Adelaide Football Club (SANFL)

Last updated

Adelaide Football Club
Names
Full nameAdelaide Football Club Limited, trading as Adelaide Crows [1]
Nickname(s)Crows, Crows Reserves, Whites, White Noise, [2] West Lakes Boys [3]
Indigenous rounds:Kuwarna
2024 season
After finals6th
Home-and-away season6th
Leading goalkicker Lachlan Gollant (29)
Best and fairest Kieran Strachan
Club details
Founded1991 (AFL establishment)
2014 (SANFL entry)
ColoursNavy blue, red, gold
   
Competition South Australian National Football League
Coach Matthew Wright [4]
Captain(s) Jack Madgen [5]
Ground(s) Adelaide Oval (53,500)
Uniforms
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Kit socks hoops red gold.png
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Home
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Away
Other information
Official website afc.com.au/SANFL
AFL current event.svg Current season

The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is an Australian rules football reserves team which competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Though the Adelaide Football Club was formed in 1990 for the national AFL competition, it was not until 2014 that the club was granted a license to field a dedicated reserves team in the SANFL. [6]

Contents

History

The Adelaide Football Club was created in the court room doing bid against port Adelaide football club in 1990 as part of the Australian Football League's expansion into non-Victorian areas. [7] The club first competed in the 1991 AFL season, finishing a respectable ninth on the ladder at the end of the season before first competing in a finals series in 1993.

From 2011, Adelaide club officials began expressing genuine interest in the formation of a stand-alone reserves side in the SANFL competition, rather than continuing with the draft policy which resulted in Adelaide-listed players being released to SANFL clubs when not selected for the AFL team. Originally, considerable opposition from the SANFL clubs and the South Australia Football Commission resulted in the club being denied a SANFL licence; Chairperson John Olsen contending such a change would "compromise the SANFL competition" as well as have a negative impact on league depth, talent, competitiveness and gate takings. [8]

In response, Adelaide made it clear that it intended to establish a stand-alone reserves team from 2014, and that it was prepared to field the team in the South Australian Amateur Football League or in another state if the SANFL continued to refuse it entry. [9] Following improved negotiations between Adelaide executives and SANFL clubs, [10] the Crows' bid for a SANFL stand-alone side was approved by a vote of 6-2 of club executive representatives in August 2013. [11] The 15-year agreement results in Adelaide being required to pay an annual licence fee of $400,000 and commitments to retain the integrity of the SANFL, including an agreement not to rest players. [11]

Adelaide's first SANFL premiership match was against North Adelaide on April 6, 2014. [12]

Between 2021 and 2024, coach Michael Godden took the club to two preliminary finals, [13] but without a Grand Final appearance, was replaced by Matthew Wright for the 2025 SANFL season. [4]

Club structure

As part of the formation of a stand-alone Adelaide Crows team in the SANFL, several points of agreement were made to apply to the club once it began competing from 2014: [14]

Ahead of the 2015 season, SANFL executives outlined additional new measures in relation to Adelaide's player list: [15]

Minor round matches

The Crows are permitted the use of one home game from its two annual matches against the Port Adelaide reserves team (nicknamed the Port Adelaide Magpies). However, as part of the agreement allowing Adelaide to field a stand-alone team in the SANFL, the Crows are required to play all other regular season games at the home ground of their opponents. The only exception to this was the Round 15 2016 match, when it hosted Sturt at Thebarton.

List of home grounds

YearsVenueLocationNotes
2014Clare Oval Clare SANFL Showdown I
2015Balaklava Oval Balaklava SANFL Showdown III
2016Mannum Oval Mannum SANFL Showdown V
2016 Thebarton Oval Thebarton Vs. Sturt
2017 Woodville Oval Woodville SANFL Showdown VII
2018Kadina Oval Kadina SANFL Showdown X
2019Port Pirie Oval Port Pirie SANFL Showdown XI
2021 Adelaide Oval North Adelaide SANFL Showdown XIII

Guernsey

Since competing in the SANFL competition, Adelaide has worn a guernsey that differs from the home guernsey of their AFL side. From 2014 to 2019, the SANFL side wore a "v-shape" style guernsey, chosen by members, that featured the red, gold and navy colours of the traditional strip in the upper third of the front of the guernsey, with a white base covering the remainder of the guernsey. [16] [17] Ahead of the 2021 season, the Crows switched to a hooped guernsey similar to the traditional AFL strip, but with gold and blue hoops on a predominantly red base. [18] Since 2022, Adelaide have worn the same Indigenous guernsey as their AFL and AFL Women's counterparts. In 2025, Adelaide adopted a new away guernsey featuring the club's new logo on a dark blue background, mirroring the AFL teams' red equivalent. [19]

