with Ebert's summation published in the Sunday Mail being "Disappointed...what else can I say?". In 1975 Ebert captained the South Australian state team for the first time. Port Adelaide finished the minor round of the 1975 SANFL season in fourth place. Ebert was best on ground in Port Adelaide's 30-point win over North Adelaide in the First Elimination Final, collecting 42 disposals and 1 goal. The following week Port Adelaide comfortably beat reigning premiers Sturt by 67 points in the First Semi Final. Port Adelaide lost the Preliminary Final to Norwood by 30 points despite leading at the end of the third quarter by 6 points. Port Adelaide finished the 1976 SANFL season as minor premiers, two and a half wins ahead of second placed Sturt. Ebert was selected as captain and centre in The News '1976 Team of the Year'. That year Ebert won his third Magarey Medal by a record margin of 17 votes over runner-up Barry Norsworthy of Central District. With 42 votes he became the sixth SANFL player to become a triple Magarey medallist. In the lead up to the 1976 Magarey Medal, Ebert noted that he would rather win the premiership than have another Magarey Medal. In an interview with Alan Shiell, Ebert stated that "It's a big thrill to win the medal but its still an individual award". Port Adelaide qualified for the 1976 SANFL Grand Final after defeating Glenelg by 43 points in the Second Semi Final. That years SANFL Grand Final sold a state record 66,987 tickets. When the SANFL ran out of tickets they opened Football Park's gates for free and the crowd grew by an estimated 15,000. The gates were shut by police 90 minutes before the bounce as spectators were being crushed. Subsequently, the police allowed thousands of spectators onto the field to sit along the fence to prevent any further physical injuries. In Ebert's fourth attempt at winning an SANFL Grand Final, he and his club were unsuccessful, with Sturt defeating Port Adelaide by 41 points. During an interview with Mike Sheehan on Open Mike regarding the loss of the 1976 SANFL Grand Final, in the context of Port Adelaide having now lost its last four Grand Finals, Ebert noted that he started to question "whether I was to blame" for the club's failure to win a premiership. After two seasons where Port Adelaide was forced to play