Administration, Community and Licensed Club

• South Adelaide Football Club has many people who attend League matches at Noarlunga, work as volunteers (approx. 140) or Sponsor the club (approx. 130);
• Throughout the SAFC Zone, the number involved in administering, coaching, umpiring or supporting football would be many thousands. With 7,500 people involved in the game itself it would be reasonable to assume that at least as many would attend the games and up to one third would be involved in some way in running the game;
• The SAFC also runs a Licensed Club, Jimmy Deane's Entertainment, which has an entertainment/community area which can hold up to 550 people and is booked almost every day of the week for activities including Bingo, Theatre Acts, Live Shows, Conferences, Business Breakfasts, Football Functions, Weddings, Cheerleader Practice, Red Cross, community activities such as the Southern Success Business Expos and many other activities which bring people from all age groups together;
• There is also a restaurant, bar and 40 poker machines which are open 7 days a week and which are patronised by a wide group throughout the Southern Community; and
• The club employs 15 people on a full time basis, 15 casual staff, 9 Part Time Paid Coaches and Trainers, 1 Trainee and 1 Part Time person; a total of 41 people.

Our trademark

“The Pride of the South – Respected Throughout the SANFL”

The trademark of the South Adelaide Football Club is intended to depict the core brand and perception by which the South Adelaide Football Club and the South Adelaide Footballers Club wish to be seen by the football community and the Southern area as a whole.

All actions of the on field and off field members of the Clubs will aim to maintain the Trademark at front of mind in all activities and endeavours. This will be assisted by the following agreed behaviours, which are grouped under three distinct qualities:

Respect
We will:

• Never give up
• Perform to the optimum
• Relentlessly strive to succeed together

Transparent Communication

We will:

• Drive open, honest and meaningful dialogue
• Interactively encourage constructive and effective two-way feedback
• Purvey unwavering support and optimism

Pride

We will:

• Put “The Club” first
• Embrace and invest in the Southern Community
• Be relevant to our Club, its members, our supporters and The South

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The South Adelaide Football Club traces its origins back to the year 1876; at that time, a few players who had formerly belonged to the Adelaide Football Club decided to form a club of their own. They combined with another group who had broken away in the previous year, and the team we now know as the Panthers had its beginning at a meeting in the Draper Memorial schoolrooms. One of the people responsible for the formation of this new club was Charles Cameron Kingston, who became its first secretary, a position he held until 1879. He was then President of the club until 1904, during which time he was also Premier and Attorney-General of South Australia, a member of the committee responsible for drafting the constitution for the Commonwealth of Australia, and Minister of Trade in the very first Federal Government.

In 1877, the South Australian Football Association was formed and South Adelaide were the first premiers; in the last decade of the nineteenth century, South won the Premiership six times under the eleven year captaincy of J. ‘Dinny' Reedman, who also played Test Cricket for Australia. In 1899, new boundaries were enforced which meant that South lost many of its best players and had to wait another 35 years for its next premiership. During this time, the Panthers were well served by players like Jack Tredrea and Dan Moriarty, who was the first player to win the Knuckey Cup for the team's Best and Fairest which was first presented in 1923. In the years 1919-1921, he had also won three Magarey Medals, following on from the success of F.M. Barry in 1915.  To this day Dan Moriarty is the only player to have won three consecutive Magarey Medals, an amazing honour for our club.

At this time their matches were played at the old Jubilee Oval, which was located next to Frome Road in what is now the University of Adelaide. Prior to this, in the 1890's, they had made use of a ground in the South Parklands close to Hutt Street and the old Arab Steed Hotel, where players often used to go for half-time drinks! Other ovals which the club has used for home matches include the Kensington Oval (which was right next to the tram), the Adelaide Oval (which was a real favourite for both players and spectators), and now the new oval at Noarlunga.

In the 1930's, South Adelaide won premierships in both 1935 and 1938, and provided another Magarey medallist in 1935 in Jack Cockburn. Jimmy Deane won the Magarey Medal in both 1953 and 1957 and in 1991 Mark Naley added to the tally. In 1998 Panthers Captain Andrew Osborn also joined the list of South Adelaide Magarey Medallists.

