History of the
Glenelg Football Club
affiliated South Australian National Football League

Whilst 1924 was the year where Glenelg began to build a league standard squad (with the debuts of Jack Owens, Len Sallis, John Lloyd & Cyril Hoft), and 1925 was the first year that Glenelg won a game, and 1926 was the first year that Glenelg got off the bottom of the ladder, 1927 was the first year that Glenelg were a consistently competitive side, but it didn't show up on the premiership ladder because of a number of narrow losses. Led by Jack Owens with an SANFL record 80 goals, for the first time Glenelg were no longer the lowest scoring team in the league.

But because they won only 1 of their first 7 games, they were never in the finals hunt, and finished 7th with 4 wins - 13 losses, 6 games outside the top-4.
And the reason for their lowly finish was that they lost 5 games by less than a goal which they probably should have won, and another 3 games by 19-points or less.

There were six games which they lost, but possibly could have or should have won ...

• In round 2, Glenelg were down by 10-ponts to Torrens at 3/4 time, and had a multitude of opportunities in the last quarter but only kicked 1-7 to lose by just 5-points.
• In round 4, Glenelg were down by 18-points to Sturt at 3/4 time, but lost by 1-point when Jack Owens only registered a point with the last scoring shot of the match.
• In round 9, Glenelg came from 27-points down to Port at 3/4 time to be within 3-points, and would have hit the front when Cyril Hoft kicked a goal in the last minute, but a contentious free (against Hoft for juggling the ball) saw the goal disallowed, resulting in a 3-point loss.
• In round 10, Glenelg led Sturt by 19-points at 3/4 time, but after only kicking 0-4 in the last quarter, left the door open for Sturt to kick two goals in the last 3 minutes to steal victory from Glenelg by 4-points.
• In round 13, Glenelg led Norwood by 21-points at 3/4 time, but lost by 5-points.
• In round 17, Glenelg were level with eventual premiers West at 3/4 time, but lost by 10-points after only kicking 0-5 in the last quarter.

If they had won all six of those games, then they would have finished in 3rd place, a game in front of Torrens in 5th, but even winning 4 out of those 6 matches would have doubled their previous best season tally of 4 wins and had them in finals contention for the entire season.

Looking at the talent thay had available with 8 gun players in Jim Handby, Len Sallis, Cyril Hoft, Jack Sexton, Gordon Barbary, Jack Lloyd, Blue johnston, Jack Owens, it is not wishful thinking that they could have played finals.
Between them they would finish with 3 magarey medals and 13 Glenelg best & fairest awards (to 5 different players), not to mention 827 goals from Jack Owens.
In fact looking at that talent it is hard to believe that they didn't play finals - I guess the only caveat is that a number these players were early in their careers (Johnston in his 1st year, Barbary & Sexton in their 2nd/3rd) and hadn't yet reached the peak of their powers.

• Jim Handby continued as captain-coach for the 2nd season in a row.
• John 'Jack' Lloyd won his first Glenelg best and fairest award.
• Jack Owens kicked 80 goals and was Glenelg's top goal kicker for the 4th season in a row.
• Jack Owens was also the league leading goalkicker with the highest goal tally recorded since 1893. He was also the leading goalkicker in the 1926 minor round, but was passed by Roy Bent in the finals.
• According to the best players named in the Sunday paper each week, Glenelg's best players in the 1927 season were Jack Owens, John Lloyd, Gordon Barbary, Cyril Hoft & Len Sallis.

In 1929 Glenelg got off to its best ever start to a season by winning their first 3 games. They had their first ever win against West Adelaide by 5-points in round 1, followed by an 8-point win against West Torrens at Thebarton Oval (both of these opponents were eventual finalists), then followed up with a 13-point victory against eventual wooden-spooner South Adelaide in round 3.
Considering that their previous best season yielded just 4 wins in total, having won their first 3 was a monumental improvement, and hopes were high that this would be the year that they would make the finals for the first time

Losses in the next two rounds brought them back to earth, but another win against Torrens in round 6, had Glenelg sitting in 4th spot on the ladder with a 4-2 record, equal with 2nd placed Norwood & 3rd placed Sturt, and a game in front of 5th placed West.

