Adelaide Footy League 2020 season previews for every division one club
Ten teams, nine rounds – the Adelaide Footy League’s division one is back. But who are the contenders for the flag? Take an in-depth look at every club in season preview for the top flight.
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A nine-round sprint to be named suburban football’s top club will begin this Saturday when the Adelaide Footy League’s top flight begins the long-awaited 2020 season.
Strong recruiting and the abandonment of 12 country associations has resulted in an influx of talent to the 10 division one clubs, who are raring to go after more than nine months between matches.
There’s been big changes on the sidelines as well with both of 2019’s grand final mentors gone and replaced by playing coaches.
Take a look at how each division one club is set for season 2020.
SEASON PREVIEWS: DIVISIONS TWO TO SEVEN
INS AND OUTS: EVERY BIG MOVE
PAYNEHAM NORWOOD UNION
Last season: Premier (division one)
Coach: Jace Bode
Jace Bode says the modified season is “the great unknown” but the new Payneham Norwood Union playing coach has no doubts about the expectations on the Falcons’ premiership defence.
The former Redlegs captain, who takes the reins from Garry McIntosh, has the bulk of 2019’s historic flag-winning side at his disposal and knows the club craved more success.
“Walking into a strong club like Payneham … there’s an expectation to win every year,” Bode said.
“Clearly each team in the competition has been able to pick up one or two guys at least and it will be tough week in, week out.
“In a shortened season there won’t be any room to slip up.”
The Falcons lost three key pieces of their spine in the off-season with forward Alex Forster (Pembroke OS), ruckman Cameron Milne (retired) and defender Pierce Seymour (Woodville-West Torrens) all departing.
The losses have been tempered by Bode’s arrival along with returning former captain Tyler Brimacombe, young ruckman Lachlan Matthias (CBC OC) and former North Adelaide small forward Strato Agorastos.
Bode also hoped to have the services former Norwood teammate Michael Newton at some point during the season, if border restrictions between SA and Victoria were lifted.
He will also continue to lean on McIntosh, who inspired the Falcons to their first ever division one flag, with the Redlegs great staying on as reserves coach
PRINCE ALFRED OLD COLLEGIANS
Last season: Runner-up
Coach: Craig Pitt
Prince Alfred Old Collegians is hungry to rectify its mistakes after last season’s heartbreaking four-point grand final loss, according to first-year playing coach Craig Pitt.
The Old Reds were widely regarded as the team to beat by opposition coaches during pre-season after bolstering their already strong side.
It included the biggest recruiting splash in the competition’s recent history, luring former Melbourne captain and Port Adelaide midfielder Jack Trengove to the club.
Pitt, who took the job after the club parted ways with Brett Backwell, said the long pre-season had fuelled the fire even further for the Old Reds.
“When you get so close after being quite strong all year, we felt like we let ourselves down,” Pitt said.
“We’ve been hanging out for round one for quite a long time just to get over that game, start moving towards the future and hopefully go one better this year.”
“That’s obviously the ultimate goal but there’s going to be some strong teams to get past before we can get to that stage.”
Joining Trengove as Old Reds’ recruits are former Carlton-listed defender Cameron Giles, Norwood youngster Lochie Charlton and Bryce Woolard, who played 31 league games with Glenelg.
PAOC conceded the least points in the division last season and will once again prove difficult to beat for any side.
ROSTREVOR OLD COLLEGIANS
Last season: Preliminary finalist
Coach: Will O’Malley
Perennial top flight contenders Rostrevor Old Collegians will hope its abundance of quality midfielders will bring success after two seasons of being close, but not good enough.
ROC led eventual premiers Payneham Norwood Union for more than half the match in last season’s preliminary final before going down in a second-half fade out.
It followed 2018’s grand final defeat, which came on the back of a flag the year before.
An engine room already full of quality with the likes of playing coach Will O’Malley, last season’s division one medallist Tim Baccanello, Luke Manuel and Craig Holm has been added to.
Ex-South Adelaide skipper Nick Murphy (Kaniva Leeor) and former Norwood and Glenelg hard nut Dylan Reinbrecht (Echunga) will ensure the men from Campbelltown will be tough to beat around the contest.
