Sam Morris impresses as Payneham Norwood Union gears up for 2025 AdFL season
A rejuvenated division one Adelaide Footy League club believes it can compete with the best this season after a number of big signings.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Rejuvenated D1 Adelaide Footy League club Payneham Norwood Union believes it can compete with the best in 2025 after a number of key signings.
The Falcons, who will again be coached by Jeremy Cini, have acquired names like former Norwood premiership midfielder Sam Morris, Mac Bower and Isaac Hewson as they aim to improve on their 2024 preliminary final finish.
The club has seen players like Jack Hodges and Jed Spence depart but has retained former AFL player Brad McKenzie and star midfielder and former Norwood captain Matt Nunn.
Cini said he was excited to see what his new players could produce.
“The best thing so far have been the training standards they set,” he said.
“The core groups have done running before and after training throughout pre-season and now the younger guys are jumping on-board.
“From a midfield perspective, it’s really positive – we’ve got Nunn, Morris, Giannini, Hewson in there and there’s an opportunity for a young ruck like Fraser Greaves to learn alongside them.”
The Falcons went down to Port District in last year’s prelim but Cini said his side did not need the loss to the eventual premier as motivation.
“It’s hard to do that because teams change so much at the local level each year.
“From a club perspective we just look at it as really good experience to get to that stage in division one finals with nine guys who were under 21 years old and 16 who were juniors with the club.
“We really gained confidence through that finals experience and we’re building well from that.”
While PNU has experienced a positive pre-season with multiple signings and good numbers impressing on the track, a number of other clubs have also recruited well ahead of their 2025 campaigns.
Cini believed Port District, led by star ruck/forward utility Scott Lycett, would still be the benchmark.
“They’ll be the ones to chase down but you can throw a blanket over a few other teams and we think we’re among the competitors,” Cini said.
“From our end we’ll worry about our four walls and we’re confident with our depth improving.”
Ranked: The South East’s top 40 footballers of the 21st Century
SA’s South East has been packed with star country footy talent throughout the 21st Century, so we’ve drawn from the region’s three main leagues to rank the top 40 players of the past 25 years. See who made the cut.
‘I was disgusted’: Local footy club slammed over wild fines list, nude photo scandal
A former committee member has criticised a footy club for its “lack of action” over a controversial fines list and nude photo scandal, claiming it swept the issue under the rug.