Sturt Football Club

Infobox aus sport club | clubname = Sturt


fullname = Sturt Football Club
emblem = The Double-Blues
strip = Light blue guernsey with navy blue 'SFC' monogram, navy blue shorts and socks.
founded = 1901
sport = Australian rules football
league = South Australian National Football League
firstseason = 1901
ground = Unley Oval currently House Brothers Oval
capacity = 15,000
song = It’s A Grand Old Flag
president =
coach = Rick MacGowan
captain = Ben Nelson, Jade Sheedy
season = 2008
position = 2nd of 9The Sturt Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League. The club is best known for its period of dominance from 1966-76 under legendary coach Jack Oatey, during which it revolutionised the style of play by emphasising teamwork and accurate ball disposal.

Establishment

The club was established in 1901 when the Sturt Cricket Club decided to form a football club in the Unley (suburban Adelaide) area in the Division of Sturt (named after Australian explorer Charles Sturt). The club used the two shades of blue of Oxford and Cambridge Universities as its home ground, Unley Oval, is situated on the junction of Oxford Terrace and Cambridge Terrace, hence the nickname of "Double Blues". Sturt played its first game against Norwood, losing by 33 points.

Sturt enjoyed little success initially and struggled to make the finals. In 1909, the club was strengthened by a number of interstate players enticed by offers of employment and accommodation and in 1910, Sturt played in their first Grand Final, losing to Port Adelaide.

Early success

The first premiership came in 1915 with a two goal win over Port Adelaide. The competition was suspended during the First World War, then in 1919, Sturt faced North Adelaide in the Grand Final. Despite giving up a big lead early, Sturt fought back and forced a draw. In a low scoring replay the following week, Sturt kicked its only three goals of the match in the last quarter (the last coming with thirty seconds remaining) to win by five points and secure consecutive premierships four years apart.

Sturt won another premiership in 1926 with Vic Richardson after he was not selected for the 1925 Ashes cricket tour of England. Between 1930 and 1941, Sturt played in five Grand Finals, winning in 1932 and 1940. From 1942 to 1944, Sturt combined with South Adelaide to compete in a restricted wartime competition.

Golden era

From 1945 to 1961, despite the efforts of triple Magarey Medalist Len Fitzgerald, Sturt performed poorly, “winning” five wooden spoons and failing to make a Grand Final. In 1962, former Norwood and South Melbourne player and West Adelaide coach Jack Oatey was appointed coach of Sturt and began to institute an innovative style of play that would modernise the game in South Australia.

Sturt showed gradual improvement in Oatey’s first years, losing the 1965 Grand Final to Port Adelaide by three points. They reversed that result in 1966, winning their first premiership in 26 years and entering a period of dominance that saw them win seven premierships in eleven years, including five in a row.

Whilst the 1966 Premiership is remembered as the drought breaking final, the 1976 win over Port Adelaide is surely the Rick Davies final. Before a record Football Park crowd of 66,897, Sturt entered the final as rank outsiders. Ruckman Rick Davies, sensing early pressure from Port, positioned himself in the back lines in the first quarter. In an often quoted anecdote, coach Jack Oatey turned to runner David ( Daffy ) Edwards and said:'What's he doing down there? I didn't put him down there. I run this side. Go and ask him what he thinks he's up to." After Davies had taken his fourth strong mark, Edwards came back with the news: "He says he's down there getting kicks, that's where the ball is." Oatey's response:"Course he is. He's a champion isn't he?" [Lysikatos.J :"True Blue- The History of the Sturt Football Club" page 254, Sturt Football Club, 1995]

Rick Davies dominated the final with 21 kicks, 21 handballs, 21 hit outs and 15 marks, with Sturt winning by 41 points. Captain Paul Bagshaw described the win as "Sturt's finest hour". [ "Sunday Mail", page 1, 26th September 1976]

Jack Oatey’s legacy has continued to influence football in South Australia. Since their inception into the AFL, the Adelaide Crows have embodied much of the approach to the game that Oatey pioneered. Oatey is also credited with popularising the checkside punt, a kicking style the causes the ball to bend away from the body. In the 1968 Grand Final against Port Adelaide Football Club, Peter Endersbee used the checkside punt to kick two goals in the space of a few minutes turning the game in Sturt’s favour. Since 1981, the Jack Oatey Medal has been awarded to the best player in the SANFL Grand Final.

Drought

After Oatey’s retirement in 1982, Sturt entered the worst period of its history. In the middle of a 26 year premiership drought, the club won eight consecutive wooden spoons between 1989 and 1996, including a winless season in 1995, and churned through five coaches. A joint bid with Norwood in 1994 to enter the AFL was rejected in favour of Port Adelaide.

Facing financial difficulties in 1995, the board proposed a merger with North Adelaide. This was opposed by supporters who, along with former players, raised the required $250,000 in two weeks to keep the club in existence.

Resurgence

Sturt reached the Grand Final in 1998, losing to Port Adelaide by nine points. Damian Squire won consecutive Magarey medals in 1999-2000 and Jade Sheedy and Tim Weatherald shared the award in 2002. Sturt played Central Districts in the 2002 Grand Final, winning by 47 points, their first premiership in 26 years.Six days after the win, the club was celebrating the win at the Sari Club in Bali when the Bali bombing incident occurred. Player Josh Deegan and trainer Bob Marshall were killed.

Facts

Famous players

* Vic Richardson
* Len Fitzgerald
* P.T. ( Bo ) Morton
* John Halbert
* Paul Bagshaw
* Peter Motley
* Gil Langley
* Rick Davies
* Ken Whelan
* Stephen White

Club Song

The Sturt Football Club's song is "It's A Grand Old Flag".

"Its a Grand old flag, Its a high-flying flag
"Its the emblem for me and for you
"Its the emblem of the team we love
"The team of the old Double Blues
"Every heart beats true for the old Double Blues
"As we sing this song to you………what do we sing?
"Should old acquaintance be forgot
"Keep your eye on the old Double Blues.

Notes

External links

# [http://www.sturtfc.com.au Sturt Football Club Official Website]
# [http://www.doubleblue.org The Sturt Football Club Scrapbook & Supporters Forum]
# [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/Sturt_part_1.htm Full Points Footy History of Sturt Football Club]