AHEAD of the 2019 SANFL Statewide Super League Grand Final between Port Adelaide and Glenelg, portadelaidefc.com.au looks back at the most recent season-deciding encounters between the two sides.
Port Adelaide and Glenelg have enjoyed a rich rivalry in the SANFL competition over the years, with Sunday’s grand final set to be the seventh time the clubs have met in the premiership-decider.
Port holds a 5-1 advantage over the Tigers in grand finals, with victories in 1977, 1981, 1988, 1990 and 1992, with the Bays winning the first ever grand final meeting between the two sides in 1934.
In 1981, the Magpies were too strong for the more fancied Bays, leading from start to finish - eventually running out 51-point victors.
Kicking with a strong breeze, Magpies captain Russell Ebert got his side off to a flying start with a beautiful goal on the run, before Stephen Clifford unleashed a monster torpedo for Port’s third of the opening term.
John Cahill’s men added another three majors in the first quarter to take a commanding 35-point lead into the first break.
Port continued to heap the pressure on the Tigers, but the second quarter was a much tighter tussle, until David Granger found Ebert in space for his second goal of the afternoon just prior to the half-time siren.
Craig Bradley - at just 17 years of age - booted his third goal in the third quarter, as Port opened up a 10-goal advantage heading into the final term.
The Bays managed to gain some sort of scoreboard respect in the last quarter - kicking four goals to Port’s two - but it was the Magpies who celebrated their third consecutive premiership.
Bradley was superb in the attacking half of the ground, booting three goals, while Tim Evans and Clifford each kicked two, the latter with a pair of impressive efforts from long range.
Ebert was awarded the inaugural Jack Oatey Medal for his best-on-ground performance in the grand final, while Clifford and Paul Belton were also very good through the midfield in front of a 52,659-strong crowd at Football Park.
Port’s 1981 premiership was its second against Glenelg, and the 27th in the club’s history.
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE 6.5 8.6 12.11 14.11 (95)
GLENELG 1.0 2.4 2.5 6.8 (44)
BEST: Ebert, Clifford, Belton, Kinnear, Warren, Cunningham
GOALS: Bradley 3, Evans, Ebert, Clifford, Cahill 2, Martyn, Granger, Kinnear