The round 7 encounter with Sturt was a real inflection point in Glenelg's season… win and they would jump to 3rd, lose and they could fall out of the top-4. In a tight game against Sturt where the scores were level at half-time, 3/4 time and 5 minutes before the final bell, Glenelg were defeated by 6-points despite having more scoring shots. Glenelg's inaccuracy in front of goal continued to plague them in the following round against West Adelaide, resulting in an 18-point loss (again despite having more scoring shots).

This put Glenelg behind the 8-ball in their chase for a finals berth, as after 8 rounds they were now 1 game outside the top-4 in 5th place on 4 wins - 4 losses, and due to play the top 2 sides (Port & Norwood) in the ensuing rounds.

However, despite Glenelg losing their next 4 games in a row (all against the top-3 sides), after 12 rounds Glenelg were still in finals contention, sitting in 7th on the ladder with a 4-8 record, but only 1 game behind the equal 4th, 5th & 6th placed teams.
So Glenelg simply had to beat Torrens in round 13 (who were one of those teams) to keep their finals chances alive. Glenelg led at half time, but Torrens dominated the 3rd quarter to establish a 26-point 3/4 time lead, and despite not scoring in the last quarter, held on to defeat Glenelg by 10-points.

This was Glenelg's 7th consecutive loss, and effectively extinguished their finals aspirations, leaving them in 7th place, 2 games and percentage outside the top-4 with just 4 games remaining.

Glenelg finished the season in 7th place with 5 wins - 12 losses, and were 4 games outside the finals - which is the same number of games that they had lost by 10-points or less during the season. Despite the disappointing 2nd half of the season, Glenelg were around the mark, and while 5 wins -12 losses doesn't look impressive, it was still their best season to date.

• Roy Brown continued as coach for a 2nd season, and was also appointed captain.
• Jim Handby won his 2nd Glenelg best & fairest award.
• Jim Handby was runner-up in the Magarey Medal in 1929, after winning it the previous year in 1928 (as well as being among the contenders in 1925 & 1926, and 4th in 1930).
• Jack Owens was Glenelg's top goalkicker for the 6th consecutive season with 72 goals.
• According to the best players named in the Sunday paper each week, Glenelg's best players in the 1929 season were Jim Handby by a long way to Gordon Barbary, 'Blue' Johnston & John Lloyd.

Prior to this season, Glenelg finished last in their first 5 seasons, and 2nd-last in their next 5 seasons. But in 1931 they finished out of the bottom two for the first time in their history and recorded a club record 7 wins from 17 matches.

In the first 3 rounds Glenelg came up against the top-3 sides, and after a narrow 6-point defeat to Port in round 1, they were trounced in the next 2 rounds against Sturt at Unley, and North at Prospect.

Glenelg then won 3 of their next 4 matches, the most impressive of which was a 9-point win against finalist Norwood. So after 7 rounds, Glenelg were in 5th place with a 3-4 record, only percentage behind Torrens in 4th place, and still well in finals contention.

Glenelg then lost their next 6 games in a row, which put paid to any finals aspirations they might have had, as after 13 of 17 rounds they were 4 games and percentage outside the top-4.

In the last 4 rounds of the season the motivation to make the finals may have disappeared, but the motivation for a young club to keep improving and setting new and higher benchmarks was still there.
So driven by the goal of exceeding the previous best efforts of 5 wins in a season and a 7th placed finish, Glenelg won the last 4 games of the season (including 2 wins against top-4 sides Norwood & North), to finish 6th on the ladder with 7 wins - 10 losses, just 2 games and percentage outside the final-4.

