When Sturt and Norwood run out at Adelaide Oval at 2:30pm on Sunday for the 2026 SANFL Grand Final, they will be renewing what the league calls one of South Australian football's most celebrated rivalries — 67 premierships between them — and reopening a wound that has not fully healed in 48 years. The last time these two met in a grand final, in 1978, ABC Adelaide recounts, Norwood stole it by a single point — with the help of one of the most contentious umpiring calls ever seen at Football Park.
Sturt had dropped just one game all season and led 5.9 to 1.5 at quarter time, but the Redlegs clawed back a 29-point last-quarter deficit. Then came the moment. "There was a rough contest in Norwood's forward pocket, and [Redleg] Phil Gallagher took it out of the ruck, quickly slammed it on his boot, and it went straight to Sturt fullback Colin Casey," SANFL senior media producer Zac Millbank told the ABC. "He kicked it straight back out of the area and then Phil Gallagher went to mark Casey's kick, but he actually dropped it." Field umpire Des Foster blew his whistle anyway — he later said he had called a mark, and admitted it was the wrong call, his view obscured at the key moment. In front of more than 50,000 spectators, Gallagher went back and kicked the goal that put Norwood in front for good.
Millbank is quick to note Sturt authored their own demise — "Fourteen goals and 26 points is just horrendous kicking and some of the shots were very simple ones," he said — and the day also produced a third-quarter scuffle when Norwood's John Wynne overran the ball into the Sturt dug-out. "Legend has it that master coach Jack Oatey was a bit ruffled after that incident," Millbank said. "I don't know how true it is, but there's a bit of thought that Wynne did it deliberately to try and stir him up a bit." Since Sunday's match-up was confirmed, he says, the SANFL's social pages have filled with commentary on the 48-year-old moment — proof it is "still on people's minds".
Sturt captain Tom Lewis has felt that history at close range. "He reminded me at about 7am how disappointed he was at that grand final and asked us to right a few wrongs," Lewis said of a pedestrian who stopped outside his house on Monday. "Both clubs have such a history; it does bring a lot of excitement, a lot of pressure. I'm thoroughly looking forward to it, and the boys are." Across town, Norwood captain Jacob Kennerley grew up with the story from the other side: "That famous Gallagher mark, my former number 11, so I know a lot about the history."
This time the roles are reversed. In 1978 Sturt were the raging favourites off a one-loss season — a feat they repeated in 2025 on the way to the premiership they now defend. On Sunday it is minor premiers Norwood who start warm favourites, having beaten Sturt by 19 points in the second semi-final and played just one match in three weeks. "Our preparation has been good … players are fresh," coach Jade Sheedy said. Sturt, third on the ladder, have come through three finals and carry injury clouds: midfielder Jared Dakin (hamstring) and key defender Casey Voss (dislocated shoulder) were hurt against Woodville-West Torrens, and ruckman Amos Doyle was a late withdrawal with a neck injury. Coach Marty Mattner says Doyle may yet play, Voss is unlikely — but "everyone who hasn't been playing in the league side is fit and ready to go".
Grand final day itself is built as a full civic occasion. Per the SANFL's event guide, gates open at 8:45am, the U17s Futures game starts at 9am and the Reserves grand final at 11am, before South Australian rockers The Superjesus play from 1:35pm and the Thomas Seymour Hill Premiership Trophy arrives by helicopter. Public transport is free on Adelaide Metro services with a match-day ticket, with express buses and trains running up to 45 minutes after the final siren.
Whichever way Sunday goes, one of the state's oldest scores gets an update: either Norwood confirm 1978 was no fluke, or Sturt — 48 years later — finally right a few wrongs. The full finals picture is on the SANFL's finals hub.