SAFC Newsletter – FEBRUARY 2026

It’s nice to go away and experience new things, it’s nice to have a break. It’s also nice to come home and catch up with what has been going on. What is pleasing is the way the club is performing, while success in U15, U18 and B’s is not where we want it to be , they are not throwing in the towel, the A ‘s are playing good accountable football. 

The never give up attitude has resulted in some very, very good wins. I have been told that Marcus Gill is stepping away from the U18 role, this is sad. I want to thank Marcus for his efforts and professionalism in the role and I know he will be around to help out when he can. 

It has been mentioned along the way but I want to mention our thanks to the clubs who are helping out when we are short in the junior grades. It’s about making sure we don’t forfeit and our players get a game, our players/coaches / volunteers are grateful for the support. We are getting close to the midseason mark. It’s great to see the comp closing up a bit and all teams can beat anyone on the day. I want to encourage everyone to keep up your support , I want to thank all the coaches, trainers, water people, umpires, volunteers, Mums and Dads, bar people, and BBQ cooks for all the help you all give to our magnificent club. We have a band of helpers and volunteers that step up and get things done – ordinary people, doing ordinary things for their club and community. You know who you are. Thank you. Keep up the awesome work you are appreciated. 

On club issues – We have started talks with council about our lease, the lease is up for a review. There are issues in the lease that I have been pursuing, it has been very time consuming and we haven’t got to any nitty gritty stuff yet. The council is working through their items in relation to the lease as well and in time a request will come to us to attend meetings around the lease. At the moment I can’t relay any info because there isn’t much to report, it’s really watch this space.

Spectator behaviour, unruly conduct, inappropriate language and verbal abuse of umpires still rears its ugly head, all clubs are aware and all clubs have supporters who can cross the line sometimes. It’s up to us – if we see something , say something. The SGFL has received correspondence around these issues. Please be reminded about how we act at footy games and enjoy the game and appreciate all the people involved are doing the best they can. 

Recently I was invited to a meeting with the Council CEO and Mayor along with the PA Club presidents and SGFL President, the meeting was hopefully a catalyst for future meetings. It was primarily to discuss how footy in Pt Augusta is run, what the structure looks like, how are we funded on match days etc, it was an opportunity to discuss some concerns we have and how the group can continue to have constructed discussion. 

Council have pressures to not increase rates to a sustainable level and have an obligation to get the best outcome for not only rate payers but the community as a whole, while some areas of council may not create a surplus, it’s not about the money, its more about what council can provide. It’s about what clubs and organisations offer the community through their programmes and how they are the glue that binds the community, it’s about what they provide that council can’t or doesn’t and the cost savings to Council this creates. 

There are people within the community that think Central Oval needs to be sold off, or the running of it is allocated to an external organisation, it’s a white elephant we don’t need it. Articles recently in the Advertiser don’t help the cause, we are at Central Oval, it is our home we intend to keep it that way. 

There are a few things in the pipeline that I will inform you on as we continue through the year. 

As always if you want to have a yak about anything, catch up with me at the club. 

Nick Heron—President