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Ben Kavenagh	Sue Whittaker	Dane Blaser
General Manager	Finance and Administration Manager	Finance Assistant
Leonie Murray	Rosalie Sibbick	Alberta O'Leary
Administrator Assistant and Membership Coordinator	Receptionist	Receptionist
Trevor Mitton	Alex Burrowes	Clay Samspon
Football Manager	Football Administrator	Senior Coach
Andrew Osborn	Maxine McPherson	Ed Crispe
Marketing Manager	Volunteer and Cheerleader Coordinator	Property Manager
Nick Hook
Webmaster

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Colin Francis	Dave Flanagan	Andrew McIntyre
President	Chairman and League Delegate	Deputy Chairman
Grant Miles	David Kappler	Mark Naley
Director of Finance	Director	Director
Brenton Honor	John Whitington	Mark Wheaton
Director	Director	Director
Richard Homes
Director

South Adelaide Football Club committees

The affairs of the South Adelaide Football Club are managed by sub-committees that are chaired by a Director with the expertise in that portfolio and where applicable membership is one other Director and the appropriate staff.

The Chairman of each sub-committee is responsible for presenting a written report to each board meeting on the affairs of that group.

South ADelaide Football Club committee reporting structure and chairs

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Six players who have represented the South Adelaide Football Club have won a total of nine Magarey Medals, awarded to the player adjudged the league's best and fairest player each season.

