David Granger (footballer)
Encyclopedia
David Granger is a former leading Australian rules football
er, playing with St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League
and Port Adelaide Football Club
in the South Australian National Football League
.
In the 1977 Grand Final Granger played a pivotal role as centre half forward in Port's 8 point victory over Glenelg.
In the 1981 Grand Final, also against Glenelg, Granger ended the career of Neville 'Twiggy' Caldwell with a premeditated King hit. He continued in the game to lead Port to a 51 point victory. After the match Glenelg protested which resulted in Granger becoming the first footballer in the SANFL to be suspended on video
evidence. Granger was later to claim he initially believed Caldwell had died and was "terrified" by what he had done.
In the 1982 preliminary final Port were trailing by 26 points in the second quarter against Glenelg. Port coach John Cahill sent Granger onto the field in the 21st minute of the quarter whereupon Granger was reported by a goal umpire after he King hit Graham Cornes
knocking him down as soon as they matched up. Cornes recovered quickly and was awarded a free kick. Cornes was later to blatantly push Granger in the back but the umpire refused to award a free kick. In the third quarter Glenelg back pocket
Stephen Barratt had his right leg broken in a "collision" with Granger and Peter Maynard received a bleeding eardrum. Although credited with only one kick and two marks, Granger reportedly had an "eerie" effect on the game with not only Glenelg players hesitant to match him for fear of missing the final but considerable abuse from the crowd.
Port eventually lost the match by 1 point. As Cahill walked down the stairs of the members' stand he was jeered by the Glenelg supporters in the crowd of 32,339 and Granger had to be escorted from the oval by police. Granger was subsequently suspended for 10 weeks which ended his own career. Granger later claimed that he was sent out to hit Cornes, Cahill however claimed there was no such order and with his career over, Granger felt betrayed by the lack of an admission by Cahill. Cornes for his part has never accepted any apology for the incident, still remembers it bitterly and feels there was no doubt Granger was sent out to target him by the coaching staff.
, kicking 1 goal.
. His first game drew a record attendance.
In December 2007 Granger was interviewed for the Today Tonight
program "SA's
(20) greatest sporting controversies" where his career was listed at number seven. He claimed he was often ordered to take players out, explaining "I was a good soldier. I did what I was told.....the culture of Football at the time was to win at all costs". He insists that the Barratt incident was one of the few times an injury he caused really was an accident. Granger also recounted how his "exile
" by Port Adelaide after his retirement caused depression and eventually led to an incident where he broke into the Port Adelaide locker room and attempted suicide by his old locker. The programs compere Graham Cornes
who was on the receiving end of Granger's playing style in 1982 finished the segment by saying he had forgiven him, commenting, "That's Football".
Despite support from former Port Adelaide legend Russell Ebert, in 2003 Granger was finally sentenced to jail after being found guilty of knowingly having cannabis
in his possession for the purpose of selling it after 17 kg of cannabis had been found by police in his home. He was sentenced to four years and three months imprisonment. Granger had three previous convictions for cannabis offences in 1991, 1998 and 2002.
Match Report 1982 Preliminary Final
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er, playing with St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
and Port Adelaide Football Club
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
in the South Australian National Football League
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
.
St Kilda (U19s)
David Granger commenced his football career in Victoria where he played under 19s football with St Kilda.Port Adelaide
Granger played for Port Adelaide in the SANFL between 1975 and 1982. He was a strong, skilled and effective footballer, becoming famously known by the nickname, 'Grave Danger'. This was during an era of unprecedented violence in the game and Granger was often employed by his coach as an on-field hitman. Over the years he handed out and received countless injuries on the field. Although played nominally as a forward Granger was often sent into defence to harass opposition star forwards. Opposition players often found themselves fearing Granger instead of concentrating on the game, a situation Port Adelaide exploited.In the 1977 Grand Final Granger played a pivotal role as centre half forward in Port's 8 point victory over Glenelg.
In the 1981 Grand Final, also against Glenelg, Granger ended the career of Neville 'Twiggy' Caldwell with a premeditated King hit. He continued in the game to lead Port to a 51 point victory. After the match Glenelg protested which resulted in Granger becoming the first footballer in the SANFL to be suspended on video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
evidence. Granger was later to claim he initially believed Caldwell had died and was "terrified" by what he had done.
