1971

Background

Although North didn't win another premiership in the 1960's it was a fairly successful decade for the Club.  After just missing the finals in 1961 (seemingly suffering from a premiership hangover) and inexplicably dropping to 6th in 1962, North rebounded in 1963 to finish 3rd at the end of the minor round.  North beat West comfortably in the first semi-final and then defeated Torrens by 2 points in the preliminary final.  North played Port in the grand final and fought gallantly, but were never able to recover from a poor start.

For 1964 North cleared 10 players to other clubs, many of whom went on to become 'name' players.  Not surprisingly, North had a very disappointing year and finished 8th in the new 10 team competition.

1965 was a much better season and although North had a bad run with injury they managed 13 wins and missed the finals only on percentage.  1966 was a similar season with the same number of wins but this time North finished 3rd.  They comfortably beat South in the first semi-final but were beaten by Sturt in the preliminary final.  Barrie Robran debuted in the Reserves finals in 1966.

Geof Motley was appointed coach in 1967 and the Club had a stellar minor round, winning 16 of 20 games and finishing minor premiers.  Unfortunately, perhaps due to inexperience, North lost both the second semi-final and preliminary final to finish 3rd.

North finished 3rd again in 1968, having won 15 and lost 7 games.  They defeated West (4th) by 34 points in the first semi-final and led Port by 19 points at half-time in the preliminary final.  However, Barrie Robran was showing the effects of a leg injury from early in the second quarter and Dennis Sachse went off injured early in the second half and North lost momentum, eventually losing by 19 points.  This was their third consecutive preliminary final loss.

The 1969 season started promisingly but 13 wins and 7 losses left the Club in 5th position.

Mike Patterson was appointed Captain-Coach in 1970 and although North finished with 1 less win than the previous year, this time it made the finals.  There was a quick exit, however, as North lost the first semi-final.

As the 1971 season progressed it was felt that the will to win and determination at the Club were the best they had been for 10 years.  Patterson was credited with developing applied, systematic pressure.  By late in the season the Club seemed unbeatable, finishing minor premiers.

The second semi-final against Port was a tough, rugged, bruising affair with defences on top most of the day.  It was relatively close for the first three quarters, but Port edged away in the last quarter to lead by 22 points at the 14 minute mark.  Given the tightness of the match up to that point, most assumed that margin would be enough to ensure victory for Port.  However, inspired by Patterson in ruck and the mercurial Barrie Robran at centre-half-forward, North lifted all over the ground and slammed through 7 goals to 1 to win by 15 points.  This included 5 goals in 6 minutes from the 18 minute mark which was sparked by a long goal from the boundary by Von Bertouch.

Premiership Team

(Coach : M. Patterson ;  Captain : M. Patterson)

The Grand Final

"Patto" leads North to success

North Adelaide coach Mike Patterson won the toss at the beginning of the grand final at Adelaide Oval before a crowd of 52,228 and this was to set the trend of the game.  The Roosters began confidently with first use of the breeze, posting the first goal after only two minutes after Neil Sachse had marked at centre half forward.  His long kick bounced through for a goal after clearing the pack.  Another goal quickly followed for the Roosters as Daryl Webb handballed to Adrian Rebbeck in the open and he promptly goaled.  The game was proving to be one way traffic as Port struggled to set up any ascendancy.  North were continually in attack and Webb and Rebbeck both goaled to give the Roosters a 29 point lead at quarter time.

Port fans were hoping to see a Port revival with the breeze in the second term but North had other ideas.  The Roosters' greater speed, quick tackling, slick handball and well-disciplined defence was too good for Port.  North drew first blood when Neil Sasche's handpass found Rebbeck only metres out from the goal line and he made no mistake.  Although North added only one more goal for the quarter through Rebbeck, the Magpies could manage only two points to trail miserably 0.3 to North's 6.11 at half time.

North again looked dangerous in the third term but, against the run of play, Port brought up their first goal.  North quickly replied with full points from Daryl Webb.  The game then developed into a dour battle of defences until Port broke through again with their second goal.  Again Webb replied for North and when Terry Collins finished the quarter with a brilliant soccered goal, North held a commanding 56 point lead at three quarter time.

As the final term began the game became very defensive as North still controlled the run of the ball and played wide to the flanks.  Port goaled first, but Neil Sachse quickly replied for North with a clever left foot snap.  The Magpies' cause appeared hopeless but halfway through the last quarter Port suddenly exploded and slammed on five goals in six minutes.  However, time was running out for the Magpies as North steadied and deservedly ran out winners by 20 points.

Scores

Goals : Rebbeck 4.1, Webb 3.0, Sachse 2.2, Collins 1.3, Phillips 0.3, Francou 0.3, Von Bertouch 0.2, Jaworskyj 0.2, Stringer 0.1, rushed 0.2

Attendance : 52,228

Team Photo

Back row, L to R : D. Webb, J. May, A. Wilkey, B. Robran, G. Sporn, N. Sachse, G. Norton
Second row, L to R : A. Howard, B. Jaworskyj, R. Robran, J. Plummer, B. Hearl, B. Stringer, T. Collins, J. Phillips
Third row, L to R : A. Rebbeck, K. Francou, R. Morcom, J. Bevan, B. Gniel, K. Lehmann, G. Paull
Front row, L to R : T. Von Bertouch, J. Robinson, P. Ford, M. Patterson, R. Hammond, D. Burns, J. Payne, B. Bamford