1902 SAFA season

The 1902 South Australian Football Association season was the 26th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.

1902 SAFA premiership season
26th SAFA season
North Adelaide, premiers
Teams7
PremiersNorth Adelaide
2nd premiership
Minor premiersPort Adelaide
2nd minor premiership
Magarey MedallistTom MacKenzie
West Torrens
Leading goalkickerJack Kay
South Adelaide (28 Goals)
Matches played45
Highest(Grand Final, North Adelaide vs. South Adelaide)

The 1902 premiership was won by the North Adelaide Football Club for the second time. Minor premier Port Adelaide was disqualified from the Finals and relegated to third overall after refusing to play the second semi-final against South Adelaide due to a dispute over the umpire chosen.[1] Sturt, in its second season, received its second consecutive wooden spoon.

Minor Round

Round 1
Round 1
Saturday, 3 May South Adelaide 4.13 (37) def. West Torrens 4.8 (32) Adelaide Oval [2]
Saturday, 3 May Norwood 13.9 (87) def. West Adelaide 3.3 (21) Norwood Oval [2]
Saturday, 3 May Port Adelaide 8.11 (59) def. North Adelaide 4.7 (31) Alberton Oval [2]
Bye
Sturt
  • Port Adelaide wore its famous black and white prison bar guernsey for the first time.

Ladder
1902 SAFA Ladder
TEAMPWLDPFPA %PTS
1 Port Adelaide 12 10 2 0 672 340 66.40 20
2 North Adelaide (P) 12 9 3 0 639 380 62.71 18
3 South Adelaide 12 8 3 1 548 384 58.80 17
4 West Torrens 12 6 6 0 512 432 54.76 12
5 Norwood 12 6 6 0 501 497 50.20 12
6 West Adelaide 12 1 10 1 372 808 31.53 3
7 Sturt 12 1 11 0 231 643 26.43 2
Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, (P) = Premiers Click here for source

Finals Series

After three seasons of using major round systems involving all clubs, the SAFA adopted the Argus finals system involving only the top four teams for the first time.

First Semi-final
 
Saturday, 30 August North Adelaide 6.9 (45) def. West Torrens 1.3 (9) Adelaide Oval [3]

Second Semi-final
 
Monday, 1 September Port Adelaide (Forfeit) def. by South Adelaide Adelaide Oval [3]

The second semi-final was forfeited by Port Adelaide owing to its objection to the appointment of umpire Phil Kneebone to the match.[4] South Adelaide played a hastily arranged exhibition match against North Adelaide to entertain the spectators who had turned up.[5]

Kneebone had been an SAFA umpire up to the 1901 season, but had not returned in 1902. Late in the season, in response to a shortage of umpires, the SAFA umpire committee had made a resolution to extend an invitation to Kneebone, which Kneebone had declined. Still facing a shortage of available first-rate umpires for the second semi-final, the committee appointed Kneebone, which he this time accepted.[4] Port Adelaide objected to this on two grounds: procedural in that the committee had not passed a new resolution to invite or appoint Kneebone – the committee held that the previous resolution to invite had not lapsed, even though the invite itself had been rejected – and that the club was dissatisfied with Kneebone's performances in previous seasons. Port Adelaide advised the SAFA on the Saturday before the match of its intention to forfeit if Kneebone's appointment stood. The SAFA did not acquiesce, and on the day of the match, Port Adelaide formally forfeited in writing.[4]

At the time of its forfeiture, Port Adelaide as minor premier was entitled to a challenge match for the premiership, irrespective of other major round results. However, in a special SAFA meeting on Wednesday 3 September, the association voted to disqualify Port Adelaide from the remainder of the season, stripping it of this right.[6] At the same meeting, the association affirmed Port Adelaide's procedural objection that Kneebone's appointment was not per procedure, finding that only the full association, not the umpire's committee, had the power to appoint a non-association umpire to the association.[6] Kneebone went on to umpire the following week's Grand Final.[7]

At a separate meeting on 8 September, the formal matter of second place was discussed, with a conflict arising between the convention that the losing grand finalist (South Adelaide) be considered runners-up, but rule 29 stating that minor placings be decided on overall premiership points (Port Adelaide). The Association ruled South Adelaide be considered runners-up, relegating Port Adelaide to third.[8]

Grand Final
 
6 September 1902 North Adelaide 9.14 (68) def. South Adelaide 4.7 (31) Adelaide Oval [9]

References
  1. "THE FOOTBALL PREMIERSHIP". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 September 1902. p. 6. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  2. "FOOTBALL". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 5 May 1902. p. 9. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  3. "Football". Advertiser (Adelaide, Sa : 1889 - 1931). September 1902. p. 7.
  4. "A football dispute". The Register. Adelaide, SA. 2 September 1902. p. 3.
  5. Onlooker (2 September 1902). "A football farce". The Advertiser. Adelaide, SA. p. 4.
  6. "A football dispute". The Advertiser. Adelaide, SA. 4 September 1902. p. 4.
  7. "The football premiership". The Advertiser. Adelaide, SA. 8 September 1902. p. 6.
  8. "The Football Dispute". The Register. Adelaide, SA. 9 September 1902. p. 4.
  9. "Football". Evening Journal (Adelaide, Sa : 1869 - 1912). 8 September 1902. p. 3.
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