Sturt versus Norwood stirs up 1978 controversy ahead of SANFL grand final

Football Park was barely four years old when Sturt and Norwood last met in a famous grand final that included a brief tussle between players and officials in the Sturt dug-out.

The Redlegs came away with a one-point win in 1978 despite Sturt being favoured, but with both teams meeting again for this weekend’s SANFL Grand Final, there are several controversies that remain front of mind for some.

First and foremost, there was the winning goal.

After kicking 5:9 to Norwood’s 1:5 in the first quarter, Sturt was in front and living up to expectations, having only lost one game for the entire season. 

But, 29 points down in the last quarter, the Redlegs mounted a comeback, briefly taking the lead before Sturt kicked another goal.

“Then there was a rough contest in Norwood’s forward pocket, and [Redleg] Phil Gallagher took it out of the ruck, quickly slammed it on his boot, and it went straight to Sturt fullback Colin Casey,” said SANFL senior media producer Zac Millbank.

“He kicked it straight back out of the area and then Phil Gallagher went to mark Casey’s kick, but he actually dropped it.”

Field umpire Des Foster blew his whistle and gave what commentators at the time assumed to be a weak free kick to Gallagher.

Foster later said that he actually called it a mark but admitted it was the wrong call, explaining that his field of vision had been obscured by players at the key moment when the ball came down.

In front of more than 50,000 spectators and a live television audience, Gallagher went back and kicked a goal, putting Norwood in front.

There were about three minutes left, however, and Sturt made several more 50-metre entries but only managed a point. 

Mr Millbank pointed out that Sturt had kicked 14 goals and 25 points that day, so the upset loss could not be blamed on “the Des Foster blunder”.

“Fourteen goals and 26 points is just horrendous kicking and some of the shots were very simple ones,” he said.

Regardless, the moment went down in history as one of the most contentious free kicks or marks ever played at Football Park, the former stadium that was home to SA football between 1974 and 2013.

Mr Millbank said there had been a lot of commentary on the SANFL’s social media pages about the 48-year-old moment since Sunday’s match-up was confirmed, proving the incident was very much “still on people’s minds”.

Sturt captain Tom Lewis said he was reminded about the 1978 final by a pedestrian walking past his house on Monday morning.

“Both clubs have such a history; it does bring a lot of excitement, a lot of pressure.

“I’m thoroughly looking forward to it, and the boys are. Everyone’s amped up; I know Norwood are as well, so hopefully we get a good turnout.”

A dug-out scuffle

Another memorable moment occurred in the third quarter in 1978 when Norwood player John Wynne overran the ball on the boundary and ended up inside the enemy’s camp, much to his own apparent amusement.

A skirmish ensued, with more players and officials from the Redlegs getting involved, until umpires quelled the situation and broke the parties apart — even as strong words continued to fly.

“Legend has it that master [Sturt] coach Jack Oatey was a bit ruffled after that incident,” Mr Millbank said.

“I don’t know how true it is, but there’s a bit of thought that Wynne did it deliberately to try and stir him up a bit, put them off their game.”

Norwood took the 1978 premiership after a long period of SANFL dominance for Sturt, in which they had won five flags in a row from 1966 to 1970, and then in 1974 and 1976 as well.

The fact they had only dropped one game for the entire season — a feat Sturt repeated in 2025 before winning the premiership — had made them the “raging favourites”.

For this year’s grand final, however, the shoe is on the other foot, and Norwood are the warm favourites going into the game.

Having won the minor premiership and winning the second semi-final against Sturt two weeks ago, the team has only played one match in three weeks.

Coach Jade Sheedy said that after the team’s main training session, they had another strong session on Saturday, “which put the boys through their paces and tried to replicate as much as we can to get them ready for a grand final,” he said.

“Our preparation has been good … players are fresh.”

Norwood captain Jacob Kennerley said it was always a big game when Sturt and Norwood met, “so to be able to play in a grand final against them is a bigger deal”.

“I’ve heard a lot about that even though it was 48 years ago now. That famous Gallagher mark, my former number 11, so I know a lot about the history.”

Digging deep for a repeat

Sturt, which finished third on the ladder, has played three finals to get to the big dance, and will defend their 2025 premiership with a slightly different list to Sunday’s preliminary due to injuries.

This includes midfielder Jared Dakin, who injured his hamstring in the opening quarter against Woodville-West Torrens; key defender Casey Voss, who dislocated his shoulder in the game; and ruckman Amos Doyle, who was a late withdrawal due to a neck injury.

Coach Marty Mattner said Doyle had been progressing and may still play on Sunday, depending on Wednesday’s training, and there was still a window open for Voss, although his inclusion is considered unlikely.

“The positive is that everyone who hasn’t been playing in the league side is fit and ready to go,” he said.

“Realistically there’s probably seven or eight in that [reserves] group who have played league footy this year.”

The 2026 SANFL Grand Final, which will feature Adelaide rockers The Superjesus in pre-game entertainment, will commence at Adelaide Oval from 2:30pm Sunday.