Sacred Heart Old Collegians footballer Jared Shattock set for Adelaide Footy League grand final
In a year which hasn’t gone to plan, this wine guru’s vintage has taken a turn for the better. Now veteran footballer Jared Shattock is eyeing an Adelaide Footy League grand final swan song.
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Jared Shattock never thought he would be lining up in a football grand final this weekend.
After living in the US for 15 months helping to set up a wine business and then fleeing the country in March when COVID-19 took hold, the Sacred Heart Old Collegians footballer is now set for an unlikely swan song.
Shattock and SHOC will look to secure the club’s first A-grade flag in almost 20 years when it takes on Tea Tree Gully in the division two Adelaide Footy League grand final on Saturday.
Shattock, 35, had been working for Kingston Estate and living in Minneapolis with his wife Jenny and three children when he made the big call to come home.
“It all happened in the space of about 48 hours,’’ Shattock said.
“COVID was just starting to ramp up and we just decided quickly to come home, packing up about 10 suitcases and giving away the rest of our possessions.
“We arrived back home on March 21 about a month before the Black Lives Matter campaign started. It was a relief to get home.’’
Shattock said Saturday’s decider against the Wolves at Norwood Oval would be almost certainly his last game for the club.
The former SHOC captain is a football journeyman with stints at Westminster Old Scholars and Gold Coast club Labrador.
A chance meeting with SHOC coach Steve Kay and the prospect of a nine-game season was enough to lure him back to the club for another run.
“I reckon I did a two-week pre season which old players like me should always do,’’ Shattock, brother of Brisbane 2002 AFL premiership player Aaron, said.
“It will be a tough game but I’d love to win a second flag after winning one with Westminster.’’
Kay said his side had worked hard since that match and players like Shattock would be vital on the day.
SHOC coach Kay said his side had worked hard since that match and players like Shattock would be vital on the day.
“Jared has been a great servant of the club as a past captain,’’ Kay said.
“He’s come back to the club and his and his family’s reconnection with the club have been great.
“We know Tea Tree Gully is a strong club but hopefully we learned a bit from the final against them a couple of weeks ago.
SHOC’s most recent flags were in 2001 when it won the division three flag, while it took out the division two flag in 1993
Tea Tree Gully coach Justin Maschotta is pleased to see his side back in a grand final after winning the top tier flag in 2018.
“We were super prepared for the season, got a few players back into our system after a year away interstate with travel and work commitments,’’ Maschotta said.
“SHOC is a great side and well coached so we will have to be at our best.”