Port Adelaide–Norwood SANFL rivalry
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|
| First meeting | 15 June 1878 |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 407 |
| All-time series (SANFL only) |
Port Adelaide 197 wins Norwood 193 wins Drawn 17 times |
The Norwood–Port Adelaide rivalry is Australian rules football's oldest and one of its most intense rivalries. It is contested between the Norwood Football Club and the Port Adelaide Football Club. Together Port Adelaide (36) and Norwood (30) have won 66 South Australian National Football League (SANFL) premierships since the founding of the competition in 1878. As the SANFL competition has been suspended due to war, only 132 seasons have been played, therefore together Norwood and Port Adelaide have won exactly half of all SANFL premierships awarded. The two clubs have met in finals 50 times with 17 of those grand finals including 2 war-time grand finals.
The two clubs first played each other in 1878. The rivalry's origins go back to 1884 when Port Adelaide ended Norwood's run of six consecutive premierships. Many years later, in 1960, Norwood would bring Port Adelaide's own run of six premierships to an end defeating them by 27 points in a preliminary final. The two clubs are the only ones in any of the major Australian rules football leagues (the SANFL, WAFL, and VFL/AFL) to win six successive premierships.
Port Adelaide and Norwood are located on opposite sides of Adelaide, with the north-western side of the city traditionally being associated with blue-collar workers and the eastern side of the city white-collar professionals. This economic split is reflected in house prices with Norwood properties in 2015 commanding an average $900,000 whereas Port Adelaide properties are around a third of that at $315,000.
Talk of a side from South Australia entering the Victorian Football League (VFL) was fast-tracked in 1987 when a team from Western Australia, the West Coast Eagles, and a team from Brisbane, the Brisbane Bears joined the VFL. This left South Australia as the only mainland state in Australia without a team in an increasingly national competition. By 1989 seven out of ten SANFL clubs were recording losses and the combined income of the SANFL and West Australian Football League (WAFL) had dropped to 40% of the VFL. During early 1990 the SANFL decided to wait three years before making any further decision in regards to fielding a South Australian side in the VFL until it could be done without negatively affecting football within the state. Frustrated with lack of progress, Port Adelaide held secret negotiations in the town of Quorn regarding entering the VFL in 1991. From these discussions, Port Adelaide accepted an invitation from the VFL (which had since been renamed the Australian Football League). The AFL signed a heads of agreement with the club in expectation that Port would enter the competition in 1991, meaning the Port Adelaide Football Club would field two teams, one in the AFL and one in the SANFL.
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