SANFL premiers Mark Evans, Max Thring join Pembroke Kings for 2022 Adelaide Footy League season

An Adelaide Footy League club has secured the signatures of two ex-SANFL guns in a big off-season move ahead of 2022.

Division four Adelaide Footy League club Pembroke Old Scholars has landed two significant signings with North Adelaide premiership captain Max Thring and Sturt premiership forward Mark Evans joining the ranks.

Evans will join as playing coach after calling time on a SANFL career which ended with two premierships, a Ken Farmer Medal and a Double Blues best and fairest.

Thring – the Roosters’ 2018 premiership skipper – has signed from Keith and also played with division one club Goodwood Saints in 2020.

“Coaching and mentoring is something which has always appealed to me, especially with the young group we had at Sturt, and I think it’s a great opportunity for me to coach a senior team and also keep playing,” said Evans, who will link up with brother Tom at the Kings.

“Also getting the opportunity to play with my brother who’s been at the club since 2008 is brilliant and something I can’t turn down.”

Former Norwood and Sturt player Mark Evans has joined Pembroke Old Scholars as playing coach. Picture: Sarah Reed

The Kings have been starved of success in recent years but are gradually building a strong core of old scholars with Evans and Thring joining Tom Evans and 2021 100-goal kicker Alex Forster.

Pembroke has claimed the division four minor premiership the past two seasons but has crashed out of the finals without a win on both occasions.

Evans was excited by Thring’s addition and said it could open up the door for more big moves in the future.

“We’re thrilled to have Max on-board,” he said.

“He clearly has a lot to add as a quality player around the ground but we look forward to seeing what he can bring as a mentor to the younger mids.

“It’s great to have another experienced old scholar back and hopefully it can help set a bit of a trend for more quality old scholars wanting to play at the club.”

Having played at Norwood and Sturt throughout his 12-year career at SANFL level, Evans has had the opportunity to learn from multiple top-class footy thinkers.

Max Thring (right) holds the SANFL cup with former Norwood captain and ex-PNU coach Jace Bode. The former North Adelaide premiership captain will be a huge boost for the Kings. Picture: Tom Huntley

He said he would look to implement his learnings into a plan which can set Pembroke up for long-term success.

“I’ve been lucky to have some really good coaches like Marty Mattner at Sturt and Nathan Bassett at Norwood. They’re really good strategic thinkers and I’ll definitely bring some elements of what I learned from those guys,” Evans said.

“We want to come up with a game plan which can stand up against the better teams this year and in the future.”

Evans said while success would be part of a long-term process, the club didn’t seem far off from its goals of reaching the higher divisions.

“The club is a bit lower in the rankings than where it’d like to be but we’ve got a really good opportunity now with a strong playing list to implement a bit of a plan which can take us up to division three, two, one in the future,” he said.

“There’s a great culture here already so it’s now just about implementing that structure.”