In the 1982 preliminary final Port were trailing by 26 points in the second quarter against Glenelg. Port coach John Cahill sent Granger onto the field in the 21st minute of the quarter whereupon Granger was reported by a goal umpire after he King hit Graham Cornes
Graham Cornes
Graham Studley Cornes OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach, as well as a media personality with a weekday drivetime sports program that he hosts on Adelaide 5AA with Stephen Rowe....
knocking him down as soon as they matched up. Cornes recovered quickly and was awarded a free kick. Cornes was later to blatantly push Granger in the back but the umpire refused to award a free kick. In the third quarter Glenelg back pocket
Back pocket
In Australian rules football, the back pocket refers to a position on the field deep in defence.Back pocket players, situated in the backline, need to have good spoiling skills and usually, quality back-pockets are noted for their hardness....
Stephen Barratt had his right leg broken in a "collision" with Granger and Peter Maynard received a bleeding eardrum. Although credited with only one kick and two marks, Granger reportedly had an "eerie" effect on the game with not only Glenelg players hesitant to match him for fear of missing the final but considerable abuse from the crowd.
Port eventually lost the match by 1 point. As Cahill walked down the stairs of the members' stand he was jeered by the Glenelg supporters in the crowd of 32,339 and Granger had to be escorted from the oval by police. Granger was subsequently suspended for 10 weeks which ended his own career. Granger later claimed that he was sent out to hit Cornes, Cahill however claimed there was no such order and with his career over, Granger felt betrayed by the lack of an admission by Cahill. Cornes for his part has never accepted any apology for the incident, still remembers it bitterly and feels there was no doubt Granger was sent out to target him by the coaching staff.
St Kilda (VFL)
During 1979, David Granger played 3 games for St Kilda in the Victorian Football LeagueAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, kicking 1 goal.
Post Retirement
After retiring from Port Adelaide, Granger moved to Port Pirie to play for Solomontown in the Spencer Gulf Football LeagueSpencer Gulf Football League
The Spencer Gulf Football League is an Australian rules football competition based at the head of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League....
. His first game drew a record attendance.
In December 2007 Granger was interviewed for the Today Tonight
Today Tonight
Today Tonight is a controversial Australian News and Current Affairs program, produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair....
program "SA's
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
(20) greatest sporting controversies" where his career was listed at number seven. He claimed he was often ordered to take players out, explaining "I was a good soldier. I did what I was told.....the culture of Football at the time was to win at all costs". He insists that the Barratt incident was one of the few times an injury he caused really was an accident. Granger also recounted how his "exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
" by Port Adelaide after his retirement caused depression and eventually led to an incident where he broke into the Port Adelaide locker room and attempted suicide by his old locker. The programs compere Graham Cornes
Graham Cornes
Graham Studley Cornes OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach, as well as a media personality with a weekday drivetime sports program that he hosts on Adelaide 5AA with Stephen Rowe....
who was on the receiving end of Granger's playing style in 1982 finished the segment by saying he had forgiven him, commenting, "That's Football".
Off-field controversy
Granger had struggled off field for a number of years and it was revealed in his court appearances that he battles depression. On 26 December 2001, Granger informed the media that his house would be repossessed by St George Bank who had lodged documents to this effect with the Supreme Court. He had borrowed $A93,000 in 1991 to buy the then-$A150,000 house.Despite support from former Port Adelaide legend Russell Ebert, in 2003 Granger was finally sentenced to jail after being found guilty of knowingly having cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
in his possession for the purpose of selling it after 17 kg of cannabis had been found by police in his home. He was sentenced to four years and three months imprisonment. Granger had three previous convictions for cannabis offences in 1991, 1998 and 2002.
See also
- 1977 SANFL Grand Final1977 SANFL Grand FinalThe 1977 SANFL Grand Final saw the Port Adelaide Magpies defeat the Glenelg Tigers by 8 points. The match was played on Saturday 24 September 1977 at Football Park in front of a crowd of 56,717 ....
Match Report 1982 Preliminary Final