2001-2010

SUMMARY OF 10 YEARS 2001-2010

In 2000 South’s were finally rewarded under Coach Peter Rivers with a grand final win against the Wolves, best players for South’s were Travis Hoffman, Jess Rivers, Jared Rivers, Jason Waterworth, Shane Jones and Ian Waye. It was Souths 11th premiership and the game was described as a thriller and both sides had their chances to win. The Transcontinental newspaper ranked Jared Rivers as South’s best, playing on the wing against a range of opponents he took 13 marks and with his raking kicks, probed the Wolves defence. The B Grade also improved finishing 4th after finishing in the finals for the first time since 1995 under coach Gary Kernahan.

Highlights of the year included the debut of Jared Rivers in round 1 of 2000, Boof Rivers arguing with umpires boss on who should take the preliminary final and the size of the bench on grand final day, both of which he won. Now to the amusement of the players were almost hysterical at the fact that he took 2 hairdryers and 5 pairs of shoes on the footy trip to Broken Hill.

South’s almost followed up its success in 2000 losing the Grand Final in 2001 under new Coach Gary Kernahan to the Wolves in what was described as the best grand final for many years. Best players for South’s were Robert Waye and Mathew McInnis with 9 goals in an amazing effort. Keiron Keeler has a great year winning the Madigan Medal and Jared Rivers pursued a football career with North Adelaide.

Long term injuries to experienced premiership players in Chris Heritage, Jarrod Waterworth, and Mick Maloney hit the club hard in 2002 and together with the loss of players such as Jess Rivers, Alan Margatich, Shane Jones and Travis Hoffmann the club finished 5th. Highlights for the year included the U15’s coached by Robert Laube winning the premiership undefeated and the Best and Fairest being awarded to Kevin Harris for third time. Sadly 2002 wasn’t all great, Kent Voight, a premiership player in 2000 passed away in a farming accident and the club lost one of its most respected people, the players forming a guard of honour at the funeral and many were effected by the loss.

In 2003 the A Grade finished 5th after an inconsistent year however several juniors were brought up that would serve the club in the future. Matthew Grantham, Adam Grantham, Trevor Hannes, Ricky Johnson and Todd Kernahan played their first senior games for the club this year. South’s also recruited Willsden player Bradley Amos and Kevin Harris who won Best and Fairest for the fourth time which is a club record.

South’s recovered well as a team in 2004 only to lose the grand final to Ports under A Grade coach Gary Kernahan and there was heartache again in 2005 with South’s disappointing loss of the grand final after playing West Augusta in a spiteful match where Dwayne Crombie was knocked unconscious in the first quarter and was unable to return to the game. The B Grade finished 4th for the year after losing to Central’s in the first semi final and there was two milestones for the club as Jarrod Waterworth and Shane Kennedy played their 300th games for the club.

The experience gained from these losses paid off in 2006 when South’s won their 12th premiership with a 60 point victory over Centrals. In 2006 South’s were to win the last 12 games of the season in a turn around from the slow start to the season, winning the preliminary final by 22 goals. The B grade also played in their first grand final in 11 years, but sadly lost Wests.

At the post game press conference jubilant and relieved South’s supremo Gary Kernahan explained, “we were confident that if we managed to get our game going we would be in with a real chance of winning.  At quarter time it didn’t look good. From there we got going and I don’t think it would have mattered who we played, there was no way we were going to lose for a third time in three years. We had come too far”.

South’s continued its good form in 2007, however a disappointing finals round lead to them losing the preliminary final to West’s after finishing top of the ladder at the end of the end of the minor round. Bradley Amos was to kick over 100 goals for South this season which is a club record and will be hard to break for future players. In 2008 the club finished 5th just out of the finals on percentage after a frustrating year where they appeared certain to play in the finals with 4 games to go but played badly in the last few games. The B Grade made the grand final but lost to Ports in a hard fought match in Port Pirie. Highlights for the year included club premierships in Under 18s and Under 13’s, Chris Heritage playing 300 senior games and Val Waterworth and Leo Nowak inducted into the Port Augusta Hall of fame. Gary Kernahan decided to call it a day as South’s A Grade Coach after 8 years at the helm and some consistent success with the team.

Previous A Grade captain and 300 club game player Anthony Anno took over as coach in 2009 and although it was not a great year for the club in 2009 with no senior teams making the finals, the victories in the Under 15s, Under 13’ and Under 11’s grand finals was fabulous. Peter Huxtable as president together with a committed committee were making inroads into making the clubs financial position sound. Harry Waterworth was awarded the SANFL merit award for long standing service to football in South Australia. South’s continued on its support for its juniors with 31 out of the 37 players who played A grade football for South’s in 2009 coming through the colts system which is a great result.

In 2010 South’s lost in the Grand Final to Central’s by 11 points after only losing 3 games for the season which was a disappointing end to a great season by the team and coach Anno. Best players in the final were Brett Jones, Daniel Dohnt, Brodie Cox, Marcus Gill and Michael Curley. It was a great turn around year for the Senior grades in 2010 after a disappointing 2009 with the A Grade finishing second after finishing top after the minor round but unfortunately losing the grand final to Central’s.

Jeff Shillabeer and the late Harold Bowman were inducted into the Port Augusta Hall of Fame. The club did a great job catering for events during the year including the Hall of Fame dinner, numerous weddings, reunions and birthdays, over 5,000 meals during the year were co-ordinated by Trevor and Joylene White.

The years since 2000 must be considered as successful and competitive for the club with 2 Premierships in 2000 and 2006 and grand final appearances in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2010.
The losses were very disappointing to the players and coaching staff involved however the club knew it was around the mark and with some luck these results could have been different. Their policy of playing juniors was successful and its colts coaching staff must take credit for this consistency at the top of the table.

One of the South’s juniors of the 2000 decade was Jared Rivers who currently plays for Melbourne in the AFL. Jared played junior football for South Augusta and was part of the 2000 premiership team at just 15 years old, taking on much stronger opponents. The North Adelaide Football Club spotted his raw talent and not long after he was playing seniors under coach Darel Hart, who described him as a delight to coach. He was rising quickly as a potential top ten draft pick, and was selected to play for South Australia’s Under 18 team in the National Competition. Unfortunately, he injured his wrist in the lead up to this match and was unable to play but scouts from the Melbourne Demons liked what they saw in the kid, and selected him as the 27th pick overall in the AFL draft of 2002. After a solid pre-season, Rivers cemented his spot in the team and was quickly noticed by many in the football community. Jared came runner up for the Melbourne club’s Best and Fairest award in 2011 after an excellent season.