125-608: Club Representative Coaching Honours Foster Neil " Fos " Williams AM (21 February 1922 – 1 September 2001) was a leading Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the Port Adelaide and West Adelaide Football Clubs and coached South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in a career spanning 1946–1978. He also played 34 interstate games for South Australia , captaining
250-525: A rover in West Adelaide's victorious 1947 Grand Final against Norwood at the Adelaide Oval . West Adelaide looked likely to repeat their success of the previous season but would fall four points short to eventual premiers Norwood in the year's preliminary final. Williams first gained state selection for South Australia while with West Adelaide and also kicked 112 goals for the club until
375-445: A sixth successive flag in 1959 and finish third in 1960 and 1961 before Williams returned in 1962. During his time as captain-coach of Port Adelaide, Fos Williams wrote the club creed. After 1958, citing exhaustion, Williams spent a year out of the game. After spending a year out of the game following his retirement as a player, Fos Williams looked to become reinvolved in league football. Williams re-entry into league football as
500-460: A 12–8 record, including being only one of two sides to beat runaway minor premiers Norwood. Collins was criticised in the media for resting his "star" players over the final three rounds after West had already been assured of third place and the "double chance" in the finals. The Bloods got some revenge for their 2003 Grand Final loss to Centrals with a 27-point win in the Qualifying final to book
625-561: A challenge to take the prime ministership in September 2015. Two months after coming into office, the new republican prime minister announced that the Queen had approved his request to amend the Order's letters patent and cease awards at this level. Existing titles would not be affected. The move was attacked by monarchists and praised by republicans. The amendments to the constitution of
750-495: A full team in its early years as clubs were then controlled by wealthy businessmen and it was no secret that players were regularly poached from less wealthy clubs. West Adelaide was one of the "poor" clubs and consequently won only one of its first 31 matches. From the 1899 season the SAFA introduced electoral district football in which players had to play for the club in the district where they lived. West Adelaide immediately gained
875-411: A further part of this Club's enviable tradition. Finally, we concede that there can be honour in defeat, but to each of us, honourable defeat of our Club and guernsey can only come after human endeavour on the playing field is completely exhausted." Fos Williams Port Adelaide would win back-to-back premierships in 1963. This would mean that Port Adelaide had won 8 of the last 10 premierships and
1000-399: A game from the finals. Despite Bennetts' return, they finished winless for the third time in 1933 but were terribly unlucky in losing five games by a goal or less They recovered to win eight games and draw one in 1934, but between 1935 and 1940 were never higher than seventh in an eight-team competition and overall won only 26 and drew one of 102 games. The club played its last home game at
1125-480: A large number of vice-presidents ; secretary, Mr. R.M L. Minder; treasurer, Mr. J. McCabe; committee, Messrs. Forrestall, Sheenan, Foyne, Weismeyer, and Brady; delegates to the Adelaide and Suburban Football Association, Messrs. Hinder and McCabe; Special delegate, Mr. J. J. Sheehan. The appointments of captain and vice-captain were held over. The club joined the Adelaide and Suburban Association in 1894 and won
1250-589: A member of the British Empire, members of the colonies and later federated nation of Australia were able to have achievement awarded under the British Imperial Honours system . However, existing criticism of the aristocratic nature of the awards grew following a cash-for-honours corruption scandal in the UK in 1922. Moves to abolish the awards federally and the states were unsuccessful; however
1375-593: A move that would haunt West Adelaide for the next thirteen seasons as Wests would lose five Grand Finals, all by less than three goals, to the Williams-coached Port Adelaide between 1954 and 1962. During the mid-1950s, West Adelaide, under the coaching of Laurie Cahill and with strong players such as Neil Kerley , Brian Faehse , Doug Thomas , Ken Eustice , Ken McGregor and 1957 Magarey Madalist Ron Benton , became regular finals visitors and finished as beaten grand finalists in 1954, losing
SECTION 10
#17327868083251500-477: A non-playing coach began when he took over South Adelaide in 1960. Unfortunately for both South Adelaide and Williams he could do little with the underperforming Panthers and the club finished seventh with only three wins in his sole season in charge. Williams returned to Alberton in 1962 as non-playing coach taking over from Geof Motley, who stayed on as team captain. Williams once again led Port Adelaide to premierships in 1962. The Port Adelaide Football Club's creed
1625-616: A place against Norwood in the Second Semi-final. However, Norwood's defensive game held them to just two goal in the final, the Redlegs easily booking a place in the 2012 Grand Final, winning 8.13 (61) to 2.5 (17). West bounced back a week later to record a 13.10 (88) to 10.7 (67) win over North Adelaide in the Preliminary Final to book a place in their seventeenth SANFL Grand Final, and their first against Norwood since
1750-543: A place in the Grand Final team. Ruckman Mark Mickan , the clubs Best & Fairest for the year, ruptured his Posterior cruciate ligament in the teams 93-point win over Woodville at Football Park in Round 20 and missed the remainder of the season, while Roger Winter, twin brother of Grand Final back pocket player Peter Winter, was injured in the 2nd Semi against Norwood and could not recover in time to take his place in
1875-460: A player and stepping away from football for 1959, Fos Williams guided Port Adelaide to the 1958 SANFL premiership with a two point Grand Final victory over West Adelaide. After leaving Alberton at the end of 1958, Williams' influence at Port Adelaide was still evident in his three-year absence with the team's style of play changing little under new coach (and Williams' old teammate) Geof Motley . Motley took over as captain-coach and Port would win
2000-403: A premiership. To be successful, each of us must be active, aggressive and devoted to this cause. We agree that success is well within our reach and have confidence that each member of both the team and management will suffer personal sacrifices for the common end. Also we know that, should we after striving to our utmost and giving our everything, still not be successful, our efforts will become
