How West Adelaide stared down insolvency, a 32-year drought and three wooden spoons to win the 2015 SANFL premiership

IT’S a throwaway line used all too often in sporting triumphs but for West Adelaide fans it could not be more appropriate. The club’s 2015 SANFL premiership really was one for the true believers.

SANFL - Grand Final - Woodville-West Torrens Eagles v West Adelaide at Adelaide Oval. Mark Mickan celebrate the win. Photo Sarah Reed.

IT’S a throwaway line used all too often in sporting triumphs but for West Adelaide fans it could not be more appropriate.

The club’s 2015 SANFL premiership really was one for the true believers — those who saw the 1983 flag and then had to wait 32 years for the next.

Those who endured three consecutive wooden spoons in the mid 2000s and sat through countless heavy losses as the crowds around them dwindled.

And as the club stared down the threat of insolvency, management had to fight for it to simply stay alive — let alone be competitive.

Then in 2015, in one of the league’s most remarkable turnarounds, the Bloods went from ninth the year before to premier and 30 years of pain was washed away.

One of those true believers was the coach — Mark Mickan.

He was there in 1983 as a player, only to miss out on the grand final due to injury, but last year he was there as coach and led the Bloods to glory.

It wasn’t until long after the celebrations died down at Richmond Oval that Mickan had time to reflect on what the club had achieved.

And it’s still happening — people will stop him at the footy club, in the street or when he’s dropping his child at school.

“That was the thing that became evident to me soon after the game, just the amount of unbridled joy that people expressed from waiting so long,” Mickan said.

“It took a while to sink in properly but what dawned on me was the number of people who had been Westies supporters all their lives and who received great joy from it.

“And it’s still going on to a degree.”

In control ... Jason Porplyzia gets a handball away in the SANFL grand final. Picture: Calum Robertson

It was a similar feeling for football manager Andrew Marks, who built the club’s premiership list over the past six years, when he returned to Adelaide Oval for a cricket match over summer.

And when he took the premiership cup to its zone at Roxby Downs and they filled a theatre to watch a replay of the game on the big screen.

In the wake of the premiership, the club sold more than 1500 T-shirts and hats as fans snapped up history-making merchandise.

But it wasn’t always this happy at Westies.

Less than two years ago the club was in a perilous financial situation and riddled by $2m of debt.

But backed by a new trust known as the “Westies Wolfpack” and with serious cost cutting and restructuring led by chief executive John Kantilaftas, the club is hopeful of posting a profit in the next two years.

“We’re in a much better position now,” Kantilaftas said.

“In 2015 we wanted to attend to our debt, which we did, and 2016 and 2017 is about addressing our operations to make sure it returns a profit.”

The trust helped the club wipe its $2m debt and has provided it with a head lease to which the club pays annual rent for its Richmond Oval base.

“We have the options to buy back into the trust and that’s the vehicle that helped us pay off all our creditors and since that time our statutory obligations which we fell behind on is up to date,” Kantilaftas said.

“We’ve restructured and cut out $200,000 of costs and we have one of the lowest football spends in the competition — it’s about $1.15m per year.

“To win a premiership with that football spend, we’ve worked pretty hard to maximise our return to the investment we put into footy.”

THE 2015 premiership required a buy-in from players.

Once its finals place was assured, the team had a meeting at which Mickan asked them point-blank whether they believed they could win the flag.

“We asked the players directly, ‘do you believe?’ and more so the leadership group how did they feel the whole group was feeling about what could be achieved here,” Mickan said.

“And it was a very positive response to that question.

“We made clear statements that we weren’t there to make up the numbers.”

The Bloods got a wake-up call against South Adelaide in Round 17 when they lost by 23 points but the following week belted two-time reigning premier Norwood by 69 points at home.

It was the first time West Adelaide had beaten the Redlegs since 2012.

“That was a turning point for us,” Mickan said.

Another turning point happened six months earlier when Mickan brought Heath Colebatch in to work with the club’s leadership group.

