Greatest ever school teams: Messenger Community News picks Immanuel and St Michael’s colleges all-time best 22s
Which Adelaide school has produced the best footballers? Messenger Community News decided to try to answer this question by picking the greatest ever teams from some of our strongest footy schools. Today are Immanuel and St Michael’s colleges.
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It is a question that has been debated in local footy circles for decades.
Which Adelaide school has produced the best footballers?
Messenger Community News decided to try to answer this question by picking eight of Adelaide’s most renowned football schools’ greatest ever teams.
Selecting the 22s was an excruciatingly difficult task.
Who do you leave out?
Who plays where?
How do you compare a modern-day AFL player to a wartime football star?
There were countless discussions over a few months about players and filling positions.
But with the help of the schools, football-mad colleagues and SANFL club historians, particularly Rino Cialini and SANFL Budget editor Peter Cornwall, the squads have been chosen – and Messenger sports editor Matt Turner has made the final call.
The criteria settled on was to pick players based on their post-school football careers, not how they performed for the First XVIII.
Achievements also trumped ability, meaning present-day players at the start of their careers were often overlooked despite the possibility of future stardom.
Extra weight was given to players’ achievements before the formation of the Crows in 1991 but long-serving modern SANFL stars were also considered favourably.
Great careers that were cut short by war, injury or other factors were taken into account.
Team balance was important but not at the expense of reducing the quality of each side.
Ultimately, deciding on the final 22s came down to finding a lot of background information, getting plenty of feedback from footy followers of various vintages and gut feel.
Day three of the five-part series features Immanuel and St Michael’s colleges.
IMMANUEL
NINE of the 10 SANFL clubs are represented in this Immanuel side that has something for everyone.
For Crows fans, there is dual premiership ruckman Shaun Rehn starting in the middle and recently retired Curtly Hampton on a half-forward flank.
For North diehards, they will notice club great and SA Football Hall of Fame inductee Don Lindner in his customary centre half-forward position.
Lindner’s stunning CV as a three-time Roosters best and fairest, premiership player, all-Australian, SA representative in 16 games, 1967 Magarey medallist and captain from 1963-69 made him an obvious choice as Immanuel’s skipper.
Sturt supporters will see two of their recent flag winners, Kory Beard (forward pocket) and
Tom Harms (half-back), as well as 272-goal spearhead Julian Burton (interchange) and two-time premiership ruckman Dean Ottens (forward pocket).
Beard, who can also play in defence, and Burton also have links to Port Adelaide, where Mark, Stephen and Anthony Williams have had a significant influence.
All three brothers are in this side – Mark and Stephen looking to read Rehn’s taps in the middle with Anthony on a wing.
West Adelaide can also lay claim to Mark after his 64 games there but the biggest Bloods name in this side is full-forward Roger Luders.
Luders booted a club record 558 goals in 165 matches and was part of West’s 1983 premiership.
Luke Jericho (bench) started his career at West but finished at Norwood, leading its goalkicking in 2012 on the way to a premiership.
Paul Adler topped the Redlegs’ majors tally 25 years before that but was named at full-back in this team because the two-time grand final winner began and ended his career in defence.
Half-back Troy Clements is a Norwood best and fairest (2001) and premiership defender (1997) – and is now Immanuel’s First XVIII coach.
Glenelg has two current AFL players in the team – Collingwood’s Matt Scharenberg (back pocket) and Melbourne’s Billy Stretch (bench).
Then there is Tigers product Brad Ottens, who joins his father Dean in a tall forward line but can assist them both at stoppages, while Jordan McMahon is on a wing, rather than in his usual half-back role.
Lyle Skinner, a 213-game on-baller, ensures Central District has a presence in this 22, leaving only Woodville-West Torrens without a player.
West Coast’s Luke Partington has not quite done enough yet to make this team
Central’s Greg Mutze, West’s John Pfitzner, Eagle Ben Higgins and ex-Glenelg and Melbourne player Luke Ottens were others to be seriously considered.
All-Australians: 3 – Brad Ottens, Lindner, Mark Williams.
Magarey medallists: 1 – Lindner.
Brownlow medallists: Nil
SA Football Hall of Famers: 4 – Lindner, Rehn, Mark Williams, Stephen Williams.
ST MICHAEL’S
A MOSTLY new-school team for a relatively young college.
That is how the all-time side of St Michael’s, which is 64 years old, stacks up.
The Henley Beach school unsurprisingly has a Port Adelaide and Woodville-West Torrens flavour.
In all, 14 members of the 22 have played for Port, while six have lined up for the merged club.
Warren Tredrea is one of St Michael’s standout names.
The centre half-forward is a four-time All-Australian, Australian Football Hall of Fame member and Port Adelaide AFL premiership captain so he gets the nod as skipper of this side.
Continuing the Power factor are the Ebert cousins, Brad (centre) and Brett (half-forward), as well as Matthew Broadbent (back pocket).
Jimmy Toumpas, who has been named on the bench, has ties to both Port and Woodville-West Torrens.
Two all-Australians who are now SA-based assistant coaches also feature.
Flag-winning Carlton midfielder turned Crows midfield mentor Scott Camporeale is on a wing, while two-time Adelaide best and fairest and 2018 Power development coach Scott Thompson adds on-ball grunt.
Like Thompson, the side’s other wingman, 1986 Magarey medallist Greg Anderson, has links to both Port and the Crows.
Providing further firepower in attack are the Kluzek brothers, Matthew and Chris, who boast 356 goals between them from 213 SANFL games for the Eagles between 1993-2001.
Matthew also played 24 AFL matches for Adelaide, kicking 15 goals.
One of the other themes of the side is that it is stacked with midfielders, ensuring some players are slotted into other positions out of necessity.
Today’s Port Adelaide Magpies captain Steven Summerton is at half-back with 113-game Woodville player John Girardi on the other flank.
In between them is former Magpies skipper and Power tall Darryl Poole, who is more known for his work as a centre half-forward or ruckman.
The other three defenders are all from Port – Broadbent, courageous Power flag winner Michael Wilson (back pocket) and current Magpies coach Matthew Lokan (full-back).
Lokan could swing up forward, where he played part of his career, if needed.
More goals could come via former West Torrens ruckman Chris Lindsay, who was a proven goalkicker during his 72-game career.
On the bench are three present-day players – Toumpas, 150-game Eagles wingman Chris Hall and Crows AFLW star Ebony Marinoff – as well as 1971 West Torrens best and fairest Mick Shallow.
Some may consider Marinoff a controversial selection but her record in two seasons of the highest competition she can play is outstanding and cannot be overlooked.
She is a premiership winner, All-Australian and last year’s Rising Star.
Port pair Matthew Ashley and Darren McKay, and North Adelaide’s Matt McDonough were also in the selection mix.
All-Australians: 5 – Anderson, Camporeale, Marinoff, Thompson, Tredrea.
Magarey medallists: 2 – Anderson, Brett Ebert.
Brownlow medallists: Nil.
SA Football Hall of Famers: 1 – Tredrea.
REVEALED TOMORROW : Prince Alfred and St Peter’s
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