University and Teachers were again the dominant teams in A1, Uni hitting the headlines in the Sunday Mail in August. Under the heading Grabbed by the beard it was reported that in the match between Uni and Semaphore Central at Largs Reserve, bearded Uni player John Corbett clashed with Central’s centreman Brian Fairclough. This caused Central’s ruckman Trevor Anderson to intervene which he did so by seizing Corbett’s beard. After scanning his rule book, the umpire could only warn Anderson that this was probably not allowed under Amateur League rules.
Premiership Tables
A1 Premiership Table
(as at the end of the minor round)
| Team | Gm | W | L | D | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 35 |
| Teachers College | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 31 |
| Brighton | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 30 |
| Payneham | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 26 |
| Rosewater | 20 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 21 |
| Semaphore Central | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| Alberton United | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 18 |
| Walkerville | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 16 |
| Hyde Park | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 16 |
| Kilburn | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 12 |
| Goodwood | 20 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 11 |
| Riverside | 20 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 4 |
Payneham defeated Brighton in the First Semi 7.13 to 7.7, and University won the Second Semi 13.22 to 9.9. A very close Prelim. Final resulted in a Teachers victory 7.5 to 6.9, so Teachers won its way into the Grand Final for a second successive premiership clash with University to be umpired by D.J. Hardy. Despite being gross underdogs, Teachers won the match 5.7 to 3.7, its better players being Wesley in the centre and Innes at half back. This was only its second victory over University ever in A1, its first A1 premiership and only its fourth Amateur League premiership.
A2 Premiership Table
(as at the end of the minor round)
For the first time since its entry to Amateur League in 1933, Exeter was relegated to A2 for season 1963 but reacted strongly.
| Team | Gm | W | L | D | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exeter | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 36 |
| Seaton Ramblers | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 35 |
| St. Peters O.C. | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 30 |
| Gaza | 20 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 21 |
| Flinders Park | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 18 |
| Semaphore Park | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 18 |
| Henley & Grange | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 18 |
| Kings O.C. | 20 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 17 |
| Prince Alfred O.C. | 20 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 16 |
| Kenilworth | 20 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 14 |
| University B | 20 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 13 |
| Scotch O.C. | 20 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 4 |
S.P.O.C. defeated Gaza in the First Semi 11.10 to 9.11, and Exeter won a low-scoring Second Semi against Seaton 4.12 to 4.8. Seaton came back to win a close Prelim. Final against S.P.O.C. 8.16 to 8.10, but went down to Exeter in the Grand Final 4.10 to 5.13. Hence Exeter’s visit to A2 lasted just the one season.
A3 Premiership Table
(as at the end of the minor round)
St.Dominics did well in its first season in Amateur League to finish the minor round in second position.
| Team | Gm | W | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulteney O.S. | 20 | 18 | 2 | 36 |
| St. Dominics | 20 | 16 | 4 | 32 |
| Teachers College C | 20 | 15 | 5 | 30 |
| Christian Brothers O.C. | 20 | 14 | 6 | 28 |
| The Teachers | 20 | 12 | 8 | 24 |
| Western Teachers | 20 | 11 | 9 | 22 |
| Ethelton | 20 | 9 | 11 | 18 |
| Eastwood | 20 | 7 | 13 | 14 |
| Adelaide Boys H.S.O.S. | 20 | 6 | 14 | 12 |
| Wattle Park T.C. | 20 | 6 | 14 | 12 |
| Colonel Light Gardens | 20 | 6 | 14 | 12 |
| S.A. Railways Institute | 20 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
C.B.O.C. had a comfortable victory in the First Semi against Teachers College winning 12.8 to 7.9, and Pulteney won the Second Semi against St.Doms 7.17 to 5.10. St.Dominics narrowly won the Prelim. against C.B.O.C. 7.5 to 6.7, then Pulteney repeated its performance in the Second Semi to win the Grand Final against St.Doms 7.13 to 6.6 and so annexe its first A3 premiership.
Other Tables and Scores
A4: Payneham C (37), St. Dominics B (35), Teachers College D (33), Flinders Park C (24), Pulteney OS B (23), P.A.O.C. C (22), Ethelton B (20), Colonel Light Gardens B (20), Western Teachers B (10), University E (10), Eastwood B (6), Wattle Park T.C. B (4).
