The Adelaide Footy League’s top 30 clubs of 2023 ranked
We’ve looked back at the 2023 local footy season to rank the 30 best Adelaide Footy League clubs. See who made the cut.
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The Adelaide Footy League has played host to some of the state’s best local talent and clubs over the years and season 2023 was no exception.
A number of outfits achieved historic success or continued reigns over their divisions, but which clubs were the best of the bunch?
It may be an impossible question to answer given the variance in quality of football played across the divisions.
No-one would consider that a club from division seven would beat a side in division one if they were to go head-to-head.
But, when comparing clubs as the best performed we have to take into account how they fared relative to the skill level around them.
At the risk of being ridiculed, we have tried to answer that seemingly unanswerable question as we rank the top 30 performing clubs of the 2023 AdFL season.
For our ranking system, we’ve mostly graded teams based on their records in their own comps rather than trying to compare them across other leagues.
So a club that dominated a lower div mat rank higher than a club from a higher div even though the higher division’s team would surely win should the two ever play against each other.
Some teams did outrank others due to their performances in a stronger division, despite not coming away with the premiership.
Here are our rankings from 30 to 1.
30. HOUGHTON DISTRICTS
(Division seven)
Finish: Runners-up
Finished third during the minor round with 10 wins and seven losses but impressed in finals to make the big dance and earn promotion to division six.
Ultimately went down to Ingle Farm in the grand final.
29. ST PETER’S OLD COLLEGIANS
(Division one)
Finish: Eighth
Did extremely well to survive relegation from the top division in the final weeks, defeating Broadview in round 16 and then coming from behind to beat Port District at Largs Bay in the final week to stay afloat.
28. SALISBURY NORTH
(Division two)
Finish: Sixth
Produced some of the best footy in division two in patches this year but could not get the job done late in the season to make finals.
Showed significant improvement on season 2022 to finish with nine wins in div two.
27. PLYMPTON
(Division four)
Finish: Fourth
The Bulldogs fell short of promotion again this year but still had a solid season.
Curtly and Lonnie Hampton were both standouts for the club as it finished with 10 wins in the minor round and comfortably topped Hectorville in finals.
26. PEMBROKE OLD SCHOLARS
(Division three)
Finish: Fifth
Pembroke would be disappointed with its elimination final loss to Hope Valley at the end of the year but playing finals after moving up a division remains an achievement.
Finished 11-7 in fifth spot just below Hope Valley.
25. BRIGHTON BOMBERS
(Division one)
Finish: Seventh
Produced another solid season under Brett Backwell, surviving the toughest division in the AdFL to finish Seventh.
Won seven games and finished just outside of finals by two points and percentage.
24. COLONEL LIGHT GARDENS
(Division five)
Finish: Third
The Lions impressed throughout most of the year, stringing 13 wins in the minor round together to finish third on the ladder.
Upset eventual premier Kilburn in round one of finals, booking a spot in the prelim which they eventually lost to the Magpies.
23. INGLE FARM
(Division seven)
Finish: Premiers
The Bulldogs won their first premiership in a decade this year, defeating Houghton Districts 144-58 in the grand final.
The side was also the most dominant in division seven throughout the year, finishing on top with 16 wins and just one loss.
22. MARION
(Division six)
Finish: Runners-up
Finishing minor premiers in season 2023, the Rams earned promotion to division five after a highly successful season.
Lost the grand final to Greenacres by 17 points but finished the minor round with a win-loss record of 17-1.
21. GREENACRES
(Division six)
Finish: Premiers
The Dragons followed up their undefeated 2022 season with yet another impressive year, taking out a second consecutive premiership.
Finished the minor round with a 14-3-1 record and topped Marion in the grand final.
20. HOPE VALLEY
(Division three)
Finish: Fourth
The Demons improved significantly on last season after earning promotion to division three, finishing fourth with a 12-6 record and winning a stunning comeback elimination final over Pembroke OS.
Paul Puopolo, Daniel Nobes and Matt Min all combined well up front to produce one of the most potent attacks in the division.
19. ATHELSTONE
(Division two)
Finish: Fifth
Experienced an inconsistent season compared to 2022 but still finished in the finals frame.
Star player Mitch Grigg came close to yet another league medal after a standout debut season for his junior club.
18. ROSTREVOR OLD COLLEGIANS
(Division two)
Finish: fourth
Showed significant improvement under the tutelage of new coach Damian Boots after being relegated in season 2022.
Won 11 games and handily defeated Athelstone in the elimination final.
17. BROADVIEW
(Division one)
Finish: Sixth
Broadview produced a solid season despite losing a number of star players such as Jared Petrenko and Jesse White after moving up to division one.
Finished on the same amount of minor round wins as finals side Tea Tree Gully but just missed out by a percentage of 0.3.