“We had a very strong leadership group — Chris Schmidt as captain, Adam Hartlett, Daniel Caire, Jason Porplyzia, Travis Tuck, Jono Beech and James Ezard,” Mickan said.

“Heath brought it all together to bring the best out of everyone, they all had very good years on and off the field and had very good finals.”

Mickan also points to the appointment of new strength and conditioning coach Sean Baker who took the players to a new level physically, and Marks refers to a whole-club effort to turn things around.

“There was a lot of hard work done in the past but a lot of things turned in a positive way on and off the field, the players’ belief and the feeling around the club from the members and staff has really turned to be positive,” Marks said.

“And the other thing that’s helped us big-time is the way we’ve got our zone involved. On grand final day there were people from Roxby Downs, the Mallee, the Riverland and all different pockets to all become West Adelaide.”

As exciting as the premiership was, Mickan — never one to show too much emotion — knew there would come a time when the players had to flick a switch and get ready for 2016.

So on the Wednesday after the grand final, Mickan gathered the group together.

“Mark had them in with a program ready for 2016 so there were expectations all the way along,” Marks said.

West Adelaide might have won the flag but their long road back to the top has only just begun.

FOUR PLAYERS TO WATCH

ZAC O’BRIEN

Joins West Adelaide after 13 games in two years with the Brisbane Lions. O’Brien is a hard-running midfielder who was on Essendon’s VFL list in 2013 and brings plenty of experience to the Bloods.

TRENT STUBBS

Ex-Collingwood listed player who can be used as a midfielder or forward, Stubbs played with the East Coast Eagles in Sydney last year. The 23-year-old has his best footy in front of him and adds verstailty to West’s list.

HUGH HAYSMAN

Touted as a possible draftee but missed out in both the national and rookie drafts, Haysman’s response has been impressive. Has starred in the Bloods’ match simulation over summer and the small forward/midfielder should be in for a big year.

JACK AGOSTINO

Agostino played the preliminary final but not the grand final and has impressed over summer. Another young player who was stiff not to be drafted, the defender will again push his case in 2016.

Rising star ... West Adelaide’s Jack Agostino tackles Central District’s Thomas Stevens. Picture: Tom Huntley

Bloods reload for another shot

AS WEST Adelaide’s premiership heroes posed for their team photo a fortnight after the grand final, a handful of their teammates were running laps of the oval around them.

No sooner had they broken a 32-year premiership drought, the Bloods turned their attention to 2016.

Players reported for pre-season training in three phases but were all back on the track together by November 23.

But those on the fringe of league footy last year barely stopped training at all and will be the ones putting pressure on the established stars for a game this season.

“Our fitness has improved and that’s an indicator of effort and care factor, and we’ve tried to evolve our game to a higher level,” coach Mark Mickan said.

Mickan is well aware of the risk complacency poses in 2016 and is desperate to avoid it.

“One of the things that I’m aware of and the whole club is aware of is that when West Adelaide has had good years, they’ve often followed with not a good year,” he said.

“1983 was an example — they won the flag and didn’t make the finals the next year. We don’t want that to happen again.”

From the premiership team the Bloods lost a pillar at both ends of the ground. Livewire forward Jono Beech was drafted by the Crows and defender Tom Keough to Gold Coast.

Midfielder Will Snelling joined the Power as did Riley Bonner, while Riley Milne retired and Richard Newell joined South Adelaide.

In their place West Adelaide recruited half forward/midfielder Trent Stubbs who was on Collingwood’s list and spent last year with East Coast Eagles in Sydney.

They also added hard-running on-baller Zac O’Brien from the Brisbane Lions and signed Murray Waite from the Murray Bushrangers and Mildura twins Josh and Lachie Ryan.

But the big movers could come from within — in particular young guns Jack Agostino and Hugh Haysman who were both unlucky not to be drafted last year.

They have impressed over summer and will be keen to push their case again in 2016, which is exactly the sort of hunger Westies needs to stay at the top of the competition.

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