Francis Barry South Adelaide's first Magarey Medallists, Francis Barry and his twin brother Frederick were born on August 11th, 1894 to Kate and Michael Barry. According to John Wood in SA Greats (the History of the Magarey Medal), Frank, Frederick and an older brother John all attended Christian Brothers College where Frank, besides winning a silver medal for Christian Doctrine, made the college's first football team in 1908, when he played at centre half forward and kicked sixty-three goals for the season. As far as his overall football skills were concerned, he attracted attention for his marking which his contemporaries described as "superb". Similarly, his ability to pass the ball quickly and effectively, and to do so with considerable "finesse" with either foot, made him "one of the most promising men in the ranks of the blue-and-whites". It was 1915 that turned out to be Barry's year, and a reasonably successful one for South Adelaide as well. World War 1 had broken out in August of the preceding year, and only after some discussion was it decided to continue with the competition in 1915. At the end of the minor round South found themselves in second place, with Port Adelaide only a goal ahead. South were beaten by Sturt in the second semi-final, however, and finished the season in third position, their best result for eleven years. A month later the Magarey Medal was awarded to Barry after a very close vote. One of the real delights of winning a Magarey Medal at that time was that William Magarey himself was still alive, and on the sixteenth of October Barry received a letter from the great man. This was to be Barry's last season of football; on the night that he was presented with the medal at the Prince of Wales Hotel, Barry announced that "he hoped to do as well at Gallipoli as on the football field, and if VC's were about he would be a trier". He embarked on the 27th of October with the 10th Btn. 1st AIF, served in the Middle East and France, and returned in June 1919. He did not, however, play football again. For a number of years he worked a Murray River fruit block, and later joined the Government Produce Department and served as secretary of the SA Ice Manufacturers Association. He lived at Davenport Terrace, Wayville, and it was while returning home there after a West Adelaide - Port Adelaide match in June 1963 that he suffered a heart attack and died, aged 69. Tributes from two contemporaries give some idea of the high regard in which he was held. Victor Richardson remembered Barry as being "the outstanding SA player in the 1914 carnival," and champion ruckman Tom Leahy said: " No greater rover did I knock the ball to than "Dink" Barry. He was truly a brilliant footballer, who, if he were playing today, would hold his own against any rover in the state." Footnote: The photo of "Dink" Barry that hangs in the clubrooms is not really a photo of the great man at all. The face is, being from a photograph of Dink taken at Bournemouth in England while he was there on active service. To make it look like a football photograph, the photographer applied it to a full length photo of H. "Tip" Ryan, who played for South from 1923-35. Return to Magarey Medallists
Dan Moriarty Dan Moriarty was born in the city square mile in 1895 and had a lot of trouble in his junior years in getting a game of footy. He persevered, and in 1915 finally made South's 'B' grade side for the last few matches of the year. WW1 prevented him playing his first league game until 1919 at the age of 24, but he soon asserted himself as a strong mark and drop-kick, and as the greatest centre half back the game has seen in South Australia. He played interstate for 7 successive years, won three successive Magarey Medals (1919-1921), and played 97 games for South Adelaide - the only player ever to win three consecutive Magarey Medals to date. Return to Magarey Medallists
James Deane Jimmy Deane, began with South Adelaide in 1945; he stamped his class on the local footy scene immediately by winning the colts grade medal, even though he played the last seven matches of the season in the league side. During this his football career, he won the Knuckey Cup (South Adelaide's best and fairest award) on six occasions, which at the time was a record. He was coach of South from 1951 – 1953, and again in 1970 and 1971, and captained the club through five of its seasons, playing a total of 157 games, mainly as a centreman. He was made a life member in 1956. At the same time he had a remarkable record as a state footballer, representing the state in the carnivals of 1950 and 1953, and in all the interstate matches played in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952 and 1957. In two other years he was selected in the interstate teams but had to withdraw because of injury. After being offered coaching positions at both Port Adelaide and Richmond, he eventually went to Victoria in 1954 and 1955 and had two very successful seasons with the Richmond club. Then, playing as captain/coach of Myrtleford in the Ovens and Murray League, he won two Morris Medals for best and fairest in that association. He went on to coach in his wife Colleen's home town of Port Pirie where, in his twenty-first season of football and at 37 years of age, he achieved the one ambition that had eluded him – a premiership. In 1948, he had been runner up to Ron Phillips for the Magarey Medal in spite of missing a match; in the following year he was beaten by the same margin – two points – even though he played only twelve games out of a total of seventeen. In 1951 he was runner up yet again, this time to Norwod star John Marriott. Jim's fairness and brilliance were finally recognised in 1953 when he won the Magarey, and then, in 1957, he tied with Ron Benton for the same honour but missed out on a medal on a countback. This medal was belatedly awarded in 2003. In honour of Deane's contribution to the South Adelaide Football Club the newly renovated licensed club premises was christened Jimmy Deane's Entertainment upon its opening in late 2007. Return to Magarey Medallists
Mark Naley Mark began his football with Sacred Heart College, and when he joined South Adelaide he progressed through the junior grades to be a part of the successful 1979 Reserves side which won the Grand Final, before making his league debut with South Adelaide in 1980. He was a member of the State Youth Team in that same year, and played his first game as a state footballer in 1981. He continued to represent the state right through until 1989, and then again in 1991 and 1992; he showed himself to be very competitive at this top level, winning the Tassie Medal as Best and Fairest in the 1987 National Football League Carnival, and the Fos Williams Medal as South Australia's best player in 1991. Mark was targeted during his career by a number of VFL & AFL clubs, including South Melbourne, Hawthorn, and Footscray, but he went to Carlton at the end of the 1986 season. At the end of a highly successful 65 game and 74 goal career with Carlton between 1987 and 1990, in which he was part of the successful premiership drive of 1987, he suffered a back injury resulting from pre-season weights training, and returned to South in 1991. He had previously been runner-up for the Magarey Medal in both 1981 (to Norwood's Michael Aish) and 1982 (to Tony McGuiness), but in 1991 he finally won the medal in a remarkable season that saw him win a number of other awards as well. Mark played in a total of 236 games for South Adelaide before he retired in 1993, which was the sixth highest number of games ever played for this club. Having previously won the Knuckey Cup in 1984, he was made a life member of South Adelaide in 1993. Return to Magarey Medallists
Andrew Osborn After beginning his football with local club Reynella, Andrew quickly established himself at South Adelaide in a very competitive U17 team by winning the trophy for the Most Consistent Player in 1988.  Then, in the following year, he not only won the W.J. Mahoney Cup for the best and fairest in South Adelaide's U17’s, but also the McCallum Medal for best and fairest in the SANFL U17 competition. Progressing through the grades, Andrew was instrumental in South Adelaide ’s win in the 1991 Reserves Grand Final and his football prowess naturally attracted the interest of two AFL clubs (Geelong in 1993 and Port Power in 1998), but Andrew was kept from performing on that stage by long term injuries. The self-discipline, dedication and perseverance which he showed to overcome these difficulties and to reach the pinnacle of the SANFL competition were qualities that had long been recognised as an integral part of his game. Andrew was a great team-man, and his appointment as South Adelaide captain from 1998 - 2000 recognised his skills as a leader and the respect in which he was held by his fellow team-mates and the club as a whole.   In 1998, the award of the Magarey Medal and his selection in the state side are a clear indication that this same respect was afforded him by the wider South Australian community. William Magarey wanted his medal to reward players who were not only brilliant and fair, but who demonstrated the ‘power of endeavour’ and had the drive to succeed; as a vice-president himself of the South Adelaide Football Club, Magarey would have been delighted that these qualities were to be found in Andrew, who for many supporters redefined the concept of the ‘Ossie battler.’ When he retired from league football at the end of 2000, he had played 115 games and kicked 93 goals for the Panthers. In late 2007 Andrew returned to his beloved Panthers in an off-field role, becoming the club's Marketing Manager. Return to Magarey Medallists