16. LOCKLEYS
(Division four)
Finish: Minor premiers
Produced another strong year after being promoted from division five in season 2022.
Finished second on the ladder behind strong play by star names such as Ben Haren and Bowen Hosking, but fell short to CBC OC in the big dance.
15. GEPPS CROSS
(Division five)
Finish: Minor premiers
Led by former SANFL guns Dom Barry and Robbie Young, the Rams put together one of the best minor round campaigns in the competition to finish on top with a 17-1 record.
Fell short of a premiership with a 112-94 loss to Kilburn in the big dance.
14. KILBURN
(Division five)
Finish: Premiers
The club celebrated its 100-year anniversary with a memorable division five flag.
Finished second on the ladder with a 16-2 record before upsetting Gepps Cross in the grand final by 18 points.
13. TEA TREE GULLY
(Division one)
Finish: Fifth
The Gullies finished just ahead of Broadview in fifth spot in season 2023 but put together a fantastic finals run behind the play of ruck and captain Blake Penney and former Crow Luke Brown.
The side lost the preliminary final to Prince Alfred OC after upsetting both Port District and Sacred Heart OC away from home.
12. POORAKA
(Division four)
Finish: Minor premiers
Fell short to CBC OC in the div four preliminary final after finishing top of the ladder with an impressive 15-3 record.
The Bulls dominated throughout the minor round and were heavy flag favourites heading into finals.
11. CBC OC
(Division four)
Finish: Premiers
Finished third in the minor round with a 12-6 record and made a spectacular run in finals to earn promotion.
Defeated a favoured Lockleys side in the grand final by 39 points behind standout performances by Matt and Sam Raymond.
10. UNLEY MERCEDES JETS
(Division three)
Finish: Second
Former Crow Scott Thompson led the Jets to a successful division three campaign after suffering relegation from division two.
While the club fell in the preliminary final and missed out on moving up a division, the side still finished second on the ladder with an impressive 15-2-1 record.
9. PHOS CAMDEN
(Division two)
Finish: Third
The club had a promising year after bolstering its troops in the pre-season, just missing out on promotion after falling to PNU in the preliminary final.
Henry Papatolis, Michael Virgin and Finn Betterman were all impressive as the Phantoms finished third with a 12-6 record.
8. PORT DISTRICT
(Division one)
Finish: Fourth
The side struggled compared to its fantastic premiership-winning 2022 season in the top flight and faced missing personnel in the first half of the year, but still produced a solid season overall.
Finished fourth with an 11-7 record and lost to Tea Tree Gully in the finals.
7. MODBURY
(Division three)
Finish: Runners-up
While Modbury failed to take out the flag this year, the Hawks still managed to earn promotion to division two after just falling short in 2022.
Led by star players such as Liam Verity, Tim Davey, Darcy Pisani and Ryan Llewellyn, the side won 16 games to finish minor premiers and just fell short against Flinders Park in the big dance.
6. FLINDERS PARK
(Division three)
Finish: Premiers
The Reds were galvanised in the finals after finishing third on the ladder in the minor round, storming to an impressive premiership win.
Arguably the division’s best team at full strength, Flinders Park was led by the Schwarz brothers through the midfield as it took out the grand final with a 65-54 win over Modbury.
5. PAYNEHAM NORWOOD UNION
(Division two)
Finish: Runners-up
The Falcons bounced back after being relegated from the top flight to make the division two grand final and earn promotion.
Jeremy Cini’s men finished second on the ladder with 13 wins and went down to a red-hot Golden Grove in the big dance.
4. SACRED HEART OLD COLLEGIANS
(Division one)
Finish: Third
SHOC put together a strong year in the top division of the AdFL after earning promotion from div two in 2022.
Led by star playing-coach Alex Cailotto, the club won 13 games to finish third on the ladder below Glenunga and PAOC and eventually lost its semi-final matchup with Tea Tree Gully.
3. GOLDEN GROVE
(Division two)
Finish: Premiers
The Kookaburras backed their undefeated 2022 div three season up with another fantastic year, finishing as minor premiers and defeating PNU 73-17 in the grand final.
Former Gold Coast and Norwood utility Josh Glenn was at his best for his new side, while Cam Shenton, Jake Pitman and Lewis Johnston also had strong years.
2. GLENUNGA
(Division one)
Finish: Runners-up
Despite losing the big dance, the Rams put together a historic season under Nathan Grima.
Led by league medallist Abe Davis, Glenunga finished as minor premier and made its first division one grand final since 1978.
1. PRINCE ALFRED OLD COLLEGIANS
(Division one)
Finish: Premiers
Playing-coach Craig Pitt’s side enjoyed another successful season in div one, finishing second to Glenunga in the minor round before putting together an impressive finals run to take out the club’s second top tier flag in three years.
Former Glenelg captain Andrew Bradley was a standout in the big dance as Princes topped Glenunga by 14 points.
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