Golden Grove signs Cam Shenton, Lewis Johnston for 2022 Adelaide Footy League season

An Adelaide Footy League club has made a big off-season splash, recruiting two former AFL players including a romantic return for a junior product.

New Golden Grove coach Luke Barmby (middle) with star recruits and Norwood premiership players Cam Shenton (left) and Lewis Johnston (right). Picture: Golden Grove Football Club

Star Golden Grove signing Cam Shenton says a romantic return to play for his boyhood club had always been on the cards when his SANFL career came to a close.

The former St Kilda and Norwood utility and Kookaburras junior was one of two gun recruits – alongside fellow ex-Redleg Lewis Johnston – announced by the division three Adelaide Footy League club this week.

The star duo will add significant quality to an already strong Kookaburras team under new coach Luke Barmby, who has taken over from 2020 premiership mentor Eric Kells.

Cameron Shenton is tackled by West Coast’s Mark LeCras while playing for the Saints in 2014. Picture: Jay Town

Shenton played with Norwood until he was drafted at the end of 2011 and then returned to the Redlegs in 2017. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Shenton, 31, announced his retirement from Norwood earlier this month and told The Messenger there was never any doubt his next move would be to link up with brother Rohan and some close mates at Harpers Field.

“I was always going to come back to Golden Grove,” said Shenton, who played 118 SANFL games for the Redlegs and made 24 AFL appearances for St Kilda.

“It’s my local club, I’ve followed them all the way through my career keeping a close eye on them and it’s where I started playing footy.

“I feel like it’s always good to give back to the club you started with and hopefully I can help Golden Grove progress to the higher divs where I believe they should be.”

Shenton, who played in two losing grand finals (2011 and 2018) with the Redlegs and missed their 2012-2014 three-peat while on St Kilda’s list, said the desire to win a premiership still drove him.

Shenton will be joined at Golden Grove by former Norwood teammate Lewis Johnston, who spent the recent season with Mount Compass in the Great Southern Football League. Picture: Golden Grove Football Club

And to help achieve that feat at the Kookaburras he convinced good mate Johnston – a former Sydney Swan and Adelaide Crow – to help him.

“I’m pretty close with Lewy and always wanted to play with him again once he finished up with Norwood and I was able to convince him to come to Golden Grove,” Shenton said.

“I pretty much told him I wasn’t going anywhere else so he had to come with me.

“I lost two flags at Norwood and my goal has always been to win a flag at the highest level I can.

“And now that’s at amateur level with Golden Grove so I’ll be hoping to win as many flags as I can with them.”

And the Kookaburras are just as desperate for success.

While Golden Grove tasted the triumph of a premiership just last year, the club was not elevated to division two for the recent season because promotion and relegation was frozen due to Covid.

The Kookaburras came close to another grand final appearance this campaign but were upset by Gaza in the preliminary final.

Football director Greg Morris said it was great for the 26-year-old club to have a player come “full cycle” for the first time from its juniors, to the elite level and back again.

“We’re very fortunate to have the opportunity to have both Cam and Lewis play for us,” Morris said.

“Cam’s only incentive was to come back to the club where he started his football and help us try and move up the grades.

“He’ll be the first of our juniors to do that complete journey, SANFL, AFL and then finally returning to the club.

“We’re one of the younger clubs in the league and I guess this is the start of us really maturing.”