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"The Greatest South Adelaide Team" (painted by Peter Vasic of Artistic Design Solutions) prints are available from the Club:

• Unframed $65.00
• Framed, unsigned $150.00
• Framed and signed by the living Legends (limited edition) $280

Team members
George Mulcahy
Described by his contemporaries as short and strong and as someone who would not give the resting rovers an inch, and as a brilliant back pocket player at both club and state level, George Mulcahey joined South in 1930 and played for them for the next ten years. In that time he shut down the opposing Port rovers (including the mercurial Bobby Quinn) in the two South premiership sides of 1935 and 1938, and won the Knuckey Cup as South’s best and fairest in 1936. A carpenter by trade, he was a great team man who liked his game of poker on trips away, and was affectionately regarded by younger players in the 1938 side like Len Lapthorne and Don Pryor as the elder statesman of the team who protected them both on the field, and off the field as well from the villains on the team like Laurie Cahill.

Bill Oliver
Bill Oliver began his footy with Uraidla at age 16 in 1913, but his career was interrupted in 1914 when the World War broke out and he joined the First AIF in 1914 at the age of 17. On his return, he began with South Adelaide in 1920, his father bringing him and a team mate, Arnie Caust, to training and matches in his T model Ford. Bill quickly cemented his position at full back in the tough 1920's competition, representing the state in 1922 and 1923 along with his team mate and fellow defender Dan Moriarty, and again from 1925 to 1927. He won the Knuckey Cup in 1925 and 1926, and was club captain in 1926, 1927, and 1929. In 1927 he also coached the side. A tough, rugged and determined full back, he played in 135 consecutive league matches from 1921-1927, and completed his 149 game career with South in 1929. This same devotion to a cause and tenacity was evident in his decision in 1939 to sell his market garden property and enlist again in the army in the Second World War, only to be discharged when it was discovered he was 42 years of age.

John "Dinny" Reedman
Widely regarded as the most remarkable South Australian sportsman to emerge in the first 70 or 80 years of the state's history, John Cole Reedman captained his state at both football and cricket, played Test Cricket for Australia, and was a champion long distance swimmer. His football career spanned 23 years with four clubs, during which time he could only recall missing one game. A ruckman of great ability and toughness and a skilled defender, Dinny Reedman played for South Adelaide from 1889 to 1898, captaining them over those same 10 years to five premierships; he was forced to leave South Adelaide under the Electorate System which came into effect in 1899, and went on to captain North Adelaide for 5 years to 2 premierships, and later coached West Adelaide from bottom to top and to Champions of Australia. Widely respected by his contemporaries for his leadership abilities, Dinny is credited with introducing the concept of the loose man which has become so much a part of today's game. He was one of the original inductees into the AFL Hall of Fame in 1996.