2125-585: A representation of the states (with whom Whitlam's government was constantly in dispute) through the state badges within the Commonwealth Coat of Arms . The original three-level structure of the Order of Australia was modelled closely upon the Order of Canada , though the Order of Australia has been awarded rather more liberally, especially in regard to honorary awards to non-citizens. As of July 2024 only 30 non-Canadians have been appointed to
2250-544: A second straight Grand Final appearance went begging when North Adelaide reversed the previous years result and booked a place in the GF against Norwood (who would win their second straight flag), leaving The Bloods to finish in third place wondering what might have been. During 2013, the club won its first competition since winning the 1987 Foundation Cup (SANFL pre-season) when they won the 2013 Foxtel Cup , defeating WAFL side East Fremantle 4.8 (32) to 2.16 (28) at Football Park,
2375-499: A severe dent in the Redlegs premiership defence with a 77-point win the 2nd Semi-final to earn a spot in their first Grand Final since 1962. The Following week Sturt defeated Norwood in the Preliminary to earn the other Grand Final berth. Westies won their eighth premiership when Kerley coached the team to a 21.16 (142) to 16.12 (108) win in the Grand Final in front of 47,129 fans at Football Park . West Adelaide had winners all over
2500-554: A single flower of mimosa . At the centre is a ring, representing the sea, with the word Australia below two branches of mimosa. The whole disc is topped by the Crown of St Edward . The AC badge is decorated with citrines , blue enamelled ring, and enamelled crown. The AO badge is similar, without the citrines. For the AM badge, only the crown is enamelled, and the OAM badge is plain. The AK/AD badge
2625-507: A very lean time. After finishing 2nd in 1962 the club lost amongst others Kerley, Eustice, Jeff Bray and Don Roach from their playing ranks leading to a lean spell for the club. After having played in thirteen finals series and six grand finals between 1946 and 1963 for two premierships (1947 and 1961), the club would only reach the finals another five times (1968 – fourth, 1969 – third, 1976 – fifth, 1977 – third and 1981 – fifth) between 1964 and 1982. The ground record crowd for Richmond Oval
SECTION 20
#17327868083252750-596: A win worth A$ 100,000 in prizemoney to the club. West held a 25-point lead over the Sharks at halftime by keeping them goalless, but were themselves kept goalless in the second half scoring only three points. Helped by poor kicking for goal by the Perth based club who could only manage 2.12 (24) for the second half, West Adelaide held on for a hard-fought four-point win. At years End, Ryan Ferguson retired returning home to Victoria. CEO Kym Russell also ended his association with
2875-482: A young ruckman named Dexter Kennedy who made his league debut aged just 15 years, 11 months and 2 days. Kennedy would go on to play 236 games for the club between 1970 and 1982 before playing the last two seasons of his career with Port Adelaide. 1947 premiership player and nine-time premiership coach of Port Adelaide, Fos Williams began coaching the club in 1974 and after a tough start the team improved finishing sixth in 1975, fifth in 1976 and third in 1977. However, that
3000-434: Is a registered charity, whose stated purpose is "[t]o celebrate and promote outstanding Australian citizenship". It also supports the "community and social activities" of members and promotes and encourages the nomination of other Australians to the Order. The Order also runs a foundation that provides scholarships to tertiary students that show potential as future leaders and are involved in community activities. Branches of
3125-473: Is issued with each badge of the order at the time of investiture; AK/AD and AC lapel pins feature a citrine central jewel, AO and AM lapel pins have a blue enamelled centre and OAM lapel pins are plain. The different levels of the order are awarded according to the recipients' levels of achievement: Since 1976 any Australian citizen may nominate any person for an Order of Australia award. People who are not Australian citizens may be awarded honorary membership of
3250-563: Is likely to feel a bit second-rate, and the public is likely to agree. We hate to be the first to say it, but there is no doubt that the Order of Australia (OA) will be labelled as the Ocker Award. Satire and mockery also greeted the awards, being dubbed "Gough’s Gongs" and "the Order of the Wombat". The newly elected Liberal Fraser government decided to once again make recommendations for imperial awards, whilst maintaining and expanding
3375-485: Is similar to that of the AC badge, but with the difference that it contains at the centre an enamelled disc bearing an image of the coat of arms of Australia . The colours of royal blue and gold are taken from the livery colours of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms , the then national colours . The star for knights and dames is a convex golden disc decorated with citrines, with a blue royally crowned inner disc bearing an image of
3500-423: The 1954 SANFL Grand Final . In 1955, Port Adelaide defeated Norwood in the 1955 SANFL Grand Final by 63 points. In 1956, Fos Williams again defeating his old club West Adelaide, this time by 16 points in the 1956 SANFL Grand Final . In 1957 , Port Adelaide defeated Norwood for the second time in three years for the premiership. For the third time in five years, and what would be his last before retiring as
3625-403: The 5th Division . On 25 December the crew was recalled from leave to go to the assistance of the liberty ship SS Robert J. Walker , which had been torpedoed by German submarine U-862 . Kiama , along with Quickmatch , Yandra , and USS PC597 found the 67 survivors of the attack at but failed to locate U-862 . Kiama was assigned to anti-submarine patrols near Sydney for
3750-594: The AFL , had played enough games with West through the season to qualify for the finals), West easily defeated three-time defending premiers Port Adelaide by 89 points in the Elimination Final before winning the First Semi against Woodville-West Torrens (a new team formed through the merger of West Torrens and Woodville at the end of 1990) by 60. They then defeated a determined South Adelaide by 21 points in
3875-658: The Australian Army on 5 March 1942, serving as a signalman. On 32 March 1943 Williams transferred to the Royal Australian Navy where he served as a telegrapher on the corvette HMAS Kiama . HMAS Kiama's initial duty was to escort convoys along the New Guinea coastline. In June 1944 she was given a reassignment to perform anti-submarine patrols in the Solomon Sea . In September Kiama
Fos Williams - Misplaced Pages Continue
4000-488: The Australian Labor Party remained opposed and generally refused to recommend awards whilst in office, with this a part of the party's platform since 1918. This was confirmed in a resolution adopted unanimously by the party conference in 1921. However, the non-Labor parties remained supportive, with the long running Menzies government making significant use of the imperial system. The Order of Australia
