Football Programs Update

With the Christmas and New-Year break just over a week away, it is a good time to provide an overview of where our programs are at to date. We will be providing these updates on an ongoing basis, however they won’t occur every time something happens and we will summarise key points at regular intervals for you.



Firstly, I want to reinforce my excitement and gratitude at being tasked with the opportunity to lead our football department moving forward. Having been here for more than five years now, I have a tremendous attachment to the club and I have been just as frustrated as you at times. Having overseen our junior programs over this time, I can say with absolute confidence that these players will be the key pillars of our success in the years to come. These players love the club and will do anything for it.



You will see that we have appointed Russell Godson to the role of Talent Manager (Male Programs) and Under-18 Coach. Russell joins us most recently from the Sturt Football Club, and he has a lengthy history coaching in SANFL programs as well as a lengthy business and management career. Haydn Ward has been appointed to the full-time role of Talent & Operations Manager (Female Programs). Haydn has been with us for a number of years and this appointment acknowledges his work to date and ensures that our pathway for females in the U14-senior age groups will receive the attention it deserves.



On the topic of womens football, Bruce Dawes has hit the ground running with his coaching and support team and the girls are looking sharp on the track. As part of their camp on the weekend an internal trial match was played and some of the skills and ball movement on show was exciting to see. Watch this space!



Adam Hartlett is a name familiar to all here and his energy has been infectious over his first two-months at the helm of the mens side. He is very clear in the way he wants the game to be played and is communicating this very well to his troops. He has a young and exciting list that are determined to do whatever they can to see our club move forward. We have welcomed a number of new players in addition to those coming up from our junior ranks. Sam Frost, Billy Glanvill, Jake Cottrell, Rhys Nicholls, Owen Mulady, Ned Stevens and Josh Sheppard all bring skill sets specific to our current needs.



On the topic of recruiting I need to be very clear here, we will not be announcing many more signings. To put it as simply as possible, we have faith that the bulk of our side for the years to come is already with us. It doesn’t mean we won’t be trying to lure top-end talent to the club, however we will not be recruiting for the sake of it, and we will not be pressured by adding to our list just because other clubs may be announcing more. Recruiting is there to fill needs and for no other reason. If we can not lure top-end talent or someone very close to it that fills a clear vacancy in our list (that we don’t have similar players to fill), then we will not be settling for next best. We are allocated zones by the SANFL to source our junior and youth talent from and this talent should always be the priority and should form the majority of our senior side.



This is a clear strategy from our club, and it is the absolute number one strategy for us moving forward. We all enjoyed watching the likes of Cade Kennedy, Kobe Ryan, Nic Couroupis, Harry Barnett, Cooper Patterson, Michael Laudato, Tom Rundle, Josh Carmichael and Oscar Steene make their league debuts in 2022. There are many more examples of these to come in 2023! Frane Babic, Liam Delahunty, Riley Corbett, Callum Park, Michael Mattingly and Max Marslen have come from outside our zone but have now tasted league football and will be looking to press for more games in 2023. Of course who could forget Kaiden Brand who made his league debut for the club he called home as a junior.



I know you’ve heard this before, but I need you to be patient and to stick with us. On my whiteboard in the office I have 3 key points that are visible for all to see – people, process and patience. All three of these points contribute to each other and no single point is more important than the other. I am aware that we have a lot of work to do and none of us are sitting around hoping things will change.



If you watch any of our teams at training at the moment you will see players and staff that are doing everything they can to ensure we are well prepared for the coming season. I urge you to get to the club and witness this for yourself, it is exciting and there is a good feeling around the place. I hope you are willing to embrace and contribute to this. The club is made up of everyone and you as passionate supporters are a big part of this.



I wish you all a safe and happy festive period and look forward to seeing you in the new year. Thankyou for your ongoing support of our great club. Better things are around the corner, make sure you are there with us!



Paul Streatfield – Head of Football & Talent

On behalf of the West Adelaide Football Department

Thanks oldfella,

That report needs a response.

First, well done to give an update,  We don't get many, so it's very welcome.

Second, I have known Paul Streatfield for many years and he's a terrific and honest coach and now Football Manager and I wish him every success.

