Seaton, Glenunga, Gepps Cross and Marion – all Rams sides make Adelaide Footy League grand finals
WHAT is in the water at the four Adelaide Footy League clubs sharing the nickname the Rams? Plus your grand final guide, medal winners and more in the One-Percenters weekly wrap.
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WELCOME to One-Percenters – a wrap of some of the quirky talking points from across the Adelaide Footy League.
Each edition we will bring several titbits – they might be eye-catching results, milestones, comebacks, big wins, broken droughts or inspiring stories.
If you have heard about something quirky, email us your suggestions or photos to matthew.turner1@news.com.au.
Here are some of the things that caught our eye at the weekend’s finals:
RAMS CHARGE INTO GRAND FINALS
There must be something in the water at the four clubs who all share the nickname the Rams – all will play in grand finals.
Two Rams teams will lock horns in the division four grand final with Glenunga and Gepps Cross set to battle for glory.
Jack Gibbs has dreamt about winning a flag with his older brother Glenn ever since they kicked the footy around as youngsters.
Gibbs’s childhood wish is a chance of coming true as the brothers prepare to line up with Gepps Cross in the Adelaide Footy League’s division four grand final this Saturday.
“Glenn is four years older than me, so we’ve played together every since I joined the seniors team in 2014,” Gibbs, 23, says.
“Winning a premiership would mean everything to me, obviously being there with my brother and most of my schoolfriends.”
Twins James and Jarrad Clark-Rantassa are also hoping to help the Rams to a flag.
The Clark-Rantassas won an under-17 premiership with the club and also featured in a drawn grand final in 2006 but lost the replay the following week. This is their first year back with Gepps after playing for Greenacres in division five the past three seasons.
It will be the second time in two weeks that these two clubs face-off after playing each other in the semi-final at Webb Oval on August 25.
Gepps took the honours in that encounter, winning by just two points.
Glenunga’s appearance in the decider means the club has been promoted for the second-straight season, following last year’s division five premiership.
Seaton Ramblers will be hoping to break a 28-year premiership drought when it locks horns with Scotch Old Collegians in the division three premiership decider at Thebarton Oval this Saturday.
The Rams are coming off a week’s rest after a win against North Haven in the third tier’s semi-final a fortnight ago and that led to them earning direct entry into the grand final.
Lastly, the Marion Rams are into the division seven grand final – an incredible achievement in their first season in the amateur league.
Marion crossed over from the Southern Football League after decades of losing in the SFL.
Rams players were pumped after beating St Paul's Old Scholars in Saturday’s preliminary final, 15.7 (97) to 10.6 (66) on Saturday.
TIGHT TUSSLE
Votes were counted for divisions three to seven – plus reserves and all C grade competitions – last Thursday but the highlight of the night was the division two reserves battle.
As far as medal counts go, it does not get any closer.
Not only was it a three-way tie for the honour of taking home the G Palasis medal, the winners finished on 10 votes, followed by three players on nine and another trio on eight.
Austinn Horner (Old Ignatians), Angus Ralph (Broadview) and Michael Guerin (Unley Mercedes) were the joint medallists.
Incredibly, all three did not poll a single vote in the final two rounds.
Horner led for the majority of the count but only played seven matches for Iggies’ B grade, called up to the seniors for most of the second half of the season.
Speaking of the A grade, here are the winners of each medal:
Division three: Shane Harris (Seaton Ramblers)
Division four: Dale Armstrong (Pooraka)
Division five: Matt Brincat (Blackfriars OS)
Division six: James Deeley-Godfrey (Rosewater)
Division seven: Stephen Saunders (Marion)
The division one and two counts will take place on Monday, September 10 at the Arkaba Hotel.
LIONS ROAR AFTER PRE-GAME PEP TALK
Trinity Old Scholars players were not going to hide just how pumped up they were before their division six grand final against Rosewater at Thebarton Oval on Saturday.
During their pre-game warm up a they could be heard revving each other up, yelling; “this is what we play football for”, and “We beat them once this year, we can do it again”.
The Lions certainly came out firing and eventually claimed their first A grade premiership since entering the amateur league in 2006, beating the Bulldogs 13.4 (82) to 9.7 (61).
Teusner did not play after Salisbury West captain Adam Jones broke his jaw during the qualifying final last month.
Picture: AAP/ Keryn Stevens
CROSS TOWN RIVALS FACE OFF AGAIN
Brighton and PHOS Camden will battle for the third time in five weeks – but the stakes are as high as they have ever been with a place in the grand final up for grabs.
The cross-town rivals are set to meet in the division two preliminary final this Saturday, two weeks after they played each other in a qualifying final at Brighton.
The Bombers took the honours in the game two weeks ago, beating PHOS 9.15 (69) to 8.8 (56).
PHOS Camden proved too strong for Broadview, 12.4 (76) to 6.9 (45) to earn a rematch with Brighton, while the Bombers lost to St Peter’s Old Collegians, 16.6 (102) to 6.9 (45).
It’s been a rapid rise for Brighton, the reigning division three premiers, since moving from the Southern Football League to the amateurs last year.
REMEMBERING MAGGIE
All amateur league clubs either observed a minute’s silence or clapped for a minute before their games to pay tribute to woman’s footballer Maggie Varcoe, who tragically died last Thursday.
Maggie, the sister of Collingwood AFL player Travis Varcoe, succumbed to a head injury sustained in an on-field collision with an Angle Vale teammate in the division two women’s Adelaide Footy League grand final two weeks ago.
Players across Adelaide also wore black armbands.
Angle Vale made the decision to retire the 27-year-old’s No. 1 guernsey to honour her memory.
GRAND FINAL GUIDE
September 8 – it is the biggest Saturday of Adelaide Footy League grand finals we will see all year.
From fairytales to red-hot favourites, the league’s division three, four, five, seven (including reserves and C grade) deciders will be taking place.
There will be 24 teams doing battle in 12 grand finals across the city in the bumper day of action.
Thebarton Oval
D3 – Seaton Ramblers v Scotch Old Collegians @ 2.30pm
D3R – Flinders Park v Plympton @ 12.15pm
C3 – Flinders Park v Scotch Old Collegians @ 10.00am
Alberton Oval
D4 – Gepps Cross v Glenunga @ 2.30pm
D4R – Gepps Cross v Mitcham @ 12.15pm
C4 – Salisbury v Gepps Cross @ 10.00am
Payneham Oval
D5 – CBC Old Collegians v Woodville South @ 2.30pm
D5R – Hope Valley v CBC Old Collegians @ 12.15pm
C5 – Pulteney v Hope Valley @ 10.00am
St Mary’s Park
D7 – O’Sullivan Beach Lonsdale v Marion @ 2:15pm
D7R – Houghton Districts v O’Sullivan Beach Lonsdale @ 12.00pm
Daly Oval
C6 – Prince Alfred Old Collegians v Rostrevor Old Collegians @ 12.00pm