4125-466: The Council for the Order of Australia . Members of the government are not involved in the recommendation of appointments, other than for military and honorary awards. The King of Australia is the sovereign head of the order, and the governor-general is the principal companion and chancellor of the order. The governor-general's official secretary , Paul Singer (appointed August 2018), is secretary of
4250-558: The Magarey Medal . 1977 was the 23rd and last SANFL Finals series to feature Fos Williams as a coach. After finishing with a 14–8 record in 1977, West Adelaide slumped in what was Fos Williams' last year as an SANFL league coach in 1978. The Bloods finished with only five wins and a draw and ninth place; however one of the wins was the only loss inflicted upon Sturt prior to the Grand Final. Following this disappointing result Williams retired from coaching. In early July, Fos Williams
4375-557: The South Australian Legislative Council Sir Lyell McEwin on 26 April 1958. A capacity crowd saw West Adelaide christen their new home with a 12.11 (83) to 10.13 (73) win over neighbouring club West Torrens . After finishing fourth in 1960, West Adelaide, captain-coached by Neil Kerley, won their seventh premiership in 1961, when they defeated Norwood by six goals in the Grand Final. The club would play its nemesis Port Adelaide in
4500-561: The Westies , the club's home base is Richmond Oval (currently known as Hisense Stadium under a sponsorship agreement). The Oval is located in Richmond , an inner-western suburb of Adelaide . The club has won nine SANFL premierships, the most recent coming in 2015 – breaking a thirty-two-year premiership drought dating back to 1983 ; the second longest in the SANFL. The Football club
4625-729: The 1911 SANFL Premiership defeating Port Adelaide in the Grand Final and Essendon to win the Championship of Australia. The heartland and spiritual home of the West Adelaide Football Club was the West End of Adelaide. In 1911 after winning the SAFL premiership and beating Essendon to become Champions of Australia, the manager of the West End Brewery , which was located on Hindley Street , chose to adopt
4750-479: The 1958 and 1959 SANFL Grand Finals and again would be beaten by the Fos Williams coached Port Adelaide by just two points in 1958 and ten points in 1959. In the former year a late kick for goal by ruckman Jack Richardson which would have given West the lead with only ninety seconds remaining hit the post allowing Port to hold on. Later on grand final night, a group of Wests players, including Kerley, broke into
4875-479: The 1962 grand final and once again would go down by a heartbreaking three points to the Magpies. Ken Eustice would become the club's tenth Magarey Medalist in 1962. Sensationally after taking the club to two Grand Finals and one premiership in his two years as coach of the club, Kerley was sacked as West's coach after the 1962 season. He was reluctantly replaced by longtime teammate and friend Doug Thomas, who went to
5000-404: The 1965 SANFL Grand Final defeating Sturt in front of 62,543 spectators which is still the record crowd for a sporting event at Adelaide Oval . Sturt defeated Port Adelaide in the following three SANFL Grand Finals in 1966 , 1967 , 1968 . Port Adelaide missed the SANFL finals for the first and only time in 1969 with Fos Williams as coach. Port Adelaide finished minor premiers in 1970 but lost
5125-794: The 1985 SANFL season, missing out on a grand final spot by less than 2 goals to North Adelaide in the Preliminary Final. In 1991, the formation of the Adelaide Football Club , South Australia's first team in the Australian Football League (formerly the VFL) saw a number of Wests players signed by the new team. Bloods players such as Grantley Fielke, Paul Patterson , and two young guns in Tony Modra and Shaun Rehn were signed to play AFL football, but would still be eligible to play for West Adelaide if not selected by
Fos Williams - Misplaced Pages Continue
5250-430: The 2005 season and was replaced by former Crows teammate Wayne Weidemann for both 2006 and 2007. Despite West Adelaide playing their 400th game at Richmond Oval when they faced Sturt on 7 April 2006, neither season would bring any joy for The Bloods or their supporters as they finished with the wooden spoon in each season. Not surprisingly, Weidemann was replaced as coach following the 2007 season. Weidemenn's replacement
5375-474: The 435 people who have received the nation's top Order of Australia honours since they were first awarded in 1975, shows they disproportionately attended a handful of elite Victorian secondary schools. Scotch College alumni received the highest number of awards, with 19 former students receiving Australia's [then] highest honour". On 26 January 1980 the Order of Australia Association was created as an incorporated body with membership open to award recipients. It
5500-589: The Adelaide Crows. The Crows also signed former Bloods Bruce Lindner (Geelong) and Mark Mickan (Brisbane) who under the rules of the time, were automatically allocated back to their former SANFL club. West Adelaide, which has earned a reputation amongst its fans as being "consistently inconsistent", would win through to their next grand final in 1991. After a slow start to the season under the coaching of former Richmond ( VFL ) premiership player Kevin Morris ,
5625-720: The Adelaide Oval and cut down the goalpost. The post would later end up hanging over the Bar in the West Adelaide Footballers' Club. In 1954 the club's search for a permanent home ground was solved with the founding of Richmond Oval. It was the first ground purpose built for Australian Rules Football in Australia, pre-dating the VFL's Waverley Park by twelve years. Richmond Oval was opened by long-serving member of
5750-629: The Adelaide Oval. Jos Dailey captained the Premiership and Champions of Australia team in 1908 and went on to captain the Bloods to 3 more Premierships and James "Sorry" Tierney was the club's first ever winner of the Magarey Medal in 1908. West Adelaide repeated as SAFL premiers in 1909 after defeating Port Adelaide by a goal in the Grand Final while "Dick" Head won the club's second Magarey Medal. The club slumped in 1910 to finish in fifth place before repeating their 1908 double success by winning
5875-612: The Adelaide Showgrounds in Wayville on 19 August 1939 due to the Australian Army taking over the site during World War 2. From the start of the 1940 season home games were again played at Adelaide Oval until the end of the 1957 season. An unexpected 112-point thrashing of North Adelaide in their last game of 1940, however, proved a true omen of what was to come in 1941. The Bloods carried all before them early in