• Jim Handby was Captain-Coach for a 4th season (and 2nd season in a row).
• Len Sallis won Glenelg's best & fairest award for a record 3rd time, and was runner-up in the Magarey Medal.
• Jack Owens was Glenelg's top goalkicker for the 8th consecutive year with 78 goals.
• According to the best players named in the Sunday paper each week, Glenelg's best players in the 1931 season were Len Sallis, Jim Handby, Clem Hill & Arthur Link.
• Glenelg recorded their first win against North Adelaide, and their first wins at Norwood Oval and the Wayville Showgrounds.
• Glenelg recorded their longest ever winning streak of 4 matches in a row.

With Jim Handby continuing on in his 3rd consecutive year as captain-coach, Glenelg got off to a solid start by winning half of their opening four games of the 1932 season. They had two narrow wins over bottom-4 teams from 1931 (West by 8-points, Torrens by 12-points) and two losses against top-4 teams from 1931 (North by 22-points, Norwood by 10-points), which had them sitting in 4th position on percentage after 4 rounds.

Then in the next two rounds, Glenelg had their biggest wins in the history of the club to date.
In round 5 they thrashed Port Adelaide by 50-points at Alberton Oval (only their 2nd ever win against them), and the following round they beat that record again by belting South Adelaide by 60-points.

This had Glenelg sitting in 3rd place after 6 rounds with a 4-2 win-loss record, half a game behind 2nd placed Sturt who they would play in the next round. Unfortunately they got thrashed by Sturt by 52-points, and two more losses in the next two of rounds saw Glenelg slip out of the top-4 for the first time since round 2.

So after 9 rounds Glenelg were sitting in 5th place, one game outside the top-4, but if they could beat 7th placed Torrens in the next round they would again be equal with the 4th placed team and well in finals contention.
However, when they lost this round 10 match against Torrens by 3-points, Glenelg's finals chances started to slip away - they would still remain in contention but it would be an uphill battle.

Another loss in round 11 (their 5th loss in a row) saw them slip 2 games out of the top-4, but an upset 7-point win against Port in round 12 (their 2nd win against Port for the season and only their 3rd ever) saw Glenelg claw back to only being one game outside the top-4 in 6th place with a 5-7 record and 5 games remaining.

But then two consecutive losses to bottom placed South by 14-points, and 4th placed Sturt by 13-points, left Glenelg in 7th place, 2.5 games outside the top-4 with only 3 games left. Glenelg then lost their last 3 games (for 5 losses in a row) to finish the season in 7th place with 5 wins - 12 losses.

• With 102 goals, Jack Owens became the first Glenelg player to kick 100 goals in a season, and became Glenelg's top goalkicker for an incredible 9th season in a row.
• Jack Owens was the league's leading goalkicker at the end of the minor round for a 4th time. And even after Ken Farmer equalled his tally after kicking 13 goals in the finals, Jack Owens was the leading goalkicker in the league at the end of the season for a 3rd time.
• George 'Blue' Johnston won his first Glenelg best & fairest award.
• According to the best players named in the Sunday paper each week, Glenelg's best players in the 1932 season were 'Blue' Johnston, Clem Hill, Jim Handby, Arthur Link & Jack Owens.
• Despite their lowly finish, Glenelg were the 2nd highest scoring team in the league.

In 1933, after Jim Handby's retirement, Jack Owens was appointed Captain, and Bruce McGregor, dual Magarey Medallist and Captain-Coach of West's 1927 premiership side, was appointed Coach.

The season got off to a poor start when Glenelg lost to the previous season's wooden-spooners South in round 1, but despite the loss there was genuine excitement about the debut of 19-year-old Clem Rosewarne (father of club stalwart, Laurie) who kicked 11 goals on his debut.

They got their season back on track with 3 wins from their next 4 games, including wins against top-4 sides, Norwood and North. So after 5 rounds Glenelg were sitting in equal 3rd position on 3 wins - 2 losses.

But then successive heartbreaking losses to Torrens by 5-points, Port by 1-point, and Norwood by 18-points in rounds 6,7 & 8 would ultimately prove to be decisive in Glenelg not making their first ever finals appearance, as it left them in 6th position, 2 games outside the top-4 after 8 rounds.

