1931

Background

North were strong again in 1931 and were well-placed with 2 rounds to go with 11 wins and 4 losses.  However, they dropped their last 2 games to finish in third place, with three less wins than Port and Sturt but a better percentage than both of those teams.  It was widely believed that they had lost the form they had earlier in the year and that they would therefore not be serious contenders for the premiership.

This was the first year of the "Page" finals system, where 1st played 2nd with the winner progressing to the grand final and the loser contesting the preliminary final against the winner of 3rd against 4th.  North easily beat Norwood in the first semi-final while Sturt beat Port by a point in the second semi-final.  North returned to form with a vengeance in the preliminary final, crushing Port 20.11 to 11.10 to earn the right to play Sturt in the grand final.

Ken Farmer had a sensational year, kicking 109 goals in the minor round and 11 in the first two finals to bring him within 4 goals of Gordon Coventry's record of 124.

Premiership Team

(Coach : P. Lewis ;  Captain : P. Furler)

The Grand Final

Farmer breaks Coventry's record

Despite losing to Sturt twice in the minor round, North's form in the preliminary final against Port was so good that they were slight favourites to win the grand final.  Sturt kicked to the Northern end in the first quarter, favoured by the breeze.  They bolted from the blocks and had 1.1 on the board before North settled.  After a couple of points, Proud brought up North's first goal with a long left-foot kick, giving North the lead for the first time.  Proud snapped another goal, Hawke passed to Farmer for another and Proud marked a Sturt kick-in and converted for his 3rd for the quarter.  Sturt also scored another goal to make the margin 11 points at quarter time.
 
The second quarter opened with a quick goal to Sturt but North, reproducing the form of the preliminary final, asserted a marked general superiority.  They peppered the goals, but scored only one major from 4 attempts.  North's defence was resolute, but finally Sturt goaled.  Farmer scored twice for North, the first from a long punt and the second after a great mark, to bring him within 1 goal of Coventry's record.  Lock scored a further goal for North from a tremendous punt on the run, and the margin at half-time was 19 points.  Although Sturt were within reach, North were playing confidently.

After the long break, Sturt threw everything at North and the game became very physical.  Three Sturt players and one North player were reported.  North were outscored 3 goals to 1 in the early part of the quarter, and then it was goal for goal.  At one point Sturt got within 7 points but a late goal to Burns made the margin 13 points at three quarter time.  Farmer did not add to his half-time tally, raising doubt about whether he could gain the record.

Sturt could not sustain their effort in the final quarter and were outclassed by North.  Furler goaled to give North a 3 goal lead and for the first time, North players began to look for Farmer.  Proud hand-balled to him a long way from goal but he kicked truly to equal the record.  To a man the crowd cheered, and players from both sides rushed to congratulate him.  A little later, he ran in unhindered to score the record-breaking goal.  There was a storm of applause, provoking a tremendous outburst of enthusiasm unparalleled in the history of the game.  The crowd cheered for some time, and the Sturt backmen clustered around Farmer to congratulate him.  North ran out winners by 38 points and Farmer was chaired off by jubilant supporters.  Percy Furler also had a day out, playing his 150th game, captaining the side and kicking 2 goals.

An interesting sidelight was that thousands noticed frantic waving from the scoreboard when Farmer broke Coventry's record, and noticed Ken's acknowledgement of it, but did not understand the significance of it all.  In fact his father was a member of the ground staff at Adelaide Oval (as was the father of the Sturt full-forward) and he was operating the scoreboard on the day.

Scores

Goals : Farmer 6, Proud 4, Willshire 2, Furler 2, Lock 1, Hawke 1, Burns 1

Attendance : 34,202

Team Photo

Back row, L to R : W. Dickson, G. Woodhead, J. McKenzie, T. Hodges, J. Doody, G. Williamson, S. Sparshot, W. Averay, L. Roger
Second row, L to R : B. Hall, A. Anderson, Dr. Gartrell (V.P.), K. Burns, H. Fleet, C. McNamara, C. McIntosh, A. Mangelsdorf, D. Phillis, B. Burns, F. Simpson, S. Kays, H. Peppall (V.P.)
Third row, L to R : C. Barrett, K. Farmer, R. Walter, R. Munn, S. Burton, H. Hawke, S. Lock, C. Taylor, D. McInnes, D. Conrad
Fourth row, L to R : A. Winner, I. Tymons, C. Willshire, R. Lewis, J. Hamilton, C. Jessop (President), P. Furler (Captain), J.F. Bennett (Treasurer), N. Drew, K. Shutter
Front row, L to R : R. Bailey, G. Storer, J. McDowall, C.F. Young (Hon. Secretary), G. Foulis, P. Lewis (Coach), W. MacKay, N. Proud, H. Hardwick