Croweaters trounce fierce rivals to cap strong era for SA football
With the AFL putting an end to state representation at a senior level, a group of South Australian teenagers has kept the fires burning with dual national success at the expense of longtime rivals from Victoria.
The SA Croweaters Under 16s side defeated Vic Metro by 12 points to claim the AFL national championship at the Gabba on Friday, just over a week after the Under 18s triumphed by 55 points against Vic Metro at Docklands.
It was the second time SA has won both titles since 2014 — the Under 16s' fifth since 2010, and fourth for the Under 18s since 1995, which also included a win in 2013.
SANFL Under 16s coach and talent pathways manager Julian Farkas said it had been a strong decade for SA football.
"Obviously there's something SA is doing right considering the results that have happened over the course of probably the past decade," he said.
The Under 16s players came from all over the state, from Kadina to Port Pirie, Mount Gambier and Langhorne Creek, while there was also a strong contingent of metro players, including seven from Glenelg Football Club.
"The Under 18s are similar. There was a couple from Ceduna, for example," Farkas said.
"There is not one location where they all come from and it's great to see both regional and metro areas across the state are represented."
National championships showing the state's best
Interstate games involving senior AFL players stopped in 1999 with the increasing popularity of the national league.
"That's just the evolution of football unfortunately," said Farkas, who coached the Under 16s for the first time this year.
"That's why, I guess, there's so much interest in the underage element of the state programs because that is how we get to show our state pride.
"I think those best players represent our state at that age group and that pride is on show."
But the AFL National Championships are also prime hunting grounds for scouts and many of the Under 18s will find themselves in the AFL draft where they could be picked by a league side.
"Some of them [players] will get to stay in SA, some of them will obviously head elsewhere, and some of them will hopefully stay at a SANFL club for many years to come," Farkas said.
As for the Under 16s, he said the championships were the beginning of what was effectively a "three-year job interview".
"It would have been the first time some of these guys would have been seen by AFL recruiters, while some of them would be known to them already."
Farkas himself, who is about to enter his fourth year as the talent pathways manager for SANFL, said he would be back to coach the Under 16s next year.
"I think it's a great age group as they're right in the sweet spot for learning," he said.
"They're like sponges and really willing to learn and take on board what we try and teach them."
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