SANFL grand final history on Football Park stretches back to 1974 A young Rick Davies with Sturt coaching great Jack Oatey. Was Davies the greatest SANFL grand final hero on Football Park? Picture: P. Watkins. LEGENDS are born on the big stage, history is created and the fortunate get to bathe in the glory of premiership triumph. There is no bigger stage for SANFL players than the grand final and since 1974 clubs have strived for the ultimate prize at the Football Park home of South Australian football. From Sturt's 15-point triumph over Glenelg in the first season finale contest at West Lakes to Sunday's battle between Norwood and North Adelaide, the list of heroes - and villains - has swelled. Double Blues fans will argue Rick Davies is the greatest hero of them after taking Port Adelaide apart in the 1976 decider. Twenty one kicks, 21 handballs, 15 marks and 21 hit-outs says it all That was the day almost 80,000 fans crammed into the stadium. The official figure of 66,897 is the ground record for any game but it is estimated the crowd was closer to 78,000 as fans spilled onto the grassed area inside the fencing. The previous year Norwood secured its first flag in 25 years and in 1977 the Magpies snapped a 12-year drought when it beat Glenelg by eight points in a contest best known for the scrap between Tim Evans and Fred Phillis. Seven years later Evans was at it again when he stood toe to toe with Norwood's Craig Balme while the national anthem blared in the background before the opening bounce. Balme had the last laugh, the Redlegs being the only team to come from fifth to claim the crown. Never to be forgotton from that encounter is Redleg Keith Thomas' mark running with the flight of the ball in the third term which inspired his team-mates. The Redlegs also prevailed in 1978 after John Wynne visited the Sturt coaching box in the third term and Phil Gallagher was paid a dubious mark by umpire Des Foster in the final seconds and kicked the winning goal. Who will forget 1989 when North Adelaide coach Michael Nunan sent his players into battle against the Magpies with one goal in mind? Unfortunately for Nunan his words proved too true with the Roosters kicking just one goal in the 94-point loss. The following season the Magpies caused a storm when it was revealed they were chatting with the AFL about entering the national competition. Glenelg was among the clubs who sought legal action to prevent the move. Off the field the clubs had a victory but the Magpies got some revenge when they beat the Tigers in the grand final. SANFL football underwent a massive facelift in the 1991. The Crows entered the AFL, Woodville and West Torrens became a single identity and not since 1949 had the grand final not involved either the Magpies, Redlegs, Tigers or Double Blues. It was the Roosters and West Adelaide in the decider and they gave us a battle to remember - for the wrong reasons. After Rooster Steven Sims knocked out Matthew Simpson, the match became an extremely spiteful affair marred by regular brawlings and too many players searching for a punch rather than a kick. Central District was something of a laughing stock for many years but that all changed dramatically in 2000 when the Bulldogs conquered the Eagles to finally lift the Thomas Seymour-Hill Trophy. The Bulldogs contested the next 11 grand finals and claimed another eight flags in a golden era unmatched in the history of the SANFL. Chris and James Gowans played in all nine premierships, an achievement equalled by only Magpies great Geof Motley. There will always be the what-ifs. What if the hurried kick by former Bulldog Lee Spurr, now with Fremantle, had not missed the goal by centimetres in the final seconds of the 2011 grand final loss to the Eagles? Another grand final ends in tears. 1974: Sturt 9.16 (70) d Glenelg 8.7 (55) 1975: Norwood 9.10 (64) d Glenelg 7.10 (52) 1976: Sturt 17.14 (116) d Port Adelaide 10.15 (75) 1977: Port Adelaide 17.11 (113) d Glenelg 16.9 (105) 1978: Norwood 16.15 (111) d Sturt 14.26 (110) 1984: Norwood 15.10 (100) d Port Adelaide 13.13 (91) 1989: Port Adelaide 15.18 (108) North Adelaide 1.8 (14) 1990: Port Adelaide 16.12 (108) d Glenelg 13.15 (93) 1991: North Adelaide 21.22 (146) d West Adelaide 11.7 (73) 2000: Central District 8.13 (61) d Eagles 5.9 (39) 2011: Eagles 12.9 (81) d Central District 11.12 (78)