6000-435: The Bloods 1961 premiership. However, Norwood's impregnable defence won out again, and the Bloods were in danger of equalling North Adelaide's 1989 ignominy of kicking only one goal in a Grand Final before two late goals in time-on of the last quarter saw then go down 12.7 (79) to 3.12 (30). 2013 Saw West Adelaide consolidate itself as a finals campaigner, finishing the minor round in second place again behind Norwood. However,
6125-471: The Bloods. Strong recruiting helped the team improve to sixth in 2009 while James Ezard , nephew of 1984 and 1985 Essendon premiership player Alan Ezard , jointly won the Magarey Medal with North Adelaide's Rhys Archard , becoming the fourteenth West Adelaide player to win the award. Westies again finished sixth in 2010, missing the major round for the sixth straight year. In a major development for
6250-596: The Final to Norwood while player Robert Barnes was the club's third Magarey Madalist. Bruce McGregor became the club's fourth Magarey Madalist when he won the award in 1926 The club began playing their home games at the Wayville Showgrounds in 1927 after their new Headquarters was opened on 23 April. The club won its fifth premiership by defeating North Adelaide by two goals in the grand final. Captain-Coach Bruce McGregor would not only lead his team to
6375-553: The Fos Williams Medal. Future dual Crows premiership player Shaun Rehn who had made his AFL debut during the year with the Crows missed the SANFL finals through injury. Following the 1991 grand final Kevin Morris joined a long list of coaches sacked by the club after a dispute with the club's board. In his place for his third run as West Adelaide coach was Neil Kerley, who himself had been controversially sacked as coach of
SECTION 50
#17327868083256500-403: The Grand Final after losing only one game on a Thebarton Oval mudheap all season. Under the coaching of Williams from 1950 until 1958, Port returned to a position of power in the league and along with the 1951 win they won five consecutive from 1954 to 1958 and finished second to West Torrens in 1953. After 1950, Port Adelaide only missed the Grand Final under Fos Williams guidance when they lost
6625-418: The Order of Australia and the award of 199 Honorary Medals of the Order of Australia. Notable honorary awards include: Since 1975, just over 30 per cent of recipients of an Order of Australia honour have been women. The number of nominations and awards for women is trending up, with the 2023 Australia Day Honours resulting in the highest percentage of awards for women to date (47.1 per cent, 47.9 per cent in
6750-597: The Order of Australia. This was done by with the addition of two additional award levels: Knight or Dame (AK or AD) above the level of Companion, and the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) below Members. The Civil Division was also renamed the General Division, so that awards could be given to those in the Defence Force for non-military achievement. These changes were made on 24 May 1976. The reaction to
6875-486: The Order of Canada, while 537 non-Australians have been appointed to the Order of Australia, with 46 to the Companion level. Public reaction to the new awards was mixed. Only the state Labor governments of Tasmania and South Australia agreed to submit recommendations for the new awards, with the remaining governments affirming their committent to the existing imperial honours system. Newspaper editorials similarly praised
7000-498: The Order were gazetted on 22 December 2015. Yvonne Kenny AM represented the Order at the 2023 Coronation . King Charles III , when he was Prince of Wales , was appointed a Knight of the Order of Australia (AK) on 14 March 1981. As he is not an Australian citizen, even though he was the heir to the Australian throne at the time, this would have required the award to be honorary. To overcome this issue, his appointment
7125-594: The Order would be determined by the Council of the Order of Australia. Awards of the Order of Australia are sometimes made to people who are not citizens of Australia to honour extraordinary achievements. These achievements, or the people themselves, are not necessarily associated with Australia, although they often are. On 1 July 2024, the Australian Honours website listed appointments for 46 Honorary Companions, 118 Honorary Officers, 174 Honorary Members of
7250-482: The Preliminary Final and would then come up against North Adelaide, a team they had not beaten since Round 17 of the 1985 season. Despite the Roosters squad having far more finals experience than West, the in-form Bloods were rated an even chance to beat the Roosters who were playing in their fifth Grand Final since 1985. In the week leading up to the match there were rumours around Adelaide that Westies were going to "go
7375-441: The Queen to reinstate the level of knight or dame and the Queen co-signed letters patent to bring this into effect. The change was publicly announced on 25 March, and gazetted on 17 April 2014. Up to four knights or dames could be appointed each year, by the Queen of Australia on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the chairman of the Order of Australia Council. Five awards of knight and dame were then made, to
7500-509: The SANFL would subsequently introduce the neighbouring Woodville Woodpeckers in an effort, at least partially, to weaken Port Adelaide's dominance. The most tangible impact of this change would be Malcolm Blight , a Port supporter in his youth, falling out of the Port Adelaide zone into Woodville's. Port Adelaide made the 1964 SANFL Grand Final but lost to South Adelaide in what remains their most recent premiership. Port Adelaide won
7625-589: The Solomon Islands, then spent the rest of the month moving troops and military cargo between these two locations. From 5 to 24 August, the corvette was based in Brisbane, before returning to New Guinea waters. Kiama spent the rest of 1945 as a troop and supply transport, minesweeper, and general duties vessel. When the war ended, Kiama took part in the Japanese surrender at Rabaul . In November, Kiama
SECTION 60
#17327868083257750-519: The age of 24. Williams initially wanted to play with Port Adelaide where his brother Frank had been playing. However, because he was living in the Hilton district within the West Adelaide zone, he was required by the SANFL to play for the latter club. Subsequently, Williams became the 609th player selected to play for club in the SANFL making his league debut on 20 July 1946. Williams played as
7875-511: The association are in all the states and territories of Australia as well as the UK and the USA. Total inductees as of July 2024 . The order of wearing Australian and other approved honours is determined by the government. The award is parodied in the play Amigos , where the central character is determined to be awarded the AC, and uses persuasion, bribery and blackmail in his (ultimately successful) attempts to get himself nominated for
