Smithfield withdraws from 2021 Adelaide Footy League division five competition

An Adelaide Footy League side has withdrawn from the competition a month out from the season kicking off — but is vowing to return in 2022.

Smithfield Football Club's men’s division five team durin a huddle in 2020. The Panthers will not field a team in this year’s Adelaide Footy League competition due to a lack of numbers. Picture: Supplied, Smithfield Football Club

An Adelaide Footy League club is vowing to return to the field in 2022 after withdrawing from this year’s campaign — a month before the season gets underway.

A lack of players, volunteers and sponsors has forced Smithfield to pull the pin on its 2021 campaign.

Panthers football director Dwayne Nisbet said closing the clubrooms and bar for three months during SA’s first coronavirus wave last year had hurt the club financially.

Fielding a division five and reserves team during a shortened 2020 season due to COVID-19 also left many players and volunteers mentally exhausted, according to Nisbet.

“A lot of this is to deal with the pandemic and a lack of numbers with support, players, volunteers and everything else on the back of that,” Nisbet said.

“It’s sort of been a domino effect from the pandemic.

“Last year was one of the toughest years we’ve ever had and I know we are not the only club in that position.

“All our volunteers were in the 55-65 age bracket and a lot of them weren’t around last year so it put a lot of pressure on the few people who were there.

Action during an Adelaide Footy League match between Smithfield and Hectorville in 2016. Picture: Matt Loxton

“Then heading into this year, our coach had major surgery and morale was down, so we didn’t have the players.

“We haven’t had the numbers on the track and we haven’t had good enough numbers to field two teams.”

Nisbet said the club could have the numbers for a C grade side but league rules required two teams to be fielded.

He labelled this year as a “rebuild phase” and hoped players and volunteers would come on board for next year to help the Panthers return stronger.

“It happened back in 2010 — an identical situation with players leaving — then five years after that enjoyed the most success in our club’s 108-year history,” Nisbet said.

“We won back-to-back premierships (division seven in 2014 and then six in 2015) and went up three division in three years.

“It’s not all doom and gloom for us, this will give us some time to reset and set ourselves up to have two teams next year.”

Smithfield will still have a female side play in the Adelaide Footy League women’s division five competition and its junior teams will also continue.

Meanwhile, Rosewater has dropped to the sixth tier from the fifth and Hectorville will take its place in division five.

Adelaide Footy League chief executive John Kernahan was disappointed Smithfield would not be part of the competition this year.

Rosewater players after being defeated by Trinity Old Scholars in the 2019 Adelaide Footy League division six grand final. Picture: Keryn Stevens

But would “look to engage with Smithfield as the 2021 unfolds to see what their appetite is to re-emerge for 2022”.

“Smithfield have worked extremely hard in the last three or four years from the ashes of period of time they were less than satisfied being associated with,” Kernahan said.

“It is also inherent of what is generally believed to be an overpopulation of clubs in that belt of Adelaide.

“However, it also highlights why we have recently introduced a regulation of not accepting start up clubs to our competition while we have existing clubs under the pump to remain sustainable.”

Although there was no relegation and promotion in 2020 due to the coronavirus, Kernahan said Rosewater had struggled post COVID-19 and it was in the club’s best interest to move down a division.

“Anecdotally it would appear they (Rosewater) are competing for the same players as neighbour Portland who have re-entered the competition in 2021,” Kernahan said.

“Hectorville had indicated as early as the days following their premiership win in 2020 that they would accept promotion if offered.

“Through unfortunate circumstances, the silver lining for them is they get their chance to compete in a higher division due to Smithfield’s withdrawal and a wish from Rosewater to be graded in division six.”

The Adelaide Footy League season starts on April 10.