SANFL 2022 preview: Eagles still team to beat as winds of change sweep through
It’s been a very busy off-season with major changes across the league now factoring into Woodville-West Torrens’ bid for a premiership hat-trick.
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Rarely has there been such a changing of the guard.
Preliminary finalist South Adelaide’s “outs’’ column from last year highlights the amazing SANFL player turnover in one season.
The Panthers, who are chasing their first men's league premiership since 1964 and have lost the past two preliminary finals, have recorded a staggering 52 per cent senior list turnover since losing the penultimate game to Glenelg.
Ten members of last year’s preliminary final team are gone, headlined by dual Magarey Medallist Joel Cross (retired) and teenage sensation Jason Horne-Francis, who was drafted by AFL club North Melbourne at pick one.
Sam Skinner (Port Adelaide) and Matthew Roberts (Sydney) also found AFL homes while Nic Schwarz, Ben Haren, Alex Cailotto, Anthony Biemans, Daniel Nobes and Jesse McKinnon retired from the SANFL.
Most have joined lower level clubs after they juggled family and work commitments against a salary cap that will remain at $210,000 for the second consecutive season as the league finds its feet again following two Covid-affected seasons.
Prior to 2020, the salary cap was $400,000.
But South - where former Crow Brent Reilly is the new general manager of football - hit back hard in the recruiting market.
It signed four players from AFL lists - its former ruckman and fan favourite Keegan Brooksby (Hawthorn), Ryan Garthwaite (Richmond), Oscar Claravino (St Kilda) and Oscar Brownless (Geelong) - along with Sam Ramsay from Carlton’s VFL side and Elliot Dunkin (West Adelaide) and Ollie Davis (Adelaide) from SANFL rivals.
But while player lists have changed dramatically, some things are expected to stay the same.
Woodville-West Torrens - chasing a historic premiership three-peat - will start the season as flag favourite.
Jade Sheedy’s well-drilled outfit copped some personnel blows over summer, losing dual premiership stars, Jack Oatey Medallist Jack Hayes (St Kilda) and Magarey Medallist James Tsitas (Gold Coast), in the pre-season supplemental selection period.
But the Eagles made a major move in restoring the balance of power by fighting off rivals to win the prized, late signature of former Essendon midfielder Dylan Clarke.
Last year’s minor premier Glenelg, South, Sturt, which won seven of its last nine games last season, and Port Adelaide are expected to be the Eagles’ biggest challengers.
Here’s how the 10 SANFL clubs shape up before round one, which kicks off with a state league showdown between Adelaide and Port at Adelaide Oval at 4.10pm on Friday.
Adelaide
Coach: Michael Godden.
Captain: Matthew Wright.
Last season: 8th (5 wins, 13 losses).
Key ins: Nathan Freeman (Frankston), Jake Soligo (Eastern Ranges), Zac Taylor (Calder Cannons), Luke Nankervis (Sandringham Dragons), Isaya McKenzie (Willaston), Louis Sharrad (Port District), Jacob Templeton (Central District), Josh Smithson (North Haven)
Key outs: James Mathews (Sturt), Ollie Davis (South Adelaide).
AFL Covid Contingency List: Jay Boyle, Nathan Freeman, Matthew Wright, Isaya McKenzie.
Draft watch: Nathan Freeman.
Coach says: “We’ve been pretty aggressive in the off-season in filling our list with a few guys who can be senior heads. That will allow us to be a bit more competitive because they can help our younger, less experienced AFL-listed players and show them what it takes to be a league or AFL footballer. That’s important because SANFL footy is pretty tough and young players can get exposed very quickly. There were some games last year where I felt sorry for our young kids who weren’t quite ready, so we wanted to support them with some bigger bodies and on-field leadership.’’
Verdict: 7-8.
CENTRAL DISTRICT
Coach: Paul Thomas.
Captain: Jarrod Schiller.
Last season: 9th (4-14).
Key ins: Aaron Nietschke (Melbourne), Billy McCormack (Frankston), George Kendall (Mangoplah Cookardinia-United Eastlake), Zac Buechner (Clarence), Bailey Reeves (Gold Coast Academy).
Key outs: Leek Aleer (GWS), Nick Gillard (retired), Brendan Dew (Barossa District), Connor McLean, Tom Graham (Norwood), Jonathan Marsh (Coburg), Lachlan Grubb (North Adelaide), David Haydon (retired).
AFL Covid Contingency List (Adelaide): Justin Hoskin, Travis Schiller, Kyle Presbury, Billy McCormack.
Draft watch: Adam Deakin.
Coach says: “We have a few internal aims that we are shooting at and they are pretty clear across the group. Put simply, we need to score more and defend better and are looking at key metrics around that. The guys have made some really good inroads into working towards those aims across our whole game style to help us get more reward for effort. I couldn’t question our effort last year, it was outstanding, but effort only got us four wins.’’
Verdict: 9-10.
GLENELG
Coach: Brett Hand.
Captain: Max Proud.
Last season: 2nd (18-3).
Key ins: Jordan Murdoch (Gold Coast), Corey Lyons (Aspley/Brisbane), Cole Gerloff (Norwood), Marco Rossman (Sydney Academy), James Deegan (Glenorchy).
