Mount Compass goalkicking star Tom Pinyon trades Great Southern Football League for SANFL after joining Norwood
He booted 129 goals last year â more than any player in South Australian country footy â and now gun forward Tom Pinyon is back in town for another shot at the SANFL.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Redlegs ‘mad Monday’ mates become fierce HFL rivals
- How to get the most out of your Advertiser digital subscription
Every off-season star Mount Compass forward Tom Pinyon received calls from SANFL clubs and faced a decision between his heart and his head.
And every year, attempts to lure the gun goalkicker away from his beloved Bulldogs in the Great Southern Football League had always fallen on deaf ears – until a few months ago.
When former Compass – now Norwood – ruckman Sam Baulderstone reached out this time, the 27-year-old decided this season was the right time for a third crack at the SANFL.
Pinyon, whose 129 goals for Mount Compass last year were more than any player in the state, signed with the Redlegs in December.
Stream over 50 sports live & anytime on your TV or favourite device with KAYO SPORTS. The biggest Aussie sports and the best from overseas. Just $25/month. No lock-in contract. Get your 14-day free trial >
“(Baulderstone) has hit me up the last couple of years and I thought my SANFL days were done and wasn’t overly keen,” Pinyon said.
“Truthfully, my heart’s never been able to leave Compass. It’s my home club.
“But I’ve been playing some good footy the last two or three years.
“If I passed up on the opportunity now, I probably would have kicked myself in a couple of years if I didn’t have a crack.”
Pinyon ventured out to Sturt for one season as a 19-year-old before a coaching change sparked a move back home to Mount Compass.
He then spent a season on the Adelaide Crows’ development list in 2017, kicking 14 goals in seven SANFL appearances while still playing for the Bulldogs when not selected.
But Pinyon’s 2019 stands above all others.
His 129 goals in 21 games included bags of 13, 12, 11 twice, eight twice and hauls of seven four times.
He formed a devastating one-two punch with forward partner Ziggy Vitkunas, who was second in the league with 81 majors.
Kicking 100 goals in a season is a significant feat at any level of footy, but Pinyon doing it in the GSFL – considered one of the state’s strongest country leagues – was more than noteworthy.
No-one had achieved the feat in almost 10 years prior to Pinyon.
“I never really put much thought into it (reaching 100),” he said.
“It was something I was super-proud to do in the Great Southern because no-one had done it in about 10 years.
“I wanted to top it off with the grand final, and was absolutely spewing we didn’t make it – that matters more in the end.”
Pinyon was part of Mount Compass’s back-to-back 2016 and 2017 premiership sides, and Redlegs fans will hope the key forward brings success with him to The Parade.
The 197cm, 94kg spearhead fills a need for Norwood and is likely to slot into Jarrod Cotton’s round one side.