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Coaches Update | June 2024


The sun is gone, and the cold weather and rain have come, but the passion and enthusiasm remain strong out at Old Iggies. Our all of club training a couple of weeks ago saw nearly 100 players hit the track and train together, reinforcing the strength of our ‘One Club’ philosophy.


That kind of environment is what entices players to stick with us and we have a number of special people, whose loyalty has added up to play milestone games to whom we say thank you for your efforts for our club on & off the oval.

50 gamers: - Caitie McCarron

- Ella Muecke

- Tahlia Cua

- Amy Marin

- Liv Ryan

- Georgia Moulds

- Tom Daw

- Liam Elliott Mitchell


100 games for Nathan Bailey and a stellar 150 games for Brandon Lord.


As we head into the second half of the year player health and wellness will be an important part of the results we get. We kicked it off with a great Nutritionist session (some chin scratching about whether Guinness is a source of Vitamin B aside) during bye week and the most important part is played by the wonderful team of Physios and trainers. So, to Pagey, Ellie, Finn, Annie-Rose, Erin, Ella, Lucey, Paige, Tori, Matt, Jack, Josh, Ethan and Ane we say thanks! Your efforts impact our results and it is greatly appreciated the work you do to get our players out on the park every week.


Our Women's coaches can be found sitting back at the Bath (did we mention the Bath – winner best Pub Sponsor) with smiles of pride from the efforts of our teams and are optimistic about what the final minor round games can bring.


The B Women are now two-thirds of the way through the season and one game out of the top four with 3 wins from 8 games. Each week the team has run out onto the oval with enthusiasm and their skill development and football knowledge have been developing beautifully. There have been some changing faces each week and it’s been wonderful to see the new players welcomed and supported by the playing group. Thanks to Lou and Bails for all the Thursday/Friday efforts to find an extra player or three when needed. Let’s keep our numbers up for the next four games because we have a good chance to win more than our share.


The A-grade Women are playing better footy than their fifth-place ladder position suggests and their improvement was on show last Saturday at third-placed TTG, where we were seeking revenge after they had given us a bit of a touch-up in round 2. What a game of footy it was, two quality sides slugging it out all the way to the end. When the final siren sounded, we had fallen 5 points short, but it was an effort that Jason couldn’t have been more proud of. And while we didn’t leave with the points, we certainly left with our heads up and the knowledge that our best is as good as the top teams in the competition. So, we will continue to work hard and focus on our journey of becoming better footballers and getting the wins that will keep finals alive.


All Men’s sides make the turn with a desire to do what needs to be done in the run to the finals.


Our C Men are mathematically best placed being in fifth spot and a strong percentage to boot. With large numbers putting their hands up each week to play, the quality of footy and camaraderie that Max & Stevo are facilitating within the group gets stronger as the season goes on. We have big games coming up over the next couple weeks and with some positive results, we can find ourselves playing finals footy.


The A Reserves sit two games out of the five with noticeable improvement week to week evidenced by coming home with the chocolates in three of the past four, the highlight being a memorable win against top side Rostrevor. The next few games are against mid-ranked teams and will be a great test to see if we can edge past them into finals contention. The most important element of this is the depth of squad we are putting together, and the character of individuals who are working hard to play a higher grade. Each week there is a player who drops back a grade who immediately puts his hand up for reselection with their performance.


The A grade have 3 golds and 6 silvers in the cabinet which has us a game out of the top five and not sure whether to smiley face the brand of footy we play and efforts against the better teams on ladder or kick the cat (it’s a saying – we like cats) thinking about the golds we left out there. We do know we are not satisfied and have confidence that we can turn some of those silvers into golds on the way home to get the five (maybe six) more we need to make it.


Whilst we won’t get carried away, will be taking it one week at a time and at the end of the day will get what we deserve (spot the cliché or three) – it’s going to be an exciting second half for all our teams and with a realistic understanding of what it will take, why shouldn’t we dream big.


"Don’t give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you.” — John Wooden.

In recent weeks we welcomed Billy Casey and Eamonn Cronin to the A-grade side for their debuts. Both different stories; one after nine years & one in game one, one having now played all the grades & one at Norwood chasing a SANFL dream, and both great examples for others to follow.


No better place than a trip to the foothills of Athelstone to start the run to the finals for the Men this week and our Women's teams get the opportunity to get back onto the winners list when we take on Flinders Park at KRO. We would love to see and hear your support on a Saturday arvo.


Footy clubs are built and survive on the efforts of volunteers and too often their work is taken for granted. So, to the Team Managers, Match Day Officials, Runners, the BBQ and Bar crews we would like to say a huge thank you for the work you have done so far this season, and to anyone else who wants to get involved in the second half of the season and share the load we would really appreciate it.


Jason Baily and Daryl Spencer

Head Coaches

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