Triple Blue - How Norwood gave Sturt the Blues

The Chambo post mentions the loss of 17 Sturt players after 1977

Heres a list of players that didnt play in the 1978 Grand Final for Sturt , that were at the club in 1977
They either didnt see the 1978 season out , some injured , some cleared to other clubs , or whatever reasons

Jim Derrington
Clinton Giles
Mal Greenslade
Gary Hardeman
Brenton Miles
Sandy Nelson
Mick Nunan
Robert Oatey
Noel Pettingill
Greg Wild
Kenny Whelan

There might have been others
Those 11 footballers ranged from good to very good to great players
A few of them were at the end of their careers

Would any of those players made a difference in the 1978 Grand Final ?

Nelson or Hardeman would have curtailed Adamson better than Reed most certainly.
Hardeman should have been there but for injury. Derrington too.

Here is an interesting snippet on the match
Last quarter
5 minute mark
ST 13-21
NW 12-11

Rossers erratic kick from CHF appears to miss everything
However, the goal umpire, having only belatedly decided to run across to attempt to follow the course of the ball, awards a behind
ST 13-21
NW 12-12

Indeed a handy point ....

Colin Casey said after that there were 2 bad decisions from the goal umpires. That was one of them.
The other was a kick from Adamson that was given a goal that Casey said wasn't. He was pretty adamant about it apparently.

Ah, the what ifs...

The only clear cut thing is Norwood won, Sturt lost.

Any close game usually has its points of conjecture, even moreso when it's the big one - I wonder if there was any similar type of discussion emanating after the 73' Granny? (probably no decisions as dire as the mark/free kick paid to Gallagher)

I think most people thought it was a free paid. But I have a recollection of it actually being paid a mark. Would need to go back and have a look, but when Foster was interviewed, I thought he said he paid the mark.

That was after fessing up that he might just have made a mistake. I think afterward it was a bit of a raw subject with him too.

Chambo Off To Work We Go wrote:
After Halbert was dismissed, the new-wave faction maybe had its way when Sturt appointed the ex-Richmond player Merv Keane. It was a completely new direction and a departure from tradition when Merv cleared out a few players like the revered Rick Davies, a move that rankled all of the traditionalists in the club. Remember Davies still kicked 100 goals in 1984.

One final aside to this Keane - Davies conflict.

Davies actually offered to spend the 1985 season in the reserves, mentoring the younger players.
Davies never wanted to leave Sturt. Keane was not interested.

I think he saw a younger version of Davies emerging (enter Ian Wilmott).
Wilmott had had a couple of big seasons in the reserves and when he got his chance in the league team did make his mark for a few seasons. He kicked 123 goals in 1985 and backed it up with 82 the following year.
Davies kicked 72 and 72 during the same period for South.

I remember years after Merv left Sturt & Sturt were struggling, in an interview or in the paper he mentioned he was still a member of Sturt, fast forward to now & would he still be a member of Sturt ?

I don't know about that Bayman, but he was a guest of the club about the middle of last season. Maybe the passage of time heals most wounds. Maybe not all, but most.

Even KB reconciled with Richmond I think.