Current squad

Development squadCoaching staff
  •  2 Ned Atkinson
  •  12 Jay Boyle
  •  14 Hugh Haysman
  •  16 Cameron Taheny
  •  36 Andrew McPherson
  •  37 Blake Drury
  •  43 Saxon Evans
  •  46 Jack Madgen (c)
  •  47 Jayden Davis
  •  50 Darcy Clifford
  •  51 Jay O'Leary
  •  51 Will Crane
  •  52 Steve Burton
  •  54 Tate Coleman
  •  55 Stephen Tahana
  •  56 Austin McDonald
  •  58 Dylan Whimpress
  •  59 Thomas McCormack
  •  59 Lachlan Thomas
  •  60 Harry Boyle
  •  62 Harry Cook

Head coach

Assistant coaches


Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)
  • (i) Inactive

Updated: 1 September 2025
Source(s): Players, Coaches

Season results and honours

Adelaide SANFL Honour Roll
SeasonLadderW–L–DFinalsCoachCaptain(s)Best and fairestLeading goalkicker
2014 8th7–11–0DNQHeath Younie Ian Callinan Ian Callinan Ian Callinan (27)
2015 7th8–9–1 Ian Callinan (2) James Podsiadly (46)
2016 4th11–7–0Preliminary FinalsLuke Carey Jonathon Beech Harry Dear (37)
2017 8th7–11–0DNQ Ryan O'Keefe Alex Keath & Hugh Greenwood Scott Thompson Troy Menzel (24)
2018 10th1–17–0Rotating [a] Patrick Wilson Ben Davis (22)
2019 3rd11–6–1Preliminary FinalsHeath Younie Matthew Wright Patrick Wilson (2) Tyson Stengle (30)
2020 Did not field a team due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 8th5–13–0DNQ Michael Godden Matthew Wright Kieran Strachan Billy Frampton (24)
2022 2nd12–6–0Preliminary Finals Kieran Strachan (2) Matthew Wright (35)
2023 3rd13–5–0 Jackson Hately Lachlan Gollant (42)
2024 6th8–10–0DNQ Jack Madgen Kieran Strachan (3) Lachlan Gollant (2) (29)
2025 3rd14–4–0TBA Matthew Wright TBA

Records and statistics

Updated to the end of the 2024 season [20]

See also

References

  1. "Current details for ABN 48 008 101 568". ABN Lookup. Australian Business Register. November 2014. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  2. https://crowshistory.afc.com.au/adelaide-sanfl-jumpers [ bare URL ]
  3. https://crowshistory.afc.com.au/facilities-timeline [ bare URL ]
  4. 1 2 "SANFL: List Update". afc.com.au. 1 November 2024.
  5. Griffith, Della (9 February 2024). "Crows name 2024 SANFL Captain". Adelaide Football Club.
  6. "Potential Crows SANFL guernseys - vote for the one you think Adelaide reserves should wear next season". Adelaide Advertiser. 16 August 2013.
  7. "Adelaide Crows - A Short History (Archived)". Adelaidefc.com.au. July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010.
  8. "SA clubs say no to reserves teams". Adelaidenow.com.au. 22 June 2012.
  9. "Adelaide says it will get a reserves side, but not in the SANFL next year". HeraldSun.com.au. 5 August 2013.
  10. "Adelaide Crows said meeting with SANFL clubs on reserves teams went well". ABC News Australia. 5 July 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Crows reserves bid approved by SANFL, Power offered place in revised competition". ABC News Australia. 16 August 2013.
  12. "SANFL program released". Adelaidefc.com.au. 20 December 2013.
  13. "SANFL: 26-man development squad revealed". afc.com.au. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  14. "SANFL: agreement details". Adelaidefc.com.au. 15 August 2013.
  15. New SANFL rules for Crows in 2015
  16. "Revealed: the new Crows SANFL jumper". Indaily.com.au. 7 November 2013.
  17. "Crows vote for traditional SANFL guernsey". afl.com.au. 7 November 2013.
  18. "SANFL: Introducing our new guernsey". afc.com.au. 24 February 2021.
  19. Griffith, Della (10 February 2025). "SANFL: Crows confirm 2025 Captain". afc.com.au.
  20. "SANFL Club Records". Crows History Locker. Retrieved 9 April 2025.