Friday Flashback – 1965 Preliminary Final

By ZAC MILBANK

Sturt produced a gutsy fightback to edge out South Adelaide by seven points in the 1965 Preliminary Final at Adelaide Oval.

Despite leading at half-time, the Double Blues conceded seven goals to the reigning premier Panthers, who took a handy 16-point lead into the final change.

But it was the Jack Oatey-coached Sturt outfit which flexed its muscle in the fourth quarter, kicking four goals while restricting Neil Kerley’s South to just four behinds to book a berth against Port Adelaide in the Grand Final.

In the clip below, Sturt is leading by just one point before captain John Halbert – who booted six goals for the afternoon – has his set shot marked by team-mate Malcolm ”Emmy” Jones at the top of the goal square.

Jones duly converts, giving the Blues the seven-point buffer which remains for the frantic seven minutes as they send South out of the finals race with a straight-sets exit having lost the Second Semi-Final to Port by five points.

The brilliance of Sturt great Paul Bagshaw is on display during this period, as he continually repels South’s forays forward by reading the play across the half-back line, including a brilliant overhead mark.

Saturday September 25 at Adelaide Oval
Sturt  5.3  6.6  10.7  14.10 (94)
South  3.5  5.9  12.11  12.15 (87)

Crowd – 35,717