However they kept fighting on, and won 5 of their next 6 matches, including a 27-point win against top of the table Sturt in round 14, to have them sitting in 6th position on 8 wins - 6 losses (already a club best season), and only half a game outside the top-4, with three rounds remaining.

Unfortunately though their last 3 games were against the 2nd, 3rd & 4th ranked teams (two of them away), which meant if they were going to make it they would definitely have to earn it. As it turned out they lost to Norwood by 41 points at The Parade and Torrens by 26 points at The Bay, but beat 2nd placed North at Prospect by 4 points in the last round to finish the season in 6th position on the ladder with 9 wins & 8 losses, 1.5 games outside the final four.

Being that close to a top-4 spot highlights how important those early season losses of less than a goal to Torrens & Port were - those 2 extra wins would have lifted them to equal 2nd on the ladder, but third on percentage. But the most encouraging aspect of the season was that they were competitive against the top sides, as they played the top four teams on 10 occasions, for 4 wins and 6 losses - and half of those losses were by 3 goals or less.

• Len Sallis won his 4th Glenelg best & fairest award, and was 2nd in the Magarey Medal, only 2 votes behind winner W.K. Dunn of Sturt.
• Clem Rosewarne with 74 goals, pipped Jack Owens by 1 goal to win the club's top goalkicking honour.
• According to the best players named in the Sunday paper each week, Glenelg's best players in the 1933 season were Arthur Link, 'Blue' Johnston, Roy Colyer, Jack Owens, Len Sallis & Clem Rosewarne.
• The team achieved their highest score and their biggest winning margin in their history, when they kicked 24.21 165 to beat West by 86 points.
• Glenelg finished the season with more wins than losses for the first time, and had a percentage above 50% for the first time.

Glenelg appointed club stalwart Ray Curnow as coach for the 1941 season, and Ron Keane continued as captain after taking over the role from Marcus Boyall early in the previous season.

Considering The Bays had won the last 4 wooden-spoons in a row, the 1941 season got off to a surprisingly good start with big wins of 59-points over North Adelaide and 41-points over West Torrens in the first two rounds.
And that start could have been even better as in the next two rounds they lost to West Adelaide by just 9-points, and then after being 17-points up at 3/4 time they lost to Port Adelaide by just 7-points (even though Glenelg had 8 more scoring shots).
So after 4 rounds they were in 3rd spot with a 2-2 record, but they could have been 4-0 and on top of the ladder.

In the next 5 rounds Glenelg held their own by winning 2 out of 5 games, but once again it could have been so much better as they lost to Sturt by just 5-points, and lost to West Torrens by just 2-points.
So after 9 rounds Glenelg were in 5th position with a 4-5 record, and only half a game behind Port in 4th. But if they had won just half of those 4 narrow losses (which is not unreasonable) they could have been anywhere between top and 3rd.

For the rest of the season Glenelg only won 1 game, but blew a number of winning chances... in a 14-point loss against Port in round 11 Glenelg again had 6 more scoring shots... in round 13 against South, Glenelg gave up a 14-point 3/4 time lead, and conceded two late goals to lose by 13 points... and again in round 17 against South, Glenelg gave up a 13-point 3/4 time lead, and once again conceded two late goals to lose by 5-points.

So Glenelg finished the 1941 season in 6th spot with a 5-12 record, and a whopping 6.5 games outside the final-4, but were well in contention in 7 of their losses, and if they had won their fair share of those they could have been in the finals mix.

• Marcus Boyall won Glenelg's best & fairest award.
• Marcus Boyall became Glenelg's 4th Magarey Medallist (and 2nd in a row after Mel Brock won in 1940). Boyall was also 3rd in the Brownlow Medal in 1938 when playing for Collingwood, then moved to Glenelg for the 1939 season, but had to sit out the season because Collingwood would not clear him.
• Frank Burt was Glenelg's top goalkicker for the 2nd season in a row with 55 goals.
• According to the best players named in the Sunday paper each week, Glenelg's best players in the 1941 season were Marcus Boyall by a long way to Mel Brock, Merv Waite, Ray Hunt & Ned Hender.

