Find out how each Central Australian Football League is shaping up leading into the 2023 season

There’s been more than a few hiccups along the way but the CAFL is officially kicking off this weekend. See how each club is shaping up ahead of the season.

A familiar family name in a coaching position, a host of returning talent and a Pioneer side chasing back-to-back flags are the big talking points leading into the CAFL season opener.

Pioneer, under coach Willie Foster, will play a new-look Wests in their night time season opener at Albrecht Oval.

The season has two new coaches in place, with Charlie McAdam at Rovers and Sam LaPorta at Federal after a dramatic few months where many pundits thought the competition was in serious danger of being cancelled.

The Alice Springs Town Council’s enforced unavailability of Traeger Park on a short or long term basis was the root cause of the problem.

Pioneer beat Souths in a classic grand final seven months ago, outlasting the Kangaroos by five points to snap a 12-year premiership drought.

Pioneer pulled off a thrilling win over Souths in the 2022 CAFL grand final. Picture: Charlie Lowson / AFLNT Media

Club champion and former North Melbourne forward Matt Campbell said his Eagles were approaching the 2024 season in a similar way to last year’s premiership campaign.

“We’ll play our footy like we’re the hunters and that’s got to be our motto throughout,’’ he said.

“If we take our foot off the gas we can expect teams around us to smash us, which is why we have to play our footy with the same aggressive mentality and a one-in, all-in approach we took to last year’s flag.’’

There is talk Pioneer midfielder Thomas Swan is headed to Souths for the new season, but Campbell said rumours of player movement were always rife at this time of the year.

“I’ve heard Thomas is staying with us, but no one has seen him around the club, so like a lot of things in Alice footy we’ll have to wait until the day before the first game to see what the registrations reveal.’’

Campbell does expect livewire forward Shawn Foster, new skipper Cheyne Miles in the ruck, Kane Sevallos, Jackson Cole and Jawoyn Cole-Manolis to be major drivers in the search for back-to-back flags.

“Those guys are still pretty young, but they’ve been around the league for a while and are important players in our side,’’ he said.

Souths coach Chris Forbes said the close loss to archrivals Pioneer in September’s grand final still hurt, creating a strong sense of redemption seeking among his players.

Grand final trio Darren Abbott (retired), ruckman David Bray and utility Shane Dorizzi will be missing from the season opener against Rovers.

Souths will be after some revenge after losing the grand final. Picture: Charlie Lowson.

But Forbes said the loss of players always seemed to be negated to some extent by the recruitment of others.

“Thomas Swan has come across from Pioneer as a wingman and Jamahl Lynch will play a utility role through the middle, up forward or down back where he will a defender one week and full forward the next,’’ Forbes said.

“We’re coming off being on the losing end of the best CAFL grand final for at least 10 years and we want to be on the right side of the ledger this time.’’

Federal has a new coach in Sam LaPorta this season after finishing third under Izaac Ankers last season.

The CAFL Demons will miss the first round action courtesy of a bye in the five-team competition, something LaPorta is not unhappy about.

“Having the bye first up works out pretty well with all the stuff (ground management) going on down here, I’ve never seen anything like it in a lot of years in footy.’’

Daniel Gorry won the 2022 CAFL best and fairest. Picture: AFLNT Media

LaPorta wants to create a close, family environment at the CAFL Demons in his first season in charge in a bid to build focus and ultimately make it to the last Saturday in September.

“I want it to be somewhere where people can enjoy themselves and get around each other which will be fantastic,’’ he said.

Federal regains dual league best and fairest (Minahan medallist) star ballgetter Abe Ankers for a full season after he committed to the red and whites and ruckman Dan Gorry, the 2022 Minahan medallist, is due to return later in the campaign.

Rovers utility Eli Dayman is a major addition to the side as Federal eyes its first game against Pioneer on May 6.

“I haven’t spoken about winning the early games, even though that is a must,’’ LaPorta said.

“What I want is an environment where people are happy to put in the hard work and from there the results will come.’’

Charlie McAdam is counting the days until Rovers’ 2pm opener against Souths at Jim McConville Oval.

His uncle Greg, an icon of Centralian football, coached Rovers in the 1990s and now it is his nephew’s turn.

“It’s my first stint as a senior coach and it’s really exciting to get an opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted to do,’’ 33-year-old Charlie said.

“It will be an on-field (playing coach) role for me as well, which is why I’m trying to find the balance of coaching and playing without putting too much pressure on myself.’’

Rovers made an early exit from last year’s finals after a closely fought knockout semi-final loss to eventual premier Pioneer.

That ended a league record equalling five successive senior flags from 2017-21 and signalled the start of a new era.

Abe Ankers has committed to Federal for the 2023 CAFL season. Picture: Charlie Lowson / AFLNT Media

The Double Blues will be bolstered this time by the inclusion of Eddie Hampton and William Bruce from the Eagles, together with South Australian pair Shayden and Royce Close.

“We’ve still got that balance of experience with Cody Marriott, Luke Adams, Gareth Remfrey and Kurt Abbott knowing what success is and the work required to get there,’’ McAdam said.

West Alice Springs, grand finalists two seasons ago, will be coached by Ben Ellis in a solo role after the Bloods trialled a three-man coaching panel in 2022.

“After playing in a grand final in 2021 and winning only two games last season, we’re obviously keen to improve on that,’’ Ellis said.

“So it’s a bit of a rebuilding season for Westies where we want to start from the ground up and build some solid foundations at senior level again.’’

Michael Langton, an in and under midfielder from NTFL club Palmerston will pull on the red and black jumper this season, together with 200cm (6ft 6in) centre half forward Travis Smith from Federal and South Australia’s APY Lands.

On the debit side, utility Denzel Anderson is likely to wear the blue and white stripes of Souths this season.

In women’s football reigning premier Rovers begin their premiership defence against Souths in a 4pm clash at Jim McConville Oval.

Brandon Blandford will coach the powerful Double Blues women as they seek to start their flag defence with a win.

Federal and the Panthers, formerly known as Alkamilya, will meet in a 1pm game at Albrecht Oval, with Pioneer and Wests closing out the women’s round with a 3pm clash that completes a doubleheader at Albrecht Oval.

Originally published as Find out how each Central Australian Football League is shaping up leading into the 2023 season