The 1985 Season

[spell_check]

I often hear about clubs wanting to have a strong defence because that will win matches. Well what if no club thought that? This is the result:



Each club averaged 118.98 points per match. Bottom club Woodville averaged 125.09 points per match, a figure hard to believe for even the top clubs nowadays - although last year went close.

[Hondo]

That was a great era Spelly .... it was normal to see scores of 18-22 goals per game on a fine day.

Some would say '85 was the end of the SANFL's golden era as it spelled the last SANFL games for Bradley, Kernahan, McGuinness, Platten, Motley and cemented the the trend of our best young players moving to the VFL which lead eventually to 1991. 1986 was the first VFL draft and it was all down-hill for the SANFL from there.

North won their 1st 11 or so straight that year.

If you want to see attacking, open footy at it's best that was the era.

[spell_check]

That was a great era Spelly .... it was normal to see scores of 18-22 goals per game on a fine day.

Some would say '85 was the end of the SANFL's golden era as it spelled the last SANFL games for Bradley, Kernahan, McGuinness, Platten, Motley and cemented the the trend of our best young players moving to the VFL which lead eventually to 1991. 1986 was the first VFL draft and it was all down-hill for the SANFL from there.

North won their 1st 11 or so straight that year.

If you want to see attacking, open footy at it's best that was the era.

And I rue the fact that I was born in that year, and certainly wasn't old enough to see it.

Of course it remains history too that South Adelaide lost their first 7 matches of that year, under Don Scott.

[Dutchy]

Great year...

[am Bays]

That was a great era Spelly .... it was normal to see scores of 18-22 goals per game on a fine day.

Ahh the influence of the 1983 VFL GF, where high possession (for that time 250+ per game), running in waves, precison passing (footballers played not athletes) open forward lines consipired to promote high scoring one on one footy beat your opponent.

Then as fitness improved and coaches realised defensive action won games (Malthouse West Coast early 90s) the rise of thE tagger to shut out the great footballers and then the dreaded flood high scoring games became a rarity rather than the norm.

A great book to read is, Tactics in modern football by Dave Wheadon has a great snapshot of the different tactical eras the 1930s through to the 1990s and the coaches that had the major influence ont eh tactical styles of each decade. Only one thing I disagree with that book is they claim Len Smith as the modern pioneer of the handball game, ah no, try Jack Oatey at west in the late 50s and then Sturt in the 60s

People forget how infleuncial Jack was in pioneering the handball game along with the precision disposal game. No fluke that Sturt won 5 flags in a row given that tactically they were light years ahead of the rest of Australia not just the SANFL in the late 60s

[Hondo]

And I rue the fact that I was born in that year, and certainly wasn't old enough to see it.

Of course it remains history too that South Adelaide lost their first 7 matches of that year, under Don Scott.

Because it was easy on the bus I used to go to the Adelaide oval as a young fella and watched a bit of South after Davies took over and remember seeing some exciting games as he got them back on track. I distinctly remember the round 14 game v Norwood and the Kappler brothers running around.

[XXXXRooster]

Apart from all the 'guns' that crossed to the VFL in '86 have a look at some of the veterans(100 + game players) that hung them up at the end of that yr

Steven Boehm
Peter Vivian
David Holst
Neil Button
Danny Jenkins
Gary Menzel
Russell Ebert
Anthony Williams
Stuart Palmer
Michael Graham
Ian Borchard
Mark Downie
Michael Hamill
Malcom Blight
Lindsay Heaven

of course if you count games in VFL and WAFL you can add Jeff Sarau, Ronnie Andrews, Michael Wright and Bob Beecroft to that list too

[McAlmanac]

of course if you count games in VFL and WAFL you can add.... Bob Beecroft to that list too

70 goals in that year, in addition to Blighty's 126. All Australian, Fitzroy leading goalkicker.