O’Malley was confident his side would be fighting in September.
“Last year we were five goals up in the prelim final and lost, so we know we’re around the mark and I think we should be again,” O’Malley said.
“Apart from losing Heath Commane and Anthony McCarthy we’ve been able to keep the team together.”
The retirement of Commane, who booted 57 goals last season, adds more pressure for veteran forward Michael Coad to lead ROC to a winning score.
ST PETER’S OLD COLLEGIANS
Last season: Semi-finalist
Coach: Geoff Riddle
St Peter’s Old Collegians coach Geoff Riddle believes his side will close the gap on the competition’s top three sides in 2020.
Saints finished fourth on the ladder last season in their first season back in division one and in Riddle’s first year at the helm.
SPOC was five wins behind Payneham, PAOC and ROC, who all ended the minor rounds equal points.
“When we sat at the end of last year and had a look at it, we probably finished where we deserved to finish,” Riddle said.
“The top three were clearly the top three for the whole year.
“But having said that, we beat everyone except PAC during the year so we knew our best matched it with anyone.
“We were good last year in patches but I got the feeling from the boys that they wanted to be more consistent at this level.
“We’ve definitely improved mentally and physically, our recruiting was a lot better than last year and the boys really seemed to buy in over summer.”
SPOC only had one off-season departure with captain Sam Roberts retiring due to injury.
Jonathan Read – recruited from Victorian Amateur Football Association club Old Geelong – former Central District ruckman Matthew Claughton and young Norwood utility Hugo Fahlbusch-Moore have arrived along with a number of depth players.
GOODWOOD SAINTS
Last season: Elimination finalist
Coach: Luke Donaldson
If any division one side benefited from the coronavirus shutdown, it was Goodwood Saints.
Last season’s elimination finalist has gone from top five hopeful to flag contender with key additions in the last month.
Former North Adelaide brothers Max and George Thring and fellow Rooster Billy Laurie all signed from Keith after the club’s league was abandoned for 2020.
They are joined by ex-West Adelaide midfielder Nick Favretto, while former Goodwood and Norwood ruckman Angus Clarke returned to the club from VFL side Werribee.
Saints premiership player Luke Donaldson is also back, taking over as coach from Adam Jeffries.
“We feel like we’ve prepared really well and we absolutely have the goal of playing finals in all grades,” Donaldson said.
“Every week is going to be a tough game though, a lot of these guys coming back makes the league stronger.
“We were able to pick of a few out of this COVID shutdown period, but all of them we were touch-and-go to sign leading into this year anyway.”
The Saints, who won seven division one flags between 2005-2015, finished fifth on the ladder in last season before losing the elimination final to SPOC.
PORT DISTRICT
Last season: 6th
Coach: Simon Maddern
An abundance of change at Largs Reserve has Port District as one of the more unknown quantities heading into this season.
The ever-competitive Magpies lost seven from their A-grade side last season, including star skipper Trent Heffernan, but have recruited strongly.
Coach Simon Maddern said Port’s chances looked promising.
“On our day I think we’re good enough to beat anyone and we’ve shown that over the last few years,” Maddern said.
“The last three years we’ve finished fifth or sixth.
“So we need to make sure we get enough wins to get to the finals in a decent position where you can attack from.
“We’ve lost a few but I think we’ve been able to replace them fairly well.”
Along with Heffernan’s departure to Nuriootpa, Will Northeast (Mintaro Manoora), Harley Tiller, Ben Drogemuller (Barmera Monash), Callum Masters (Kybybolite) and Damien Coulthard have also left.
Brothers Jack and Cooper Gaffney (Woodville-West Torrens), Matt Appleton (Port Adelaide SANFL) and Adam Mahney (Rosewater) are among the arrivals.
BRIGHTON BOMBERS
Last season: 7th
Coach: Joel Tucker
Brighton won plenty of admirers in the club’s division one debut last season and coach Joel Tucker says his side’s competitiveness will not wane in 2020.
The Bombers, in just their fourth year since crossing from the Southern Football League, have consolidated their status as a division one club.
