Ned McHenry to coach Prince Alfred OC in 2025
Delisted Crow Ned McHenry will remain in Adelaide in 2025 after signing on as a playing coach in local footy.
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Former Adelaide Crows player Ned McHenry has a new home, but it won’t be in the AFL or the SANFL next year.
Instead, it will be with an Adelaide Football League club with close links to the forward livewire’s friends.
McHenry has signed with Prince Alfred Old Collegians as player and coach of the Division 1 team.
The former Geelong Falcons player was a first round draftee in 2018 and played 70 games for the Crows before being delisted at the end of the season.
When McHenry first moved to South Australia he spent the first few months in Adelaide living with the Swale family.
Chloe Swale is the fiancee of fellow Crows player Reilly O’Brien.
The Swale family has links to Prince Alfred OC and it was Will, Chloe’s brother, who mentioned to the club Ned might be interested in joining.
One call later, the Reds had their man.
“Will Swale, who he was living with (previously), he rang me four weeks ago and said Jim maybe you should give Ned a call,” Prince Alfred OC football director Jim Parkinson said.
“That’s where it all started.
“We were talking initially about playing but then we were able to convince him he should be coaching.”
The Reds were looking for a new coach after Craig Pitt stepped down at the end of this season due to work commitments.
He led the team to premierships in Division 1 in 2021 and 2023.
Parkinson said the club had commenced their search well before McHenry’s name emerged on their radar.
“We had been looking for a coach for six or seven weeks,” he revealed.
“We had a number of magnificent applicants but we weren’t just able to get there.
“We were patient and wanted to make sure we got the right man.”
McHenry stood out when he presented to the club.
“He presented to us, Monday a week ago, and his presentation was extraordinary,” Parkinson said.
“It was so thorough yet so simple and will suit the Adelaide Football League.
“It was really impressive.
“We’re very sure he will be a good coach even though he is as young as he is.
“We’re very confident we’ve got our man (to lead us to glory).”
Parkinson said the team was primed for success again after consolidating their talent this year.
The team finished sixth, after winning the premiership in 2023, but had to recover after the loss of a handful of players including ex-AFL player Jack Trengove.
“We’ve had a solid year of consolidation (in 2024) and we are ready to leap into the next two years,” Parkinson said.
“It’s a couple of big years for us.
“We’re celebrating our 100th year next year but really we’re celebrating in 2026.
“We were founded in 1926.
“We’ve got a plan to be as successful as we can in the next two years with a strong plan to win a premiership in both of those seasons if we possibly can.”
McHenry has only signed a one-year-deal at this stage but Parkinson is confident it could be the start of a long time together between the two.
“Ned will not only provide what he can on the field as well as he does but we’re convinced he will be a fantastic coach as well.
“We’ve only signed him for one year with the intent to take him beyond that.
“We’ve won three (premierships) in the last seven to eight years and we want to maintain that.
“It’s our intent (with Ned) to be back in the five and fight for another premiership (next year).”
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Originally published as Ned McHenry to coach Prince Alfred OC in 2025
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