Unfortunately I have some problems with some of the statements made, especially to do with recruiting.  It's good that we have new people in various roles, but we have heard the same about new people so often, so I think we should wait for results.

I'm sure that Adam knows how he wants us to play - we were told that Brad Gotch also did.  Adam is on the right track with juniors and we'll support him totally. We had an old list, now we have a young list, but it's way too early to call it exciting.  The names mentioned contained 3 names I'd never heard of, are they new recruits?  I'll check them out.

The paragraph about not recruiting because of faith in our list is, to put it bluntly, making the best of a very poor recruiting effort.  No blame from me for the recruiters as we are a 4 wooden spoon in a row team and have little to offer top-end talent.  Let's be honest about it.

As for the next paragraph, if we're looking forward to Frane Babic, Max Marslen and Liam Delahunty to bring success in 2023, I'm not convinced.

As for 'people, process and patience', perhaps the club might treat its supporters and long-serving volunteers better. This isn't Paul, it's a wider issue.  Process is fine, but what is the process. Patience?  West supporters have had decades of patience. After 4 wooden spoons and a record number of successive losses, there's a limit to patience.

Paul asks us to help and I'm sure he means well, but supporters have offered help constantly and been either ignored or been treated poorly. Our slogan of 'Stronger Together' is rarely adhered to, as the recent Members' Forum clearly demonstrated.

My apologies for the tone of this response, as Paul has reached out, but the truth of our situation doesn't match the rhetoric.

And all we want is the truth.

With the Christmas and New-Year break just over a week away, it is a good time to provide an overview of where our programs are at to date. We will be providing these updates on an ongoing basis, however they won’t occur every time something happens and we will summarise key points at regular intervals for you.

Firstly, I want to reinforce my excitement and gratitude at being tasked with the opportunity to lead our football department moving forward. Having been here for more than five years now, I have a tremendous attachment to the club and I have been just as frustrated as you at times. Having overseen our junior programs over this time, I can say with absolute confidence that these players will be the key pillars of our success in the years to come. These players love the club and will do anything for it. ...
Adam Hartlett is a name familiar to all here and his energy has been infectious over his first two-months at the helm of the mens side. He is very clear in the way he wants the game to be played and is communicating this very well to his troops. He has a young and exciting list that are determined to do whatever they can to see our club move forward.
...
On the topic of recruiting I need to be very clear here, we will not be announcing many more signings. To put it as simply as possible, we have faith that the bulk of our side for the years to come is already with us. It doesn’t mean we won’t be trying to lure top-end talent to the club, however we will not be recruiting for the sake of it, and we will not be pressured by adding to our list just because other clubs may be announcing more. Recruiting is there to fill needs and for no other reason. If we can not lure top-end talent or someone very close to it that fills a clear vacancy in our list (that we don’t have similar players to fill), then we will not be settling for next best. We are allocated zones by the SANFL to source our junior and youth talent from and this talent should always be the priority and should form the majority of our senior side.

This is a clear strategy from our club, and it is the absolute number one strategy for us moving forward. ...

I know you’ve heard this before, but I need you to be patient and to stick with us. On my whiteboard in the office I have 3 key points that are visible for all to see – people, process and patience. All three of these points contribute to each other and no single point is more important than the other. I am aware that we have a lot of work to do and none of us are sitting around hoping things will change.

If you watch any of our teams at training at the moment you will see players and staff that are doing everything they can to ensure we are well prepared for the coming season. I urge you to get to the club and witness this for yourself, it is exciting and there is a good feeling around the place. I hope you are willing to embrace and contribute to this. The club is made up of everyone and you as passionate supporters are a big part of this.

Better things are around the corner, make sure you are there with us! ...

A clear, emphatic, and timely message from our new Head of Football, Paul Streatfield. Excellent to hear from the football department. I believe it is a more realistic message than what we usually get. ie Better things are around the corner ... rather than, Success is just around the corner ... This is the type of communication that makes members/supporters feel valued.