From 1935 to 1947, in the 10 seasons of the regular 8-team SANFL competition either side of World War II, Glenelg had won just 30 out of 170 matches, and finished last 6 times, 2nd last 3 times, and 3rd last once.

1948 was the first season since 1934 that Glenelg showed some signs that they could become competitive again.
It was the first season in Glenelg's history where they did not lose 3 games in a row, only 3 of their losses during the season were by more than 5 goals, their 8 wins easily exceeded their previous best since 1934 of 5 wins in a season, and they won at Alberton for the first time since 1936.

But whilst Glenelg were competitive they did not deserve to qualify for finals, as their record against the sides that played in the finals was 2 wins - 8 losses (a 20% win rate), whereas their record against the sides that didn't make the finals was 6 wins - 1 loss (an 86% win rate).
The only finals bound side that Glenelg were able to beat was West Adelaide, who they beat by 15-points in round 5, and by 11-points in round 17.

Nevertheless, with five rounds remaining, Glenelg were still in finals contention on 6 wins - 6 losses, just two games behind 4th placed West, whom they played the following round - if they won that game, they would only be 1 game outside the top-4. Unfortunately they lost this pivotal match and finished the season in 6th place with 8 wins & 9 losses - two games and percentage outside the final four.

• Ray Curnow was Glenelg's coach for the 5th successive season (either side of the war), and Norm Betson was captain.
• Alex Donaldson won Glenelg's best & fairest award.
• Colin Churchett was Glenelg's top goalkicker with 88 goals, and became the 2nd Glenelg player, after Jack Owens, to be the league's leading goalkicker.
• According to the best players named in the Sunday paper each week, Glenelg's best players in the 1948 season were Alex Donaldson, Clarrie Window, Ray Hunt, Colin Churchett & Ted Robjent.

In 1949, Glenelg adopted the black guernsey with a yellow sash, as worn by Richmond, and appointed Port legend Allan 'Bull' Reval as coach - ending Ray Curnow's reign as coach which had begun in 1941.

After 10 rounds Glenelg were sitting in 6th position, but equal with Torrens and Port in 4th & 5th, on 5 wins - 5 losses.

In round 11 Glenelg narrowly lost to Torrens by 4-points - putting them a game behind - but they kept in touch with the top-4 by defeating top side Norwood by 4-points at Norwood Oval in round 12 thanks to a goal on the final siren by Don Laffin - this was only their 2nd win at Norwood Oval since 1934.

Unfortunately this good work was undone the following week in round 13 when they suffered a 2-point loss to bottom side Sturt (for just their 2nd win of the season).

So with just 4 rounds remaining, Glenelg were in 6th position on 6 wins - 7 losses, 1 game and percentage behind new 4th side West, who they were due to play in the next round in a must win match for Glenelg.

Unfortunately Glenelg sabotaged their finals chances with appalling kicking for goal, kicking 11-20 in a 36-point loss to West which left them 2 games and percentage behind 4th placed West with only 3 games remaining.
Despite winning 2 of their last 3 games Glenelg finished the season in 5th position with 8 wins & 9 losses, 3 games and percentage ouside the top-4.

• Allan Crabb was appointed Captain and won Glenelg's best & fairest award. He also tied with H.R. Phillips in the Magarey Medal. Unfortunately at the time, ties were resolved using a countback method, and Crabb was adjudged to be runner-up with Phillips the sole winner.
  Forty-Nine years later this countback system was abolished and all players who had come second on a countback were retrospectively awarded the Magarey medal.
  So in 1998, Allan Crabb became a 1949 Magarey medallist.
• Colin Churchett was Glenelg's top goalkicker for the 3rd season in a row with 72 goals, including 13 goals in a match against South at Glenelg Oval.
• Colin Churchett was also the league's top goalkicker for the 2nd season in a row.
• According to the best players named in the Sunday paper each week, Glenelg's best players in the 1949 season were Allan Crabb by a long way to Ted Robjent, Bill Trenorden, Don Laffin & Cliff Brooker.