8000-502: The award to Prince Philip in a ReachTEL poll. The Australian Labor Party continued to oppose knighthoods and damehoods. Leader of the opposition Bill Shorten stated in March 2014 that the party would again discontinue the level if it were to win the next Australian federal election. The knighthood decision was a significant factor that caused Liberal party members to question Abbott's leadership, with Malcolm Turnbull succeeding in
8125-399: The award with Norwood legend Garry McIntosh . Former Norwood premiership player and Crows assistant coach Michael Taylor replaced Morris in 1996 and West would reach a best of third in 1998 before losing to Port Adelaide in the Preliminary final. Full-forward Adam Richardson became the first West Adelaide player since Ron Phipps in 1957 to lead the SANFL in goal kicking when he kicked 80 in
8250-473: The award. During the 1996 season of the popular television programme Home and Away , the character Pippa Ross was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her years of service as a foster carer. West Adelaide Football Club West Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Nicknamed the Bloods and commonly known as
8375-411: The awards as an example of Australia's greater independence, whilst also noting that the awards would likely appear second-rate. The Australian stated that There is no longer a British Empire; everyone knows that. But somehow the phrase "imperial honours" still carries a ring of regal authenticity that somehow transcends nationalism. For the time being a recipient ... of the Order of Australia
8500-562: The biff" in a bid to unsettle the Roosters and in front of 39,276, the smallest SANFL Grand Final crowd since the 1950s, the game became a spiteful affair with many brawls erupting between opposing players following Norths Steven Sims knocking out Wests Matthew Simpson early in the second quarter (it was alleged after the game that Sims had hit Simpson, not to knock him out but to stop his overly close tagging of North's Darel Hart ). From that point on, West tended to forget about playing football and seemed more intent on punishing Sims, who finished
8625-501: The black and red colours of the West Adelaide as those of the brewery and the nickname ‘The Bottletops’ soon followed for the Football Club. The club won its fourth SAFL premiership in five years in 1912 after again defeating Port Adelaide in the grand final before finishing their Golden Era with a third placing in 1913. After the SANFL resumed competition following World War I, West Adelaide would finish second in 1922, losing
8750-623: The building of the underground dressing rooms at the Adelaide Oval during the summer of 1954/55 while leaving the rooms in the stands to the cricketers. West Adelaide and their captain Brian Faehse were given the honour of being the first team to use the new rooms and to run out onto the oval from them at the start of the 1955 SANFL season. Wests finished a disappointing seventh in 1955, but would return to form in 1956 where they would again be beaten grand finalists, again losing to Port. After finishing third in 1957, West Adelaide would play in both
8875-519: The changes to the awards were similarly split along party lines. Following the 1983 federal election , Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke recommitted to the end of recommendations for imperial awards. No knighthoods were awarded during his first term in office and he advised the abolition of the knight/dame level after being re-elected in 1986. During the time the division was active from 1976 to 1983, twelve knights and two dames were created. On 19 March 2014, monarchist prime minister Tony Abbott advised
9000-460: The club after taking them to the 1962 Grand Final. The club slipped to sixth in 1992 and a disappointing eighth in 1993, ahead of perennial wooden spooners Sturt by only a small percentage gap. Following the 1993 season, Kerley was not retained and he was replaced by 220 game player Geoff Morris who led the team to second last in 1994, but improved to fifth in 1995. In 1995 Glenn Kilpatrick became West's thirteenth Magarey Medalist when he jointly won
9125-495: The club committee before the season and unsuccessfully asked them to re-instate Kerley as captain-coach. Kerley continued on as a player in 1963 honouring his contract, but the following season he left to become captain-coach of South Adelaide , taking the Panthers from bottom in 1963 to their last SANFL Premiership to date in 1964. Following the 1961 premiership win and subsequent runners-up in 1962, West Adelaide would go through
9250-493: The club to a Grand Final for only the third time in 41 years. Facing a red-hot Central District team aiming for their third premiership in four years, West went down 17.9 (111) to 11.11 (77) in front of 28,199 at AAMI Stadium in the Grand Final. Darren Bradshaw won the Ken Farmer Medal as the SANFL's leading goal kicker in 2003, kicking 88 for the season. He added another nine goals in the finals to finish on 97 for
9375-514: The club while Coach Andrew Collins won a job at Williamstown Football Club. With Collins departing for Williamstown in the VFL , and club captain Ryan Ferguson following him, West Adelaide appointed club Hall of Famer Mark Mickan as its head coach for the 2014 season. Mickan has appointed co-club Best & Fairest winner from 2013 Chris Schmidt as the new captain. In 2015, West Adelaide broke
9500-543: The club would enter what is known as its "Golden Era" Prior to the 1908 season, West Adelaide never finished higher than fifth on the premiership ladder. In 1908 former Hotham 1887-1888 Captain, South Adelaide and North Adelaide champion "Dinny" Reedman became West's Coach. West Adelaide not only became SANFL premiers for the first time defeating Norwood in the Grand Final at the Adelaide Oval but they also became Champions of Australia when they defeated powerful Victorian Football League team Carlton by five goals at
9625-533: The club, lights for night games were installed at Richmond Oval (now called City Mazda Stadium under a sponsorship deal) in 2010 and Friday night games became a success with 6,133 fans attending The Bloods first ever home game under lights against North Adelaide on 26 March. Despite winning their last game of the season at home against Sturt, West missed the SANFL Finals for the seventh straight season finishing third last with an 8–12 record. West Adelaide started
9750-541: The club. Roger Luders created history in 1983 when he became the first West Adelaide player to ever kick 100 goals in an SANFL season, finishing with 105 goals from 24 games played. Luders kicked 94 goals in the 22 game minor round and with the 6th of his 7 goals in the 2nd Semi-final against Norwood he kicked his 100th for the season. Luders remains the club's all-time leading goal kicker with 558 goals kicked in 162 games played between 1978 and 1986 at an average of 3.4 goals per game. Luders tally of 558 goals places him 14th on
