1956 SANFL Season

These are the results for the 1956 season of the South Australian National Football League.

It featured eighteen rounds. Port Adelaide were the minor premiers.

The season ended with a finals series following the Page-McIntyre system. Port Adelaide were the premiers, with Fos Williams as the premiership coach.

Season Details

Name: 1956 SANFL Season
Teams: 8
Rounds: 18
Finals System: Page-McIntyre System
Matches: 76

Team Details

Team Home Ground Coach (Appointed) Coach (Caretaker)
Glenelg Glenelg Oval Charlie May
North Adelaide Prospect Oval Colin Aamodt
Norwood Norwood Oval Jack Oatey
Port Adelaide Alberton Oval Fos Williams
South Adelaide Adelaide Oval
Sturt Unley Oval Wally May
West Adelaide Adelaide Oval Laurie Cahill
West Torrens Thebarton Oval Joe Kinlough

Season Results

Premiers: Port Adelaide
Runners-Up: West Adelaide
Minor Premiers: Port Adelaide

Team Results

Minor Premiership Results

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA GF BF GA BA
Port Adelaide 1st 17 -0- 1 34 65.1% 1,700 911 238 272 123 173
West Adelaide 2nd 12 -1- 5 25 56.5% 1,458 1,124 204 234 154 200
North Adelaide 3rd 10 -0- 8 20 53.1% 1,330 1,176 189 196 161 210
Norwood 4th 10 -0- 8 20 49.4% 1,373 1,407 192 221 197 225
West Torrens 5th 6 -1- 11 13 49.2% 1,322 1,365 185 212 191 219
Glenelg 6th 6 -1- 11 13 44.2% 1,279 1,612 175 229 233 214
South Adelaide 7th 6 -0- 12 12 44.3% 1,244 1,566 176 188 223 228
Sturt 8th 3 -1- 14 7 40.4% 1,152 1,697 163 174 240 257

Overall Premiership Results

Team Position (Outcome)
Port Adelaide 1st Premiers
West Adelaide 2nd Runners-Up
North Adelaide 3rd Defeated by West Adelaide (Preliminary Final)
Norwood 4th Defeated by North Adelaide (Semi Final)
West Torrens 5th Did not qualify for finals
Glenelg 6th Did not qualify for finals
South Adelaide 7th Did not qualify for finals
Sturt 8th Did not qualify for finals

Season Fixture

Round 1

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 21/04/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v Sturt Alberton Oval 140 - 45
SAT 21/04/1956 2:10 PM South Adelaide v Glenelg Kensington Oval 63 - 88
SAT 21/04/1956 2:10 PM West Adelaide v North Adelaide Adelaide Oval 91 - 88
SAT 21/04/1956 2:10 PM West Torrens v Norwood Thebarton Oval 80 - 78

Round 1 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 1 -0- 0 2 75.7% 140 45
Glenelg 2nd 1 -0- 0 2 58.3% 88 63
West Adelaide 3rd 1 -0- 0 2 50.8% 91 88
West Torrens 4th 1 -0- 0 2 50.6% 80 78
Norwood 5th 0 -0- 1 0 49.4% 78 80
North Adelaide 6th 0 -0- 1 0 49.2% 88 91
South Adelaide 7th 0 -0- 1 0 41.7% 63 88
Sturt 8th 0 -0- 1 0 24.3% 45 140

Round 2

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
WED 25/04/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v Norwood Adelaide Oval 96 - 57
SAT 28/04/1956 2:10 PM Glenelg v North Adelaide Glenelg Oval 82 - 111
SAT 28/04/1956 2:10 PM South Adelaide v West Adelaide Adelaide Oval 127 - 97
SAT 28/04/1956 2:10 PM Sturt v West Torrens Unley Oval 87 - 66

Round 2 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 2 -0- 0 4 69.8% 236 102
North Adelaide 2nd 1 -0- 1 2 53.5% 199 173
South Adelaide 3rd 1 -0- 1 2 50.7% 190 185
Glenelg 4th 1 -0- 1 2 49.4% 170 174
West Torrens 5th 1 -0- 1 2 46.9% 146 165
West Adelaide 6th 1 -0- 1 2 46.7% 188 215
Sturt 7th 1 -0- 1 2 39.1% 132 206
Norwood 8th 0 -0- 2 0 43.4% 135 176