Jack Cockburn
Jack began his football at Blyth at the age of 14, and was recruited from Georgetown at the start of the 1934 season as a centreman, but was soon shifted to centre half back where he made a real name for himself, coming third in that year's Magarey vote. He represented the state in that position in that same year, and so impressed in the way he closed down Victorian half forward Keith Shea (from Carlton) that he was immediately approached to join that club. He also won the Knuckey Cup in his first season, and again in 1941. He went on to represent South Australia in 1935 (at centre, just to show his versatility), 1937 and 1938, and to play in the two South premierships of 1935 and 1938. He won the Magarey Medal in 1935, a result of speed, brilliant high marking and long kicking, and is recognised as one of the first proponents of running on after taking a mark. Courageous, 'tough as old boots' to use the late Len Lapthorne's words, and possessed of enormous leaping ability, he finished as a knock ruckman in spite of his modest height of 5'10". Jack served in the RAAF in WW2, and returned to complete 167 games with the club.

Dan Moriarty
Persuaded to have a kick with South Adelaide by the 1915 Magarey Medallist Frank Barry, a shy young Dan played a few games for South's association side before the competition wound up as the First World War began. In the Patriotic League in 1917 and 1918, he made a bit of a name for himself as a centre half back, and then when the competition recommenced after the war in 1919, Dan went on to become the only player to ever win three consecutive Magarey Medals, the first being in his very first season of league football. In that first season, Dan also captained South Adelaide in his first match, played two interstate matches, and won most of the press awards as well. The key to much of his success as a strong rebounding centre half back was not only his close marking and vigorous play, but his anticipation and his reading of the play down the ground, and his unwillingness to relinquish the ball unless he could be sure of disposing of it to the team's advantage. Another of the initial inductees into the AFL Hall of Fame, and regarded by Vic Richardson as the best footballer he had ever seen, Dan represented the state from 1919 –1925, in every year of his brief but explosive 97 game career.

Bob Schmidt
Described by Ray Barber in the 'News' after his first game for South Adelaide in 1962 as 'an outstanding player in the mould of a typical Victorian half back flanker,' Bob made that position his own over a 164 game 10 year career with the Panthers. As part of the bottom to top 1964 turnaround side, his coach Neil Kerley called him 'the best half back I have seen in the league…he's the most efficient player, with no weakness in his game.' He also had a four year, 11 game state career which included the 64 point win over Victoria in 1965 when he so thoroughly stitched up Ted Whitten that he was shifted into ruck to try to get him back into the game. Bob won the Knuckey Cup in the same year, demonstrating a fearless, rugged approach that tended to intimidate opposing players. He is well remembered around the club for his enthusiasm, club spirit, and extreme fitness, typified by his reappearance on the training track two days after having a finger amputated.

Ray Linke
Recruited from the Nuriootpa Rovers in 1947, Ray at 6'0" and 13 stone soon established himself as a dashing half back flanker in South sides where the half backs got a lot of work. His pace was quickly noticed by Laurie Cahill, his first coach at South, who encouraged him to take up professional running and he narrowly missed winning the Bay Sheffield. His ability in restricting opponents (playing across the half back line or at full back) so impressed state selectors that he was selected in a number of state sides, including the 1952 one which beat Victoria. Press reports from those years stress his marking, his pace, his rugged ground play, and his accurate kicking. He won the Knuckey Cup on three occasions in 1950, 1952, and 1954, and was runner up to Len Fitzgerald in the 1954 Magarey count.

Alfred "Bulla" Ryan
One of five brothers who played league football for South Adelaide over a 17 year period in the early part of the last century, Alf Ryan (or ‘Bulla' as he was better known) began with South in 1922 and soon proved himself to be an outstanding centre half forward and full forward, and sometimes even used with telling effect as a rover. He won the recently instituted Knuckey Cup on two occasions (1924 and 1928), and topped the club's goalkicking from 1924 to 1927, scoring over 50 goals in each of those seasons. His natural footballing ability, tenacious play and effortless drop kicking for goal soon caught the eye of the state selectors, and he represented the state in the carnival of 1924, and in all subsequent state matches over the following six years. Bulla completed 146 games and 10 years with the club in 1931; a cricketer of note who began playing Sheffield Shield in 1925, he continued as a state player until 1937, a team mate of Bradman for the last three years.

