Phoenix Foster signs with Paskeville in the Yorke Peninsula Football League
An SA footy young gun has returned to his home state after two years in the AFL system and signed with a local club ahead of season 2025.
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An SA young gun has signed with a local footy club for season 2025 after leaving an AFL outfit and returning home.
Former Geelong player Phoenix Foster has signed with Yorke Peninsula Football League club Paskeville after making the decision to leave the Cats at the end of season 2024.
The 20-year-old ruck/forward utility was drafted out of Norwood by Geelong in 2022 but endured a challenging period as he battled injury to tally 30 goals in 30 total VFL appearances.
Foster opted to not return to the SANFL and instead joined Paskeville in hopes of enjoying his footy again.
“Last season was extremely draining physically and emotionally,” Foster said.
“I went over and beyond at the club to prep my body and put in the work and I understood I was a longer term prospect and was injured but I felt like the work I did went under the radar.
“I made some good friends at Geelong … I achieved 95 per cent of my dream but in the end I decided I wanted to get back to enjoying my footy.”
Originally from Wudinna, Foster made his senior football debut at just 14 years old and eventually became a talented prospect at Norwood and Immanuel College through his athleticism, overhead prowess and goalkicking ability.
He said he considered a return to The Parade in 2025 and had meetings with the Redlegs but instead decided to play alongside best mate, Paskeville gun Connor Knight, in the YPFL.
“Connor is my best mate and when we were at Immanuel we made a bit of a promise to play together at some point in the future.
“I’m a country kid at heart and a country footballer and Paskeville is a really community oriented country club.
“I’m excited to be part of the club and I feel like I can give a much-needed boost to a team that has been out of finals for a while.”
The last time Foster played country football he was 17 years old.
He was confident he would be able to dominate games coming out of the AFL system.
“I want to bring a presence and I want to dominate games of footy,” Foster said.
“I want to bring a smile and also an intensity to drag guys with me and raise the standard.
“We have something that can be really special this year and I’m really excited to just be myself on the field and not what other people think I should be.
“We’re hoping for a deep finals push … we want to be a dangerous team and play an exciting but tough brand of footy.”
While Foster said he preferred the stress-free environment of playing local footy this year, he did not rule out a return to the SANFL in the future.
“I kicked the can on it this year and I maybe need a year or two to get the confidence for that level back up again,” he said.
“I’m more than happy to have conversations with clubs in the future if all goes well but right now I don’t think the time is right.”
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