Round 3

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 05/05/1956 2:10 PM North Adelaide v South Adelaide Prospect Oval 99 - 55
SAT 05/05/1956 2:10 PM Norwood v Sturt Norwood Oval 87 - 81
SAT 05/05/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v West Torrens Alberton Oval 114 - 49
SAT 05/05/1956 2:10 PM West Adelaide v Glenelg Adelaide Oval 99 - 59

Round 3 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 3 -0- 0 6 69.9% 350 151
North Adelaide 2nd 2 -0- 1 4 56.7% 298 228
West Adelaide 3rd 2 -0- 1 4 51.2% 287 274
South Adelaide 4th 1 -0- 2 2 46.3% 245 284
Norwood 5th 1 -0- 2 2 46.3% 222 257
Glenelg 6th 1 -0- 2 2 45.6% 229 273
Sturt 7th 1 -0- 2 2 42.1% 213 293
West Torrens 8th 1 -0- 2 2 41.1% 195 279

Round 4

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 12/05/1956 2:10 PM Glenelg v Norwood Glenelg Oval 91 - 83
SAT 12/05/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v North Adelaide Kensington Oval 92 - 55
SAT 12/05/1956 2:10 PM South Adelaide v Sturt Adelaide Oval 113 - 66
SAT 12/05/1956 2:10 PM West Torrens v West Adelaide Thebarton Oval 62 - 62

Round 4 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 4 -0- 0 8 68.2% 442 206
West Adelaide 2nd 2 -1- 1 5 50.9% 349 336
North Adelaide 3rd 2 -0- 2 4 52.5% 353 320
South Adelaide 4th 2 -0- 2 4 50.6% 358 350
Glenelg 5th 2 -0- 2 4 47.3% 320 356
West Torrens 6th 1 -1- 2 3 43.0% 257 341
Norwood 7th 1 -0- 3 2 46.7% 305 348
Sturt 8th 1 -0- 3 2 40.7% 279 406

Round 5

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 19/05/1956 2:10 PM Norwood v North Adelaide Norwood Oval 128 - 90
SAT 19/05/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v Glenelg Alberton Oval 106 - 31
SAT 19/05/1956 2:10 PM South Adelaide v West Torrens Adelaide Oval 70 - 123
SAT 19/05/1956 2:10 PM Sturt v West Adelaide Unley Oval 68 - 141

Round 5 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 5 -0- 0 10 69.8% 548 237
West Adelaide 2nd 3 -1- 1 7 54.8% 490 404
West Torrens 3rd 2 -1- 2 5 48.0% 380 411
North Adelaide 4th 2 -0- 3 4 49.7% 443 448
Norwood 5th 2 -0- 3 4 49.7% 433 438
South Adelaide 6th 2 -0- 3 4 47.5% 428 473
Glenelg 7th 2 -0- 3 4 43.2% 351 462
Sturt 8th 1 -0- 4 2 38.8% 347 547

Round 6

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 26/05/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v West Adelaide Kensington Oval 52 - 40
SAT 26/05/1956 2:10 PM South Adelaide v Norwood Adelaide Oval 50 - 94
SAT 26/05/1956 2:10 PM Sturt v North Adelaide Unley Oval 65 - 86
SAT 26/05/1956 2:10 PM West Torrens v Glenelg Thebarton Oval 72 - 92

Round 6 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 6 -0- 0 12 68.4% 600 277
West Adelaide 2nd 3 -1- 2 7 53.8% 530 456
Norwood 3rd 3 -0- 3 6 51.9% 527 488
North Adelaide 4th 3 -0- 3 6 50.8% 529 513
Glenelg 5th 3 -0- 3 6 45.3% 443 534
West Torrens 6th 2 -1- 3 5 47.3% 452 503
South Adelaide 7th 2 -0- 4 4 45.7% 478 567
Sturt 8th 1 -0- 5 2 39.4% 412 633

Round 7

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 02/06/1956 2:10 PM North Adelaide v Glenelg Prospect Oval 127 - 46
SAT 02/06/1956 2:10 PM Norwood v Port Adelaide Norwood Oval 75 - 184
SAT 02/06/1956 2:10 PM West Adelaide v South Adelaide Adelaide Oval 116 - 78
MON 04/06/1956 2:10 PM Sturt v West Torrens Adelaide Oval 77 - 76

