BIO

Before playing with Norwood, Peter Dalwood served in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) from 1941 until the end of World War II. His senior football career commenced with Fitzroy in 1945 when he was posted to Melbourne on military service. In his fourth VFL game he kicked seven goals in a winning team against Collingwood. He played seven games for Fitzroy before returning to Norwood in the latter part of 1945. 

At 6’4” (193cm) tall and weighing 15 stone (90kgs), Peter Dalwood was a giant, particularly when matched against the typical physiques on the football fields of the forties and fifties. Possessed of a prodigious high mark, he was all but unbeatable in the air but, unsurprisingly, lacked agility at ground level. 

For most of his career he played a crucial role for Norwood as a key forward or as a ruckman with the ability to score goals resting up forward. He was versatile and was even positioned at fullback for a number of games. He often used his long, accurate drop kick for goal kicking. And he was a spectacularly successful scorer of goals; Peter kicked 12 of Norwood’s 20 goals in a game against Glenelg where he was invincible, out-marking all opposition as the ball was consistently delivered high into the forward lines. He was the leading goal scorer for Norwood three times, and topped the SANFL goal kicking in 1946. 

He played in five Grand Finals between 1946 and 1952, and Norwood won three of these. His efforts in the losing 1947 Grand Final as described in a report in the Chronicle typify his significant contributions to the Norwood successes of those years: “Dalwood battled with determination all day — in ruck and in attack — and he did not spare himself in a great effort to lift his side to within striking distance”.

Peter was also a talented cricketer and played in the Adelaide grade competitions. He was a powerful batsman and could be relied on to score quickly. He was commandeered for cricket matches by the ironworkers at his father’s iron foundry and in one match at Morphett Vale scored 37 from one over. 

The Dalwood name has continued at Norwood with Peter’s son Grant playing 55 games from 1977 to 1981 and grandson William, 5 games from 2010 to 2011, before transferring to North Adelaide.

R Crompton April 2014