- Helped give Port Adelaide the premiership
- He brought modern elements to the game with his skill and great frame.
- He had been battling health problems before his death.
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Former Port Adelaide player David Granger has died after a long battle with cancer.
The 69-year-old, nicknamed “Serious Danger,” died on Thursday, according to a statement from his former club released shortly after midday on Friday.
“The Port Adelaide Football Club is saddened by the passing of two-time premiership David Granger, who passed away yesterday at the age of 69,” a club spokesperson said in the statement.
Granger predominantly played as a key forward representing Port Adelaide in 103 matches from 1975 to 1982. Meanwhile, he played three matches for St Kilda in 1979.
Controversial Port Adelaide player David ‘Grave Danger’ Granger has died following a battle with cancer.
Granger was a key forward who represented Port Adelaide in 103 matches between 1975 and 1982.
Port Adelaide chief executive Matthew Richardson expressed his deepest condolences on behalf of the club to Granger’s daughter Carly and the rest of his family.
“David had battled health problems in recent years and it is sad to hear of his passing,” she said.
‘David was an incredibly talented player during Port Adelaide’s reign in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
‘He was a modern-day player, 188 centimeters tall, athletic and strong. David was exceptionally talented and was instrumental in the club’s drought-breaking 1977 Grand Final victory.
The soccer star was considered a controversial figure, both on and off the field.
While Granger was a talented player, his career was marred by a series of violent acts on the field.
Granger also had problems off the field, convicted of drug trafficking in 2002 after 17 kilos of cannabis.
He was known for a spate of violent incidents during his decade-plus career, including an incident in which he punched Glenelg player Neville ‘Twiggy’ Caldwell during the 1981 grand final, ending the player’s football career.
He also reportedly hit Glenelg player Graham Cornes in the following year’s grand final.
He was convicted of drug trafficking in 2002 after 17kg of cannabis with an estimated value of up to $35,000 was found in his home.
Granger’s 1981 Premiership captain Brian Cunningham said “his footballing talent and enormous skills were often underestimated due to his notoriety.”
Cunningham said that while the public was not always sympathetic to Granger, he personally will remember him as a man loyal to the team.
“Others outside the club misunderstood him and sadly I don’t think we’ve ever seen the best of David’s raw talent consistently on the pitch,” he said.
“I will remember him as someone who was enormously talented and who played a key role in our successes as Prime Minister in the late 1970s and early 1980s.”