the bad luck theory either, I was told that by an Eagles supporter a few years ago, but I don't know if it's correct.

They changed from the large eagle on the chest to a smaller eagle on the left breast for a couple of years, then to the vertical blue and gold stripes before Kerley re-introduced the gold sash.

Kerley had a thing about sashes. Westies had one when he had his first stint there, when he went to Glenelg he changed from a yellow yoke to a yellow sash. He changed to the sash when he went to West Torrens, and when he returned to West he did the same.

As a Torrens supporter our death was like Fitzroy's a comlicated mixtute of situations. We just couldnt afford to keep the good coaches once the 70s rolled around. The lack of money & success obvious saw many talented players leave for better opportunities.

Its great winning three flags as the new eagles: but it isnt Torrens. It was sad the club originally chose the sheditself of its woodville & west torrens history when merging - its only in recent years the club woke up with heritage jumpets etc.

I love WWT - but they are not Torrens. Keeping that in mind I doubt I would have been to a finals match without the merger.

jameshothersall wrote:As a Torrens supporter our death was like Fitzroy's a comlicated mixtute of situations. We just couldnt afford to keep the good coaches once the 70s rolled around. The lack of money & success obvious saw many talented players leave for better opportunities.

I think that the demise of West Torrens actually dates back to the credit squeeze of 1961. At the time West Torrens was a very financial football club with its president and benefactor being Ossie O'Grady. Ossie O'Grady was a colourful businessman who had an aura about him not unlike Alan Bond during Alan Bond's halcyon days. O'Grady headed up a business called Reid Murray which I believe was in the top 10 companies in Australia at the time. In 1961 it suddenly went into liquidation.

To give examples of West Torrens financial position at the time they were able to recruit Dick Reynolds as coach, brought a young Bob Shearman, who had been Essendon's best player in the 1959 VFL Grand Final as a player, recruited Neil Hawke from Port Adelaide via East Perth and Geoff Kingston from Wagga Wagga. They managed to outbid Carlton for Kingston. At the same time they had Lindsay Head and Freddy Bills on their books. Suddenly the riches dried up. O'Grady lost his fortune, a lot of the rank and file Torrens supporters too lost money in Reid Murray and it was all downhill from there.

Sure Woodville coming in didn't help, but I would argue that North Adelaide were at least as harmed by the advent of the two new clubs as Torrens was and despite a number of hiccups, North managed to survive if not prosper as much as it previously had.

The following link is a precis of Ossie O'Grady's life, but I would appreciate any more information on him or the demise of his company.

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ogrady-oswald-james-11291