How a former Port Adelaide AFL ruckman lost weight and found a SANFL lifeline | Andrew Capel

He answered the SOS from new Eagles coach Sam Jacobs and now this premiership hero has returned as SANFL’s Incredible Shrinking Man, writes Andrew Capel.

Sam Jacobs described it as a “Hail Mary’’ phone call.

With the first-year Woodville-West Torrens SANFL coach’s ruck stocks dwindling before his very eyes in January, Jacobs – in consultation with chief executive David Couzner and football manager Matthew Goldsworthy – decided to, out of desperation, reach out to triple Eagles premiership ruckman Jarrad Redden, who retired from the SANFL at the end of 2022.

“At that stage (No. 1 ruckman) Dave Brinker-Ritchie was battling a knee injury and a few other niggles, Jordan Lukac, our other main developing ruckman, was managing a knee injury and Jack Boyd, our (tall) recruit from Werribee, had undergone back surgery, so we needed to look at some reinforcements,’’ said Jacobs, a former Eagle, star Crows AFL ruckman and triple Showdown Medallist.

“We didn’t really need someone full time, given we were expecting those players back, but we needed someone to fill a gap and play a role for us for a while.

“We knew ‘Reddo’ was playing footy back home on the Yorke Peninsula (for the Southern Eagles), had shed a fair bit of weight and was in pretty good shape, so we thought ‘let’s give it a go’.

“It was a bit of a Hail Mary but he loved the idea, so it worked – and it’s worked better than we could have hoped for.’’

Jarrad Redden at work with Mr Clip this week. Picture: Kelly Barnes

It was almost as if Redden, 33, was waiting for the call.

“I had a bit of an itch to get back but I was fairly settled with the decision of moving away from the SANFL and not being so tied down with all the training and that sort of stuff,’’ he said.

“But when the call came through I was actually pinching myself, thinking ‘I can’t believe this has actually happened’.

“Straight away I was like, ‘yes, I want to play for you again’, but I had to make a quick call to my wife (Hannah) and she was on board, all for it, because she had enjoyed her time being a part of the Eagles.

“So I called the club back pretty quickly and things moved forward from there.’’

Redden has hit the ground running.

Despite a limited pre-season, he led the Eagles’ rucks in Round 1 against West Adelaide and immediately starred, recording 11 disposals, 36 hit-outs and six clearances in his side’s 64-point win.

“He’s been unreal and has given us more than we expected, so we are very happy,’’ said Jacobs of his fellow Yorke Peninsula ruck product.

The 2024 version of Redden is different to the one who retired after three flags and 145 games for the Eagles from 2008-22 and 16 AFL matches for Port Adelaide (2009-15).

Jarrad Redden at Eagles training last month. Picture: Matt Turner.

Jarrad Redden celebrates his third SANFL premiership after the Eagles beat Glenelg in the 2021 Grand Final. Picture: Sarah Reed.

The 205cm giant has shed a remarkable 18kg and become the SANFL’s Incredible Shrinking Man after giving up an office job to work in garden maintenance.

“It’s fair to say I’m a little bit lighter than what I was a couple of years ago,’’ Redden said.

“I bought a franchise with Mr Clip (Garden Services) last August and have been dropping weight ever since, just being on my feet all day.

“I’d cover an average of about 8-10km a day and now weigh about 122kg, whereas at my heaviest I was 140kg.

“Losing the weight has been incredible for me, my knees aren’t aching as much and I’m a little more agile and able to get around the ground a bit better.’’

Redden, who has two young boys, Judah, 3, and Ezra, 6 weeks, said he was loving his return to the SANFL and had been reinvigorated after struggling with the time commitment and becoming stale at the end of 2022.

“It’s been great fun and I’m really enjoying the set up the Eagles have put in place for me where I only have to train one day a week there, it just works so well with my work and family life,’’ he said.

“If other guys in their 30s could do that I reckon it would extend their careers by two or three years.’’

Jarrad Redden contests the ruck against Glenelg’s Jack Hannath in the 2021 SANFL Grand Final. Picture: Sarah Reed.

Woodville-West Torrens’ triple premiership winners, from left, Patrick Giuffreda, Luke Thompson, Jimmy Toumpas and Jarrad Redden, after the 2021 Grand Final win against Glenelg. Picture: Sarah Reed.

As much as he is relishing being back at the Eagles and would love another SANFL flag – he is one of four Woodville-West Torrens players to have won a club record three premierships, along with former captain Luke Thompson and the now-retired Jimmy Toumpas and Patrick Guiffreda – Redden said he was mindful of the reason he was brought back to the club.

“I can’t afford to look too far ahead because of the set up we agreed on at the start, which was that I would play a fill-in role until the other rucks are back up and running,’’ he said.

“So while I’ve been happy with the way I’ve been going I don’t want to get my hopes up too much in case I get pushed aside later on.

“The whole situation is a bit of an unknown and something we’ll take week by week.

“If I’m not playing for the Eagles in the SANFL I’ll go back and play for the Southern Eagles (in the YPFL), which was where I intended to play this year anyway, so we’ll just take it one step at a time.’’

NUMBERS GAME

4 – Winless AFL teams after Round 4 (Adelaide, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and West Coast) – the first time in VFL-AFL history there have been four 0-4 teams.

7 – Centre clearances by Port Adelaide’s Jason Horne-Francis against Essendon – one more than the entire Bombers team.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“(There is) just incredible frustration among all of us. We get glimpses of who we know we can be and then we have periods of time where we look so far off.’’

– Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks on the club’s 0-4 start.

“I’ve seen him play some pretty good games, but not that good. It was outrageous what he was doing. He’s a great young captain.’ – Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley on Connor Rozee’s performance against Essendon.

Originally published as How a former Port Adelaide AFL ruckman lost weight and found a SANFL lifeline | Andrew Capel