Key outs: Chris Curran (Prince Alfred College OC), Marlon Motlop (retired), Brad Agnew (Echunga), Dylan Landt (Essendon VFL), Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda), Brodie Newman (Darwin).
AFL Covid Contingency List (Adelaide): Luke Partington, Corey Lyons, Sam Durdin, Matthew Allen.
Draft watch: Hugh Stagg.
Coach says: “We’re hoping to be around the mark again. I think we have some great depth at the footy club, with our league, reserves and under-18s making grand finals last year. We've lost a few key senior players but there is some good youth coming through to replace them and we've recruited well. Lyons and Murdoch have some fantastic experience and bring some knowledge to the club, so we are looking forward to being very competitive again.’’
Verdict: 1-2.
NORTH ADELAIDE
Coach: Jacob Surjan.
Captain: Alex Spina.
Last season: 5th (10-9).
Key ins: Jake Patmore (Claremont), Will Gowers (Aspley), Will Tasker (Brisbane Academy), Liam Hoy (UNSW Bulldogs), Reed van Huisstede, Sam Thorne (Sydney Academy/VFL), Lachlan Grubb (Central District), Nigel Lockyer (Rovers, Alice Springs)
Key outs: Jarred Allmond (Woodville-West Torrens), Billy Hartung (Victoria), Ben Jarman (SANFL Covid protocols), Mitch Clisby, James Craig (Westminster OC), Tom Schwarz (Flinders Park), Lewis Hender (Keith), Alex Barns (Morphettville Park), Tanner Smith (retired), Kaine Mercovich (Port Fairy), Robbie Young (Tailem Bend).
AFL Covid Contingency List (Adelaide): Alex Spina, Campbell Combe, Harrison Wigg, Aaron Young.
Draft watch: Isaac Keeler.
Coach says: “We expect to play finals and then see how we go from there. I think we’ll be knocking on the door again. There’s been lots of change, with older guys out and younger, enthusiastic players in. We’ve filled a lot of needs with some speed and key utilities who can play at both ends of the ground. Overall, I’ve been really happy with our off-season and looking forward to seeing what we can do.’’
Verdict: 7-8.
NORWOOD
Coach: Jade Rawlings.
Captain: Matthew Nunn.
Last season: 4th (11-9).
Key ins: Jay Rantall (Collingwood), Ben Jarvis, Cam Taheny (Geelong), Pierce Seymour (Woodville-West Torrens), Tom Graham, Connor McLean (Central District), Tom Condon (Glenelg), Kobe Tozer (Aspley), Cory Stockdale (Casey Scorpions) Thomas Donnelly (North Launceston), Baynen Lowe (Devonport).
Key outs: Mitch Grigg (Lobethal), Richard Douglas (retired), Paul Puopolo (Virginia), Brad McKenzie (Payneham), Cam Shenton (Golden Grove), Cole Gerloff (Glenelg), Michael Knoll, Michael Talia (retired).
AFL Covid Contingency List (Port): Jay Rantall, Ben Jarvis, Declan Hamilton, Jacob Kennerley.
Draft watch: Max Michalanney.
Coach says: “We’ll have a different group this year following a lot of retirements and people moving on to different phases of their life. We’ll be young with a lot of new faces, so our biggest challenge is to try to establish really good team synergy and chemistry as quickly as we can. We’ve put in a lot of work to try to fast-track that and to establish what our best team is early in the season. Most of the players we’ve retained we’d like to think have their best footy ahead of them, which is a good thing, and gives us the chance to bring the group through together over a three-to-five year period.’’
Verdict: 5-6.
PORT ADELAIDE
Coach: Matthew Lokan.
Captain: Cam Sutcliffe.
Last season: 7th (9-9).
Key ins: Trent Dumont (North Melbourne), Sam Skinner (South Adelaide), Josh Sinn, Dante Visentini (Sandringham), Jase Burgoyne (Woodville-West Torrens), Hugh Jackson (North Adelaide), Anthony Wilson (Payneham), Jackson Lee, Nick Moore (Woodville-West Torrens), Brayden Kirk (North Adelaide).
Key outs: Hamish Hartlett (delisted/West Adelaide), Boyd Woodcock (delisted/Southport), Joel Garner (delisted), Peter Ladhams (Sydney), Jarrod Lienert (delisted/St Kilda).
AFL Covid Contingency List: Cam Sutcliffe, Trent Burgoyne, Luke Surman, Matthew Lobbe.
Draft watch: Trent Burgoyne.
Coach says: “We think we have added some guys on our (SANFL) contracted list that will certainly help us perform better this year. Wilson, Moore, Lee and Kirk will be really good for our program and it will be exciting to see them play in the black and white. We’ve been getting them up to speed with our game style and if we can keep our AFL list reasonably fit we think they’ll help us play a really strong brand of football.’’
Verdict: 5-6
SOUTH Adelaide
Coach: Jarrad Wright.
Captain: Matthew Rose.
Last season: 3rd (12-9).