Best of luck Adam and Paul.
Go Bloods

I too welcome Paul's substantial statement. It's a well written and informative piece that is a rarity from our club in recent times. You can hear his commitment and enthusiasm in it and I hope it's rewarded on field.
But I'm not confident this strategy can work. To rely on developing our juniors when the best of them are drafted 3 times a year makes it very hard to see how we're going to compete with sides with 18 AFL-listed players, or other sides who recruit ex AFL players more extensively. We also have a poor record in developing players at our club.
As for the request for patience, I just don't think it's fair to keep asking us to be patient. Gotch asked us to be patient too. What this says to me is that the supporters shouldn't expect good results any time soon. I'm not sure the club can afford the luxury of patience.
But I sincerely hope Paul and the footy department prove me wrong.

You sum  up my thoughts better than I can, aldo, as the frustration of years of the same clouds my feelings at times.

I join you in again welcoming Paul's statement.  He has always been inclusive and I spent several hours in his coaches' box at U18 games when he was always kind enough to let me be there, so I know his passion and I know he's there for the right reasons.

We haven't been able to recruit top-end talent as we are not a destination club.  Paul says if we can't, we won't settle for second best, yet 3 recruits are named (for the first time?) and they appear to be a long way from top-end talent.  Perhaps I'm wrong, but we've been told nothing about them.

Of necessity, we will go with our juniors and I think this is a sensible move, but realistically this will take time and the chance of success is not high.

I think our best team is competitive, but I fear for us when and if injuries strike.  Adam has shown he can get our team to play with spirit, but you need more top-end talent before that spirit starts to break.

AS for recruiting, I watched Anzac Lochowiak kick 8 or 10 goals against us in the Ressies for Sturt a couple of years ago, then watched him and his brother dominate in the Reserves finals.  IMO, if we didn't pursue them over the last 2 years, it would be disappointing. They were there for the taking and are now at Central.

To finish, I hope aldo's last sentence proves correct.

I agree with Aldo.
We’ve been a basket case for 6 of the last 7 seasons but we need to be patient……..
I just feel that we needed a couple more experienced players (preferably off an AFL list) given we lost Keough, Hartlett, Hill and Edwards.
Time will tell……

I welcome the report from Paul, it’s very informative and it’s great that we finally have communication from our Football Dept.

I agree with other posters regarding our Recruiting, all clubs want top end talent to come to their club.
I have said this many times before, when you finish bottom you need to be better than any other club when it comes to Recruiting and we simply aren’t.
Until we get better at this we won’t get anywhere.

Welcome the update but in reality it’s not great reading.
Feels like the usual “3 year plan” cycle, be patient etc until we get to 3 years from now and start again for another 3 years being patient etc.
The focus on juniors coming through is great but not unique and needs to be complimented with quality, experience and leadership which we had little of and now have even less.
Pragmatically speaking, it’s going to be another long year if that is our recruiting pretty much done.

Best of luck to A Hartlett and co, but a coach can only do so much with the cattle he has.

I’m grateful for the recent statement and the passion with which it was written.

It seems to be a deliberate and conscious decision to bring on our juniors but it is a high risk strategy for a bottom placed team. The coach and his committee will be operating without a safety net and will live or die by their decision. We’ll know soon enough.

Also, suspect that our financial position is a big reason for this approach.

Don’t want to be overly dramatic but could this be the last ‘roll of the dice’ for our club?

Also, isn't this strategy only going to work if your juniors are better than other clubs' juniors? It's not as if our juniors have been racking up premierships of late.

As Black and Red said, it’s our Financial Position for this approach.
We can’t afford top end players.When Andy Collins took over we were in a similar position, bottom of the ladder.
He brought over Ryan Ferguson, Steve Morris, Logan Hill, The Caruso Brothers and Shane Birss. Travis Tuck a bit later on was another gem.
Relying on juniors won’t work in my opinion. If they are standouts, they’ll be drafted mid year! Then what??

Just wondering how many of our juniors over (say) the last 5 or 6 years are now good league players for us?

Top of the head -

Isaac Johnson

Kobe Ryan may be.

Any others?

(Beech and Brand from long ago and after AFL).

History doesn't fill me with hope for this strategy.