9875-463: The coat of arms of Australia. The ribbon of the order is royal blue with a central stripe of mimosa blossoms. Awards in the military division are edged with 1.5 mm golden bands. AKs, male ACs and AOs wear their badges on a necklet and male AMs and OAMs wear them on a ribbon on the left chest. Women usually wear their badges on a bow on the left shoulder, although they may wear the same insignia as males if so desired. A gold lapel pin for daily wear
10000-594: The end of 1949. At the end of 1949 Fos Williams was approached by representatives of clubs from Western Australia and Victoria, particularly Geelong and Subiaco , in attempts to lure him away from West Adelaide. Despite Williams having lucrative offers from clubs interstate, Port Adelaide's first preference to replace Jack McCarthy as head coach was to appoint South Adelaide's Jim Deane . However, despite Jim Deane being Port Adelaide's first preference for head coach, South Adelaide vehemently refused to release him from his contract. Subsequently, on 22 January 1950 Fos Williams
10125-463: The exception of awards recommended by the soon to be independent government of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea ); however this did not affect the constitutional right of state governments to recommend imperial awards. According to the governor general's then-secretary Sir David Smith , Whitlam was furious when he first saw Devlin's design for the insignia of the order, due to the inclusion of
10250-633: The final days of 1945 before a month-long refit in Adelaide starting on 3 January 1945. After the refit Kiama was assigned to Fremantle for two months of anti-submarine warfare exercises with the United States Navy , before returning to New Guinea on 7 May 1945. In May and June, the corvette performed several coastal bombardments in the Bougainville area . In July, Kiama transported Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester from New Guinea to
10375-409: The game with his right eye badly swollen and requiring 5 stitches. West Adelaide may have won the fights, but North Adelaide won the football game would go on to win easily by the score of 21.22 (148) to 11.7 (73). Crows player Darel Hart (who had played 18 AFL games for Adelaide during the year but had enough SANFL games to qualify for the finals) kicked seven goals for the Roosters on his way to winning
10500-489: The general division). Advocacy groups such as Honour a Woman and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency have called for greater effort to be made to reach equal representation of men and women in the order. In December 2010, The Age reported a study of the educational backgrounds of all people who had received Knight/Dame and Companion level awards at that time. It reported: "An analysis of
10625-683: The governments of each respective state and territory, and three ex officio members (the chief of the Defence Force , the vice-president of the Federal Executive Council and a public servant responsible for honours policy). The Council chair as of August 2024 is Shelley Reys. The Council makes recommendations to the governor-general. Awards are announced on Australia Day and on the King's Birthday public holiday in June, on
10750-586: The governor-general to remove an individual from the order, who may cancel an award. Announcements of all awards, cancellations and resignations appear in the Commonwealth Gazette . Nomination forms are confidential and not covered by the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) . The reasoning behind a nomination being successful or unsuccessful—and even the attendees of the meetings where such nominations are discussed—remains confidential. As
10875-585: The grand final to the Fos Williams led Port Adelaide by just three points. The 1954 final was marred by a brawl which broke out at half time of the match when angry Port supporters set upon Wests players as they attempted to enter the dressing room located in the Sir Edwin Smith Stand. This was a reaction to a heavy but legal clash prior to the end of the half between Wests captain Brian Faehse and Ports Dave Boyd in which Boyd had come off second best. Wests had been leading by 25 points at half time but
11000-554: The ground but it was captain Ian Borchard who won the Jack Oatey Medal as the best player in the Grand Final while Centre half-forward Bruce Lindner with 5 goals and Full-forward Roger Luders kicked 4. Lindner's fifth goal was the last of the game, a 65-metre kick on the full from inside the centre square only seconds before the game ended. Two of Wests best players throughout the 1983 season were unlucky to miss
11125-466: The helm of the Port Adelaide, the club competed in twenty finals series (missing only in 1969), sixteen Grand Finals and had won nine premierships. At the time this was the record for coaching in the SANFL. John Cahill , protege and successor of Williams took over as Port Adelaide coach for 1974 and would go on to break Williams' record of 9 premierships as coach, when he won 10, all with Port Adelaide. Williams returned to West Adelaide as coach in 1974 but
11250-460: The list of all-time SANFL goal kickers. During his career Luders was known as one of the most spectacular high marking full-forwards in the SANFL In 1985 Grantley Fielke , a premiership player from 1983, would become the club's twelfth Magarey Medal winner. West Adelaide, coached by Port Adelaide premiership player and coach John Cahill (nephew of former West coach Laurie Cahill) finished 3rd in
11375-416: The melee in the crowd proved unsettling with some battered Wests players not making it back to the dressing room until the team was due to go back out onto the oval for the second half. Port came back to trail by only two points going into the last quarter of the game and snatched victory by three points. The half-time melee was the main topic of discussion at an SANFL meeting following the game which prompted
11500-417: The occasion of a special announcement by the governor-general (usually honorary awards), and on the appointment of a new governor-general. The governor-general presents the order's insignia to new appointees. Appointments to the order may be made posthumously as long as a person was nominated for an award whilst they were still alive. Awardees may subsequently resign from the order, and the Council may advise
11625-674: The order at all levels. Nomination forms are submitted to the Director, Honours Secretariat, a position within the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia , at Government House, Canberra , which are then forwarded to the Council for the Order of Australia . The council consists of 19 members: seven selected by the prime minister (described as "community representatives"), eight appointed by
11750-448: The order. The order is divided into a general and a military division. The five levels of appointment to the order in descending order of seniority are: Honorary awards at all levels may be made to non-citizens. These awards are made additional to the quotas. The order's insignia was designed by Stuart Devlin . The badge of the Order of Australia is a convex disc (gold for AKs, ADs and ACs, gilt for AOs, AMs and OAMs) representing
