Inside the recruitment strategy of Adelaide Footy League clubs yet to make a big signing
Six Adelaide Footy League clubs yet to make a big signing this off-season reveal their recruitment targets and plans for 2022.
Local Sport
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Recruitment has been the story of the off-season so far in the Adelaide Footy League.
While some clubs have managed to land big players from the SANFL, like Golden Grove signing Lewis Johnston and Cam Shelton or Prince Alfred OC signing former Glenelg captain Chris Curran, others are yet to make a significant move.
Clubs like Old Ignatians and Glenunga, who are new to division one, are in need of experience but have struggled to recruit big players as the new kids on the block, while clubs like Brighton and Rostrevor OC have mainly focused on developing their current talent.
We run through the division one clubs yet to make a significant move heading into pre-season and the big division two clubs still holding their cards.
Division one
Brighton Bombers
The Bombers finished eighth last season, narrowly escaping relegation to division two, but have put most of their energy into maintaining their current squad and bringing through young talent this off-season.
Coach Brett Blackwell said continuing to add new players was still an objective heading into December and 2022.
“We’ve added a couple guys with experience but we’re still hoping to continue recruitment and land one or two big signings,” Blackwell said.
“Ultimately we are a very young side across the board and are looking to bring quality people into our club first and then develop our players within and reward behaviours and performance.”
Glenunga Rams
Glenunga coach Nathan Grima admitted adding players to his newly-promoted division one side for this coming season would be challenging.
While Grima’s men failed to land the 2021 premiership against Old Ignatians this year, they still managed to dominate in each area of the park throughout the season.
The club will compete in division one for the first time since 1980 though and while it sees signing experience as integral, it has found it tough to compete with established outfits for player recruitment.
“There are some very, very good players and teams in division one so we’ll need to mostly rely on the development of players, especially our young guys, to be successful,” Grima said.
“We’re hoping to bring in some experience in this level of footy, so we’re of course looking at options but it’s difficult to recruit ex-AFL or SANFL guys when you’re not an old scholar team.”
Old Ignatians
Old Ignatians won its way to division one for the first time in its history in September, and is looking to add to a team made up of players with no top flight experience.
The side impressed across the ground last season but coach Damian Boots said a key forward or back would be helpful.
“We’re pretty comfortable with our areas on the field but a key forward or key back with division one experience would be great,” Boots said.
“I’m all for increasing and making the list better and I think the players recognise it’s a step up. We’ll try to lift our game but some more experience at the div one level would be valuable for us.”
Boots said the club had been active in talks with players but remained unable to land a signing as of yet.
“We’ve got a lot happening but just haven’t been able to land anyone. We would like to sign guys within the next month before pre-season ideally and are talking to players at the moment but getting them over the line is another thing,” he said.
“We’re not as bullish as some maybe.”
While Boots felt recruiting was important, he remained confident in his current team and its potential.
“We haven’t lost anyone from last season which is great and we debuted 13 kids this year so continuing to develop guys is huge.”
“We have a lot of young guys coming through and I like the idea of keeping guys as well because you don’t want to tamper with team makeup too much.”
Rostrevor Old Collegians
ROC signed new coach Ben Watkins last month but has not yet added new players to bolster its squad for 2022.
The club finished just outside finals in sixth spot in season 2021 and is looking to add reinforcements to multiple areas.
President Robert Holland said other clubs around SA, including in the country, have been tough to compete with.
“We’ve identified some spots we want to reinforce but there’s a lot of money going around at the moment,” Holland said.
“In the country for example some of those clubs can’t put a team on the field unless they spend so I guess that’s the explanation for some of the big signings there.
“We’ve also found it tough to compete with certain clubs here but there are still options and we’re very lucky we’ve got the college and have been able to bring guys through that way.”
Division Two
Adelaide University
Adelaide Uni football director Adrian Howard said while the club hasn’t landed a big signing there is a positive vibe around the senior group.
The club was relegated to division two last season and is choosing to focus most of its attention on player retention and development.
“We’ve had the usual turnover we expect at Uni with incoming students and are hopeful that a few returning players will be injury free over the pre-season,” Howard said.
“We also have a group of existing players looking to complete a strong pre-season and come up from our lower grades which is really positive.
“There is a great vibe around the group right now.”
Henley Sharks
Henley just missed finals in 2021 and has added a couple new faces to the club but hasn’t matched up to the signings of other div two clubs competing for promotion like Broadview – who signed SANFL star Nick Liddle in October.
Coach Vinnie Rugolo said while the club continued to look at more recruitment options, maintaining last season’s list has been more important.
“Retention has been our key approach this off-season and so far we’ve done really well in that aspect,” Rugolo said.
“We could have more signings on the way as well, we’re just waiting on the all clear.”
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