South Adelaide Welcomes Riley Baldi for 2026

The South Adelaide Football Club is pleased to welcome new recruit Riley Baldi for 2026.

Baldi is a hard-working, intelligent midfielder who can rotate forward, renowned for his stoppage craft, work rate, and consistent ball-winning at VFL level. Such is his work ethic that he was appointed Casey Vice Captain this year.

In 2025 he produced regular high possession games during a strong season that saw Casey progress deep into the VFL finals series.

Just as importantly Riley is a good friend of Panther Captain Sam Skinner, also hailing from Moe in Gippsland.

On his move Riley said:

“The opportunity to come and play in a good competition beside a close family friend in Skunk (Sam Skinner) was really enticing." said Baldi

“I'm really excited to move over to Adelaide and call Adelaide home ... get amongst the club and the environment.”

When asked what supporters can expect of him he replied “what you see is what you get. There’s nothing fancy about me. I like to put my head over the ball and get it outside.”

South Adelaide General Manager Brent Reilly endorsed Riley’s attributes.

“Due to his connection with Sam we’ve been tracking him for a little while. We really like his strength around the contest and competitiveness.

“He also has some genuine leadership qualities that will be of great support to our group.”

The South Adelaide Football Club welcomes Riley to the club and looks forward to seeing him in action throughout the 2026 season.

Riley Baldi won the 2025 Trademark and Values Award for the Casey Demons