Round 7 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 7 -0- 0 14 69.0% 784 352
West Adelaide 2nd 4 -1- 2 9 54.7% 646 534
North Adelaide 3rd 4 -0- 3 8 54.0% 656 559
Norwood 4th 3 -0- 4 6 47.3% 602 672
Glenelg 5th 3 -0- 4 6 42.5% 489 661
West Torrens 6th 2 -1- 4 5 47.7% 528 580
South Adelaide 7th 2 -0- 5 4 44.9% 556 683
Sturt 8th 2 -0- 5 4 40.8% 489 709

Round 8

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 09/06/1956 2:10 PM Glenelg v Sturt Glenelg Oval 94 - 94
SAT 09/06/1956 2:10 PM North Adelaide v West Torrens Prospect Oval 83 - 52
SAT 09/06/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v South Adelaide Alberton Oval 147 - 47
SAT 09/06/1956 2:10 PM West Adelaide v Norwood Adelaide Oval 63 - 50

Round 8 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 8 -0- 0 16 70.0% 931 399
West Adelaide 2nd 5 -1- 2 11 54.8% 709 584
North Adelaide 3rd 5 -0- 3 10 54.7% 739 611
Glenelg 4th 3 -1- 4 7 43.6% 583 755
Norwood 5th 3 -0- 5 6 47.0% 652 735
West Torrens 6th 2 -1- 5 5 46.7% 580 663
Sturt 7th 2 -1- 5 5 42.1% 583 803
South Adelaide 8th 2 -0- 6 4 42.1% 603 830

Round 9

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 30/06/1956 2:10 PM Glenelg v Port Adelaide Glenelg Oval 83 - 109
SAT 30/06/1956 2:10 PM North Adelaide v Norwood Prospect Oval 43 - 54
SAT 30/06/1956 2:10 PM West Adelaide v Sturt Adelaide Oval 131 - 53
SAT 30/06/1956 2:10 PM West Torrens v South Adelaide Thebarton Oval 66 - 68

Round 9 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 9 -0- 0 18 68.3% 1,040 482
West Adelaide 2nd 6 -1- 2 13 56.9% 840 637
North Adelaide 3rd 5 -0- 4 10 54.0% 782 665
Norwood 4th 4 -0- 5 8 47.6% 706 778
Glenelg 5th 3 -1- 5 7 43.5% 666 864
South Adelaide 6th 3 -0- 6 6 42.8% 671 896
West Torrens 7th 2 -1- 6 5 46.9% 646 731
Sturt 8th 2 -1- 6 5 40.5% 636 934

Round 10

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 07/07/1956 2:10 PM Glenelg v South Adelaide Glenelg Oval 66 - 74
SAT 07/07/1956 2:10 PM North Adelaide v West Adelaide Prospect Oval 28 - 70
SAT 07/07/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v Sturt Adelaide Oval 94 - 65
SAT 07/07/1956 2:10 PM West Torrens v Norwood Kensington Oval 81 - 70

Round 10 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 10 -0- 0 20 67.5% 1,134 547
West Adelaide 2nd 7 -1- 2 15 57.8% 910 665
North Adelaide 3rd 5 -0- 5 10 52.4% 810 735
Norwood 4th 4 -0- 6 8 47.5% 776 859
South Adelaide 5th 4 -0- 6 8 43.6% 745 962
West Torrens 6th 3 -1- 6 7 47.6% 727 801
Glenelg 7th 3 -1- 6 7 43.8% 732 938
Sturt 8th 2 -1- 7 5 40.5% 701 1,028

Round 11

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 14/07/1956 2:10 PM Glenelg v West Adelaide Glenelg Oval 70 - 103
SAT 14/07/1956 2:10 PM South Adelaide v North Adelaide Adelaide Oval 64 - 79
SAT 14/07/1956 2:10 PM Sturt v Norwood Unley Oval 44 - 101
SAT 14/07/1956 2:10 PM West Torrens v Port Adelaide Thebarton Oval 48 - 103

