Adelaide Footy League One-Percenters – Goodwood Saints ready to roll after tough season start

An Adelaide Footy League division one power has suffered its worst start to a season in nearly 20 years, but its coach believes it can march back into finals this season. That and more in One-Percenters.

Welcome to One-Percenters – a wrap of the talking points from the round in the Adelaide Footy League.

Each edition we will bring you tidbits from the last weekend – they might be eye-catching results, milestones, comebacks, big wins, broken droughts or inspiring stories.

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Here is what caught our attention during round five of the season:

GOODWOOD BUOYANT DESPITE HISTORIC STRUGGLE

Division one power Goodwood has suffered its worst start to an Adelaide Footy League season since 2005, dropping to a 1-4 record and into a relegation battle after a 50-74 home loss to top side Glenunga.

The Saints have played top four sides Glenunga, Prince Alfred OC, Tea Tree Gully and Sacred Heart OC already this year as well as Brighton, with a round one home win against Hearts their only victory so far.

The club’s 2005 side pulled off the unthinkable after losing to Broadview, Henley, Gaza and Rostrevor OC to start its campaign, eventually going on to win the division one flag.

While coach Luke Donaldson said he and his side were solely focused on each week as it came, he believed they could still make finals this year after going down in last season’s prelim and experiencing a slow start this year.

“Absolutely we can play finals,” Donaldson said.

Goodwood Saints veteran Lou Whitelock with coach Luke Donaldson and club stalwart Craig Kirkbright. Picture: Sarah Reed

“That’s always our goal, we know we need to win now after the start we’ve had but we’re also buoyant because we’ve been in a lot of games and just haven’t finished off.”

The Saints lost a number of experienced heads after the 2022 season, with players like star ruck Tom Carter (work commitments) and forward Kyle Kirk (time off) missing this year.

Donaldson said that while he had rotated through a host of new faces already this season, the experience would benefit the side in the long run.

“We’ve probably got five or six guys in the team right now who are under 20 years old and while this can take some time to pay off, the fact we’re exposing them to first team footy this early is a big positive,” he said.

The Saints have been without star ruck Tom Carter this season. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“It’s not lost on me that it’s going to take time to gel but we’re really excited for the back half of the year because we’ve managed to give guys important experience and we’ll get some players back from injury as well.”

Goodwood will face bottom side St Peter’s OC this Saturday in what should be an intriguing clash.

Donaldson said his team would need to be locked in for a full four quarters to achieve an important result.

“We’re looking to continue from where we left off against Glenunga in that fourth quarter last week – we played some really open footy and finally managed to break the lines after what was a tough start to the game.

“We know St Peter’s is a really good contested side and have a crack for four quarters.

“They’ve been in every game they’ve played in so we need to remain focused.”

LAST TEAM STANDING

Five clubs across the Adelaide Footy League’s seven divisions remain undefeated so far this season, each putting together an impressive start to their campaigns through the first month of play.

Nathan Grima’s Glenunga remains undefeated in division one, having won five games on the trot through overwhelming defence and efficiency up front to start 2023.

Hope Valley – led by star forwards Matt Min and Daniel Nobes – have also moved to 5-0 after a number of big victories in division three, the Demons blowing teams away with unmatched star power up front.

Division five sides Kilburn and Gepps Cross also remain undefeated, the former looking as unstoppable as it ever has after an off-season filled with player signings and retainment.

Greenacres has also been untouchable in division six after an undefeated division seven season in 2022, with star forward Matt Gibson booting 17 goals in his five appearances so far.