11875-457: The outgoing governor-general , Quentin Bryce ; her successor, Peter Cosgrove ; a recent chief of the Defence Force , Angus Houston ; a recent governor of New South Wales , Marie Bashir ; and Prince Philip . This last award was widely met with ridicule and dismay by many in the Australian media. The award was also heavily criticised in the community, with 72% disapproving and 12% in favour of
12000-405: The power teams in the SANFL following the resumption of full-scale competition in 1945. The club finished third in 1946 before winning its sixth premiership in 1947 defeating Norwood 10.15 (75) to 8.15 (63). One of Wests leading players during this time was future SANFL legend Fos Williams who played 54 games for the club between 1946 and 1949 before moving on to captain-coach Port Adelaide in 1950,
12125-456: The preliminary final to Glenelg by 18 points. Port Adelaide would lose the 1971 SANFL Grand Final to that year's minor premiers North Adelaide. In a repeat of the previous year's decider North Adelaide would beat Port in the 1972 SANFL Grand Final and would go on to beat Carlton for the 1972 Championship of Australia. Fos Williams continued to coach Port Adelaide until the end of the 1973 season when they finished fifth. During his 21 seasons at
12250-411: The preliminary to Norwood by eleven points in 1952. In 1953, Fos Williams returned Port Adelaide to the Grand Final, a stage where the club would remain for seven consecutive seasons. During the 1953 SANFL Grand Final Port Adelaide would fall to West Torrens by 7 points. In 1954 Fos Williams led Port Adelaide to its second premiership under his guidance, defeating his old club West Adelaide by 3 points in
12375-554: The premiership in 1927 but became the first (and so far only) West Adelaide player to win back to back Magarey Madals. Robert Snell (1929), Jack Sexton (1931) and Ray McArthur (1939) also won the Magarey Medal while playing for the West Adelaide Football Club. After finishing third in 1928 and 1929 followed by – in the absence of star goalsneak "Dickie" Bennetts who was banned for three years for kicking an umpire – fifth in 1930, West Adelaide slumped badly in 1931 to last with only two wins before bouncing back to fifth in 1932 only half
12500-663: The premierships in 1895 and 1896. The 1895 and 1896 Annual Meetings were also held at the Bristol Tavern. At the 1896 Meeting held on 24 March Mr. E. L. Batchelor, M.P. , presided over a large and enthusiastic meeting. For the upcoming season the captain was Mr T Bishop and vice-captain Mr Quinn. Following the club's annual general meeting on 30 March 1897, the club applied to join the South Australian Football Association (SAFA) which
12625-681: The prime minister alone, rather than by the Council of the Order of Australia, as is the case with all lower levels of the order. In accordance with the statutes of 2014, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , was created a Knight of the Order by letters patent signed by the Queen on 7 January 2015, on Abbott's advice. Prince Philip's knighthood was announced as part of the Australia Day Honours on 26 January 2015 and his appointment attracted criticism of what Abbott described as his "captain's call". Abbott responded by announcing that future recommendations for appointments as Knights and Dames of
12750-548: The regular season and five in the finals to finish with 85 for the season and win the Ken Farmer Medal . After missing the finals in 1999 and 2000, for 2001 West Adelaide hired former premiership captain and best and fairest winner Ian Borchard as coach. Borchard led the Bloods back to the finals in 2001 and 2002, but they lost the Elimination Final each time. Former West Adelaide junior and dual Adelaide Crows premiership player Shaun Rehn replaced Borchard in 2003 and led
12875-429: The season and after ten games had suffered only a draw and two narrow losses. A slump ensued before the club required to finish third and beat Port Adelaide in the first semi before Sturt knocked the inexperienced Bloods out in the preliminary. Between 1942 and 1945 West Adelaide joined forced with Glenelg in a wartime competition, finishing second, third and fourth in a four-team competition. West Adelaide became one of
13000-412: The season well with a 5–1 record but injuries to key players plus general poor form saw the Bloods lose seven games in a row mid-season. Early in the 2011 season coach Andrew Collins had his contract extended for a further two years tying him to the club until 2013. 2012 finally saw the work of Andy Collins and his staff finally come to fruition with the Bloods finishing the minor round in third place with
13125-408: The services of one of the best players of the time, "Bunny" Daly who threw himself into developing the club. Nonetheless, the club still struggled and had won only twenty and drawn two of 127 games by the end of 1907, including a second winless season in 1906. However, with a number of young players such as Richard "Dick" Head joining veterans James Tierney . West's fortunes were about to change and
13250-404: The side finished with its third "wooden spoon" in a row. Williams recruited former Port Adelaide rover Trevor Grimwood in 1975 and the Bloods improved, making their first finals series since 1969 by finishing fifth in 1976 and improved again to reach the finals again in 1977, ultimately finishing third after losing to Glenelg in the Preliminary Final at Football Park . 1977 also saw Grimwood win
13375-480: The side. Mickan's place was taken by 6'7" (200 cm) tall Dirk de Jong who had actually retired from league football one game into the season, but was persuaded by Kerley to come back following Mickan's injury. Despite some impressive performances in his final four games, including out playing experienced Sturt ruckman Frank Spiel in the Grand Final, de Jong, who started his SANFL career with Wests in 1978, again retired from football after 1983 having played 53 games for
13500-628: The team from 1954 to 1958 and he coached the team in 45 games from 1955 to 1969. Born in the town of Quorn, located in the Flinders Ranges and some 39 km north-east of Port Augusta , the son of Melville George Williams and Emma Otellia Williams (née McMillan). The only football Williams played prior to World War II was in Quorn. He played for the Quorn Albions and also was a start player for Quorn High School. Williams enlisted in
13625-541: The team won nine of its last eleven games to reach the finals in fifth place. With young players such as leading goal kicker Greg Mellor, full forward Tony Modra, and best and fairest Peter Banfield playing alongside returning experienced veterans such as captain Leon Grosser (who would miss the Grand Final through injury), Glenn Goss, as well as Mickan and Lindner (who while playing for the Adelaide Crows in