Round 11 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 11 -0- 0 22 67.5% 1,237 595
West Adelaide 2nd 8 -1- 2 17 58.0% 1,013 735
North Adelaide 3rd 6 -0- 5 12 52.7% 889 799
Norwood 4th 5 -0- 6 10 49.3% 877 903
South Adelaide 5th 4 -0- 7 8 43.7% 809 1,041
West Torrens 6th 3 -1- 7 7 46.2% 775 904
Glenelg 7th 3 -1- 7 7 43.5% 802 1,041
Sturt 8th 2 -1- 8 5 39.8% 745 1,129

Round 12

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 21/07/1956 2:10 PM North Adelaide v Port Adelaide Prospect Oval 38 - 43
SAT 21/07/1956 2:10 PM Norwood v Glenelg Norwood Oval 93 - 74
SAT 21/07/1956 2:10 PM Sturt v South Adelaide Unley Oval 71 - 82
SAT 21/07/1956 2:10 PM West Adelaide v West Torrens Adelaide Oval 70 - 54

Round 12 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 12 -0- 0 24 66.9% 1,280 633
West Adelaide 2nd 9 -1- 2 19 57.9% 1,083 789
North Adelaide 3rd 6 -0- 6 12 52.4% 927 842
Norwood 4th 6 -0- 6 12 49.8% 970 977
South Adelaide 5th 5 -0- 7 10 44.5% 891 1,112
West Torrens 6th 3 -1- 8 7 46.0% 829 974
Glenelg 7th 3 -1- 8 7 43.6% 876 1,134
Sturt 8th 2 -1- 9 5 40.3% 816 1,211

Round 13

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 28/07/1956 2:10 PM Glenelg v West Torrens Kensington Oval 68 - 100
SAT 28/07/1956 2:10 PM North Adelaide v Sturt Prospect Oval 105 - 39
SAT 28/07/1956 2:10 PM Norwood v South Adelaide Norwood Oval 101 - 80
SAT 28/07/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v West Adelaide Alberton Oval 76 - 44

Round 13 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 13 -0- 0 26 66.7% 1,356 677
West Adelaide 2nd 9 -1- 3 19 56.6% 1,127 865
North Adelaide 3rd 7 -0- 6 14 53.9% 1,032 881
Norwood 4th 7 -0- 6 14 50.3% 1,071 1,057
South Adelaide 5th 5 -0- 8 10 44.5% 971 1,213
West Torrens 6th 4 -1- 8 9 47.1% 929 1,042
Glenelg 7th 3 -1- 9 7 43.3% 944 1,234
Sturt 8th 2 -1- 10 5 39.4% 855 1,316

Round 14

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 04/08/1956 2:10 PM Norwood v West Adelaide Norwood Oval 83 - 72
SAT 04/08/1956 2:10 PM South Adelaide v Port Adelaide Adelaide Oval 83 - 71
SAT 04/08/1956 2:10 PM Sturt v Glenelg Unley Oval 83 - 88
SAT 04/08/1956 2:10 PM West Torrens v North Adelaide Thebarton Oval 73 - 76

Round 14 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 13 -0- 1 26 65.2% 1,427 760
West Adelaide 2nd 9 -1- 4 19 55.8% 1,199 948
North Adelaide 3rd 8 -0- 6 16 53.7% 1,108 954
Norwood 4th 8 -0- 6 16 50.5% 1,154 1,129
South Adelaide 5th 6 -0- 8 12 45.1% 1,054 1,284
West Torrens 6th 4 -1- 9 9 47.3% 1,002 1,118
Glenelg 7th 4 -1- 9 9 43.9% 1,032 1,317
Sturt 8th 2 -1- 11 5 40.1% 938 1,404

Round 15

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 11/08/1956 2:10 PM North Adelaide v Glenelg Adelaide Oval 62 - 38
SAT 11/08/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v Norwood Alberton Oval 89 - 48
SAT 11/08/1956 2:10 PM South Adelaide v West Adelaide Kensington Oval 24 - 68
SAT 11/08/1956 2:10 PM West Torrens v Sturt Thebarton Oval 60 - 77

