South Adelaide Senior Coach Jarrad Wright to coach his 100th Game.

On Monday afternoon, a slice of history will be made when South Adelaide Senior Coach Jarrad Wright will coach his 100th SANFL League match for South Adelaide. 

This is a significant occasion as Wright will join an exclusive club of coaches who have coached 100 games or more for the South Adelaide Football Club. 

The first coach to have reached the 100 game milestone was Laurie 'Buck' Ashby who led the club from 1937 through the Second World War until 1945, coaching 112 games. 

It wouldn't be until Haydn Bunton in 1975 who would provide some stability to the football club, coaching a record 179 SANFL games from 1975 to 1982 including a trip to the 1979 Grand Final. 

By the end of the 1980s, John Reid would again provide the Panthers with stability through the early 1990s coaching 134 games from 1988-1993, before taking up the role of Football Operations General Manager at the Adelaide Crows in 1995. 

Returning to the present, Jarrad Wright is set to join these names on Monday afternoon, also coincidentally when South Adelaide Skipper Jake Summerton will also play his 100th game for the Football Club.

"It's an absolute honour to be provided an opportunity to coach one game let-alone 100 at this amazing organisation which has such a rich history in South Australian Football. It's very humbling to be joining the select company of previous coaches throughout 147 years of our history, especially John Reid who has been a terrific support and coach mentor of mine since appointed in 2018." - Jarrad Wright

Wright was instrumental in securing the services of Summerton having built a good relationship during their time at the Eagles. 

South Adelaide CEO Neill Sharpe said it’s pleasing that Wright and Summerton should bring up their 100-game Club milestone together.

“As Coach Jarrad has shown a great ability to get the best out of his players and Jake Summerton is a testament to that. Jake was a solid reserves player at the Eagles but given an opportunity has grown into a reliable League footballer and now Captain of the Club." 

“Jarrad has shown since his appointment in 2018 a great ability to get the best out of his teams and develop footballers. He has helped instil a strong culture within the playing group and has been instrumental in attracting top tier talent with the likes of Bryce Gibbs and Matthew Broadbent turning South Adelaide into a destination club."

“We congratulate Jarrad on his milestone on becoming the 4^th South Adelaide Coach to reach the 100-game milestone.”

When talking about some of his most memorable moments from his first 100 games, Wright highlighted his first game at Noarlunga in 2018.  

"Coaching brings many special and memorable moments personally but mainly through the influence you can have on others."

"For me personally, winning my first game in Round 1 at home vs Glenelg in 2018 was nice to get the monkey off the back and settle in to the role and know you belong, Leading the club to back to back Preliminary Finals in 2020 & 21 for the first time in 50+ years was very special whilst also heartbreaking at the same time."

"Seeing the joy on players faces when they get their debut guernsey and what it means to them and their family. Watching the players I have coached and had influence in their development get an opportunity at AFL level is also quite special."

"But more importantly, creating an environment where all people (players, staff, coaches) can develop their craft, help them grow on and off the field and building lifelong friendships is what brings me the most joy."

Looking ahead to Mondays game, Wright highlighted the keys for the Panthers. 

"We clearly need to bring our A game, Norwood are the reigning premiers and are always a tough opponent where last year both games were decided by under a goal. We have been building our method the past few weeks quite well and we will need to be very strong in the contest on Monday"

Since he was appointed as Senior Coach, Wright has steered the Panthers to 3 Final Series, 2 Preliminary Finals appearances, a 53-46 win loss record, and has only missed 1 game, which was Round 1 2022 due to Health and Safety Protocols.