Adelaide in SANFL

The Adelaide Football Club first entered a team in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in 2014.

The decision to allow the Crows to have a dedicated reserve team competing in the local competition instead of having their listed players spread across all the clubs was ratified by the SANFL in 2013, after lengthy negotiations.

Conditions of entry included playing all games “away” and an annual $400,000 licence fee.

Adelaide’s plan to develop a State League team for the Crows gained momentum when Brenton Sanderson arrived at the Club as Senior Coach at the end of 2011. But the issues facing Crows-listed players not required to play at AFL level had often been debated throughout the Club’s history.

Heath Younie was the inaugural coach of the Crows in the SANFL. A former SANFL star with North Adelaide, Younie had experience as a player in three different State leagues (VFL, SANFL and WAFL) and had been working in the Crows development coaching team.

Ian Callinan – a four-time SANFL Premiership player with Central District – was the club’s first SANFL captain and assistant development coach, taking on the role after playing 32 AFL games for the Crows as a mature age recruit.

The SANFL Crows – wearing a guernsey designed and voted for by fans – made their debut against North Adelaide at Prospect Oval on April 6, 2014. Adelaide secured its first win in the third game against Central District.

Adelaide’s SANFL side reached the finals for the first time in 2016, advancing to the preliminary final but knocked out by eventual premier Sturt. Three seasons later it again reached the preliminary final, this time losing to Glenelg.

The Crows were unable to play in the SANFL competition in 2020 because of the AFL’s COVID restrictions. Adelaide was back in the SANFL finals in 2022, when it lost to Norwood in the preliminary final. And the Crows lost their fourth preliminary final in 2023, against Sturt.

The Crows Development Squad, involving community players from across the State, has provided valuable support and depth for the SANFL team.

Lachlan Murphy, who moved from Melbourne to Adelaide to join the 2017 development squad, was the first to progress to an AFL list when the Crows picked the small forward at the 2018 rookie draft. He made his AFL debut that season and was then elevated to the primary list.

Tom Hutchesson (GWS Giants), Jy Farrar (Gold Coast) and Toby Murray (Adelaide) have also been drafted from the squad and many development players have moved back into the SANFL system with other clubs.

Each season the best development squad player is recognised with the Dean Bailey Award, in honour of the former Senior Assistant Coach, who died in March 2014.

SANFL Club Records

SANFL Crows past players

Honour Board

First SANFL game 2014

2014 SANFL squad

Back Row (L-R): Michael O’Malley, Riley Knight, Justin Smart, Tyson Davis-Neale, George Hurley-Wellington, Matthew Thompson, Trent Melville, Tom Hughes, Nigel Osborn, Will Paynter
Middle Row (L-R): Jarrod Cotton (Development Coach), Jack Grieger, Sam Pfeiffer, Simon Muster, Sam Siggins, Kyle Hartigan, Jack Osborn, Addison Burns, Sam Tharaldsen, Thomas Carroll, Tom Kluvanek, Charlie Cameron, Peter Jonas (Development Manager), Tate Kaesler (Development Coach).
Front Row (L-R): Steven Clay, Gene Robinson, Jack Penfold, Darcy Bailey, Ian Callinan (Captain), Heath Younie (SANFL Coach), Alex Spina, Matt Crouch, James Battersby, Jake Kelly, Rory Atkins.