13750-407: The year. Once again West Adelaide failed to follow up its good form from the previous season and while still managing to qualify for the finals in 2004 had to be satisfied with just a fifth-placed finish. Things went from bad to worse for the club in 2005 when the team finished with the wooden spoon for the first time since 1979. Following such a dramatic drop in form, Rehn resigned as coach following
13875-467: Was almost a repeat of the 1981 season. Going into the final round West were locked in a battle for the 5th and final finals spot on the ladder. However, Norwood again ended their run when they thumped the Bloods at Norwood Oval consigning West to a 6th-place finish. The team hit its straps in the 1983 season, winning its first minor premiership since 1962 by two games from Sturt with an 18–4 record. The team finally got its revenge on Norwood when they put
14000-514: Was approved by 6 votes to 4 against at a meeting held on 5 April 1897. The SAFA would subsequently become the SANFL. Upon entering the SAFA senior competition, West Adelaide changed their colours to black and red, the colours previously worn by the defunct Old Adelaide Football Club and moved its training headquarters from the South to the West Parklands. The club often struggled to field
14125-466: Was assigned to escort demilitarized Japanese cruiser Kashima as the cruiser embarked Japanese soldiers in New Guinea for repatriation. Fos Williams was discharged from service on HMAS Kiama on 6 June 1946, nine months after the conclusion of World War II . Williams had a late start to football due to World War II, returning to Adelaide to start his career as a league footballer in July 1946 at
14250-447: Was created by an amendment to the constitution of the Order of Australia by special letters patent signed by the Queen, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser . In March 2014 the knight and dame levels, which had been abolished in 1986 by Prime Minister Bob Hawke , were reintroduced to the Order of Australia by Tony Abbott . At the same time, Abbott announced that future appointments at this level would be recommended by
14375-408: Was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II , Queen of Australia , on the advice of then prime minister Gough Whitlam . Before the establishment of the order, Australians could receive British honours , which continued to be issued in parallel until 1992. Appointments to the order are made by the governor-general , "with the approval of The Sovereign", according to recommendations made by
14500-498: Was established on 14 February 1975 by letters patent of Queen Elizabeth II , acting as Queen of Australia , and on the advice of the newly elected Labor prime minister , Gough Whitlam . The original order had three levels: Companion (AC), Officer (AO) and Member (AM) as well as two divisions: Civil Division and Military Division. Whitlam had previously announced in 1972 (on his third day in office) that his government would no longer nominate persons for British Imperial honours (with
14625-631: Was formed in 1892 and adopted magenta and white as their colours. The Club patron was Mr Theo. Scherk, President Mr J. Hallow, Secretary R.M.L. Mander, Treasurer Mr J. McCabe, Captain A. Forrestal and Vice Captain W. Morris. A meeting was advertised for those interested in a Junior Football Club in West Adelaide. It was held at the Bristol Tavern, Franklin Street, Adelaide , on Tuesday, 3rd April 1894, at 8 p.m. A large number of members attended. Mr. J Coppinger presided. The following officers were elected : Patron, Dr. Todd; president, Mr W. Powell; and
14750-422: Was former Hawthorn (AFL) premiership player from 1991 Andrew Collins . However, Collins could not improve the results in 2008 and the club finished with an unwanted fourth wooden spoon in a row, an ignominy suffered previously by Sturt (1989 to 1996), Woodville (1980 to 1985), South Adelaide (1926 to 1929), Glenelg (1937 to 1940 and 1921 to 1925) and Norwood (1913 to 1919), but never despite several bleak eras by
14875-477: Was named for the first time in the South Australian team for the upcoming 1947 Hobart Carnival at the expense of an injured Jack Oatey . Williams was captain of the South Australian state from 1954 to 1958. Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It
15000-438: Was released in good faith by West Adelaide so he could become the captain-coach of Port Adelaide. In his first year at Port, he won the club's best and fairest award and led the team to a preliminary final, where they were however well beaten by Glenelg. In 1951, he won his second SANFL premiership as a player and the first of a then record nine as a coach when he led Port Adelaide to an eleven-point win over North Adelaide in
15125-489: Was sacked following the season. Club General Manager Doug Thomas and President Bob Lee enticed 1961 premiership coach Neil Kerley away from West Torrens and back to West Adelaide in 1981 and the improvement in the team was immediate. The Bloods finished 5th in 1981, defeated in the Elimination Final by Norwood. Under Kerley players such as Roger Luders , Bruce Lindner , Ian Borchard , Peter Meuret, Geoff Morris and Mark Mickan all started to play their best football and 1982
15250-462: Was set in Round 5 of the 1969 season when 15,742 turned up to see Westies take on a Glenelg side coached by none other than Neil Kerley. Glenelg defeated the Bloods 18 18 (126) to 8.9 (57) on the day and the record crowd still stands as of 2013. In the early 1970s, West Adelaide declined to their lowest ebb for a third of a century, finishing last in 1972 for the first time since 1936, and repeating this ignominy in 1973 and 1974. In 1970 West unearthed
15375-500: Was the high point for the Bloods during the 1970s as they fell dramatically to ninth in 1978 in what was to be Williams' last season of coaching league football before again finishing last under coach Trevor Hughes in 1979. The other great highlight for the club during the 1970s was the recruitment of Port rover Trevor Grimwood who would become the club's eleventh Magarey Medal winner in 1977. The Bloods would continue to perform poorly as they finished second last in 1980 and Trevor Hughes
15500-448: Was used to transport soldiers between New Guinea and New Britain . On conclusion, she resumed her convoy escort role until the end of 1944, when she departed for Sydney. In September 1944 Commandos from 'C' Troop and a small detachment from 'B' Troop, the 2/8th Commando Squadron were landed from HMAS Kiama on a reconnaissance operation at Jacquinot Bay on the island of New Britain to collect intelligence in preparation for an assault by
15625-563: Was written and spoken for the first time in 1962 by Fos Williams. "We, the Players and Management of the Port Adelaide Football Club, accept the heritage which players and administrators have passed down to us; in doing so we do not intend to rest in idleness but shall strive with all our power to further this Club's unexcelled achievements. To do this we believe there is a great merit and noble achievements in winning
#324675