Round 15 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 14 -0- 1 28 65.2% 1,516 808
West Adelaide 2nd 10 -1- 4 21 56.6% 1,267 972
North Adelaide 3rd 9 -0- 6 18 54.1% 1,170 992
Norwood 4th 8 -0- 7 16 49.7% 1,202 1,218
South Adelaide 5th 6 -0- 9 12 44.4% 1,078 1,352
West Torrens 6th 4 -1- 10 9 47.1% 1,062 1,195
Glenelg 7th 4 -1- 10 9 43.7% 1,070 1,379
Sturt 8th 3 -1- 11 7 40.9% 1,015 1,464

Round 16

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 18/08/1956 2:10 PM North Adelaide v West Adelaide Prospect Oval 55 - 71
SAT 18/08/1956 2:10 PM Norwood v West Torrens Norwood Oval 55 - 47
SAT 18/08/1956 2:10 PM South Adelaide v Glenelg Adelaide Oval 47 - 71
SAT 18/08/1956 2:10 PM Sturt v Port Adelaide Unley Oval 33 - 78

Round 16 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 15 -0- 1 30 65.5% 1,594 841
West Adelaide 2nd 11 -1- 4 23 56.6% 1,338 1,027
North Adelaide 3rd 9 -0- 7 18 53.5% 1,225 1,063
Norwood 4th 9 -0- 7 18 49.8% 1,257 1,265
South Adelaide 5th 6 -0- 10 12 44.2% 1,125 1,423
Glenelg 6th 5 -1- 10 11 44.4% 1,141 1,426
West Torrens 7th 4 -1- 11 9 47.0% 1,109 1,250
Sturt 8th 3 -1- 12 7 40.5% 1,048 1,542

Round 17

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 25/08/1956 2:10 PM Norwood v South Adelaide Norwood Oval 74 - 65
SAT 25/08/1956 2:10 PM Sturt v North Adelaide Unley Oval 62 - 85
SAT 25/08/1956 2:10 PM West Adelaide v Port Adelaide Adelaide Oval 50 - 55
SAT 25/08/1956 2:10 PM West Torrens v Glenelg Thebarton Oval 144 - 61

Round 17 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 16 -0- 1 32 64.9% 1,649 891
West Adelaide 2nd 11 -1- 5 23 56.2% 1,388 1,082
North Adelaide 3rd 10 -0- 7 20 53.8% 1,310 1,125
Norwood 4th 10 -0- 7 20 50.0% 1,331 1,330
South Adelaide 5th 6 -0- 11 12 44.3% 1,190 1,497
West Torrens 6th 5 -1- 11 11 48.9% 1,253 1,311
Glenelg 7th 5 -1- 11 11 43.4% 1,202 1,570
Sturt 8th 3 -1- 13 7 40.6% 1,110 1,627

Round 18

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 01/09/1956 2:10 PM Glenelg v Norwood Glenelg Oval 77 - 42
SAT 01/09/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v North Adelaide Alberton Oval 51 - 20
SAT 01/09/1956 2:10 PM South Adelaide v West Torrens Adelaide Oval 54 - 69
SAT 01/09/1956 2:10 PM West Adelaide v Sturt Kensington Oval 70 - 42

Round 18 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Port Adelaide 1st 17 -0- 1 34 65.1% 1,700 911
West Adelaide 2nd 12 -1- 5 25 56.5% 1,458 1,124
North Adelaide 3rd 10 -0- 8 20 53.1% 1,330 1,176
Norwood 4th 10 -0- 8 20 49.4% 1,373 1,407
West Torrens 5th 6 -1- 11 13 49.2% 1,322 1,365
Glenelg 6th 6 -1- 11 13 44.2% 1,279 1,612
South Adelaide 7th 6 -0- 12 12 44.3% 1,244 1,566
Sturt 8th 3 -1- 14 7 40.4% 1,152 1,697

Final Round 1

Semi Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 08/09/1956 2:10 PM North Adelaide v Norwood Adelaide Oval 80 - 41 18,685
SAT 15/09/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v West Adelaide Adelaide Oval 94 - 58 35,285

Final Round 2

Preliminary Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 22/09/1956 2:10 PM West Adelaide v North Adelaide Adelaide Oval 71 - 51 28,584

Final Round 3

Grand Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 29/09/1956 2:10 PM Port Adelaide v West Adelaide Adelaide Oval 81 - 65 45,514