Don Pryor
Recruited from Moonta as an 18 year old in 1937, Don was a one of a number of country players who came to South in the 1930's and who had such a telling effect in their premierships in that decade. Described in that first year by Vic Johnson in ‘The Mail' as a thrilling high mark and a beautiful long kick, and able to leap over his opponents with ease, Don made his mark as lead ruckman in the 1938 premiership season, named amongst the best players in the grand final not just for his ruckwork but for his goal scoring ability as well. His impact on South Australian football was such that he was targeted by both Carlton and St. Kilda, but he stayed with South and held down the centre half forward position for the remainder of his 157 game career with the Panthers which continued until 1950. He topped the club's goalkicking in 1947, and captained the team in 1947 and 1948.

Max Murdy
Max did not play football at all until after his fifteenth birthday. However, he was a natural, and when he was asked by South Adelaide to come and try out with them, he did so in 1932, and made his league debut at the age of 16, one year after he started playing! Tall for the time at 6'2.5" and a left footer, he made his mark at half-forward, particularly at half forward right where his long, raking kicks soon became a feature of his play. Max played in what was South's most successful period of last century, being a member of the premiership sides of both 1935 and 1938. In all, he played in 147 games and kicked 275 goals for the blue and whites, and was runner-up for the Magarey Medal on three occasions. He won the Knuckey Cup in 1940. His interstate career was just as spectacular, beginning with the state game in 1934 in which South Australia beat a star studded Victorian lineup, containing players like Haydn Bunton Snr., Dick Reynolds, Jack Dyer and Jack Regan. He went on to play another 14 games of interstate footy up until 1938. He retired from football at his prime in 1941 to enlist in the Army.

Jack Dawes
Another of the 1930's country recruits, Jack followed his brother Jim (whose own significant football career Jack's in many ways reflected) down from Jamestown to begin with South in 1935, and to play a telling role across the half forward line to help win the grand final. It was either in the forward line or as a follower that Jack played his best footy for both South Adelaide (captaining them for four years from 1938-1941) or the state (in the 1937 carnival and in 1939 when he was state captain). An accurate left foot kick who had good goal sense, Jack topped the club goalkicking in 1937 with 54 goals, and won the Knuckey Cup in the same year. He played in total 141 games and kicked 267 goals for South before he retired in 1944. His team mates like Jack Boyle and the late Colin Haines paid testimony to his fitness and endurance, his popularity and inspiration as a captain, and the fact that he was greatly respected by his opposition alike both for his footballing ability and his temperament.

Christopher "Diddy" Munro
Recruited from West Adelaide after an inauspicious three years in which he played only 9 games, C.C. (Diddy) Munro began his football career with South Adelaide in 1932, and immediately found a niche for himself as a full forward. In a brief but explosive 380 goal career of just 69 games with the blue and whites, he topped the club's goalkicking list from 1933 to 1936, and became the only South Adelaide player to ever kick 100 goals in a season, booting 115 in the premiership side of 1935, only to be pipped by the great Ken Farmer's 128. Included in this were 6 goals straight in that year's grand final. Even though he was not six foot in height, he had a great leap and made his mark in interstate competition, representing the state with distinction from 1933 to 1936.

Mark Naley
From Sacred Heart College, Mark joined South Adelaide where he progressed through the junior grades to the successful 1979 Reserves side which won the Grand Final, before making his league debut with South Adelaide in 1980. He was a member of the State Youth Team in that same year, and played his first game as a state footballer in 1981. He continued to represent the state right through until 1989, and then again in 1991 and 1992; he showed himself to be very competitive at this top level, winning the Tassie Medal as Best and Fairest in the 1987 National Football League Carnival, All-Australian selection in 1986 and 1987, and the Fos Williams Medal as South Australia's best player in 1991. At the end of a highly successful 65 game and 74 goal career with Carlton between 1987 and 1990, in which he was part of the successful premiership drive of 1987, he returned to South in 1991. After having previously won the Knuckey Cup in 1984 and been runner-up for the Magarey Medal in both 1981 and 1982, in 1991 he finally won the Magarey for himself. Mark played in a total of over 250 games for South Adelaide before he retired in 1993.