And Tucker believed his side is capable of achieving more than their seventh-placed finish last season.
“Last year we missed the finals, really by a couple of kicks,” Tucker said.
“We lost two games after the siren where if we kicked straighter we would have won and probably finished in the top five.
“Our goal like it is every year since we’ve come into the league is to make sure we compete and give ourselves every opportunity to succeed.”
The Bombers will be straightened up by the return of former captain and key defender Will Rivers, who took 2019 off upon entering the Metropolitan Fire Service.
They have also recruited former strong-bodied West Adelaide player Nigel Osborn and Woodville-West Torrens’ Jarrod Miller.
Tucker also earmarked youngster Adam Beaumont, who returned to the club from Glenelg, as one to watch.
Justin Evans (South Adelaide), Samuel Kennedy (Myponga-Sellicks), Dylan Lang (Myponga-Sellicks) departed the Bombers in the off-season.
ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY
Last season: 8th
Coach: Ben Watkins
Can Adelaide University finally force its way back into the top five or will 2020 be another year in no-man’s land?
The Blacks have finished between sixth and eighth on the ladder every season since 2013, neither making finals or suffering relegation.
Coach Ben Watkins, who took over as caretaker during last season before winning the job full time, said he was not happy with just being middle of the road.
Under his watch the Blacks won four of their last seven games to finish 2019.
“I don’t want just staying in division one to be seen as a success, we need to be striving to play finals, to have a home final.
“It’s more been about a change of culture and getting the boys to buy in. And I think they have.”
Watkins hoped the returns of Seb Paynter (Meningie) and Carson Clark (Nuriootpa) would add experience and leadership to his young group.
North Adelaide speedster Maris Olekalns, whose father Egils was a five-time best and fairest winner at the Blacks, Ben Edwards (Port Adelaide SANFL) and Conor Noonan (West Adelaide/returned) signed during the shutdown.
“We want to be a team that’s really hard to play against,” Watkins said.
“I think in the past it hasn’t always been like that.”
ATHELSTONE
Last season: Premier (division two)
Coach: Chris Radetti
A new coach, a new division and a new-look squad has Athelstone pegged as underdogs coming back into the top flight.
The Raggies will be young according to coach Chris Radetti, who played in last year’s flag win and took over the role from Jade Sheedy.
Sheedy’s departure to the top job at Woodville-West Torrens was compounded by his brother Justin leaving along with Christian Elliott (Birdwood), Kyle Durdin (Victoria), Tristian Binder (Norwood) and Radetti himself hanging up the boots.
The new coach said he would back the club’s youth in.
“When the club went up to division one last time (2018) the playing group was so young and it was a bit of a challenge for that very young group,” Radetti said.
“I think it’s going to be similar again because of the experience that we’ve lost, there’s not a great amount of guys who have played a lot of division one football.
“But I think we’ll be okay. They’re a keen group, it’s just going to take a bit of time for them to adjust.”
UNLEY MERCEDES
Last season: Runner-up (division two)
Coach: Kane Stewart
Unley Mercedes coach Kane Stewart says he is not putting any limitations on the his side’s prospects this year with finals on the radar for the club’s return to the top tier.
The Jets will hope to make more of an impact than their first foray in the top flight in 2016, which ended in relegation.
They were upset by Athelstone in the division two grand final last year after finishing the campaign as minor premiers.
“We don’t want to come up just to make the numbers, we’re striving to be the best footy club we can and have a crack at playing finals,” Stewart said.
“We’ve had some exciting news with the clubroom development and it’s an exciting place to be at the moment.
“Hopefully we can carry that momentum onto the field.”
The club was buoyed earlier this month by the announcement of a $700,000 State Government grant towards a $2.1 million upgrade of Kingswood Oval.
While many other clubs have added recent recruits, Unley locked away its list earlier in the year bringing in some key pieces in forward Tom Langford (PHOS Camden) and young guns Damon Arnold (Reynella) and Jack Lewis (Ramblers).
But the Jets will be hurt by losing key players Mitch Duval (West Adelaide) Jye De Zylva (Sturt) and Simon Munn (retired) during the off-season.