1st S. Teachers Coll 9.9 Flinders Pk 5.8 2nd S. Payneham 9.10 St.Dominics 1.8 Prelim. Teachers Coll 10.16 St.Dominics 1.10 G.Fin. Payneham 11.14 Teachers Coll 9.5
A1 Reserve: Brighton (31), Semaphore Central (30), University (30), Walkerville (28), Rosewater (27), Riverside (21), Teachers College (20), Payneham (16), Goodwood (16), Hyde Park (14), Alberton United (5), Kilburn (2).
1st S. University 7.9 Walkerville 5.7 2nd S. Semaph Cent 5.8 Brighton 4.7 Prelim. University 3.8 Brighton 1.10 G.Fin. Semaph Cent 5.5 University 5.3
A2 Reserve: Flinders Park (38), Exeter (36), S.P.O.C. (30), Henley & Grange (30), University (24), Semaphore Park (22), Gaza (17), Seaton Ramblers (15), P.A.O.C. (14), Kenilworth (12), Scotch OC (4), Kings OC (2).
1st S. St.Peters OC 5.8 Henley & Grge 5.4 2nd S. Flinders Pk 7.2 Exeter 6.7 Prelim. Exeter 5.6 St.Peters OC 4.6 G.Fin. Exeter 8.7 Flinders Pk 5.2
Colts I (Under 18): Flinders Park (32), Kilburn (25), Semaphore Cent (24), Payneham (21), Riverside (20), Henley & Grange (16), Exeter (14), Brighton (8).
1st S. Payneham 6.9 Semaph Cent 4.9 2nd S. Kilburn 6.9 Flinders Pk 6.7 Prelim. Payneham 7.8 Flinders Pk 7.6 G.Fin. Kilburn d Payneham
Colts II (Under 18): Gaza (36), Seaton Rams (34), Walkerville (28), Colonel Light Gardens (22), Ethelton (16), Kenilworth (12), Goodwood (12), Semaphore Park (2).
1st S. Walkerville 6.5 Col Lt Gdns 5.5 2nd S. Gaza 7.7 Seaton 7.5 Prelim. Seaton 10.6 Walkerville 6.6 G.Fin. Gaza 6.6 Seaton 4.10
Awards
Mel Gilmour of Teachers College won the Hone Medal, and Roger Freeman of Exeter the Chambers Medal. John Holland and Peter Turner, both from St.Dominics, won the A3 and A4 medals respectively. The other medallists were Brian Hefford (Semaphore Central – A1 Res), Dennis Harrison (Adelaide University – A2 Res), and Don Mathews (Seaton) and Dale Turner (Payneham) in the Colts. Ian Milne of University was the A1 leading goalkicker with 72 goals, and his team-mate Wayne Jackson was the War Memorial Medallist.
Interstate
The interstate match was played at Adelaide Oval on June 8. Neil Dansie was appointed coach, ‘Doc’ Clarkson captain and Dave Parkinson vice captain. The team was as follows:
- Anderson, Trevor follower Semaphore Central
- Atkinson, Kevin chf Kilburn
- Bright, Leon wing Walkerville
- Butler, Des hb Payneham
- Byers, Alan centre University
- Clark, Peter reserve University
- Clarkson, Tony captain ruck University
- Dobrilla, John rover Alberton United
- Farnham Bob hb Payneham
- Freeman, Roger reserve Exeter
- Gambling, David chb University
- Jackson, Wayne follower University
- John, Dale wing Brighton
- Jones, Emmy hf University
- Laslett, Alf ff University
- Parkinson, Dave vice capt. bp Kings O.C.
- Pfitzner, John ruck University
- Potter, Rob fb Payneham
- Volbrecht, Stan rover Kilburn
- Welford, John hf Payneham
S.A. began well and was leading in the race to the ball although the Vics had a marking ascendancy. Kevin Atkinson kept the S.A. forward lines open and was winning well, while David Gambling defended strongly at centre half back. The match was close right up to the last five minutes of the match when Victoria slammed on 2.4 to run out winners by 21 points.
1Q 2Q 3Q Final Vic. 3.3 5.6 7.10 10.14 (74) S.A. 3.5 4.7 6.10 7.11 (53)
- Goalkickers: Clarkson 2, Atkinson, Laslett, Pfitzner, Volbrecht, Welford
- Best Players: Atkinson, Byers, Gambling, Jackson, Butler, Volbrecht, Bright
The sprigger for the state team, John Kinross of Payneham, was still very active at 72 and had had a long playing career covering 501 matches between 1911 and 1940, retiring as a player at the age of 48. His first team was Victoria Park where he played with the legendary Dan Moriarty, and some of his clubs besides Payneham included North Adelaide Ramblers, Gaza and College Park.