Lindsay Backman
Winner of the McCallum Medal for Best and Fairest in the U17 competition in 1960, Lindsay Backman graduated to league football in the following year to begin a 203 game career with the Panthers that saw him play a significant role in the 1964 Grand Final win over Port Adelaide, where Merv Agars in his report of that match in The Advertiser said that ‘in attack, it was the pace, brilliance and elusiveness of centreman Lindsay Backman that Port could not subdue.' Overcoming a knee injury in 1966 and playing most of his matches across centre or in the forward lines, Lindsay amassed 347 goals for the Panthers during his career, in which he also topped South's goalkicking on 5 occasions. In 1970 he won the Knuckey Cup, captained South Adelaide and represented the state in the same year. Remembered for his smooth ball handling ability, excellent disposal and speed – even in the wet – Lindsay completed 13 years with South in 1972.

Mark Coombe
In 1970 at the age of 19, Mark Coombe was in his third year of league football for South Adelaide and had played over 40 league games. In the previous year as an 18 year old he had won the Knuckey Cup, after having been runner-up for that same award in his first year of senior footy the year before. He had had an outstanding record as a junior footballer. A graduate from the local Saturday morning Association and Forbes Primary School (which has given us the likes of Craig Cock, John Reid, Peter Jones and the Foster brothers), Mark had represented the state at junior level, and like Lindsay Backman had won the McCallum Medal for Best and Fairest in the Colts competition. Playing most of his 119 league matches across the centre, Mark went on to represent the state in 1972, and to demonstrate to all those who saw him play the skills of a true double sided footballer, and an unerring ability to read the play. That, and his absolute dedication to the game, made the shoulder injury that finished his career in 1975 at the age of 24 all the more devastating.

Jim Deane
Jimmy Deane began with South in 1945, stamping his class on the local footy scene immediately by winning the colts grade medal, even though he played the last seven matches of the season in the league side. During his football career, he won the Knuckey Cup on six occasions, which at the time was a record. He was coach of South from 1951 – 1953, and again in 1970 and 1971, and captained the club through five of its seasons, playing a total of 157 games, mainly as a centreman; a dynamic left footer, he has been acknowledged as one of the finest exponents of short and long distance passing that the game has seen. At the same time he had a remarkable record as a state footballer, representing the state in the carnivals of 1950 and 1953, and in all the interstate matches played in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952 and 1957. In two other years he was selected in the interstate teams but had to withdraw because of injury. He went to Victoria in 1954 and 1955 and had two very successful seasons with the Richmond club. Three times runner up for the Magarey Medal, he won the honour himself in 1953 and 1957, and continues to win hearts with his personality and support of all things South Adelaide.

Laurie Cahill
Judged by many of his contemporaries and commentators as the best wingman they had ever seen, Laurie Cahill's 174 game career with South Adelaide began in 1933. He played in the 1935 premiership side, and was best on ground in the 1938 grand final. Known particularly for his powerful and well directed kicking into attack, and a blistering turn of speed (Laurie won the Centenary Bay Sheffield in 1936), he was a regular state player from 1936 to 1939. A real character around the club as well as on the field, one of Laurie's favourite on-field tricks would be to tap the ball on instead of marking it, as he knew that with his pace and dash he could be where the ball landed, and no one could catch him. Laurie won the Knuckey Cup in 1938 and 1939, and his playing career finished in 1947; in that same year he coached the club (and the Greatest Team centreman Jim Deane) as he did again in 1948 and 1957.