Key ins: Keegan Brooksby (Hawthorn), Ryan Garthwaite (Richmond), Oscar Claravino (St Kilda), Oscar Brownless (Geelong), Elliot Dunkin (West Adelaide), Ollie Davis (Adelaide SANFL), Sam Ramsay (Carlton VFL), Harrison Gunther (Glenorchy), Jye Menzie (North Hobart).
Key outs: Joel Cross (retired), Sam Skinner (Port Adelaide), Jason Horne-Francis (North Melbourne), Matthew Roberts (Sydney), Arlo Draper (Collingwood), Alex Cailotto (Sacred Heart OC), Nic Schwarz (Flinders Park), Jake Tarca (Encounter Bay), Ben Haren (Lockleys).
AFL Covid Contingency List (Port): Ryan Garthwaite, Bryce Gibbs, Keegan Brooksby, Oscar Claravino.
Draft watch: Kyle Marshall.
Coach says: “It’s been a very different pre-season from my first four years of coaching South because of the significant list changeover and (assistant) coaching and administration changes, so we’ve had to work hard on building our connection. We’ve brought in some really good people and talented players but it takes a lot more than just talent to get wins on the board. We’ve lost a lot of experience and there’s that connection piece that will take some time. But I’m really happy with the players we’ve brought in.’’
Verdict: 3-4.
STURT
Coach: Martin Mattner.
Captain: James Battersby.
Last season: 6th (9-9).
Key ins: James Mathews (Adelaide SANFL), Malachy Carruthers (Sydney), Josh Rentsch (Greater Western Victoria Rebels), Daniel Schoell (Onkaparinga Valley), Sam Breuer (Horsham).
Key outs: Charlie Parker (Western Bulldogs), Zane Kirkwood (Tanunda), Mark Evans (Pembroke OC), Matt Crocker (retired), Jake Sutcliffe (St Peter’s OC), Josh Patullo (Victoria), Jordan Houlahan (Mt Barker).
AFL Covid Contingency List (Adelaide): Malachy Carruthers, Daniel Fahey-Sparks, Tom Lewis, Casey Voss.
Draft watch: Nick Sadler.
Coach says: “Last year we got a lot of games into a lot of our younger players, so hopefully they’ll keep getting better. Patrick Wilson played just one quarter (because of injury) for us last season, so he’s like a new recruit. Given how we finished the year - our last 10 weeks were very good - and our strong pre-season, I’d be expecting to push for finals.’’
Verdict: 3-4.
WEST Adelaide
Coach: Brad Gotch.
Captain: Tom Keough.
Last season: 10th (2-16).
Key ins: Hamish Hartlett (Port Adelaide), Kaiden Brand (Sydney Swans), Josh Carmichael (Merbein), Liam Delahunty (Port Melbourne), Michael Mattingly (Kyabram), Clayton Gay (Dandenong Stingrays), Blair Rubock (Labrador), Riley Corbett (Canberra Demons), Callum Park, Jackson Edwards (Glenelg), Darren Walters (Williamstown).
Key outs: Kaine Stevens (retired), Mitch Duval (Woodville-West Torrens), Elliot Dunkin (South Adelaide), Kieran Lovell (Tasmania), Josh Schiller (Edwardstown), Aaron Anderson (Edwardstown), Nathan Batley (Kadina).
AFL Covid Contingency List (Port): Hamish Hartlett, Kaiden Brand, Tom Keough, Josh Ryan.
Draft watch: Harry Lemmey.
Coach says: “We can only improve, which is the key line. We want to turn some of the opportunities we wasted last year into two premiership points this season, which might build more belief and confidence in the group. We’ve had a fair turnover of players, so we clearly identified some key areas with our recruiting - Hartlett as a mid-back, Brand as a tall defender and we got Edwards and Park from Glenelg, who were limited in opportunities because of Glenelg’s strength but we feel they can contribute something for us.’’
Verdict: 9-10.
WOODVILLE-WEST TORRENS
Coach: Jade Sheedy.
Captain: Luke Thompson.
Last season: 1st (16-5).
Key ins: Dylan Clarke (Essendon), Connor Ballenden (Brisbane), Jarred Allmond (North Adelaide), Mitch Duval (West Adelaide), Seb Guilhaus (Victor Harbor).
Key outs: Jack Hayes (St Kilda), James Tsitas (Gold Coast), Tyson Stengle (Geelong), Patrick Giuffreda (retired), Angus Poole, Jake Von Bertouch (Kadina), Ben Jungfer (Western Australia/work), Pierce Seymour (Norwood).
AFL Covid Contingency List (Port): Connor Ballenden, Dylan Clarke, Troy Menzel, Daniel Menzel.
Draft watch: Adam D’Aloia.
Coach says: “We want to be even better than last year. We don’t talk about results because they will look after themselves. It's just been about the process of trying to get fitter and better in every aspect of our game, to improve as a footy club. We’ve lost some key players but we’ve recruited well and getting Clarke, who’s a ripping kid, late in the pre-season really helps our midfield, adding some real quality in there alongside the likes of Riley Knight, Kobe Mutch, Jo Sinor and Jesse Lonergan.’’
Verdict: 1-2.
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