Peter Darley
Peter began his league career with South Adelaide in 1962 while still a schoolboy at Prince Alfred College. One of South Australia's greatest footballers, he was an integral part of the 1964 premiership side. His dependable marking, strong bodywork, and endless stamina were a feature in that game and throughout his career. In spite of serious cartilage problems in the following year he came back to complete 206 league games and 13 state games before he retired in 1974. He was captain-coach of South Adelaide from 1967 to 1969, and captain again in 1971; he went on to top the club's goalkicking in 1974. Peter was South Australian captain in 1968 and 1970; he won All-Australian selection in 1969. Runner up for the 1964 Magarey Medal, he tied with Barrie Robran in 1968, but was ineligible because he had received a one match suspension for telling an umpire what we all knew about him in any case. Peter's services were sought by Fitzroy, Hawthorn, Geelong and Richmond, but his winning of the Knuckey Cup a record seven times typified his intense loyalty to South Adelaide, which has been reflected in his decision to donate those trophies back to his club.

Jack Tredrea
Considered to be one of the best utility players ever seen in South Australia, Jack Tredrea's league career began in 1903 at the age of 19; over the next 20 years, in a footy career interrupted by the First World War, Jack became the first player to complete 200 games. During those years, he captained South Adelaide from 1910 to 1915, and coached the side from 1921 to 1923. A first class exponent of the stab pass, agile, tough, and absolutely fearless in his approach to the game, Jack quickly made an impact in interstate football, which he played from 1905 to 1914, and again in 1919-1920, captaining South Australia and playing in every match of the 1908, 1911, and 1914 Carnivals. Testimony to the admiration and respect in which he was held by interstate compatriots he played against was his friendship with the great 230 game/707 goal Dick Lee of Collingwood that resulted in a photograph of Jack Tredrea being hung for many years in the Collingwood Committee Room. Durable and evidently able to run all day, Jack missed only two interstate and two club games in his entire career.

Frank Tully
Frank Tully began his football with South Adelaide in 1927, travelling down from Gawler for matches and practices. A courageous and quick rover, he won the Knuckey Cup on four occasions, and captained the side in 1935 and 1936. His roving was a deciding factor in that 1935 premiership victory over Port Adelaide according to press reports – ‘the fast intelligent roving of Tully was a feature of South Adelaide's play. To dive in to gain possession of the ball in the hard bumping crushes on Saturday was no mild test of courage, yet Tully gained possession in this manner on many occasions.' He played interstate football for 6 years, captaining the state side in 1935 and 1936. Testimony to the courage and grit of the slightly built rover was the fact that, in spite of the tenacious way he played the game, he holds the record for the most consecutive league games ever played – he never missed a match in his 168 game career.

Len Lapthorne
A true blue Panther, Len's father, grandfather and son also played for South Adelaide. Recruited from the Fullarton Football Club in 1937, Len could remember getting only three kicks in his first match against West Torrens – and it was only the fact that they were goals, he used to say, that kept him in the team! However, he went on to score a further 360 goals in 208 matches as a rover for South, in a career that extended to 1952, and to play in the carnival side of 1947. He was a courageous, pacy rover who was hard at the ball, reflected in a piece of Vic Johnson's reporting of the 1938 Grand Final: 'while a trainer replaced a lace in his boot, Lapthorne went into the fray and goaled with a snapshot from his stockinged left foot.' Like many others in the 1940's, Len's football career was interrupted by the Second World War when he served as a Lt. Commander in the R.A.N.R. On his return to civilian life, he resumed with South and played until 1952, topping the club's goalkicking list in 1946,1948, 1950 and 1951 and serving as captain in 1949 and 1950.

2004 Hall of Fame inductees

David Kantilla
The first full-blooded Aboriginal to make a mark on Australian Rules Football in South Australia, David Kantilla was a difficult opponent to match up on, being both quick and agile as well as tall and powerful.  David, or "Soapy" as he was affectionately known, formed a crucial part of the 1964 South Adelaide premiership team with Peter Darley a ruck division that was the envy of the league.

Alan Hickinbotham
Alan has been almost all things to South Adelaide - player, administrator, president and club patron.  Alan  was responsible for starting the Panther Club many years ago and was involved in the creation of Football Park.  "Hicky" as he is affectionately known around the club, was also a Knuckey Cup winner, played for the Geelong Football Club and coached the Panthers as well.  What else is there to say?

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